Strangers at Night (III)

After all, her disguise as a male did not change her caring, feminine heart. Feng Langjun was content with his conclusion, and without being invited, he went near the bonfire that Jiang Pengji set up. The guards had thoughtfully made a simple, temporary bed for their Fourth Langjun. These were no common merchants.

The ground was too cold for the ill Langjun, so he was settled as close to the source of warmth as possible.

Jiang Pengji snorted coldly as Feng Langjun came closer. She hoped that the anorexic-looking teenager was smarter than the bandits.

With curiosity and bewilderment, the Langjun asked, "May I know your name?"

"My family name is Liu."

Deftly, she removed the unwanted parts of the sizeable boar. Although she was very careful, dirt and blood still splashed all over her clothes. The smell of raw flesh and organs would be unbearable for any langjun or lady born in a well-off household. Feng Langjun knitted his eyebrows at the awful scent and ordered two guards to help her.

"I can recall a Liu family in Hejian having a langjun at your age. Would that be you?"

"Why ask when you already know the answer?" Jiang Pengji was occupied and did not want to continue their conversation.

Since the dagger Wei Jingxian gave her had poison on it, it could not be used for cooking. Luckily, they had found all kinds of kitchenware in the small village, along with some spices. As a result, the livestream had switched its theme from "surviving in the wild" to "cooking in the mountain." The System had long given up its futile protests.

"I know Langjun was clever enough to know what he should do at the moment."

Her words were unexpected.

Funny. Was she warning him to hold his tongue? So he was being threatened by a noble girl who deceived everyone by pretending to be a man?

The number of viewers in the channel gradually increased to ten. Sometimes, Jiang Pengji responded to their bullet screens.

She constructed a rough barbecue stand, quickly cut the bamboos into skewers, and fastened the clean meat with the sticks. The atmosphere in the channel was changing. She even taught the audience how to make snake soup.

Malisu de Ai: "(laughcry) I thought there would be court intrigue! Am I in the right channel?"

Toudu Feiqiu: "Am I the only one who noticed that the skinny, cute boy is super confused?"

Lancui Yu Buzhe: "Looks delicious… I am here because I cannot sleep… Now I regret it."

Wujiang Zhacai Ye: "Everyone there is like, 'wtf?!' (happy face)"

Nong Haoshuai: "(drooling face) Wow, see the guard's body? And the teen is goodlooking too!"

Jiang Pengji decided to reply to the last comment.

Host V: "Remember they have not taken showers for seven days, so do not drool over mud and blood."

The audience fell into silence for some time and then some clapped.

Although she was arrogant, Jiang Pengji could be considerate. She did not overcook the meat, and because she knew that the ladies were not used to strong flavors, she added only a little spice to the food.

Then she knocked on the door. "Jing'er, open the door and take this in. Before you eat, heat it again over the fire in the house."

Wei Jingxian removed the wooden bolt and opened the door a crack. Not even a corner of her dress showed. The other girls took their portions from Wei Jingxian, noticing that they had been given the best parts of the boar. The smell was appealing, and the meat was not too fatty.

"Where have you been? You smell terrible!" asked Wei Jingxian.

"Of course. I came back with a boar. Maybe I will take a shower later… There will also be snake soup. That will keep you warm and prevent illness. You see, we already have an ill boy lying with us here."

The merchants were upset, but they continued their chatter.

"Oh, right. He caught a cold. How is he?"

"Not dying in the near future. All he needs is care and rest, especially after running from a group that was trying to kill them. Keeping him warm by the fire will help him recover."

Anyway, why should they care about the others' business?

The girls ate carefully, minding their manners even though they were starving. The food was hot, and it tasted exceptional. Perhaps it was just an effect of their hunger, for such indelicate dishes definitely would have been frowned upon by their families and even themselves during their former days.

Jiang Pengji assumed the pretty ladies were unaccustomed to oily food, so she cooked another soup with only a few slices of ginger and some dried mushrooms that she had found in the bandits' kitchen. Lastly, she added spring onion to the soup.

She also thoroughly washed the clay bowls that the outlaws had used before ladling the soup into them.

The System, despite its dissatisfaction, muttered, "Still, my host can be attentive like a kind, devoted wife." Its hope re-kindled.

Look at her! She could make a good wife indeed, managing to hunt and cook for a household!

"Only for cute ladies. I am still impatient towards others."

"Well… Boys can be cute too."

"But they are of the wrong sex."

"…"

You are the one of the wrong sex, okay?

The meat she left for herself was mostly rough because she had saved the better parts for the girls. Her portion was ready soon, and she chewed it without caring much about the texture or taste.

The viewers could make no response as they witnessed a 12-year-old girl acting like such a good boyfriend.

This prompted one of them, perhaps a girl, to chide her partner.

Ku'ai Nazhi Huli: "See how sweet she is! What about you? What is the point of having you? @Quanmin Nanshen"

As the host bit her food, she lifted the corners of her lips at the bullet screen and said to the System, "This reminds me of the days in Corps Seven when all the men became single, thanks to me..."

Wherever she was, girls found her more attractive and reliable than men. The men would then be left to live with whatever consolation they could find for themselves.