Ingenious First Aid

Numbing Branches that could replace Numbing Pepper, Red Heart Chili that was slightly hotter than bird's eye chili, and White Spirit Fruit with a sweet-and-sour taste.

Ji Ruo mashed them all up, put them in the hollow of a tree stump, and began marinating the little fish.

Liang Shixian had told Ji Ruo not to get so cocky, but when it came to finding "seasonings," he had still managed to find some fruits that could serve as substitutes for scallions, ginger, and garlic.

"Meow meow meow~ (Master, are they ready yet? Hurry, hurry, hurry~)"

Rosie lay atop Ji Ruo's head, gazing longingly at the twenty-odd little fish in the stump hollow, which had turned all colorful. She was already getting impatient.

A strange smell wafted into her nostrils, and Rosie could hardly wait any longer.

"Don't rush. They'll taste even better after marinating. I guarantee you've never had anything this delicious," Ji Ruo said cheerfully.

He had no idea how these little fish had grown, but their bones turned crisp under high heat. Ji Ruo had checked after Rosie ate the first one just now: once cooked, the fish bones were so brittle he could crush them between his fingers. They would probably have a great texture.

He scored each little fish with several cuts so the tasty—no, adorable little things would soak up the marinade more easily.

"Let's marinate them for about half an hour." Ji Ruo glanced at his wristwatch.

This thing was specially made for the Martial Exam. It had originally been used to record scores and send distress signals.

But now that the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm had undergone a sudden change, the basic network humans had set up in the Secret Realm had long since gone dead. The watch was only half useful now.

It could still tell the time, at least. As for recording scores, without a network to upload the data, too many records might fill up its memory, so Ji Ruo was only using it to check the time for now.

While they waited, Ji Ruo continued teaching Liang Shixian Thunderclap and Flash.

Thunderclap and Flash was essentially just an ordinary quick-draw slash, but when paired with a special breathing technique, its power was not to be underestimated.

For one thing, if Liang Shixian could learn and use the breathing technique in a short time, their chances of surviving in this Secret Realm would rise dramatically. Though, under the circumstances, even a dramatic increase would still leave their overall odds very low.

"Meow~ meow~ (Go ahead by yourself, Master. I want to stay with my fish!)"

"All right, but don't sneak a bite. Eating raw food can give you a stomachache." Ji Ruo warned her, then set Rosie down.

Rosie squatted beside the stump, gazing at the twenty-odd colorful little fish in the hollow. They looked so delicious that she began to drool.

"Gulp~"

She glanced over at Ji Ruo and Liang Shixian, who were busy with their lesson, and thought, There are so many fish. Surely it wouldn't hurt to sneak a little. No! Master said not to steal any. Just a tiny bite, to see how they taste.

After making sure Ji Ruo and the others weren't looking, Rosie carefully reached out a paw. She hesitated, then didn't take a fish—instead, she grabbed a piece of Red Heart Chili.

"I'm only tasting it first. That doesn't count as stealing."

She convinced herself and swallowed the Red Heart Chili. "Mmm~ This tastes—"

Rosie leaped off the stump and ran around in a panic. She dashed beneath one Tree Demon after another, meowing frantically as if spreading the news far and wide.

"Meow! Meow! Meow! (Spicy! Spicy! So spicy!)"

Half an hour later.

Ji Ruo returned right on time and saw Rosie sprawled on the ground, wearing an utterly despondent expression. He laughed. "Didn't I tell you that eating raw food would give you a stomachache? All right, the fish should be marinated through by now. Just wait a little longer, and they'll be ready to eat."

Rosie answered weakly, "Meow~ (I don't want any more. I don't want any more. The spice is killing me.)"

Ji Ruo chuckled, went to the stream to wash his hands, then came back and picked up one of the little fish from the stump hollow. He placed it in his palm and brought his hands together.

A crimson glow lit up Ji Ruo's palms, and the temperature surged.

Iron Sand Palm at the Mastery level reached an extremely high temperature. In theory, a Martial Apprentice shouldn't be able to control it.

If Ji Ruo were already in the Qi Pulse Realm, Iron Sand Palm could even conjure roaring flames, giving it astonishing power.

But even now, it was no slouch. With his palms pressed together, he had, in a sense, made a double-sided frying pan.

" Sizzle~~~"

The marinated fish was squeezed between his palms. The intense heat forced the flesh to cook, and an enticing aroma slowly drifted through the air. Even Liang Shixian couldn't help swallowing.

He had never dreamed he would get to eat grilled fish in the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm!

Ji Ruo grilled one fish for Rosie first.

The little one was still a little wary, but she couldn't resist the tempting aroma. She took a cautious bite.

Her eyes lit up. She sat up and pointed at the grilled fish, waving her forelegs wildly. "Meow meow meow! (Master, this is way too delicious!)"

Ji Ruo smiled. After that, he grilled the fish much faster. The two of them and the cat ate until their mouths glistened with oil, not even sparing the fish bones.

Rosie lay on the ground, rubbing her round little belly, and said contentedly, "Meow~ (That feels so good~)"

Ji Ruo glanced at her. Yep, a female cat. He wondered if he could raise her into a catgirl.

After eating their fill, they picked some Spirit Fruits for dessert. Then Ji Ruo asked Liang Shixian to help him stand upright the Tree Demon he'd chopped down earlier and set it back on its stump.

Liang Shixian: "...You're really putting it back?"

You'd hollowed the thing out from the inside. Why even put it back?

"We can't leave our Tree Demon brother lying on the ground to sleep, can we? He might catch a chill down there."

"..."

The two of them worked together to set the trunk back in place.

Liang Shixian looked at the obvious cut marks on the trunk and asked hesitantly, "If this thing wakes up tonight, it probably won't be able to walk, will it?"

A Tree Demon's feet were its roots. The phrase "pulling up roots and moving" was exactly what Tree Demons did when they migrated.

Ji Ruo stroked his chin. "That is a problem."

After thinking it over, Ji Ruo scraped a few lumps of mud off the ground, ran to the stream to wet them, then came back and plastered the mud over the "wound" in the trunk. He patted his hands together. "There. That'll do it."

The only slight disappointment was that such an ingenious first-aid technique hadn't triggered an achievement.

"..."

"What should we do now?" Liang Shixian asked.

Ji Ruo considered it. "How about we take a nap? The Tree Demons will be migrating all night. If we don't catch up on some sleep, we might not be able to keep going."

"True." Liang Shixian nodded emphatically. "You sleep first. I'll keep watch, then you can take over for me."

"That sounds like too much trouble."

Ji Ruo suddenly picked Rosie up and asked, "Little Rosie, we're planning to sleep now. Could you keep watch for us? You can sleep once we wake up tonight."

Little Rosie patted her chest. "Meow! (Don't worry, Master. Leave it to me!)"

Ji Ruo looked at Liang Shixian. "All right. Go to sleep."

Liang Shixian: "???"

He gave Rosie a thoughtful glance.

This cat seemed pretty smart...

"Boom!"

Suddenly!

An explosion rang out in the distant mountains and forests. Ji Ruo hurriedly climbed onto the tallest Tree Demon and looked in the direction of the sound.

He was at least dozens of miles from where the explosion had come from, yet it had sounded as if it came from the mountaintop.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky as terrifying demonic and fiendish auras swept out, pressing down on everything around them.

"Croak! (Damn humans!)"

(This monster had been croaking all day.)