Qin Ke felt a bit embarrassed, and he couldn't help but scratch his head to hide his awkwardness, inadvertently touching his wound and wincing in pain. Seeing Qin Ke trembling in pain, Zhen Ling asked with concern, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Qin Ke smiled reassuringly, "I'm fine."
Worried, Zhen Ling said, "It would be great if Qian Lingling was here, she would definitely be able to cure you."
"It's really okay," Qin Ke replied, "I'll get better soon."
Zhen Ling wasn't a fool, of course she would not believe that Qin Ke was really fine. It's just that she didn't have a better solution for now, so she said, "Just rest well."
Seeing her exhaustion, Qin Ke said, "You should rest too."
Zhen Ling was indeed so tired that she could collapse and fall asleep right there on the ground. However, she couldn't bear the dirt on her body and couldn't sleep without washing up. But, bathing was not currently convenient, and she also lacked the energy to clean herself up.
Thinking she might be scared, Qin Ke wrapped Zhen Ling in his arms, saying, "Sleep, I'm here."
His words seemed to have a magical effect, calming Zhen Ling's heart. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she fell asleep in no time.
Back in the small village beyond the mountains, it became populated again after several years. Tao Ran brought back a lot of prey and wild vegetables and cooked various dishes. Tao Ran was a little dissatisfied with the taste of the dish because it was a big pot food. Nonetheless, he was tired, so he just made do with it.
Several houses were yet to be cleaned, so everyone moved tables and chairs outside and dined in the open, like having a countryside open-air banquets.
On the table were wild boar meat, deer meat, goat meat, and river fish. The meal was even better than when they were in the town. With a place to call home at last, the mood was relaxed, and everyone had a happy smile on their faces.
Tao Ran and Kui Qingqing sat together for dinner. While eating, Kui Qingqing kept glancing at Tao Ran, feeling that he seemed somewhat different now. She couldn't pinpoint what exactly had changed. Was he more mature? Not really. Perhaps it was because he hadn't cracked any jokes in front of her these past few days, which she found a bit unusual.
Kui Qingqing whispered in Tao Ran's ear, "What's wrong with you?"
Tao Ran was busy gnawing on a pig's trotter. When he heard the words, he turned his head and said with a stain on his mouth, "What's wrong?"
Kui Qingqing said, "Are you unhappy?"
Tao Ran was puzzled, "No."
Kui Qingqing wanted to ask why he hadn't been teasing her with those mischievous remarks, but if she did, she'd become that flirty person. So, she held her tongue, and Tao Ran didn't have much to say either. In the novel, the town suffered heavy losses this time, but Zhen Ling did not disappear, so Qin Ke also didn't disappear along with her.
Now, the town hadn't lost too many people, but Qin Ke was missing, and the storyline completely deviated from the original. Kui Qingqing wasn't easy to flirt with, and until now, she hadn't fallen for his charm like other supporting female characters. So, Tao Ran felt a bit troubled, unsure if Kui Qingqing would eventually turn dark in this situation.
After contemplating, Tao Ran asked, "Sister, do you think Qin Ke is still alive?"
Kui Qingqing's expression turned serious, she replied, "I don't know."
"Then do you want to find him?"
Of course Kui Qingqing wanted to find Qin Ke. Regardless of her feelings for him, he had saved her life back then. Although she wasn't a good person, she believed in repaying kindness. However, she couldn't leave now when the town's residents weren't fully settled. She didn't know if Qin Ke would still be alive when she had the chance to look for him later.
Thinking about it this way, Kui Qingqing's face was full of sadness. And when she felt anxious, Tao Ran became anxious too. He sighed and thought that the female supporting role, Kui Qingqing's persistence was beyond his control.
Kui Qingqing said: "Why are you sighing?"
Tao Ran said: "You like Qin Ke so much, but he likes Zhen Ling. You can see that he is willing to die for Zhen Ling."
Kui Qingqing thought, You little brat, what do you understand? Even Old Zhang was willing to die for Qin Ke, does that mean Old Zhang loves him too? Besides, she is not worried about Qin Ke just because she likes him. In fact, there was a time when Kui Qingqing was hit hard and went through a difficult phase. She likes Qin Ke, but he likes someone else. With her previous temperament, she would have rushed over and killed that woman who seduced Qin Ke, but somehow she held back and found herself often thinking about Tao Ran instead.
Thinking about the infuriating things that this little guy back home said, the delicious food he made, she thought when Qian Lingling mentioned liking Tao Ran, she couldn't help feeling a little unhappy.
Kui Qingqing glanced deeply at Tao Ran beside her, and began to ponder whether this kid had drugged her somehow?
Tao Ran felt a chill run down his body as Kui Qingqing gave him a meaningful glance, so he quickly lowered his head to eat. When he came to this world, Tao Ran did habitually seduce the female supporting role, but after realizing that Kui Qingqing wasn't falling for his advances, he lost interest. As long as Kui Qingqing didn't turn black, he was fine with whatever happened.
At this time, Kui Qingqing said quietly: "Now that I am the leader here, why would I need Qin Ke back? To share power with me?"
Tao Ran replied, "..." Impressive, impressive. I didn't expect you to have such ambitions.
After dinner, some people cleaned up, and the rest went to rest.
Tao Ran and Kui Qingqing went to a small house as usual, and only after entering the house did they find a problem. Although the roof had been repaired, there were no quilts on the beds. When they escaped, who had the presence of mind to bring quilts along? Only Luo Shuang was responsible for such matters, and he had brought a few.
However, these quilts were not enough for everyone to have one, so Kui Qingqing, considering her position as a top figure in the town, got a bed with a mattress.
Tao Ran looked at the only bed in the room and thought deeply, "Can't we find more quilts in this village?"
"In fact, there are quite a few," Kui Qingqing said, "but they're all moldy and full of bugs."
Tao Ran asked, "So how do we sleep?"
Kui Qingqing thought she was a few years older than him and also the leader of everyone, so she should lead by example at this moment. Thus, she said, "You sleep, and I'll manage for one night."
Tao Ran replied, "One night probably won't be enough. It's unlikely we can gather enough quilts in a short time under these circumstances."
Kui Qingqing looked at him and thought what to do if that also doesn't work either.
Tao Ran said: "Forget it, anyway, my ability is still usable, so I'll just float for a night."
Kui Qingqing knew how it felt to sleep floating in the air, and it was uncomfortable. She sat on the bed, patted the spot beside her, and said, "So many troubles, can't we just sleep together?"
Tao Ran's expression suddenly became strange as he glanced at Kui Qingqing with a complicated look and said, "Sister, you're so attractive, and I'm a young and vigorous guy. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself if we sleep together."
Kui Qingqing responded, "...." Alright, the familiar brat is back.
She twitched her mouth and added, "I believe in your self-control when facing a person who is all covered in fire."
Tao Ran: "..."
In the middle of the night, the village was quiet. Kui Qingqing couldn't fall asleep, while Tao Ran slept peacefully beside her.
The night in the mountains was cold, and without quilts, Tao Ran felt the chill. Unconsciously, he moved closer to Kui Qingqing, who was emitting a fiery heat due to her fire-based ability. The fire ability was more resistant to freezing, and Kui Qingqing didn't feel cold at all.
Kui Qingqing was lost in thought when suddenly, a hand wrapped around her waist. At that moment, she almost slapped the person away but stopped herself just in time when she realized Tao Ran was still asleep.
So, she prepared to move Tao Ran's hand away, but before she could act, a furry head came over and nestled between her neck and shoulders. Kui Qingqing stiffened, and her breath was full of a masculine scent filling her senses. This kid always claimed to like her, but it felt as unreliable as a child saying they loved candy.
While she thought about it, she never thought that when a child says he likes candy, it means that he genuinely likes it, and he likes it from the bottom of his heart.
In the past, although she was the second-in-command in the town, she rarely dealt with things herself. If there was a fight, she'd step in; if there were tasks to be done, she could handle them too, but she rarely took the initiative to think about issues. Now that she was in charge, she felt immense pressure with hundreds of people looking up to her.
If it were another force, she'd likely pack her bags and leave, but this small town was different. Before, when she was alone, she offended many people, even the supernatural beings couldn't tolerate her. Once, she was chased to the brink of death, it was Qin Ke who saved her and brought her back to the small town.
The residents of the town, Qian Lingling, took care of her injuries, and Luo Shuang provided her with food and clothes. Although everyone was afraid of her, they sincerely welcomed her, and Kui Qingqing, who had been wandering for a long time, found the feeling quite enjoyable. So, she chose to stay. As she did more for the town, her sense of belonging to it grew stronger.
She originally thought all of this was because of Qin Ke, so she was afraid someone else might appear and snatch him away. Now that Qin Ke was gone, the townspeople didn't treat her any differently, leaving Kui Qingqing both at a loss and at ease. Unknowingly, her dependence on Qin Ke lessened, and the town gradually became even more important to her than he was.
Tao Ran was freezing and started wriggling around in Kui Qingqing's arms. Feeling unable to tolerate his movements, she hugged him tight and lightly patted his back like she was comforting her own child.
Life settled into a peaceful rhythm, and after half a month, the village was mostly cleaned up. Tao Ran had taken his furry companion to deal with the mutated wild beasts in the surrounding mountains, ensuring that no more attacks would threaten the village. People's attitudes towards Tao Ran had changed as well; they now vaguely regarded him as the village's second-in-command. It was reminiscent of Kui Qingqing's role by Qin Ke's side before – powerful, providing a sense of security, but rarely getting involved in daily affairs.