A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 124: Roasted Meat in the Forest

"This is the border defense map I drew last night. Sir, take a look and see if there is anything wrong with it?"

In the military camp outside Mucheng, Yan Zong handed a scroll to Mr. Fan.

"Your Highness arranged the defenses personally. I, Old Fan, cannot find any fault with it." Mr. Fan opened the scroll in his hand, read it carefully, and smiled.

"In that case, let Wei Zhun arrange it." Yan Zong had been hearing flattering words since he was a child and had long been numb to them. Seeing that Mr. Fan had no objection, he returned to the official document in front of him.

"Yes." Mr. Fan agreed and was about to go out with the defense map, but just as he turned around, he heard the prince ask calmly:

"Where did that kid go if he wasn't in the military camp?"

Yan Zong was used to hearing Arnold's snoring outside the tent every morning, but he was not used to it being so quiet today. According to his understanding, there were usually only three situations that could make Arnold quiet: sick, punished, or not in the camp. If he was sick, Mr. Fan would definitely tell him. Arnold had been quite obedient during this period, and had only been training with Da Xixian in the training ground without getting into trouble. Therefore, there was only one situation left, that he was not in the barracks.

"He took a leave today and went up the mountain to collect herbs with Miss Si Yao." Mr. Fan continued with a smile.

Yan Zong stopped writing. Just hearing her name made his heart surge with longing. He hadn't seen her for a while. He missed her like crazy. He tossed and turned every night and couldn't fall asleep because of his longing for her. But in order to let her stay safely in Sanxiu Medicine Store and to keep a distance from her so as not to lose control, he still suppressed his desire to see her.

"It's late spring and approaching summer. The dense forests on the mountains are very likely to hide wild animals. Besides, she often gets lost, so it's good to have Arnold accompany her." After Yan Zong regained his composure, he still had a stern look on his face and spoke calmly.

Mr. Fan looked at Prince Zong's forced calmness and shook his head helplessly. He turned and left without saying anything else.

Mr. Fan felt distressed when he saw the prince's painful restraint, but there was no other way, unless His Highness could break free from Emperor Yan's control, which seemed almost impossible at the moment.

It is spring, the forest is dense and lush, and dappled sunlight shines through the gaps between the lush branches and leaves onto the green moss on the ground. Si Yao and Arnold are walking in the woods deep in the mountains, one of them carrying a medicine basket and holding a small shovel, the other carrying a bow and arrow and holding a long knife; one is as quiet as water, the other jumps like a monkey.

Going up the mountain to collect herbs, identify herbs and understand the growing environment of herbs is also a compulsory course for studying medicine. After following her master Sanxiu to the mountains to collect herbs several times, Si Yao was gradually able to identify herbs on her own, but she easily gets lost, so every time she goes up the mountain, her master and senior brothers will let Xiaolu go with them. Today, with Arnold accompanying her, she did not bother Xiaolu.

Along the way, Arnold was jumping around and couldn't stay idle. He crawled through the grass, picked flowers, caught rabbits and shot birds. Soon he had some birds and rabbits in his hands. Just as he was feeling proud, he saw Si Yao squatting beside the bushes on the hillside and digging up a herb with its roots in his hand with a small iron shovel.

"Sister Yao, what kind of medicine is this? What is it used for?" Arnold came forward and asked curiously.

"This is Atractylodes lancea, it can dry out dampness and strengthen the spleen, dispel wind and relieve cold." Si Yao put the herbs in her hand into the medicine basket and replied to Arnold.

Arnold didn't quite understand, and seeing that Si Yao wanted to continue digging, he couldn't sit still and ran around again.

Si Yao looked back at Arnold's figure looming in the grass, and a slight smile appeared on her face. The sister and brother were active and quiet, and they were actually used to not talking and just staying by each other's side silently.

"what....."

Si Yao was digging herbs when she suddenly heard Arnold's scream in the distance. She hurriedly dropped the shovel in her hand and ran towards the direction of the sound.

"Arnold?" Si Yao anxiously came to the vicinity where the voice came from, but there was no sign of Arnold.

"Yao...Sister Yao...I'm here..." After a while, Arnold's painful voice came from under a pile of dense grass.

It turned out that he accidentally stepped into a trap made by a hunter while playing. There were a few bamboo spikes stuck at the bottom. Fortunately, he reacted in time and avoided the bamboo spikes when he fell, but he accidentally sprained his foot and it hurt so much that he cried.

"Arnold, how are you?" Following the voice again, Si Yao parted the grass and saw Arnold in the trap and asked nervously.

"Sister Yao, I'm fine, I just sprained my foot." When he saw Sister Yao, Arnold forced a smile while holding back the pain.

Arnold's words made Si Yao feel relieved. She had seen such traps in Lianjia Village. The bamboo tips inside were extremely dangerous. If an ordinary person accidentally fell into it, his fate would probably be no different from that of the prey. Fortunately, Arnold was agile and there were not many bamboo tips stuck in it.

Afterwards, Si Yao found a vine nearby and pulled Arnold up. Seeing that Arnold's injured foot was swollen, she asked him not to move for the time being, and she hurriedly looked around for herbs that could reduce swelling and relieve blood stasis.

Arnold sat on the haystack and looked at the shadowy figure not far away searching for herbs for him. He couldn't help but smile. The pain in his feet seemed not so intense. Although he and Sister Yao were not biological siblings, they had long been as close as family.

By the time Si Yao found the medicine and crushed it to apply to Arnold's feet, it was almost noon. She took out the dry food and water she had prepared.

"Sister Yao, I want to eat delicious roasted meat." Arnold chewed on the cold dry food and felt it was tasteless, but all kinds of delicious food emerged in his mind. When he was injured, he only wanted to eat delicious food.

"Fill your stomach first, and then I'll help you down the mountain so you can have meat to eat when you get back." Si Yao had no choice but to comfort him.

"Okay." Arnold nodded obediently, but inadvertently glanced at the hare that he shot next to the trap. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he pointed at Si Yao: "There's a rabbit!"

"I can't." Si Yao looked in the direction and saw the half-dead hare. He frowned and shook his head.

“Leave it to me!” Arnold stood up excitedly. How could a real foodie not know how to cook delicious food?

Si Yao smiled helplessly. How could he still have the mind to grill meat when his feet were in such a state?

Si Yao helped Arnold to a pond deep in the forest. Arnold sat by the water and cleaned up the rabbits while Si Yao went around collecting firewood. When she came back, Arnold had already skewered the shaved rabbits with a long knife and put them on the fire rack.

"Sister Yao, roasting meat requires the most careful control of heat and technique. The meat tastes best when it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I've eaten a lot of roasted meat in various places, but I think the best is the one made by Aunt Eli. The aroma alone is enough to make people salivate, not to mention the taste of one bite, which is really unforgettable..." Arnold was sitting in front of the fire again, holding the handle of the knife and constantly turning the rabbit meat on the grill, chattering to Si Yao.

Si Yao on the side just listened to Arnold quietly, her cold eyes slightly bent when Arnold described with his hands and feet.

The rabbit meat sizzled under the fire, and when the outer layer of the meat was roasted to a golden brown, Arnold pulled out a dagger from his waist and cut off the meat slices, then took out a bag of salt and fennel powder from his sleeve and sprinkled them evenly on the sliced ​​rabbit meat. The crispy and tender rabbit meat with a charred aroma was now in front of Si Yao, and it was delicious, making her admire Arnold's cooking skills.