Feeding

"Don't call out. If you do, I'll eat you too," Duke threatened viciously as he cracked pine nuts.

The squirrel in the distance immediately fell silent upon hearing the threat, then scampered away along the branches, intent on getting far away from Duke, that evil man.

After eating some nuts, Duke was naturally nowhere near full, though he had replenished a little energy.

He looked at Vivian lying on the ground, her face somewhat pale, and felt troubled.

Duke could still eat some nuts, but what about Vivian, who was unconscious?

These nuts were difficult to feed to her. They were all hard, and an unconscious Vivian could easily choke on them.

Bare-chested, Duke thought for a moment before walking to the riverbank. The current was still swift.

The stream was not very deep, and its water was clear enough for him to see black carp swimming within.

Duke quickly came up with an idea and took out the dagger he carried with him. It was his only weapon now.

His longsword and Vivian's axe had both been lost back with the ogres.

Duke went straight into the water with his dagger. The icy river water made him shiver despite himself.

The black carp in the river were nimble, and Duke had to put in some effort before catching two.

He efficiently gutted the fish, scraped off their scales, and cleaned them. Then he picked some perilla and mint from nearby to use as seasoning.

Duke glanced at Vivian's helmet. It was quite good and suitable for use as a pot.

So he took the helmet to the river to wash it, filled it with some clean water, then painstakingly used stones and his dagger to light a pile of dry grass, successfully starting a fire.

After the two fish went into the pot, their fragrance began to spread after they had boiled for a while, mingling with the fresh scent of perilla and mint.

The broth in the pot gradually turned milky white and looked extremely appetizing.

Once the fish were cooked, Duke cut off some meat with his dagger and tasted it. It was not bad.

In truth, he had not added much seasoning. He was simply too hungry, so everything tasted delicious.

Duke ate an entire fish himself and drank a few mouthfuls of fish soup, finally feeling some warmth in his stomach.

He was still far from full, but with the current conditions, it was already good enough to fill his belly a little.

Looking at the unconscious Vivian, Duke thought for a moment, stripped some meat from the remaining fish, chewed it up, and fed it to Vivian bit by bit.

The method was a little disgusting, but the circumstances were special, and he could not afford to be particular.

Duke could only pray that Vivian would not wake up at a time like this. Otherwise, he feared she would stab him to death on the spot.

He fed her only a little at a time. After giving her a small bit of fish meat, he fed her a little fish soup, allowing Vivian to slowly swallow the food. The process was extremely careful and slow, lest she choke.

It took nearly an hour to feed her one fish. Duke breathed a sigh of relief when he finished, never expecting that taking care of someone could be such difficult work.

After Vivian ate the fish and drank the soup, some color returned to her cheeks. She looked healthier, and her breathing gradually steadied.

Duke looked at the sky. The weather in the forest was unpredictable, and it could rain at any time.

Vivian's ribs were broken, and her right leg was fractured as well, making it inconvenient for her to move.

If it suddenly rained, getting soaked could worsen her injuries.

Duke searched through the surrounding forest, but he did not dare go too far in case something happened to Vivian and he could not tend to her in time.

He found some broad-leafed plants similar to banana trees, cut down many wide, thick leaves with his dagger, dragged them back, and placed them over the branches above their heads as a temporary roof.

That way, even if it suddenly rained, they would not have to worry about getting drenched.

After resting briefly, Duke began considering what to do next.

Everything around them looked the same, making it impossible to identify their current location. They could only judge direction by the position of the sun.

But if he did not know where they were, he still did not know which way they should go.

Duke decided to wait until Vivian recovered from her injuries and woke up before making a decision.

After that, he would cultivate the Whale Breathing Method and restore some battle aura. Only with strength could he deal with potential dangers.

Two days later, Vivian was still unconscious and had yet to wake.

Duke was very lucky today. He had hunted an old wild boar and two young boars.

He did not keep the old boar, instead throwing its carcass off a distant cliff to avoid attracting high-Tiered Magical Beasts.

The old boar's meat was not only sour and astringent, but also extremely tough and completely inedible.

Only the meat of young boars a few months old was edible. After preparing them, Duke dug a pit and buried the entrails and other remains, doing his best to erase all traces of their presence.

Duke was not afraid of ordinary beasts. With his current strength, nothing posed much of a threat to him unless a ranked magical beast appeared.

Duke roasted both young boars and ate an entire one by himself. It was the first time in days that he had truly eaten his fill.

There were no conditions for storing food long-term, and the meat from the two young boars could not be preserved for long, so they could only eat it first.

As before, Duke chewed up the meat from the other young boar and fed it to Vivian. Over the past two days, every time he touched her, his heartbeat still sped up, and her breath against his face made it itch.

While feeding her today, Duke suddenly felt Vivian's body tremble.

His heart jumped, and only then did he realize that Vivian had already awakened.

But the situation between them was far too intimate. Vivian was still pretending to be unconscious without opening her eyes, so Duke could only pretend not to notice and continue feeding her.

After Vivian woke and regained consciousness, some instinctive reactions were inevitably beyond her control. While Duke fed her, their mouths would inevitably touch.

Whenever that happened, Vivian's body would tremble slightly, and her hands would unconsciously clench together. She was clearly nervous; her heartbeat gradually quickened, and her breathing became somewhat rapid.

Duke awkwardly finished feeding her. Since Vivian was conscious this time, it went much more smoothly than before.

Even after the feeding was complete, Vivian still pretended to be unconscious and did not wake up. Perhaps she did not know how to handle the situation either.

Vivian also knew that Duke was saving her, and her feelings were quite complicated.

As Duke wiped the grease from the corner of Vivian's mouth, he could feel her body move slightly despite herself.

He pretended not to notice. After feeding Vivian, he washed the helmet they had used as a pot, filled it with some clean water, and set it over the fire again to boil some hot water for later.

Even in these circumstances, he tried not to drink raw water. It was a habit ingrained in him from his previous life, one that could invisibly spare him from many attacks by disease-causing germs.

After finishing all that, Duke began cultivating the Whale Breathing Method nearby.

A fresh breeze drifted through the forest. Birds sang in the distance, while the sound of flowing water murmured close by. Everything was so peaceful and tranquil.