Chapter 153
Chapter 153
“Ji Yan’an, you’re starting to smell a little.”
Ji Yan’an, esteemed Young Master, opened his eyes first thing in the morning to that devastating criticism from a certain audacious little maid.
He took a deep breath and set down the Little Mushroom he had been clutching like a hot-water bottle.
“I haven’t bathed in days. What did you expect?”
This trip had cured even his obsession with cleanliness.
Bathing in the wilderness was inconvenient. Even when conditions permitted, all they could do was wipe themselves down. Though he changed his clothes every two days, he really had begun to smell.
He was still one of the cleaner ones. He had left with only the clothes on his back, but when they escaped from the Quanrong Tribe, he stole clothes from one of the chief’s sons, who was about his height. At least he had something to change into.
Others, such as Fat Chef, had worn the same clothes for more than half a month.
Fortunately, the low temperatures kept the smell from becoming too powerful.
But…
Ji Yan’an pinched Jiang Yunsui’s chubby cheek, leaned closer, and sniffed her.
“Why do you still smell exactly the same?”
He had not seen the little thing bathe, either.
Jiang Yunsui puffed up proudly. “You didn’t know, did you? I can bathe with the morning dew.”
Ji Yan’an stared at her in silence.
He was going to fight every last one of these spirits!
“Come here.”
“What for?”
Ji Yan’an planted both hands on her plump cheeks and rubbed, and rubbed, and rubbed.
Whew… What a relief.
Jiang Yunsui was left glaring resentfully at his retreating back.
He had rubbed her cheeks red again.
They packed up and continued on their way.
Nanshu was still reluctant to leave.
“The cordyceps here are so good, and there are so many. What a shame to go.”
They were incredibly expensive, and more importantly, their Young Master needed them.
With help from a hidden guard, Ji Yan’an laboriously climbed onto a yak.
This was no time to worry about dignity.
In the past, he had traveled in lavishly furnished carriages. He had never imagined he would be reduced to riding an ox.
At this point, though, he would ride a donkey if one appeared.
Walking was out of the question. He would die halfway home before he even made it back. His grand undertaking would end before it was half complete.
“Mark this place. If we make it back, we’ll send people here again.”
Nanshu immediately climbed onto a yak with a cheerful grin.
“The Young Master thinks of everything.”
The yaks had basked in the moonlight from Jiang Yunsui’s cultivation the night before. After spending the night together, they had become fairly docile.
In any case, they would simply follow wherever their leader went.
Jiang Yunsui sat on the herd leader’s back. She had no choice: leaders were always proud. Only Little Mushroom, after showering it with enough treats to max out its affection for her, had earned permission to ride on its neck.
Yaks were certainly slower than horses. Worse, every so often they lowered their heads to graze as they walked, slowing them down even more.
Still, riding was better than walking.
Three days passed before they finally emerged from the canyon.
Fat Chef tossed a large mushroom to his yak.
Carrying him took more energy. Fortunately, he found it something tasty every so often, or it might have thrown him off.
“Merciful heavens, we’re finally out!”
Then they looked at the vast grassland stretching endlessly before them.
One look made their vision dim. Another made it dim again.
Nanshu closed his eyes in despair.
Jiang Yunsui lay sprawled sideways across her yak’s back, sleeping like the dead. The animal’s swaying gait had turned its back into a little cradle.
Beside her, Ji Si remained expressionless and silent, though every so often he reached out to steady the Little Mushroom whenever she started sliding off in her sleep.
“So… which way do we go?”
The good news was that they had escaped the canyon.
The bad news was that they were just as lost on the grassland.
Every pair of eyes turned to Song Jin, the one person among them who had lived on the grasslands for a time.
Song Jin rolled his eyes without restraint. “Why are you looking at me? You think that means I know the way?”
“Mobei lies northwest of the Central Plains, though, so we should head southeast.”
None of them had a strong sense of direction out on the open grassland, and they had no instrument to help them find their bearings.
“Wasn’t that basically saying nothing?”
Song Jin said, “Wake Jiang Yunsui. The little thing is lucky. Let her point in any direction, and we’ll go that way.”
“What? You call her lucky? Have you seen how many disasters she gets into?”
“Then why don’t you choose?”
Nanshu rubbed his nose. “Let’s ask the Little Ancestor.”
And so a group of people woke Jiang Yunsui.
She opened her eyes and found a circle of faces looming over her.
She closed them again. It had to be an illusion.
That many giant heads leaning in at once was a little frightening.
“Hey, sleep well?”
Song Jin poked her cheek.
Jiang Yunsui turned away, presenting him with her plump little back.
Ji Yan’an pinched her cheek.
“Get up and pick a direction. It’s time to go home.”
Still dazed, Jiang Yunsui mumbled, “Huh? Are we home?”
“Dream on. We have a long way to go. Point somewhere, and we’ll head that way.”
Were these people out of their minds? Jiang Yunsui wondered. Why did she have to choose?
Ji Yan’an seemed to read the confusion in her eyes. His voice turned solemn.
“Because you’re very important, and very lucky. You always turn danger into good fortune.”
Even if she suffered some bad luck first.
Everyone else exchanged speechless looks.
Impressive, Young Master. To coax Jiang Yunsui, he could even speak that gently.
Jiang Yunsui was a Little Mushroom who could never withstand praise.
Ji Yan’an had said she was very important!
Hehehe…
Little Mushroom floated straight to cloud nine. She was no longer sleepy at all.
Standing up, she looked around. “That way.”
Song Jin drawled sarcastically, “Let’s go, our most important little Jiang Yunsui.”
Jiang Yunsui said, “You sound like a rooster being strangled.”
Song Jin rolled his eyes at her.
As they rode, Jiang Yunsui decided to make the journey less boring by howling a song at the top of her lungs.
“Dig, dig, dig in the tiny little garden, plant a tiny little seed and grow a tiny mushroom. Dig, dig, dig in the great big garden, plant a great big seed and grow a great big mushroom. Dig, dig, dig in the super-huge garden…”
Everyone covered their ears, faces blank.
The little thing was utterly convinced she sang beautifully and refused to hear a word against it!
“Awoooo~~~”
Little Mushroom’s singing voice wobbled with the howl.
Every yak instantly raised its head, alert.
The others immediately formed a defensive ring around Ji Yan’an, Jiang Yunsui, and the unarmed Nanshu.
“Wolves. Judging by the sound, they’re close.”
The yak herd grew restless.
Shen Qingzhu took one look and knew they were in trouble.
“Young Master, get down quickly! If the yaks panic and bolt, it will be dangerous.”
A frightened or enraged yak was even more terrifying than a carnivorous beast.
Ji Yan’an and Nanshu climbed down. Jiang Yunsui was still halfway off hers.
“My clothes are caught!”
Ji Si turned and looked. It was not her clothes that were caught. She herself was hanging from the yak’s horn!
He had just reached out to catch her when the yak suddenly broke into a run.
“Moo!”
The rest of the herd spooked and raced after their leader.
“What the – Jiang Yunsui!”
“The wolves are here.”
An entire pack of nearly thirty wolves.
A lone yak would not have been afraid. But a wolf pack was organized and disciplined. Instead of scattering to hunt, they selected a single target from the herd and attacked it together.
Even a yak, powerful as it was, could be bitten to death when dozens of wolves each took a mouthful.