Free Web NovelChapter 2158: Chapter 195: Better Than Hunger
The young masters were dumbfounded; the aroma was so alluring, and they could see how intoxicated Herr Ningshuang and others were while eating the meat. But the meat was grilled by Ding Fan, and if he didn’t invite them over, they couldn’t very well go over and shamelessly ask for some, could they?
Having eaten dry rations for days, their stomachs were already uncomfortable, and now they had no defense whatsoever against the taste of cooked meat. Yet, none of them could bear to lower their dignity; they came from prestigious families or powerful factions and were proud of their status from their very bones.
"Delicious, Ding Fan, your skills are impressive!"
Herr Ningshuang finished a slice of meat and couldn’t help but praise. Normally calm, she now couldn’t resist reaching out and saying, "I want some more."
Ding Fan smiled and cut her a piece. On the other side, Herr Rufeng had already finished and shouted, "Ding Fan, give me another piece. Your barbecue is better than our Herr Family’s chefs. Stop being an Island Master and come cook for our family instead."
A black line crossed Ding Fan’s face, but he wasn’t too upset with Herr Rufeng; she was a spoiled child but not fundamentally bad.
"Young Master Ding, can I have another piece?" Xu Xingying hadn’t had her fill and looked at Ding Fan with a pitiful expression.
The eyes of those young masters were glued here; the large deer was half-eaten, and if they didn’t come over, there would likely be only bones left for them to gnaw on.
"Ahem~"
Herr Liyan gently coughed, waking Herr Ningshuang from her trance. She glanced over, and the group of young masters turned their heads, pretending to admire the scenery.
"Hehe..."
Herr Ningshuang chuckled, a smile on her face: "Ding Fan, can you share some with them?"
Looking at Herr Ningshuang’s charming smile, Ding Fan couldn’t help but nod. Herr Ningshuang waved her hand, saying, "You young masters come and try it; Ding Fan’s culinary skills are absolutely unique."
"Really? Then I want to give it a try."
Herr Liyan smiled and walked over. The other boys stopped holding back and gathered around, quickly finishing off the remaining deer meat.
"It’s just okay, nothing special."
A young master, mouth full of grease, commented dismissively.
Ding Fan shot a cold glance over, and the young master immediately retreated with his meat, as if afraid Ding Fan might snatch it away.
After eating their fill, Herr Liyan and the others explored the valley, confirmed it safe, and a group went to sleep. The young girls headed to a small grove, spreading fabric to make a simple tent.
The boys kept it simple, finding some wild grass and large leaves to bed down on.
Ding Fan reached the edge of the valley, used the newly forged Heaven Measuring Ruler to chop down some large trees, took out some ropes from his Space Ring, and within half an hour, built a small cabin. This cabin was simple, with just one bed, but much better than where others were sleeping.
All this effort to build this simple wooden house wasn’t just for comfortable sleep but also for concealment.
Inside, he took out the two treasures from before, deciding it was a good time to examine them since no one would disturb him now.
He picked up the Space Ring and directly refined it with his Divine Sense, only to be greatly disappointed. The Space Ring was empty; it was just a Space Ring and nothing more.
However, thinking it over, Ding Fan felt relieved. Treasures found earlier wouldn’t be too significant; a Space Ring worth ten million Black Obsidian was decent enough.
Ding Fan took out the manuscript and looked at it, frowning because it was not written in the current script but in ancient text, similar to the type on the Ye Family’s Ancestral Stele in the other world, which Ding Fan couldn’t read at all.
"Need to have Mu Gaosou take a good look after going back."
After a few glances, Ding Fan put it away, sat for a while, and then fell asleep on the bed.
"Bang..."
Just after sleeping for a while, Ding Fan felt the small house being kicked a few times. His eyes suddenly opened, True Yuan surged within him, and he stared outside.
The small house was not tall, and the door was tiny. Ding Fan could only see a woman in a green skirt and white jacket, her head out of sight.
Stooping, he walked out and saw a pretty little face, somewhat incredulous, asking, "Miss Rufeng, why are you not sleeping and kicking my house? Are you looking to sleep with me?"
"Pshaw!"
It was indeed Herr Rufeng; if it were Herr Ningshuang, she wouldn’t be so rude. Herr Rufeng blushed, spat lightly, and stared at Ding Fan, saying, "Ding Fan, how dare you insult me? Do you believe I won’t cut out your tongue?"
Ding Fan was sleeping comfortably but had no time to mess around with Herr Rufeng. He waved his hand and said, "Just say what you want; I’m still sleeping."
"Humph!"
Herr Rufeng huffed a few times, somewhat embarrassed: "My sister said the ground is uneven and full of ants, making it uncomfortable to sleep. So...we’d like to borrow your little house to sleep, Ding Fan; you’re a man, sleeping outside won’t matter."
"Your sister?" Ding Fan turned around, rolling his eyes. Herr Ningshuang would never make such an unreasonable request, and calling it borrowing? It was clearly an attempt to take over.
Ding Fan wasn’t buying it and replied, "Let Miss Rufeng come; if she says borrow, I’ll lend it to you. I can’t negotiate this with you."
With that, Ding Fan went back into his cabin. Herr Rufeng glared at Ding Fan’s back, tears welling in her eyes, and ran to the other side of the grove.
Ding Fan didn’t care about her at all. He wasn’t a Herr Family member, so why should he give her, Herr Ningshuang, any face?
If her attitude had been more polite, it would have been easier, but it was obvious that Herr Ningshuang was the one asking him for help, yet she still acted like she was doing him a favor. Ding Fan didn’t have the patience for such nonsense.
More importantly, Ding Fan was extremely tired, and he couldn’t care less whether Herr Ningshuang lived or died. At this moment, he didn’t want to think about anything and fell asleep with his eyes closed.
After six or seven hours of sleep, Ding Fan opened his eyes, feeling refreshed. He walked out, stretched lazily, glanced around, and saw a few boys on the left building wooden houses.
However, freeweɓnovel.cøm
The boys had never done anything like this before. They didn’t know the ropes, and without ropes, they found some grass vines and were diligently trying to build wooden houses.
Sister Rufeng was nearby, along with a few other ladies. Sister Rufeng was directing a group of young masters. She noticed Ding Fan standing up, gave him a fierce look, and then proudly gazed at the wooden house that was about to take shape, as if silently telling Ding Fan that they could build a wooden house too.
Ding Fan looked at them, smiled, said nothing, and waved to call out Sirius as they walked towards the pool.
By the pool, Ding Fan saw that there weren’t many people around. He took off his clothes and jumped into the pool, with Sirius happily plunging into the water too.
It had been a long time since he had a bath, and Ding Fan felt rather uncomfortable. This pool had fresh water flowing into it from a corner of the valley, so there was no concern about dirtying the water.
After bathing, Ding Fan sprang out, went to the woods to change into a clean robe, and walked towards the distant crowd with composure.
Sister Rufeng and Herr Liyan’s group were over there. When they saw Ding Fan coming, Sister Rufeng nodded with a smile, and Herr Liyan’s group also greeted him.
Ding Fan walked over and asked Ningshuang, "Miss Ningshuang, when are we setting off?"
At this point, Sister Rufeng frowned, and Herr Liyan’s group let out a slight sigh. A young master explained, "We can’t leave for the time being. We also can’t break the prohibition on the door, and we haven’t found an exit or mechanism yet."
"Can’t open the door? No exit or mechanism?"
Ding Fan glanced around, saw the steep cliff wall, and asked them, "Can’t we use Martial Grade items to insert into the cliff and climb up to take a look?"
Ningshuang shook her head and said, "The prohibitions on the cliff can’t be broken. You don’t have to worry either; there are so many small animals here, and the pond has plenty of fish, enough to feed us for more than half a year. There must be a way out. Let’s just take our time to find it."
Ding Fan nodded. The Night Wolf Emperor wouldn’t create a dead end. As long as they didn’t starve, they would eventually find a way out.
"Squeak, squeak."
While they were chatting, a door at the foot of the mountain suddenly opened, and several figures rushed out. Ding Fan and the others instantly tensed up, looking like they encountered a great enemy. After a few glances, Herr Liyan relaxed and said, "It’s Zhao Xiner from the Divine Heaven Country, they’ve also come over."
"Divine Heaven Country"?
The ring on Ding Fan’s hand flashed. He took out the Ghost Mask and put it on, then said in a low voice, "Everyone, listen carefully. I have an enemy in the Divine Heaven Country. From now on, please don’t call me Ding Fan; just call me Island Master Ding."
Ningshuang looked into the distance and couldn’t help but disdainfully say to Ding Fan, "Ding Fan, we’re here, so what are you afraid of? If he dares to mess around, he has to ask if we’re okay with it first."
Herr Liyan also nodded and said, "There are a dozen or so Third Level Divine Realm experts in Divine Heaven Country. If they dare to cause trouble, we’ll fight them."
Ding Fan gratefully bowed to the two, but he didn’t take off the mask anyway. Staying low-key was always safer.
A group of people rushed out from the other side, and the door closed. Zhao Xiner, seeing the people from Tianmu Sea, surprisingly appeared delighted as over twenty people approached in a flurry.
"Sister!"
Sister Rufeng and those around her quickly gathered around Ningshuang to avoid conflict. Ningshuang stood silently, her expression calm and unruffled, like the still water in the pool.
Zhao Xiner quickly brought her people over, and Ding Fan and the others glanced and all laughed.
Zhao Xiner’s group seemed to have suffered a lot in the maze, all looking weary, with sallow and thin faces, their clothes and hair in a disheveled mess, and many were yawning.
Zhao Xiner’s state was relatively better. She managed to pull herself together and respectfully greeted Sister Rufeng and Ningshuang in a low voice, "Zhao Xiner pays respect to Sister Ningshuang and greets Sister Rufeng, and all the young masters."
Sister Rufeng slightly nodded and returned the courtesy, "Hello, Sister Xiner, you seem to have had a hard time, but being able to walk out of the maze is lucky. You should take your people to rest well."
Zhao Xiner took her people and left, heading towards the pool. After they left, Herr Liyan’s lips curled into a mocking smile, and he whispered in Ding Fan’s ear, "They have two Third Level Elementary Stage experts, one is Zhao Xiner, and the other is Zhong Wugu. They only have eleven Third Level Elementary Stage experts. If we want to deal with them, they wouldn’t be a match for us."
"Zhong Wugu?" Ding Fan squinted his eyes and said in a low voice, "So the Zhong Family really did send someone!"
The valley was large, about seven or eight miles in circumference, and surrounded by cliffs like mirrors. The sky was always bright, obviously due to prohibitions. There were many animals, and the pond was full of fish. The resources could feed Tianmu Sea’s people for half a year, so they weren’t worried about starving to death.
But with Zhao Xiner’s group arriving, half of these resources would need to be shared. If the other two teams also showed up, food would become scarce.
Thus, Sister Rufeng immediately ordered Herr Liyan to lead most of the people to search for exits and see if there were any mechanisms.
Sister Rufeng and a few ladies went to assist Ding Fan, preparing to roast meat to have some barbecue handy for emergencies.
The space ring could store food, the barbecue could last for a month, and while the taste might not be great, it was much better than hunger.
