Chu Xiu looked at Qian Renxue in surprise. He had never expected this woman to take the initiative to chat with him.
His gaze made Qian Renxue a little embarrassed. She lowered her head and looked away. "Don't misunderstand. I just wanted someone to talk to, and to ask you a few things while I was at it."
"Sure."
Chu Xiu sat back down, and Qian Renxue walked over to sit shoulder to shoulder with him beside the fire.
"You've probably guessed it too, haven't you?"
Qian Renxue suddenly made this cryptic remark, then looked at Chu Xiu and asked, "This place is no longer on the continent. It might not even be in our world."
Chu Xiu did not answer. Instead, he asked:
"Why do you say that?"
Qian Renxue stared into his eyes, but could not glean anything from them.
She sighed softly and said:
"That pig-like spirit beast you killed yesterday was actually a soul master's mutated martial soul."
"A mutated martial soul?"
Chu Xiu feigned belated realization and asked in surprise, "How could a mutated martial soul appear here? And turn into a spirit beast? Martial souls and spirit beasts aren't the same thing at all, are they?"
"Of course they aren't. Besides, a mutated martial soul is unique, and the same goes for mutated spirit beasts."
At this point, Qian Renxue let out another long sigh.
Chu Xiu picked up where she left off. "So, logically speaking, it should be impossible for a spirit beast identical to that soul master's martial soul to appear here."
"But since the two look alike, there must be some connection between them."
"Even so, how can you conclude that this place is no longer on the Douluo Continent?"
"It's only a suspicion. I can't be certain." Qian Renxue shook her head, then added, "But it's very likely."
The appearance of Luo Sanpao, along with this place's suppression of martial souls.
Both made Qian Renxue suspect that this place was no longer on the Douluo Continent.
It was either an isolated island rarely visited by humans, or some special space similar to the Divine Realm.
Qian Renxue leaned more toward the latter possibility.
She suspected that some god had pulled her into the Divine Realm. Since the power there existed on a higher level, it suppressed her martial soul and soul power, leaving an ordinary mortal like her unable to use them.
That would also explain why she had suddenly appeared here.
It was that god's twisted sense of fun.
He or she had gathered her and several of the continent's exceptionally gifted young women together to survive alongside an unknown man.
The god must have been treating this as a game, or a live reality show.
Perhaps he or she had been watching their every move over the past few days.
The feeling of being watched made Qian Renxue deeply uncomfortable.
But she was powerless to do anything about it.
"Ah... forget it. Go get some sleep."
Qian Renxue sighed deeply.
She had thought Chu Xiu was an exceptional talent with an extraordinary background, just like the rest of them, but judging by his performance tonight, he probably was not much better than her.
If she wanted to oppose a god, she would have to plan for the long term.
[Qian Renxue regards you as a comrade-in-arms. Bond value +10] [Current bond value: 35]
Chu Xiu rejoiced inwardly. He had never expected that merely chatting with Qian Renxue would earn him ten bond points.
If he shared some genuinely useful information with her, would her bond value rise even further?
"Since we're already here, we might as well make peace with it. Don't let your thoughts run wild over things you have no clues about."
Chu Xiu stood up, but ultimately said nothing more.
Qian Renxue was too clever. Chu Xiu feared that loose lips would sink ships. If she discovered that he was the true mastermind behind the Deserted Island, winning her over would probably become difficult.
"Since we're already here, we might as well make peace with it?"
Qian Renxue carefully pondered Chu Xiu's words, and her tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
That's right. Since I've already been brought here, what use is overthinking it?
I might as well focus on staying alive and make plans once I've grown stronger.
[Qian Renxue has developed a favorable impression of you. Bond value +5] [Current bond value: 40 points.]
Woohoo!
Another five points.
Delighted, Chu Xiu walked over to where Qian Renxue had been lying earlier and lay down, drifting into a deep sleep with her lingering scent in his nose.
Over the next few days, the work was simple and monotonous.
Chu Xiu continued digging, Qian Renxue continued making more earthen bricks, and Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong used leaves to carry the soil outside.
Ah Yin, however, was sent out to find wild vegetables.
Most of the wild vegetables nearby were bitter. Only the mild bitterness of young dandelion shoots was tolerable to everyone, but fortunately, the forest held plenty of other wild vegetables.
Chilies, mushrooms, lamb's quarters, Chinese toon shoots, fish mint, fiddlehead ferns...
They gathered not only wild vegetables, but also plenty of seasonings such as chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cumin.
With these ingredients, Chu Xiu and the others' quality of life rose several notches at once.
Seven days later.
Chu Xiu wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath of relief. "It's finally finished."
Before him and the girls stood a cave with seven rooms in total, its main structure consisting of two large rooms and three small ones.
The three small rooms served as bedrooms for the five of them: one for Chu Xiu alone, one for Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong, and one for Ah Yin and Ning Rongrong.
The two large rooms were front and rear halls connecting the three smaller rooms.
The kitchen was in the front hall. Heat from the cooking fire would be drawn directly into a flue built from earthen bricks, then channeled into the three small bedrooms. Each bedroom contained a heated brick bed. The hot air would pass through these beds, then converge in the rear hall and escape through a vent.
This would keep the entire cave dry and warm.
"What a luxurious cave! Chu Xiu, you're amazing," Shui Bing'er praised him sincerely.
"I never knew you were so handy."
Ning Rongrong was also beaming with delight.
"The design of these heated earthen beds is ingenious. It only takes a minimal fire to keep the entire cave warm and dry."
Ah Yin looked at Chu Xiu with some surprise.
She had once thought Chu Xiu was a demon with a hypocritical exterior and an evil heart.
But after living together for so many days, she realized that her preconceived view of him had been far too one-sided.
He really was wicked at times, and particularly domineering and rough, with what seemed to be some peculiar, perverted fetishes.
But she had to admit.
He had many redeeming qualities in other respects.
This cave, for instance, was cleverly designed. She had never encountered anything like it during her time in the human world, yet he had accomplished it almost single-handedly.
[Qian Renxue acknowledges your abilities. Bond value +10] [Current bond value: 50 points.] [Shui Bing'er's dependence on you has deepened. Bond value +5] [Current bond value: 95 points.] [Ah Yin's impression of you has improved somewhat. Bond value +2] [Current bond value: 3 points.]
Listening to the succession of notifications in his mind, Chu Xiu nearly grinned from ear to ear.
Qian Renxue's bond value had finally reached the halfway mark. The future looked promising.
Shui Bing'er's had already reached 95 points. With just a little more effort, his second soul ring would be beckoning to him.
As for Ah Yin.
That little hussy. Her impression of me improved, and I only got two bond points? Giving her Q coins last time earned me one point already.
Chu Xiu smacked his lips, thinking resentfully.
The past few days had been hard work. Now that everything was finally finished, it was time to turn up the intensity for Ah Yin too.
Before you continue