Not Even Fully Grown, and Already Building a Grass Hut

Qian Renxue's merciless teasing left Ning Rongrong so angry her mouth twisted.

She wanted to rush out and argue, but feared exposing even more. So she stayed behind the tree, waving her arms as she shouted:

"You nasty old woman! You're the one he's already seen naked!"

"What did you say?"

Qian Renxue's face went cold. "Who are you calling an old woman?"

No matter how powerful a woman was, her age was still a sore spot.

Seeing that she'd struck a nerve, Ning Rongrong grew smug.

"Can't you understand plain speech? I called you an old woman. Is there anyone older than you here?"

"I'm mature," Qian Renxue retorted.

Ning Rongrong burst out laughing. "Don't make me laugh! You've got to be at least thirty-something. You'll have wrinkles in a few years. If that doesn't make you an old woman, what does?"

Qian Renxue was only twenty-six, still years away from thirty.

Besides, powerful Soul Masters like her looked younger than they were. People would have believed she was twenty.

"All right, enough. Why are you two fighting again?"

Shui Bing'er hurried to smooth things over. "Rongrong's still young, Sister Xue. Don't take her words to heart."

Qian Renxue hadn't revealed who she was. When she introduced herself earlier, she'd only said she belonged to Spirit Hall and went by Xiao Xue.

She'd spent years undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire. Apart from Qian Daoliu, almost no one knew what she originally looked like, so hiding her identity was easy.

Qian Renxue was tired from walking through the woods. Swallowing her anger, she said, "You're just a little girl who hasn't even grown up yet. I won't stoop to your level."

"Heh. Maybe you're the one who hasn't grown anything yet," Ning Rongrong said with a giggle.

"Shut up."

Qian Renxue flushed and snapped, "I was born that way! Forget it. Why am I explaining myself to you?"

The more Qian Renxue tried to explain, the redder her face grew.

Luckily, Chu Xiu hadn't turned around. Otherwise, she would have been even more mortified.

Chu Xiu was itching with curiosity. Those few fleeting glimpses had been too brief; he really hadn't noticed exactly what Qian Renxue was like.

Next chance I get, I'll take a proper look, Chu Xiu thought.

He kept his face composed and called toward the edge of the woods, "Ning Rongrong, we're coming out. Make sure you're hidden. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I know. Don't you dare peek on purpose, or you'll regret it."

My strength has doubled now, Chu Xiu thought. Who'd make whom regret it?

The three came out of the woods. Ning Rongrong circled the tree and slipped behind Chu Xiu, staying out of his sight.

Back when Qian Renxue had been posing as Xue Qinghe, she hadn't realized Ning Rongrong was this irritating.

Now, just seeing her was enough to put Qian Renxue in a bad mood.

Ning Rongrong wasn't one to back down, either. She said nothing more, but every look she gave Qian Renxue was a challenge.

"That's enough, Rongrong. Give it a rest. Sister Xue and I are exhausted. Come help carry something," Shui Bing'er said weakly.

Without their martial souls or Soul Power, they were scarcely stronger than ordinary young women.

Ning Rongrong stepped forward and took several Water-Storage Vines from her arms. "Sister Bing'er, why did you bring these vines back?"

As they walked, Shui Bing'er smiled. "Bite one and give it a chew."

"Ugh!"

Ning Rongrong recoiled. "It looks disgusting. I'm not eating that."

"Suit yourself."

Qian Renxue couldn't resist a jab. "You don't do any work, and you can't even make yourself pleasant to be around. A useless person like you can die of thirst for all I care."

Ning Rongrong glared. "Who are you calling useless?"

"You know who you are."

With that, Qian Renxue kept walking.

Ning Rongrong tried to chase after her and argue, but Shui Bing'er caught her arm. "Rongrong, stop it. There's water inside these vines. Look how cracked your lips are. Chew a little first."

"There's water in these vines?"

Ning Rongrong clearly didn't believe her, though she was desperately thirsty.

A little water had collected in the Freshwater Extraction Pit, but it belonged to all of them. Ning Rongrong might have had the temper of a spoiled young lady, yet she couldn't bring herself to sneak off and drink everyone's water.

Outside the woods, the sun was fierce, the heat oppressive, and the air dry.

Ning Rongrong had been parched for ages. That was why she'd been pacing back and forth outside the woods.

She looked at the ugly vine in her hand, gritted her teeth, then squeezed her eyes shut and stuffed it into her mouth. She chewed hard.

"Huh? There really is water!"

After only a couple of chews, the moisture inside the vine took Ning Rongrong by surprise.

It looked like an ordinary vine, yet one bite yielded nearly half a mouthful of water.

It was slightly bitter, but still much better than tea. Ning Rongrong took another seven or eight bites before wiping her mouth in satisfaction.

"This is great, Sister Bing'er! Where did you find such wonderful vines?"

Shui Bing'er smiled like a kindly older sister. "Chu Xiu found them. He found the fruit and fruit wine, too, and told us to bring back the sticks and leaves."

As she spoke, Shui Bing'er looked toward Chu Xiu ahead of them.

Without him, she could have wandered the woods all day and never realized how useful those plants could be.

Who knew this guy could be so useful? Since he's done so much, I'll let what happened earlier go for now.

Ning Rongrong still felt a little uncomfortable, but it had already happened. Nothing she said now could undo it.

Besides, he'd seen Sister Bing'er and that old woman too.

Knowing they were in the same boat made Ning Rongrong feel much better.

At the reservoir, Chu Xiu set everything down. His increased strength had improved his endurance as well, so the walk back had barely tired him.

Qian Renxue, who had followed behind him the whole way, set down the fruit wine and bags of leaves she carried, then asked:

"What do we do next?"

"Build a shelter," Chu Xiu replied without hesitation.

"Build a shelter?"

Qian Renxue froze. How could they manage that with no tools?

What would they build it with?

"Not a proper house, of course."

As Chu Xiu sorted their supplies, he explained, "I'll make a frame from branches, then use vines and leaves for the roof. If we can find some straw to lay under the leaves as insulation, even better."

By then, Shui Bing'er and Ning Rongrong had caught up.

"I know where there's some straw," Ning Rongrong said. "Not far over there."

She pointed, then remembered Chu Xiu couldn't turn around whenever he liked.

She quickly added, "Outside the woods, behind you and to your right."

Chu Xiu slowly turned and looked back to his right.

Sure enough, he spotted some grasses at the edge of the woods.