Chapter 270: “Dream turned Nightmare (2)”
Dragging their tired bodies, the youths went out and picked up the buckets to go on their way to retrieve water from the spring.
Two lazy bodies trailed at the back of the group and watched the others drag their wretched bodies hobbling unsteadily to fetch water.
“Hungry?” Qiao Chu asked after everyone else had left and the two of them were alone outside the quarters.
Jun Wu Xie shook her head. Her appetite had always been small and did not hold great interest in the desire for food, only ensuring that she ingested adequate nutrition and carbohydrates daily and not anything more than that. The elixirs she brought with her provided her with that sufficiently and she did not feel any hunger.
“Here, keep this with you. You don’t have to eat them today, just keep them for another time. This torment should still continue on for quite awhile longer.” Qiao Chu took out a packet of dried meat from his bag and stuffed it into Jun Wu Xie’s hands.
Jun Wu Xie raised an eyebrow and looked at Qiao Chu. He had chattered endlessly all this while, but his actions at times had revealed clues contrary to the mindless personality he projected. Qiao Chu’s initial aim had been to get admitted into the Hidden Cloud Peak, and his actions after had shown him to be familiar with the internal workings here. Dried meat were small and inconspicuous, they were most ideal as rations. People rarely kept any on themselves but for the well traveled, and Qiao Chu seemed to have prepared for the unexpected circumstances rather well.
Qiao Chu had hinted from the beginning that he would protect her in the Hidden Cloud Peak, so it seemed he knew a few things about things happening here. The dried meat was also prepared beforehand against tonight’s expected torment.
What was Qiao Chu’s objective here with the Qing Yun Clan?
Qiao Chu noticed that Jun Wu Xie did not accept the dried meat and he stuffed it back into his own bag. “If you get hungry, just let me know. I have more than enough. Let’s not carry water, the task is impossible to complete. Why don’t you just hang around out here? If you go back now, you would only get nagged at by the seniors.”
Qiao Chu was also obviously not going to become the Hidden Cloud Peak’s labourer.
“Where are you going?” Jun Wu Xie asked suddenly.
Qiao Chu hesitated, and thought what Jun Wu Xie was going to do left alone.
“You want me to stay out here, what about you?” Jun Wu Xie pointed out the absence with no mention of himself.
Qiao Chu slapped his forehead in frustration and said: “I was rather obvious, wasn’t I? Brother Hua had always scolded me for that.” He looked around to make sure there was no one around before he said in a low voice: “I am going to find someone. The Hidden Cloud Peak is extremely dangerous, so do not stray too far from here. After I am done talking with that person, I will come back here for you.”
In Qiao Chu’s eyes, Jun Wu Xie’s petite little frame and skinny limbs would be very dangerous to stay within the Hidden Cloud Peak. He thought if he was not around to keep his eyes on Jun Wu Xie, the other youths might prey on him and carry him off with them.
“I’ll go with you.” Jun Wu Xie said to Qiao Chu.
Qiao Chu was taken aback.
“You want to come with me?”
Jun Wu Xie nodded.
Qiao Chu was more familiar with the Hidden Cloud Peak than she was. No matter who Qiao Chu was, he was obviously not friendly to the Qing Yun Clan. If there were no conflicts in their objective, she was willing to familiarise herself a little through Qiao Chu.
Qiao Chu was looking troubled, he looked at Jun Wu Xie and paused a long moment before saying: “Alright, but you must promise me. No matter what you see, you must not make a single noise.”
It might be better to bring Jun Xie along, leaving him here alone in the lion’s den did not sit that comfortably with Qiao Chu either.
It was obvious, Qiao Chu had a wrong perception of Jun Wu Xie. He saw Jun Wu Xie as a defenceless little youth, cleanly forgetting Jun Wu Xie’s previous abilities with poison he had witnessed just recently with his own eyes.