Chapter Thirty-Two: The Final Mountain and the Vast Sea

The little mountain broke off in fits and starts, then rolled his eyes and immediately felt sick to his stomach. Just the image of a snake’s head, then the image of the snake’s gallbladder, turned his gorge. A bitter burp rose from his belly, and he hurriedly clutched his stomach, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He shot a sidelong glance at Ruoxi, who was clearly enjoying his misery, his face full of reluctance.

Even if you fed me the snake gallbladder to save me, it would still have been enough to tell me afterward. There was no need to say it out loud.

Now he did not even feel hungry anymore. He did not want to eat a thing, and his whole body felt weak.

“Hey, Little Mountain, let’s go see what the senior is making! It looks so fragrant!” Ruoxi said, her curiosity piqued as she looked ahead. Just then, her stomach growled at the most awkward moment.

She stuck out her tongue and licked around her lips, then touched her own stomach and smiled at Little Mountain in embarrassment.

“Do you think I can even stand up?” Little Mountain asked irritably.

“How could you not stand? Didn’t you eat the snake gallbladder? And the senior already treated you, too. The snake only bit your shoulder, so why wouldn’t you be able to stand?” Ruoxi asked innocently, one hand on her lips.

“The snake had no venom! If I’d been poisoned, wouldn’t I be weak all over?” Little Mountain said with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh! Then rest for a bit. I’m going to see what he’s doing!” Tempted by the fragrance, Ruoxi gave a playful eye-roll and hurried eagerly toward the senior she had been talking about.

“So cute!” Little Mountain could not help smiling after her retreating figure. He rubbed his shoulder and sighed.

...

“Senior! What are you doing? It smells amazing!” Ruoxi asked, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.

Before her stood a rack, and on it blazed strips of crimson flame. In an instant, the flames thinned and faded before the eye could follow, revealing the snake meat beneath. It had turned a golden hue, and drop after drop of amber liquid dripped from it into a round vessel below.

Golden patterns glowed around the vessel. Then, when the final drop fell inside, a mist suddenly rose up in a white plume.

Like water coming to a boil, the golden patterns on the black vessel immediately faded away, revealing a pitted, cylindrical object worn shabby by the erosion of time.

The senior’s mouth filled with saliva at once. He extended a hand to catch it, then wiped it on his clothes.

“Senior! Senior!” Ruoxi waved her small hand in front of his eyes, trying to see whether he had truly been dumbstruck.

“Huh? ... You came over already?” The senior blinked, looking startled.

“Don’t people online say the higher and colder someone seems, the stronger they are, and that they radiate such an aura nobody dares approach? Why is it the opposite when it comes to you?” The senior stared at Ruoxi, mouth slightly open in confusion.

“How can you trust what you read online? Just tell me—are you roasting snake meat? Can it be eaten? Is it good?” Ruoxi crouched beside him and ignored his words. She was starving now, starving beyond reason.

“How could it not be? I even saw him standing on a cliff with his back turned, one hand on his sword, with crowds worshipping below him and that overwhelming aura and all that!!!”

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“Did I learn it wrong after all?” The senior went on muttering to himself, entirely ignoring everything else as he scratched his head.

Ruoxi could not help laughing at that. In the stories, the person stood on a cliff with his back turned and a sword in hand, giving off the lonely chill of one who stands above the heights. Just hearing it painted a vivid picture.

He was clearly a goofball. Sitting here and pretending to be aloof—did he really think that was enough? That still required acting skill.

Ruoxi covered her mouth and secretly giggled, only to be caught by the senior, who asked,

“Am I really doing it wrong?”

A goofball could never pretend to be cool. Of course, she could never say that to his face; she could only think it silently.

“You don’t look the part. If you want to be like that, you have to keep a straight face with no expression. First of all, you need to learn how not to drool!”

“Not drool!” The senior looked up and thought about it for a moment, then planted his hands on his hips in indignation. As a grown man, he had actually been mocked by a child for drooling. His face reddened, and he quickly tried to change the subject.

“Why are you so close to me? Keep your distance. What are you plotting, hmm?”

“Didn’t I just say it? You were thinking about something else!” Ruoxi was still grinning at him.

“Say that again!” The senior’s old face reddened, and his voice rose unconsciously.

“I said—are you making snake meat? Can it be eaten? Is it good?” Ruoxi repeated, word for word, pausing after each syllable.

“Yes, it can be eaten! As for whether it tastes good, try it and you’ll know!” Seeing Ruoxi looking so pitiful, the senior could not bear to refuse her and agreed.

“Mmm!! Delicious~~~~ Delicious!!” Ruoxi had had not even a drop of water since yesterday afternoon. Her stomach had long since been growling in protest, and now that there was food, she devoured it in a panic.

“Is it really that good?” Little Mountain could not help being drawn over by the fragrance as well. Seeing Ruoxi stuffing her face bite after bite, even the nausea was forced down, and his appetite began to stir.

“Delicious...!” Ruoxi mumbled through a mouthful of food.

“Senior! I’ll have a little too,” Little Mountain said weakly.

“Go ahead!” The senior’s voice immediately softened a great deal. After all, if he had let her eat it, he could hardly be stingy and stop him from eating as well.

Besides, there was a lot of meat on a snake. More than enough for everyone.

“Thank you, senior!” Little Mountain smiled at once, relieved, and took a piece of snake meat to eat.

The golden snake meat was tender and delicate, not greasy at all. Whether because of what had been added or because the snake itself was so, it melted in the mouth.

It was simply too delicious.

Before long, Ruoxi had finished a large piece, then quickly took another and shoved it into her mouth, her small cheeks instantly stuffed full.

No, I have to eat faster too, or there won’t be any left! They’re all a pack of hungry wolves!!!

The senior sighed as he looked at the snake meat he had prepared.

In no time at all, the five- or six-jin portion of snake meat had been devoured by the three of them.

Ruoxi wiped her mouth, then used a leaf beside her to wipe her hands, looking utterly content and satisfied.

“Thank you for the meal, senior! It was delicious! I’ve never had anything this tasty before,” Little Mountain said with a smile.

“Young man, what is your name?” the senior asked with a sigh.

“My name?” Little Mountain pointed to himself.

“Is there anyone else here?”

“My name is Little Mountain.”

“That’s a nickname?” the senior asked.

“That’s my name! Ruoxi gave it to me!” Little Mountain said, glancing at Ruoxi. He did not know why the senior was asking his name, so he could only answer honestly.

He did not ask why Ruoxi had given him a name, nor why his parents had not given him one. In a way, that too was a sign of trust.

“In this apocalyptic age, only the strong can protect themselves.”

“Why not call you End Mountain? ... End times, mountains and rivers.

“When the end comes, I hope you can protect yourself and also protect others, protect the mountains and rivers of our homeland,” the senior said gravely.

“How about it?”

“End Mountain pays his respects to Senior. May I ask your honored name?” After thinking it over, End Mountain felt that it would be shameful not to know the name of the one who had saved his life.

“It has been many years since anyone called me by my name,” the senior said, his voice seeming to drift from far, far away, carrying the weariness of ages.

“My name is Azure Sea.”