Free Web NovelChapter 24: Chapter 24: Hunting for Food
Ye Lingyue stiffened, her hand was ready to pull the hallucinogen powder from her pocket, preparing herself to turn around at any moment to face the person grabbing her.
She guessed it was some imperial guards who had happened to pass by and caught her.
Right at the moment she tried to use the hallucinogen powder, the person grabbed her hand as if he had expected it.
"Yue’er..." A familiar voice rang to her ears like a devil. In a low tone, he continued, "Where are you going?"
Ye Lingyue swallowed as she flipped around to face him, her smile forced. "Hello, Third Brother. Why are you still awake at such a late night?"
It was her twin brother again.
Sometimes, she would think that he had the power to see the future. It seemed that he always caught her sneaking around.
"I... I just want some fresh air," she told him and smiled innocently.
"Really?" He had a meaningful smile on his face. "Yue’er is going to go back to the carriage now?"
Ye Lingyue now wondered whether he noticed it when she sneaked out in the night.
They would rotate the male family members who would sleep in the carriage, and she did sneak out a lot when it was his turn. Most of the time, she thought he already slept like a log, but it seemed it wasn’t the case.
"Come on. Brother is going to watch over you so you won’t stumble on the way," he added in a gentle tone.
Her smile turned ugly, and she was a little annoyed. Isn’t this practically forcing her to confess?
Even if she tried to sneak out again, it wouldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be keeping watch outside the carriage. Ye Lanxi also might hear her and wake up.
After all, he almost caught her a few times before and watched her like a hawk. Then, she had to try to sleep under such pressure.
It was truly too agonizing just by thinking she would experience it again.
Ye Lingyue grabbed her twin brother’s arm and looked around to make sure it was safe. She whispered in his ears. "Third Brother, I am hungry. I want to go... hunting."
A helpless sigh escaped his lips. "How many times have you sneak out before?"
She became a little proud, counting with her fingers and grinned. "One, two? Oh no, it’s probably five."
Seeing he had softened his face, Ye Lingyue decided to risk it. "Don’t tell anyone, alright? I will make sure to bring something delicious for you too."
She was already prepared to jump and ran toward the forest, excited for the meat she had been craving. In her small storage space, she already had a bow and a few arrows ready.
Ye Lingrui suddenly grabbed her before she could run to the forest. "Bring me along."
Her eyes widened, thinking she heard it wrong. "Third Brother?"
Bringing her elegant third brother along? She was worried since he looked like a young master who had never suffered. In the forest-like area, they would meet a lot of insects or even encounter difficult roads.
However... soon, Ye Lingyue fell silent.
Reality had slapped her.
Ye Lingrui was really good at direction, and the path he took wasn’t as difficult as the one she had gone through before.
"Third Brother, have you visited this forest before?" She subconsciously asked.
Even so, it was still night time. Their eyesight range was still limited to the area illuminated by their oil lamp.
Every time they camped near the night market, Ye Lingyue would sneak out to buy necessities she had forgotten to bring. Now, she was truly penniless... unless she could sell the jewellry in her space.
"No." Ye Lingrui shook his head.
She raised her brows in puzzlement. "Then, how come you seem so familiar with it?"
"Intuition," he answered calmly.
Ye Lingyue pursed her lips. If they had just met, she wouldn’t have thought he was speaking nonsense, but after spending some time with him, she didn’t think he was lying.
Even though he was holding some of her secrets, he never did anything to hurt her. Among the new people she knew in the Ye family, he was the most trustworthy.
"Alright..." A cunning look flashed in her eyes. "Can you use your intuition to find some wild chicken or rabbit?"
She was determined to use her twin brother’s radar-like ability.
Upon hearing her challenge, he lifted his eyebrows, smiling as he said, "of course."
With that, the two walked through the forest. Ye Lingrui would occasionally point to some directions, and she found out that the path they had passed was actually safe.
She had met a few dangerous wild animals before, but this time, there weren’t any.
The twins spent an hour trying to find edible wild animals. Ye Lingrui was in charge of the direction and spotting the prey. Meanwhile, Ye Lingyue would shoot them.
In the end, they found two rabbits and one wild chicken.
"Ah, we can finally eat meat!" Ye Lingyue exclaimed excitedly. "Third Brother, quick, gather some firewood."
The two camped in a moderate distance from the exile party, not too far nor too close. They needed to make sure that the patrolling imperial guards wouldn’t catch a whiff of the smell.
In order to make sure she could occasionally get a delicious feast, she had also bought some spice and seasoning.
Seeing Ye Lingyue taking out items out of empty air, Ye Lingrui didn’t seem surprised at all.
As Ye Lingrui began to light the fire, Ye Lingyue cleaned the rabbit and wild chicken, and stuck them into a clean tree branch each. After she seasoned them, the two began to roast the food.
"Eat, eat," Ye Lingyue told her twin brother, giving him the rabbit legs.
Ye Lingrui smiled and took the rabbit legs she offered. The two ate until they were full. Ye Lingyue wrapped the remaining whole rabbit and half a chicken with some clean leaves.
"This is for Shaoyin and Shaoqin," she muttered. "How can we give it to them without waking up the Second Brother?"
"He won’t wake up," Ye Lingrui suddenly said.
She sent him a bewildered look.
"I gave him sleeping powder."
