Chapter 34

As Qin Feng's tall figure disappeared at the cave entrance, the entire cave fell into absolute silence and darkness. The sounds of insects and ants from outside were clearly audible, and Min Ruoxi suddenly felt afraid.

Even a strong woman, deep down, is inherently weak. Not to mention that at this moment, she felt so powerless and helpless that even if an insect or ant crawled on her, she wouldn't have the strength to brush it off. Thinking of insects, Min Ruoxi suddenly felt itchy all over, as if tiny bugs were crawling into her body from the ground. In an instant, a tingling sensation spread from her skin to her heart.

"Damn brute, not even knowing how to treat a lady, not even lighting a fire for this princess," Min Ruoxi couldn't help but curse softly.

Enduring the discomfort all over her body and hearing the rustling sounds inside the cave, Min Ruoxi could only suffer in silence, hoping desperately that Qin Feng would return soon. From a young age, she had never been alone. Even when she slept at night, there were always a bunch of maids and servants around, from the inner room to the outer room, ready to attend to her every need.

Saying Qin Feng was a brute wasn't entirely unfair. Qin Feng had grown up with only an old family servant, who died when Qin Feng was ten. He was a wild child, and at sixteen, he joined the army. In the military, there were no women, not even mares. Qin Feng had no experience dealing with women. He lived on the edge of life and death every day, and living in the dark was a daily routine for him. However, he clearly forgot that the person following him now was not a tough soldier but a delicate young lady.

The consequence of forgetting this was that when Qin Feng returned with a water bag in one hand and a string of fish and a large black snake in the other, he heard Min Ruoxi's scream from inside the cave, just a short while after he left.

Startled, Qin Feng dropped the items he was holding, drew his knife, and swiftly leaped up the mountain wall, rushing into the cave.

Inside the cave, there was no one else but Min Ruoxi, whose screams echoed in the small space, making Qin Feng's ears ring. It was truly surprising how a woman's scream could be so piercing.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?" Qin Feng stood at the cave entrance, holding his knife in front of him, and asked.

"A rat, a rat just crawled across my face," her voice still filled with terror.

Qin Feng immediately relaxed. Just a rat, what was the big deal? He had faced snakes and remained calm when gathering intelligence on the enemy.

"You scared me, I thought something serious had happened," Qin Feng muttered不满地低声嘟囔了一句，当的一声将刀丢在地上。

"Qin Feng, start a fire," Min Ruoxi's voice was slightly more composed as she ordered.

"Your Highness, starting a fire could expose us," he explained.

"We are in a cave. Even if we start a fire, how can anyone see it from outside? I can't see a bit of light from inside the cave, and Deng Pu won't find us so quickly, will he?" Min Ruoxi argued.

"It's better to be cautious."

"I don't care. Start a fire, I'm scared," Min Ruoxi said, feeling a wave of委屈, her voice suddenly becoming choked with tears. When had she ever suffered like this?

Hearing Min Ruoxi's voice, Qin Feng felt a bit flustered, "Alright, alright, I'll start a fire, don't cry!"

"I'm not crying!"

Qin Feng shook his head, feeling troubled. He went outside, chopped some dry branches, and gathered a pile of dry grass. If he were alone, he would never do this. Any small change to the natural environment could be noticed by an experienced tracker. However, as a general, Deng Pu probably wouldn't be skilled in such tracking techniques and might not notice these small details.

Back in the cave, he piled the branches together, rolled the dry grass into a ball, and held it in his hand. After a moment, the grass in his hand burst into flames. He placed the grass under the branches, and soon the fire illuminated the cave.

The cave was small, and Qin Feng quickly spotted the culprit rat, which was quite large, sitting on a protruding rock, its beady eyes staring at the sudden flames.

"Rat! Where is it!" he heard another scream. Qin Feng sighed, kicked a small stone on the ground, and with a "thud," the rat was crushed to pieces.

"It's gone now," Qin Feng said, spreading his hands, then walked out of the cave to retrieve the water bag, fish, and black snake he had left outside. He carefully checked the cave entrance to ensure the fire couldn't be seen from outside before re-entering.

"I got some good stuff!" He waved the black snake in front of Min Ruoxi, completely unaware of her horrified expression. He pulled out a small knife from his waist, skillfully decapitated the snake, skinned it, and removed the white, tender snake meat. He then opened a few large, clean leaves, laid them flat on the ground, and quickly cut the snake into small pieces. He picked up a piece and offered it to Min Ruoxi, "Come, try it, it's delicious."

Min Ruoxi tightly closed her lips, her large eyes filled with fear. After a moment, she opened her mouth and suddenly gagged.

"What's wrong?" Qin Feng was alarmed, quickly helping Min Ruoxi sit up and patting her back.

"Snake meat, it's raw, I won't eat it!" Min Ruoxi finally regained her composure.

"This is the best delicacy. When we are on the march, we fight for such delicacies. The quick get it, the slow miss out," Qin Feng said, puzzled.

"You are truly a brute!" Min Ruoxi said helplessly. "That's you. I can't. Roast the fish for me to eat."

Qin Feng looked at the string of fish and the snake meat in his hand, shaking his head, "Your taste is really strange. Fish meat can't compare to snake meat at all."

While shaking his head, he stuffed a few pieces of snake meat into his mouth, chewed, and began cleaning the fish. He inserted a small stick into the fish's belly and slowly roasted it over the fire.

Min Ruoxi, unable to move, could only watch helplessly as Qin Feng roasted the fish and chewed the snake meat, blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, making her feel nauseous. She finally closed her eyes, but the chewing sounds still reached her ears, making her feel miserable.

The aroma wafting from the fire made Min Ruoxi, who hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day, involuntarily swallow her saliva, and her stomach growled, making her feel extremely embarrassed. When had a roasted fish ever made her drool so much?

"Hungry, right? Come, try my cooking!" Qin Feng laughed, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that he had already finished the pile of snake meat on the leaves. He was now holding a roasted fish on a leaf, waving it under her nose.

Min Ruoxi nodded silently. Qin Feng tore the fish into strips, carefully removed the bones, and fed it to her.

After a few bites, Min Ruoxi's eyes lit up, "It's really delicious. Your cooking skills are great!"

"Of course they are!" Qin Feng chuckled proudly, "We soldiers can do anything. When we are on the march, we have nothing else to do but cook. These skills naturally develop. If only we had some seasonings, you would be licking your fingers."

Seeing Qin Feng's proud expression, Min Ruoxi felt a surge of anger, "Stop boasting. I'm just hungry."

Qin Feng laughed, "After eating all the delicacies, trying these little things is quite a different flavor. Come, eat more if you like it."

The two roasted fish were quickly devoured by Min Ruoxi, leaving Qin Feng speechless. The two fish together weighed about half a catty. He hadn't expected her to have such a large appetite. He had always thought women ate like cats. In the past, when Qin Feng saw women eat, they would only pick up a few grains of rice with each chopstick, and a small bowl of rice would take half an hour to finish. The amount of rice in that small bowl, Qin Feng estimated, could fit in his mouth in one big bite.

After cleaning up, Qin Feng walked to the cave entrance and lay down, "Get some sleep. We need to escape tomorrow, so we need to rest well. If you can move tomorrow, that would be great. If you can recover your martial arts, we can face Deng Pu together."

Min Ruoxi sighed. Her body felt empty, and she couldn't sense the usual strong energy. How could she recover in one night? She hoped that when she woke up, she could move, at least to avoid the awkwardness of today.

Qin Feng fell asleep quickly, a skill he had developed from years of military life. He could fall asleep as soon as he lay down and wake up at the slightest sound. He thought he would have a good night's sleep.

However, just as he closed his eyes, he was woken by the sound of teeth grinding.

"Your Highness, are you uncomfortable?" he asked softly, turning his face in the firelight.

"I, I..." Min Ruoxi's face was red in the firelight, and she couldn't speak for a long time.

"What's wrong? Where are you uncomfortable?" Qin Feng asked.

"I need to relieve myself!" Min Ruoxi finally shouted, her voice tinged with tears, unable to bear it any longer.

Qin Feng was stunned. Neither of them had thought about this problem before.