Spending the Night at an Abandoned Post Station

By the latter half of the night, the moonlight had grown ever dimmer.

An abandoned post station suddenly appeared by the roadside, deserted for who knew how many years.

Its doors had long since vanished. Half the roof had collapsed, exposing several charred beams that still lay askew in the night.

Fortunately, the rooms on the other side were still fairly intact.

Though the walls leaked wind from every direction, they could at least shield them from some of the night's cold dew.

Shen Hui entered first and looked around.

The post station was empty and in disarray, with only scattered dry grass and rotten wood lying everywhere.

He found a sheltered corner, cleared out an open patch, then gathered some splintered wood and broken beams. Before long, he had built a bonfire.

The flames leapt up with a whoosh, their warm glow spreading outward and driving back some of the night's chill at once.

Shen Hui settled beside the fire, removed the Jadeite Gourd from his waist, and took out a suckling pig.

He cleaned and dressed the pig, found a thick branch, skewered the meat on it, and slowly turned it over the fire.

Before long, the scent of roasting meat filled the air.

The tongues of flame licked at the pigskin, gradually roasting it to a golden brown.

Drops of fat fell one by one into the fire, hissing softly as they landed—an utterly tempting sound.

Lu Huan sat beside him with her knees drawn up, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the roast suckling pig. Any trace of sleepiness had long vanished.

Shen Hui took a small packet of salt from his sleeve, pinched out some grains, and carefully sprinkled them over the meat.

After roasting it a while longer, he tore off a hind leg and