Douluo Continent: Starting from Tianshui Academy

Chapter 33 Walking with the United States

As evening fell, the two found a secluded valley with several streams flowing down from the mountain. Below, there was a pool that converged into a small river that flowed into the distance. Not far from the pool, there was a flat area, perfect for camping.

"Let's stay here tonight! There's water here, which will make cooking easier."

Ye Liangchen took out pots and pans from his soul tool, then moved some stones and set up a simple stove.

"You're going on a long trip, and you're taking all this with you?"

Zhu Zhuqing was very surprised to see that Ye Liangchen carried pots and pans with him. Soul Masters usually only carried some dry food when they went out. She never expected that this guy would actually bring all these cooking utensils. It was unbelievable.

"What's the point of eating dry food every day? It's much more interesting to cook for yourself."

"Little kitty, let me tell you, cooking outdoors tastes especially good. You'll see soon enough."

Ye Liangchen smiled faintly. As a foodie, it was perfectly reasonable for him to carry pots and pans with him.

"Then I'll go gather firewood."

Zhu Zhuqing had never experienced picnicking before, and she thought it would be very interesting, so she ran straight to the woods in the distance to find some firewood.

After setting up the small stove, Ye Liangchen went to the distant stream to wash the rice and fetched two buckets of water. Just then, he saw Zhu Zhuqing carrying a bundle of firewood back, with some withered leaves still stuck in her hair, which he found quite amusing.

"Hey! Zhu Zhuqing, you're from the Zhu family of Xingluo Kingdom, you probably haven't done this kind of work before, have you?"

Zhu Zhuqing said slowly, "I haven't done these kinds of jobs before, but they're very simple and easy to learn."

Zhu Zhuqing placed the firewood on the ground and took the initiative to light it with a flint and steel, helping Ye Liangchen. She knew that she would be cultivating with him in the future, so she had to take the initiative to learn how to do things, otherwise she would just be a pretty face.

Ye Liangchen placed the pot for cooking rice on the stove, washed a small piece of cured meat and put it into the pot, then looked at the small river in the distance, an idea forming in his mind.

"Little kitty, do you want to eat fish? There might be fish in that stream over there. Let's go check it out, and if we find any, we'll catch some for dinner tonight."

Ye Liangchen knew that this girl's martial soul was the Netherworld Cat, and she had absolutely no resistance to food like fish and meat.

"There are fish? Let's go take a look."

Upon hearing that there was fish to eat, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes immediately lit up. Fish was one of her favorite foods, a fact influenced by her martial spirit, which naturally made her love eating fish.

"If we catch a big fish, I'll let you try boiled fish tonight. It'll be a real treat for you."

"Boiled fish? What's that?"

"Anyway, it's a delicious food you've never tasted before."

"Then I'd like to give it a try."

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the river. They found that there were indeed fish in the river, so they immediately started catching fish.

"I've blocked this side, Zhu Zhuqing, make your move quickly."

"Oh well."

"There's another big one over there too."

"I caught it..."

For many people, catching fish in the river is a very enjoyable activity. Whether the fish eat it or not is not important; what matters is enjoying the process of catching fish.

Even the usually aloof Zhu Zhuqing was now immersed in the joy of slacking off, her face beaming with a smile. This was the first time she had ever experienced such enjoyment.

"Ye Liangchen, thank you."

Zhu Zhuqing stared blankly at the young man in front of her, experiencing what true happiness meant. At that moment, she wished that this joyful time could last forever.

"What's wrong with you now? Stop spacing out and hurry up and catch some fish; we're waiting to cook them!"

Ye Liangchen ignored the other person's unusual gaze and urged him to catch fish.

"Oh! I'll catch it right away."

Looking at the boy in front of her, whose face was covered in mud and looked very cute, Zhu Zhuqing also showed a bright smile and immediately cooperated with Ye Liangchen to continue catching fish.

As the saying goes, when men and women work together, the work is less tiring. Before long, the two of them had caught more than a dozen fish, the larger ones weighing about two pounds.

"There are so many fish, enough for the two of us to eat."

Ye Liangchen killed the fish right there by the river, and Zhu Zhuqing helped clean it.

When the two returned to the camp, they found that the meal had been cooked. Ye Liangchen took out a cutting board, removed the fish bones, and sliced ​​the fish meat into thin slices. His smooth and skillful operation left Zhu Zhuqing, who was standing to the side, in awe.

Ye Liangchen, is there anything you can't do?

Zhu Zhuqing recalled the young man before her, who was incredibly strong, possessed a dazzling array of martial arts skills, had superb medical abilities, could cook, was extremely handsome, had a cheerful personality, and was very kind. He was practically the perfect man, the best of the best.

Sigh! I wonder which woman will end up with such a perfect man?

Zhu Zhuqing was born into the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire and had seen countless handsome men, but none of them could compare to the young man in front of her.

At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing had a bold idea in her heart: she wanted to stay by this man's side forever. However, this idea was just a thought. Her fate was already sealed. She was not strong enough to change her destiny yet, so she dared not think about it for the time being. It would be bad if she hurt the young man in front of her because of her.

After Ye Liangchen finished slicing the fish, he saw Zhu Zhuqing standing next to him in a daze and was speechless.

"Hey! Kitty! Why are you spacing out again? Hurry up and add some firewood! I'm about to make boiled fish; I've been busy all day and I'm starving."

"Oh! Sorry, I was lost in thought. I'll add some firewood right away."

Zhu Zhuqing was startled awake by Ye Liangchen's voice, a blush flashing across her cheeks. She quickly grabbed some dry firewood and put it into the small stove.

Ye Liangchen heated oil in a wok, then added spring water and a little spicy sesame oil. After the soup boiled, he added the fish slices.

Soon, a pot of spicy and fragrant boiled fish fillets was served, sprinkled with some wild scallions, and the flavor was instantly irresistible.

Ye Liangchen also made a stir-fried blue silver grass dish and sliced ​​the cured meat, placing it on the small table.

"Zhu Zhuqing, let's eat."

Ye Liangchen called the kitten to eat, and after a while of busy work, it was finally time to start eating.

"Ye Liangchen, thank you."

Zhu Zhuqing picked up a piece of boiled fish slice and put it in her mouth. In an instant, the spicy and savory flavor exploded in her mouth.

"Wow! This is so delicious!"

Zhu Zhuqing had always eaten fried fish before, and had never seen boiled fish slices before. She was captivated by this delicious taste.

"It's delicious, isn't it? Then eat more."

Ye Liangchen smiled. Spicy boiled fish slices were a delicacy only found on Earth in his previous life. He had never seen them in this other world, Douluo Continent.

Both of them were Soul Masters, and the small table of food was quickly devoured.

"Ye Liangchen, this is the best dinner I've ever had. Thank you."

While helping to clean up the pots and pans, Zhu Zhuqing expressed her deep gratitude to Ye Liangchen, saying that she had lived in fear and anxiety for many years, and suddenly enjoying this peaceful and beautiful life was truly wonderful.

"Don't mention it, it's just a simple dinner."

Ye Liangchen waved his hand dismissively. He felt a great sense of accomplishment from making the food himself, which was why he thought it tasted delicious.

As dusk approached, Ye Liangchen set up two tents, cut down some tree trunks to make a simple bed, and then laid out two layers of mats, preparing to rest.

Zhu Zhuqing also helped out, but when she saw the two tents, she was very happy, but also a little disappointed. Was it because she wasn't pretty enough? Did he not have any feelings for her at all?

Zhu Zhuqing thought she was quite beautiful; almost every man who saw her would have designs on her. But this young man, from the moment he met her, hadn't shown the slightest ill intention. He was truly an anomaly.

At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing began to doubt her own beauty. As a woman, not being able to attract a man's attention would bring a sense of frustration.

"I'm going to bathe in that pond over there, so please don't peek!"

After finishing his work after dinner, Ye Liangchen planned to take a bath. Before leaving, he gave Zhu Zhuqing a few instructions.

"Ah... Oh!..."

Zhu Zhuqing was stunned by Ye Liangchen's sudden remark. Shouldn't a woman say such a thing?

Seeing the kitten's bewildered expression, Ye Liangchen found it quite amusing. He spoke to a woman in a way that left her speechless.

After taking a relaxing bath in the pool, Ye Liangchen returned to the camp to prepare for some cultivation.

"Ye Liangchen, you keep watch for me, I'm going to take a shower too."

Zhu Zhuqing said weakly to Ye Liangchen, picked up her toiletries, and quickly ran towards the pool. At that moment, her heart felt like a deer was pounding wildly.

"Little kitty! Don't worry, there are no spirit beasts or other people here. I'll guard this place for you."

Ye Liangchen said a few words indifferently, then added some more firewood to the fire to make it bigger. He then flew to a big tree, took out his HK416, and used the night vision function in the scope to observe his surroundings to prevent any animals from getting close.

On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing soaked in the pool to calm herself down. Meeting the man she couldn't forget again, and spending the night with him in this small valley, made Zhu Zhuqing feel both excited and nervous.

Zhu Zhuqing recalled that she and her aunt were rescued by Ye Liangchen and his friends in the Starry Sky Forest. After that, she met him. At that time, he was also a 6-year-old child. He even shared his candy with her. From then on, Ye Liangchen's small figure was forever imprinted in her mind.

However, the thought that this man seemed to have no feelings for her made Zhu Zhuqing feel a little disappointed.

Time passed slowly, and almost an hour had gone by. Ye Liangchen noticed that Zhu Zhuqing hadn't come over yet and was worried that something had happened to the girl, so he called out towards the pool.

"Kitty, what are you doing? So much time has passed, why haven't you come out yet?"

Ye Liangchen's words brought Zhu Zhuqing back to her senses, and she quickly replied to him.

"I'm fine, I'll be right away."

Zhu Zhuqing quickly emerged from the water, changed into clean clothes, washed her previous clothes, and hurried towards the camp.

"I thought you'd drowned." Ye Liangchen sat not far from the fire, watching the kitten finally arrive, and couldn't help but tease it.

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

Zhu Zhuqing felt somewhat guilty, as it had taken her so long to take a shower and made others worry about her.

"Ye Liangchen, go to sleep! I'll keep watch for you."

It was late at night, and Zhu Zhuqing volunteered to keep watch.

"No need, I need to cultivate. You go and rest!"

As a man, how could Ye Liangchen let a woman keep watch at night? Besides, given how incompetent Xiao Mao was, he wouldn't trust her to keep watch.

"Then I'll keep watch with you. We Soul Masters can also use meditation instead of cultivation. It's okay if we don't sleep all night."

Zhu Zhuqing felt embarrassed to rest alone, so she also accompanied Ye Liangchen in cultivation.

"Do as you please! If you can't take it, go and rest."

Seeing that the girl was still being stubborn, Ye Liangchen didn't try to persuade her anymore.

"I can do it. I'd like to ask you some questions about cultivation, is that alright?" Zhu Zhuqing was very curious about Ye Liangchen's dazzling combination of spirit rings.

"Go ahead and ask!"

Now that she wants to work with him, Ye Liangchen can tell her some things.

"What was the age of your first spirit ring? The color of your spirit ring is much darker than mine."

"My first soul ring is 999 years, just one year short of a thousand years. The second soul ring is 3800 years, and the third soul ring is 12000 years."

"Wow! That's amazing! How did you do that?"

"To break through the limits of spirit rings, one must strengthen their physical body; only then will it be possible to break through..."

Ye Liangchen told Zhu Zhuqing some simple body-training methods, but he couldn't tell her the more advanced ones, as that would require cheating.

Zhu Zhuqing was now a little fangirl, listening to the other party explain some cultivation methods to strengthen the physique of a Soul Master, her eyes constantly sparkling.

(End of this chapter)