Can't Call Her Something So Ambiguous

A few days later,

Snow fell over Heaven Dou City, blanketing everything in silver.

Although temperatures in the north were gradually dropping, it had not affected the city in the slightest. People had long since grown used to it.

Of course, there were still people who complained...

"This weather is so cold."

Wrapped in a fox-fur coat, Yu Feng entered the general store through the wind and snow. After glancing around, he immediately called out to Ouyang Ling ahead of him. "Ling, what are we doing here?"

"What are we doing here?"

Ouyang Ling turned around with an expression that said, Isn't that obvious? "What else would we come here for if not to buy something? To eat?" After casually snapping at Yu Feng, he turned to speak with the shop owner.

"Uh—"

Realizing he had asked a stupid question, Yu Feng was instantly left speechless. To avoid embarrassing himself further, he ignored Ouyang Ling's sarcastic tone and stepped forward to ask again.

"I'm asking what we're buying. Didn't we already buy all the other ingredients at the previous shop?"

At that moment, under the shop owner's introduction, Ouyang Ling picked out a large iron grill, paid for it, and stored it in his Soul Tool in one smooth motion. Only then did he turn back. "There. Now do you see what I came here to buy?"

"...I see."

Not wanting to expose his intelligence any further, Yu Feng began pretending to examine the surroundings seriously. However, from the corner of his eye, he spotted some charcoal nearby and immediately put his initiative to work.

We'll probably need this too.

So without another word, he picked up a box.

"Boss, I'll pay."

Ouyang Ling: "..."

Had this guy actually listened when they were discussing things? Hadn't they agreed that the Shi Family brothers would buy the charcoal?

Sigh... so tiring...

Why had he been grouped with this idiot?

The shopping trip in Heaven Dou City was merely a small interlude. After gathering everything they needed, Ouyang Ling and Yu Feng headed for a hill outside Heaven Dou City and met up with the others at their agreed location.

Before long, the two of them saw six figures busying themselves in the clearing atop the hill.

Clearly, they were the last to arrive.

"Ling and Yu Feng are here."

"What ingredients did you buy?"

As they spoke, light flashed from their Soul Tools.

Seeing all the bags of ingredients, the two girls, Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, immediately began sorting them out.

Immediately afterward, a large iron grill appeared in the clearing, drawing everyone's attention.

After Shi Mo and Shi Mo helped arrange the tables and chairs, the two brothers' eyes lit up at the sight of the huge grill. "So we're having barbecue today? Perfect, Boss even brought wine."

Ouyang Ling raised an eyebrow slightly.

Oh? They had thought of the same thing?

When they split up earlier, he had not mentioned barbecuing. He had intended to give everyone a surprise, which was why he had even taken Yu Feng to buy beer separately afterward.

He had not expected Yu Tianheng to buy alcohol too.

Ouyang Ling turned to look. Sure enough, Yu Tianheng was pointing at several jars of baijiu scattered on the ground.

"I only bought drinks and fruit juice, but I also brought a few jars of good wine my dad had hidden at home. Since I brought them, it would be a waste not to drink them. But..."

Yu Tianheng grinned mischievously. "Little—Ling, you can't drink yet, can you?"

Ouyang Ling gave him a deadpan look. "..."

Hey—

He had even deliberately emphasized "little." How childish was that?

His thoughts turning, he directly took six cases of beer from the Ruyi Hundred-Treasure Pouch and lined them up imposingly. "I brought alcohol too. If you ask me, barbecue goes best with cold beer. Who drinks baijiu with barbecue?"

"What does beer count for? Baijiu is what has some kick..."

"Heh—at least this saves you from drinking yourself to death..."

Ouyang Ling and Yu Tianheng traded words without any politeness in their tones. Yet as they worked and talked casually, it felt more like ordinary conversation than an angry argument.

"Boys really are childish."

Though she said so, Dugu Yan seemed rather pleased by the scene. "Lingling, don't you think so?"

"Mm."

Ye Lingling nodded as she watched Ouyang Ling and the others, placing the seasonings out one by one.

Meanwhile, Yu Feng and Oslo were putting charcoal into the iron grill. Just as they were about to light it, they froze. Yu Feng looked up at Oslo and asked,

"Leopard, where's the fire?"

"I don't know?" Oslo shook his head, though cold sweat immediately streamed down his forehead.

Yu Feng broke out in a sweat too.

"Hey—don't tell me we didn't bring anything to start a fire?"

If they really had not brought any, then what the hell were they supposed to grill?

"What are you two standing around for?"

Just as the two of them stared at each other over the lack of fire, Ouyang Ling and Yu Tianheng had already stopped bickering.

Seeing that Yu Feng and Oslo had not moved for so long, they were drawn over and found the two standing there motionlessly.

Ouyang Ling glanced at the charcoal in the grill, partially covered by snow, and raised his brows slightly.

"Don't you know how to start a fire?"

Yu Feng and Oslo looked at each other.

There was no helping it!

They could only honestly say, "We didn't bring fire." ×2

"Are you two even Soul Masters?" Yu Tianheng, who had been listening nearby, nearly laughed in exasperation. He pressed and released his right thumb and index finger. "Crackle—"

Electric light flickered as he brought it close to the charcoal.

"Whoosh—"

The charcoal ignited instantly, and flames immediately rose.

Unlike Yu Tianheng, Ouyang Ling casually picked up two pieces of charcoal. After releasing his soul power, he lightly rubbed them together, and the charcoal ignited as well.

"See? There are plenty of ways."

After demonstrating, Ouyang Ling casually waved his hand, and four spheres of clear water appeared out of thin air. After everyone washed up, he drove Yu Feng and Oslo over to the others so they would not cause trouble here.

However, those two living treasures were not welcome anywhere. Before long, everyone drove them away again. They could only sit idly to one side, gesturing and offering pointless directions.

Just as everyone was about to lose patience, Ouyang Ling directly sent the two away. "If you two don't want to get beaten up, stop rambling here. Aren't you fast? Go check some rabbit holes and see if you can find some game. We finally came out for a meal together, so we should make something different."

It had to be said,

Although most of them came from noble families, everyone was quite capable with their hands. Other than Ouyang Ling, the remaining five people in the clearing all knew some basic survival skills. In any case, once Yu Feng and Oslo stopped getting in the way, the charcoal was lit, the meat was skewered, and the vegetables were set aside.

"Those two still aren't back?" Ouyang Ling raised his head to look over the snowy scenery in the distance, trying to find Yu Feng and Oslo, but unfortunately, his search failed.

"Ignore them." Dugu Yan selected several ingredients that she, Yu Tianheng, and Ye Lingling liked and placed them on the grill, then pushed Ouyang Ling forward. "Didn't you say you were going to cook for us? Hurry up."

"Then let's get started." Ouyang Ling casually accepted the ingredients handed over by the Shi Family brothers, added what he wanted himself, and began showing off his skills at the grill.

Ye Lingling stood beside him and helped pass over the small bottles. Watching the flames rise and burn, she could not help asking,

"Isn't the fire a little too big..."

"Too bad we're missing a fire-attribute Soul Master." Yu Tianheng shrugged, seeming somewhat regretful. "That way, we could control the heat while grilling."

"You treat fire-attribute Soul Masters like fire starters?" Ouyang Ling teased. Then, without even blinking, he continued, "But it's fine. We'll have one sooner or later."

The others chuckled softly, but they paid no attention to his last remark, assuming it was merely something he had said casually.

Just as the first batch of food was nearly done grilling, a sudden sound came from deep within the mountain forest. Other than Ouyang Ling, everyone immediately turned to look.

This was not an area where soul beasts lived, so there would not be any soul beasts here at all—at most, wild animals.

Upon hearing the sound, Ouyang Ling merely twitched an ear and identified what it was.

"Sounds like a wild boar."

Before the village had met with disaster, he had seen live wild boars captured by hunters, so he could naturally recognize the sound.

"A wild boar?"

"Not just a wild boar."

Dugu Yan's senses were sharper. "Yu Feng and Oslo are behind it too, and..."

Before she could finish, two small black shadows leaped out of the bushes amid rustling sounds, followed by a wild boar charging forward with astonishing ferocity.

Perhaps because they were fleeing for their lives, they did not even look.

One stomp, crushed to death!

One charge, smashed to death!

There was no blood, but the two little black creatures died miserably.

Watching the wild boar charge over while Yu Feng and Oslo were nowhere to be seen, Dugu Yan's gaze turned dark. "Where are they? They're just letting the wild boar charge at us like this?"

"They're coming, they're coming!" In the next second, a black shadow flashed past, and the charging wild boar immediately collapsed dead.

At the same time, a figure swooped down from the air and picked up the two flattened creatures from the ground. "Look, there are even two dead wild rabbits here."

Yu Feng appeared, holding two rabbits in one hand and a wild chicken in the other, with Oslo behind him dragging the wild boar.

"It's winter already. There wasn't much to find."

"Fine, this is already pretty good." Ouyang Ling glanced back, handed the barbecue he had chosen to the two of them, and gestured for them to toss the game onto the ground.

Then he casually grabbed the wild chicken and controlled ice and water elements to skin, clean, and wash it with the precision of a master butcher. In less than half a minute, he had perfectly prepared the chicken.

By then, the first batch of barbecue had almost been completely divided up.

Yu Tianheng said, "Ling, aren't you eating first?"

"I'll pass."

Ouyang Ling examined the wild chicken as various preparations flashed through his mind. "Let me think what to make with it."

"How can the one doing the work not get to eat?" Dugu Yan used two clean skewers to slide the grilled meat off one stick, then picked it up and brought it to Ouyang Ling's mouth. "I'll feed you."

Ouyang Ling did not stand on ceremony and took a bite.

He mumbled, "Thanks."

Yu Tianheng looked aggrieved. "..."

I'm suddenly a little jealous.

Seeing his expression, Dugu Yan giggled.

"Fine, then I'll feed you too. Ah—"

Then,

The young couple began feeding each other bite after bite.

Ouyang Ling decided that out of sight was out of mind and could not be bothered to pay attention to Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng openly flaunting their affection.

After marinating the whole chicken, he called over Oslo and Yu Feng, who had only managed a few bites before there was nothing left for them. "Leopard, Yu Feng, help dig up some dirt."

Oslo, Yu Feng: "..."

They had heard wrong, right?

Everyone else: "..."

Could dirt be eaten?

Seeing Ouyang Ling insist, Oslo and Yu Feng could only start digging. It had to be said, they were very fast.

As Ouyang Ling prepared things, he explained what beggar's chicken was. Then he lit a fire in the pit they had dug, tossed the wild chicken wrapped in mud into it, and continuously roasted it in the fire pit.

In any case, throughout the rest of the gathering, everyone ate to their hearts' content. Those who ate meat ate meat, and those who drank drank, all looking thoroughly happy.

The meal not only put smiles on everyone's faces, but also left them slightly tipsy. Just as they were preparing to lie down and rest for a while...

The lightly drunk Dugu Yan suddenly spoke.

"Little Ling."

"What is it?"

Ouyang Ling's eyes were slightly closed, and he did not open them.

"There's something I want to ask you."

"Ask away."

"Why do you call me Dugu?" Dugu Yan had already propped herself up on one arm and leaned against Yu Tianheng.

Ouyang Ling opened his eyes. "..."

What did she mean by that?

Seeing his gaze, Dugu Yan explained, "You only call me by my surname. It makes us seem distant."

"What else should I call you?"

Ouyang Ling sat up with a strange expression. "Should I call you Sister-in-law? Boss Lady? I can't bring myself to say that."

Dugu Yan: "..."

There was no need to call her that either.

"Actually, you can just call me Yanzi."

"No." Ouyang Ling rejected it immediately. "I think that way of calling you is a little too ambiguous. Just thinking about it makes it impossible for me to say."

Yu Tianheng, who had been eavesdropping: "..."

Everyone else, quietly gossiping: "..."

Ambiguous?

Now that he mentioned it, it really did sound that way.

"Huh!?"

Dugu Yan looked incredulous. "Just because of that?"

"What else? What did you think it was?" Ouyang Ling waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, it's not because we're distant. Besides, I'm already used to calling you Dugu."

"You're really willful, aren't you."

Dugu Yan grumbled inwardly.

Then she thought about it. Just lying here and resting was pretty boring. Why not use this buzz from the wine and finally take care of what they had agreed on last time?

Yes! That was it! She would do just that!

With that in mind, she got up and challenged him.

"Ling! Like we agreed before, let's fight!"

The moment Ouyang Ling heard that, his spirits lifted. What little drunkenness he had left vanished at once.

Perfect timing!

He had been worrying about when would be the right time to bring it up. Who would have thought the opportunity would come knocking on his door?

So he yanked off his cloak. "Come on!"