Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 648 - 649 Day 1

Chapter 648: Chapter 649 Day 1

Shui Qingyue really didn’t want to listen to Song Xiaodong’s arrangements, but now her body was about to freeze stiff. If she didn’t warm up by the fire soon, she truly couldn’t take it anymore.

"Fine, I’ll just warm myself up at the fire. That way, if he dares to do anything to me, I will have the strength to resist or run away."

Having found an excuse, Shui Qingyue quickly moved closer to the fire. The warmth quickly spread to her, and she couldn’t help but take a deep breath of relief.

It wasn’t long before Song Xiaodong turned around and came back, carrying a big pile of dry grass.

Shui Qingyue immediately prepared to run. In such a dark place, she believed that she could escape Song Xiaodong by just running a few dozen meters.

However, Song Xiaodong didn’t pay any attention to her. Instead, he spread the dry grass inside one of the snow huts and then left again.

After several trips back and forth, Song Xiaodong, having delivered the last batch of dry grass into the snow hut, said, "I’m going to sleep now, do as you please." Then he crawled into the snow hut and did not come out again.

"Hmph, you’re trying to lull me into sleep, so you can sneak in later? Don’t even think about it." Shui Qingyue clenched her fists, determined not to enter the snow hut to sleep.

Such resolve was feasible for ten minutes, twenty minutes, but after persisting for over an hour, her drowsiness intensified, and she could hardly hold on any longer.

After hesitating for a moment, Shui Qingyue picked a stick of suitable thickness from the dry wood that Song Xiaodong had prepared and took it into the snow hut, "Hmph, if you dare to come in, I will smash your head."

Of course, Song Xiaodong would not go looking for Shui Qingyue. Lying on the dry grass inside the snow hut, he quickly fell asleep, and only got up when it became light inside the snow hut.

Emerging from the snow hut, he moved his hands and feet around, only to feel a sore and aching sensation. It seemed that easy days had made him soft; usually, his bed at home was soft and comfortable, sleeping in such a place for another night made his arms and legs quite uncomfortable.

If he felt this way, he could only wonder how the girl, who obviously had been pampered, had fared through the night.

Peeking into the other snow hut, he saw the girl curled up in the pile of dry grass, which made him feel quite guilty. It was indeed his fault that she ended up like this.

His stomach growled. Song Xiaodong had only eaten a little food yesterday morning and hadn’t eaten since. With the added physical exertion from fleeing, he really needed to replenish his food.

However, since he hadn’t brought any food yesterday, now he could only fend for himself.

Although this was a confined space, there was still some edible stuff around, such as the red berries on the vines, which were still well-preserved, and some wild rabbits and pheasants, which might have come through a cave or fallen from the mouth of the volcano. Anyway, food supply was not a concern.

Song Xiaodong picked some berries and casually caught a wild rabbit.

The wild rabbits here, except for being preyed upon by snakes in summer, had no natural predators in winter, so they were not afraid of humans at all. Song Xiaodong practically just grabbed one with ease.

Though there was a hot spring nearby, Song Xiaodong was reluctant to use its water to wash the rabbit. Instead, he used snow to clean it before roasting it over the fire.

Luckily, he knew to travel light here and carried salt with him.

More than half an hour later, the aroma of rabbit meat had already begun to waft through the air, waking Shui Qingyue from her sleep.

As she sat up, Shui Qingyue was instantly frightened; she had fallen into such a deep sleep. Had that pervert come by, she would have been completely ruined.

Fortunately, he hadn’t shown up, probably too exhausted from yesterday’s efforts.

"It smells so good!" Shui Qingyue pinched her nose. Like Song Xiaodong, she too hadn’t eaten anything the day before. Although her physical exertion had been minimal, she was extremely hungry, and the scent of food was particularly tantalizing at the moment.

Clutching a stick, Shui Qingyue stepped out of the snow house and saw Song Xiaodong roasting the meat, causing her to involuntarily swallow her saliva.

Without even glancing at her, Song Xiaodong said, "There’s water in the middle area. You can drink and bathe in it, but absolutely nothing else."

Then he continued roasting his rabbit meat.

Shui Qingyue glared at Song Xiaodong and looked around, instantly feeling dejected. She had now assessed her surroundings; it was a completely enclosed area within the mountain. No wonder he didn’t even bother to look at her; it was clear she had no chance of escaping.

However, Shui Qingyue wasn’t about to give up. She first went to the hot spring in the middle. The water emitted a warm steam, and dipping her hand in, she found the temperature quite comfortable, even feeling an urge to jump in for a bath.

Of course, that was just an impulse, and she wouldn’t actually do it. Scooping up some water to drink helped her stomach feel better, and she also seemed to gain some strength.

Having regained some energy, she immediately walked around the mountain wall, feeling her mood grow heavier with each step. Just as she had suspected, there really was no way out.

She also saw that cave, which was more than ten meters above the ground. Citing her own abilities, climbing up there was next to impossible. She couldn’t fathom how he had managed to bring her in here the day before.

By the time Shui Qingyue returned, Song Xiaodong had already eaten half of the roast rabbit and said, "You don’t need to worry. I came here to heal. Once I’ve recovered, I will take you out. For now, I’m going to soak in the hot spring to heal. Don’t come over."

With that, Song Xiaodong got up and headed to the hot spring.

Having stripped off his clothes, Song Xiaodong jumped directly into the hot spring.

The hot spring was small, just slightly larger than a typical bathtub. The water wasn’t deep, barely one meter. Sitting inside, Song Xiaodong’s head just emerged from the water.

While in the water, Song Xiaodong waved his fingers continuously, inserting silver needles into his body. A gentle warmth flowed from the spring through the needles into his body, making Song Xiaodong almost moan in comfort.

Song Xiaodong had never known why the water seemed to help his healing.

But now, he understood a bit. This water seemed to carry a very special True Qi, similar to the medicine he was refining. Perhaps this hot spring water was itself a natural medicine. It might not be very effective for ordinary people, but for someone injured like him, the effects were remarkably good.

Song Xiaodong soaked in the hot spring for about three to four hours before jumping out, feeling refreshed and clear-headed, with his damaged meridians noticeably improved.

"Phew!" Song Xiaodong let out a breath, his heart’s burdens significantly lightened over these days. With such a recovery ability, he estimated that in less than ten days, he would be back to normal.