Pampered by the Toughest Man After Divorce
Chapter 1314 - 1136: Xiao’ai, Dabao, Xiaobei

Chapter 1314: Chapter 1136: Xiao’ai, Dabao, Xiaobei

Axiang followed behind, listening to Xia Dabao talk and occasionally asking a couple of questions, but mostly it was Xia Dabao who was speaking.

"I was feeling down a while back, and my dad even took me up the mountain to hunt wolves. My parents said that when you’re feeling down, you definitely shouldn’t stay at home alone or you’ll brood yourself sick. It’s best to do something thrilling; it helps distract your mind."

Axiang finally cracked a smile.

Once they reached the mountain, Xia Dabao had been searching for a long time. They hadn’t encountered any rabbits, but she found a bamboo rat burrow. She quickly sharpened a long bamboo stick for Axiang, sharpening one end to a point, "Take this stick. I’m going to drive the bamboo rat out. You hide behind this tree, and when you see the bamboo rat, stab it, got it?"

"But, I don’t think I can do it..." Axiang had never hunted bamboo rats and was afraid she wouldn’t hit it.

"It’s okay; it doesn’t matter if you don’t hit it. If it gets away, that’s fine too. I’m here as well. Just give it a try," Xia Dabao said with a smile.

So Axiang waited at the burrow entrance with the long stick while Xia Dabao took a handful of kindling to smoke out the rat. When it was about time, true enough, a large bamboo rat, unable to bear it any longer, burst out. Xia Dabao quickly shouted to Axiang, "Go on, stab it!"

Axiang rushed to stab at it, but it was her first time, and she herself was startled when the large bamboo rat came running out. Xia Dabao kept yelling, "Quick, stab it!"

Axiang hurried after it. The bamboo rat was fast, and she didn’t want to give up, so she had no choice but to chase and stab at the same time. However, after a long time, she was still unable to hit it. Then, at last, she did make contact, but it was only the tail of the bamboo rat. The rat let out a pained cry and suddenly crashed into a tree, dazed. Seeing this, Axiang threw the stick away and threw herself on top of it, pinning the bamboo rat underneath her.

The bamboo rat wasn’t dead yet and was squirming under Axiang’s belly. She was scared but couldn’t let it escape, so she pressed down on it until Xia Dabao came over and helped her pull the rat out. Xia Dabao couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight of Axiang.

Axiang, also somewhat embarrassed, laughed along, and somehow her mood improved a great deal.

"Axiang, you’re really timid, scared of a bamboo rat," Xia Dabao teased as she held the rat by its tail and handed it to Axiang, "This is the one you caught. Take it. I’m going to see if there are any rabbits around."

However, luck wasn’t entirely on their side that day, as they only caught three bamboo rats. Seeing that it was getting late, Xia Dabao led Axiang down the mountain.

When they arrived at the river at the foot of the mountain, Xia Dabao took out a knife to skin the bamboo rats and then instructed Axiang, "Axiang, help me start a fire. We’re going to eat roasted bamboo rat today."

"Okay," Axiang replied.

She might not have been good at hunting, but she knew how to start a fire. She collected some kindling from around the mountain base, built a support, and soon had a fire going.

Xia Dabao skewered the three cleaned bamboo rats and set them to roast over the fire, waiting for them to cook.

"Have you ever eaten something like this before?" Xia Dabao asked Axiang.

"I... never have. Bamboo rat, I’ve only eaten a few times. It was caught by my mother by chance. We always stir-fried it. I’ve never had it roasted," Axiang said.

"Whenever I have a craving, I come up to hunt. Sometimes I eat it, sometimes I sell it at the market, and sometimes I just roast it right here at the foot of the mountain. I’ve heard that many masters in Jianghu like to enjoy wild game this way," Xia Dabao said, turning the bamboo rats to prevent them from burning as she spoke.