Chapter 204: Zhu Xiu Leaves

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Zhu Xiu Leaves

The large leaf slipped from Yan Lie’s hand and fell to the ground. He paid it no mind, just holding her tightly in his arms.

As much as he enjoyed being intimate with Wanwan, his greatest wish now was for her to get well soon.

Outside the stone house, twilight was deepening.

With his back to the stone wall, Xin Feng watched Zhu Xiu quietly. "The curse on you hasn’t been lifted. If anyone should go, it should be me."

Zhu Xiu turned his head, his crimson eyes glittering. "I’ve spent my life in the wild and I’ve been to a Super Tribe before. I’m the best choice to go."

He paused, then continued, "Besides... if the Dark Curse flares up while I’m here, I could easily hurt her and the cubs. I’ll only be at ease if you stay behind to take care of her."

Xin Feng frowned and reminded him, "You can’t just enter the territory near the Super Tribe. It will be dangerous, even for you."

Zhu Xiu knew that, of course. But the danger he was about to face was nothing compared to his fear of Wanwan falling unconscious again.

If one day she never woke up again, Zhu Xiu couldn’t bear to face that outcome.

"I’ll be careful."

At this point, Xin Feng knew Zhu Xiu’s decision was irreversible.

One of them had to go find the Ghost Orchid Grass.

Yan Lie had joined them more recently, so neither of them felt comfortable entrusting him with such an important task.

Zhu Xiu pondered for a moment. "If I’m not back and the situation changes, you decide whether or not to accept the Jin Cang Clan Leader’s conditions."

"Alright." Xin Feng’s voice was also heavy and strained.

In their hearts, Wanwan always came first. If accepting Jin Yi was the only way to cure her, they were both willing to compromise.

Zhu Xiu turned and looked toward the stone house. "I’m leaving now. I’ll try to be back as soon as possible."

"You’re not going to say goodbye to Wanwan?"

"No. It would only make her worry."

With that, Zhu Xiu offered no further farewells. He simply turned and vanished silently from the Golden Lion Tribe.

Xin Feng stood frozen, watching Zhu Xiu depart before he slowly began walking toward the stone house.

The house was silent. Even the cubs were quiet.

Xin Feng trod lightly and saw the cubs sprawled in a heap on the ground by the courtyard gate, sound asleep.

And on a lounge chair in the courtyard, Wanwan was dozing peacefully.

Hearing the noise, Yan Lie, who was fanning Bai Wanwan, looked up at him.

Xin Feng approached step by step, his gaze softening as he looked at Wanwan’s quiet, beautiful sleeping face.

He leaned in slightly, brushed a stray lock of hair from her cheek, and then gently caressed her smooth, pink-tinged face.

"Zhu Xiu has gone to find the Ghost Orchid Grass, so for now, it’s just us at home. You don’t need to worry about anything else. You must take good care of Wanwan. Can you do that?"

Only after he finished speaking did Xin Feng pull his gaze away from Bai Wanwan’s face and fix it on Yan Lie.

This was exactly the kind of task Yan Lie loved. He immediately gave his assurance, "Don’t worry. I’ll watch over Wanwan."

Xin Feng nodded. In his heart, he knew this task would be no challenge for Yan Lie whatsoever.

Even without being told, Yan Lie rarely strayed more than three steps from Wanwan’s side.

"Good. In that case, I’ll go prepare dinner."

*******

When Bai Wanwan awoke, the sky was already pitch-dark.

The aroma of food wafted through the room.

Yan Lie was still sitting patiently beside the lounge chair, gently fanning her.

Sensing Bai Wanwan stir, Yan Lie immediately leaned in close. "Are you awake? Let me help you up..."

Bai Wanwan mumbled a groggy reply and used his strength to sit up.

After a yawn, she lifted her eyelids to look at the male beside her. "You’ve been sitting here watching over me this whole time?"

She was stunned. ’He wasn’t just watching over me, it seems he’s been fanning me this whole time.’

Bai Wanwan’s feelings were complicated. ’Back in the modern world, how many men could do this?’

’Forget men, even I would have a hard time continuously doing something so tedious.’

Yan Lie smiled and nodded. He was actually a little disappointed that Wanwan had woken up so soon; he hadn’t gotten his fill of watching her beautiful, adorable face as she slept.

"I’m hungry."

Bai Wanwan rubbed her stomach and turned to put on her shoes.

The moment she had them on, Yan Lie scooped her up by the waist.

"I’ll carry you over to eat."

Bai Wanwan patted his shoulder and said, annoyed, "Am I so fragile that I’m helpless? I can walk on my own."

But Yan Lie only held her tighter. "But I want to carry you. You can walk by yourself when I’m not around."

’What a rare opportunity! With Zhu Xiu gone and Xin Feng never fighting him for her attention, he could be as close and affectionate with Wanwan as he wanted. Heaven knows how happy that made him.’

Besides, after what happened last time, he was also worried she might accidentally faint again and hurt herself in a fall.

After she fell asleep, he had already checked on her carefully several times.

He only began to relax after confirming that her breathing was steady and her temperature was normal.

Although Bai Wanwan’s household and Shi Hua’s group lived together, a courtyard separated them, and both sides had their own doors for coming and going.

If there was no particular reason, they could go about their business without disturbing one another.

Just as Yan Lie set Bai Wanwan down on a stone stool, Xin Feng finished grilling the fish fillets.

He turned his head and said gently to Bai Wanwan, "Wanwan, just sit tight. It’ll be ready in a moment."

"Mm, as the freeloader here, I’m in no rush. Take your time."

A moment later, Xin Feng placed a plate of fragrant grilled fish fillets in front of Bai Wanwan.

"It smells amazing!"

Bai Wanwan picked up her chopsticks, smiling as she was about to grab a piece of fish, but she suddenly realized something was wrong.

She paused her chopsticks and looked around the room, but didn’t see a trace of Zhu Xiu.

She looked up at Xin Feng, puzzled. "It’s so late. Why isn’t Zhu Xiu around?"

Xin Feng had never intended to hide it from her. He sat down beside her, placing a piece of roasted potato on her plate.

As he helped her with her meal, he answered, "Zhu Xiu left this afternoon."

"Left?" Bai Wanwan frowned as a sudden realization hit her. "He... went to find the Ghost Orchid Grass for me, didn’t he?"

"Yes. Zhu Xiu wants you to recover as soon as possible so we can all be at ease. He also didn’t want you to have to accept a male you don’t like."

Bai Wanwan bit her lip. "He left without even telling me. The Jin Cang Clan Leader said the Ghost Orchid Grass grows near the Super Tribe and is guarded by them. He said it would be very difficult to get."

Seeing how anxious Bai Wanwan was, Xin Feng comforted her, "Wanwan... Zhu Xiu knows all that. He won’t put himself in danger. After all, he still has to bring the Ghost Orchid Grass back for you."

"But he hasn’t even dealt with his own problems..."

The more Bai Wanwan thought about it, the more worried she grew, becoming annoyed at having been saddled with this troublesome body from the original owner.

She even had a vague feeling that the original owner’s problems might not be limited to just the poisoning.

But she didn’t want to dwell on it right now.

’After all, I’m not the original owner. As long as trouble doesn’t come looking for me, I don’t want to invite it by worrying needlessly.’

Because of Zhu Xiu’s departure, Bai Wanwan really had no appetite.

Seeing her like this, the two males took turns feeding her mouthful by mouthful, and Bai Wanwan finally managed to eat a little.

For two days straight, Bai Wanwan remained listless, and she even grew visibly thinner.