After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety
Chapter 44: Bowstring at Night

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Bowstring at Night

After taking a few big gulps, Jiang Kaiyuan turned around and saw that Jiang Lingxi was picking something up under a tree.

Without bothering to wash his face, he found a new leaf and folded it into a triangle. He scooped up some stream water, disinfected and filtered it, and bounced over to see what Jiang Lingxi was gathering.

A kind of round yellow berry, "Longan? There are longans here? But just eating this won’t fill us up!"

Jiang Lingxi paused her actions and looked up at Jiang Kaiyuan.

Jiang Kaiyuan felt that her look seemed like she was looking at a fool.

"Did I mistake it for something else?"

Jiang Lingxi gathered the picked fruit, took the makeshift cup from Jiang Kaiyuan’s hand, drank a few sips to clear her throat, and then spoke: "Soapberry, also known as false longan, and it’s only spring now. These are last year’s fruits; can’t you see many on the ground are already moldy and black?"

She didn’t expect to come across such a pleasant surprise near the second drop point. This soapberry tree grew deep in the jungle, never picked before, with the ground littered with fallen fruit over the years. Although most had spoiled, some still seemed usable.

Best for washing hands, face, or even hair.

"There are false longans besides the real ones!" Jiang Kaiyuan displayed a learned expression, quietly defending himself, "Longans can be eaten year-round; I thought they could bear fruit now too."

Upon his words, a few comments popped up in the live broadcast room.

"I’ve always suspected Jiang Kaiyuan might be a rich kid, and now it seems confirmed."

"Ridiculous! Longans available year-round, in China, the earliest they mature is in July, and it’s only April now. What you’ve eaten at other times are preserved ones!"

Hearing this, Jiang Lingxi couldn’t help but give him another glance.

From the first time they met a few days ago, she could tell that his family conditions were pretty good, allowing him to grow up worry-free.

But now she had to add a new comment: unaware of worldly hardships.

Thinking about him mistaking soapberries for longans, she warned seriously: "For the next week, don’t eat anything carelessly."

Jiang Kaiyuan instinctively nodded, then realized belatedly, "So false longans are toxic?"

"You’re not that dumb."

"Then why did you pick them?"

"But they can wash hands, faces, and hair."

"They can also be used as soap?" Jiang Kaiyuan was delighted upon hearing this.

Knowing they’d be living in this vast jungle for a week, having no bath was a given, but not being able to clean their faces and hair was unbearable to think about.

"We should pick more, then." He said, squatting down to help pick.

Jiang Lingxi pinched his shoulder to lift him up, "I’ve already picked enough, no need to gather more. The sun is setting, and we have other things to do. And aren’t you hungry?"

Reminded by this, Jiang Kaiyuan’s stomach promptly responded with two rumbling sounds.

The initial tension and excitement of wilderness survival had subsided significantly, and the suppressed hunger surfaced, "A bit. Should I see if there are any fish in the stream?"

Jiang Lingxi initially wanted to tell him she’d checked and found none, but she’d come to understand Jiang Kaiyuan’s nature; he wouldn’t give up until he saw it for himself, so she let him go.

Looking up at the sun straining to cast its last rays, Jiang Lingxi gathered some kindling nearby.

When Jiang Kaiyuan returned empty-handed from the stream, he saw a pile of kindling already laid out in the clearing. He coughed awkwardly, "Looks like there won’t be any fish to eat tonight," then saw Jiang Lingxi taking out matches to start a fire and hesitantly asked, "What can I do?"

"Gather more kindling; this isn’t enough, ideally a few more thick and long branches."

Jiang Kaiyuan nodded, preparing to work but then remembered something and turned back, "I’ll also see if there’s anything edible nearby."

Jiang Lingxi paused her actions, shrugged nonchalantly, and nodded, "Go on."

After spending some effort to get the fire going, the sun finally dipped below the horizon, and the sky darkened.

As Jiang Kaiyuan returned following the firelight, carrying a pile of kindling he’d gathered, his gaze couldn’t help but fall on the figure sitting by the firelight.

The orange firelight dispelled the chill of the encroaching night, but that seemingly unimposing figure provided him with a greater sense of security.

For the first time in his life, he was sleeping outdoors, knowing there was a camera following him and millions of viewers in the live stream observing his every move, and yet he felt a bit scared and tense inside.

Until he saw Jiang Lingxi waiting for his return.

"Sister Xixi..."

Jiang Lingxi poked the fire in front of her, heard the boy’s somewhat cheerful voice, and turned to look at him, "Did you find anything to eat?"

The joy in Jiang Kaiyuan’s heart paused immediately, "No."

Once the sun sets, this jungle becomes pitch black. Had it not been for the glimmer from the camera behind him, he might have been unable to resist running back.

Finding food was a thought long forgotten.

"Sit down and take a break." Jiang Lingxi hadn’t expected much from him anyway, stood up, picked out a few relatively thick sticks from the kindling Jiang Kaiyuan gathered, and tied them with nearby vines to make a rack over the fire in a few quick moves.

Then she filled her small metal pot with creek water and hung it on the rack, setting it to boil.

Jiang Kaiyuan watched beside her, stunned, even testing the rack’s sturdiness with his hand before feeling reassured.

"Sister Xixi, it seems our dinner tonight is just water!"

Jiang Lingxi glanced at him, "Who said the water is for you to drink?"

"Then what’s it for?"

"Boiling soapberries, for washing your face."

Jiang Kaiyuan: "..."

Then he watched as Jiang Lingxi boiled the water, placed the cleaned soapberries inside for over ten minutes, cooled them down, and meticulously squeezed out soapberry liquid, reheated the water, and finally used the warm liquid to wash her hands and face thoroughly.

The complexity of the procedure left not only Jiang Kaiyuan awestruck but even the viewers in the live stream found it overwhelming.

"This is wilderness survival; is it necessary to be this refined?"

"I think Jiang Lingxi is just being pretentious; can’t you see Kaiyuan is starving, this is the time to find something to eat, isn’t it?"

"Should this be called the self-discipline of a female celebrity, keeping up appearances even in the wild? Whatever else, I think it’s admirable."

"If it were me, I’d just sleep with dirty hands and a grimy face by now."

"Can’t we first boil drinking water?"

"I guess Jiang Lingxi really couldn’t stand the oiliness on her face; if it were me, I’d also rather endure thirst to clean myself up."

Amidst the debate in the live stream, Jiang Kaiyuan finally drank the boiled water.

While drinking, he said, "Sister Xixi, why don’t you rest first? I’ll keep watch for the first half of the night."

Without a place to rest, they were likely to sleep by the fire this night.

At least it was warm.

Jiang Lingxi watched him, noticing his head drooping while drinking and offered, "I’ll keep watch."

Jiang Kaiyuan patted his chest, "I’m the man; how can I let a girl..."

"Believe me, the latter half of the night is harder to keep."

Reflecting on having to guard from midnight till dawn, Jiang Kaiyuan realized it was indeed challenging.

"Then, shall I sleep first?"

"Just sleep."

With these simple words, Jiang Kaiyuan leaned against the tree trunk and fell into a deep sleep in less than ten minutes.

Once assured of his sleeping position, Jiang Lingxi focused back on the fire, periodically adding more kindling.

With no more conversation, the forest was left with only the rustle of leaves in the gentle breeze and the crackling of burning wood.

The night grew even more silent.

The viewers in the live stream didn’t find the scene boring; many, snug in their warm beds, couldn’t bear to turn off the stream.

A comment captured everyone’s sentiment: It feels like the stream has transitioned from survival to a sleep aid.

However, the tranquility didn’t last long. The screen suddenly shifted wildly, capturing chaos, as the follow-up cameraman failed to react in time. Once stabilized, the viewers saw a silhouette swiftly running in the night.

Instinctively holding their breath, they saw the figure abruptly stop, then single-handedly took the bow from their back, and with the other hand, an arrow.

Next, a seamless draw, without hesitation, release!

The live stream even filled with an unmistakable sound of the arrow flying.

As the arrow vanished beyond the field of view, everyone in the stream instinctively blinked, breathing again.

For the first time, they’d watched someone shoot an arrow and forgot to blink or breathe.

Now they eagerly wanted to know if the arrow hit its target and what that target was.