Chapter 46: A Good Father

The current was not particularly swift. Once Xu Yi came to a stop, he spotted schools of fish swimming in the river.

Their coloring was remarkably similar to the pebbles at the bottom of the riverbed, making them rather difficult to spot at first glance.

Curious, he activated his X-ray vision to see if the ability could be utilized underwater.

However, Xu Yi discovered that looking down from the surface of the water yielded only a hazy, blank white expanse.

With that, he dove beneath the surface.

And the view changed entirely.

"There are plenty of fish here, and they're not small!"

"On top of that, there are shrimp and crabs—we've hit the jackpot!"

Xu Yi had not expected the resources within this river to be so abundant.

As long as he wove a fishing trap, he would easily be able to catch fish, shrimp, and crabs.

Finding a source of fresh water was truly a blessing.

Not only would they have water to drink and a chance to bathe, but they would also be able to catch fish for meals.

Attempting to catch fish directly with his bare hands underwater was entirely impractical.

Therefore, Xu Yi refrained from trying.

Besides, the creatures were not going anywhere.

Using the proper tools was the correct path forward.

He gathered two pebbles, rose from the water, and placed the stones into a wooden bucket.

Xu Yi collected over twenty pebbles before finally stopping.

The vine remained sturdy. After climbing back up, Xu Yi hauled the bucket back to the bank.

"Let's go. We're heading back to cook the snake meat."

Su Keke handed Xu Yi his clothes and then asked abruptly:

"Daddy, do you smell a fragrance?"

"A fragrance? What kind of fragrance?"

Xu Yi paused and took a deep sniff.

"It smells a bit like oranges."

Su Keke added, her nostrils twitching slightly as she tried to trace the source of the scent.

Xu Yi picked up a handful of thatch-like leaves from the ground and gave them a sniff.

"Haha, it's lemongrass! It has a faint hint of lemon."

"Sweetheart, you're amazing! With lemongrass around, we won't have to fear mosquitoes anymore."

Mosquitoes were an inevitable nuisance anywhere near a water source.

During the day, things were relatively calm, and the mosquitoes stayed hidden.

At night, however, they became a deadly torment.

Yet, with lemongrass at hand, they could easily repel mosquitoes and even other pests.

Xu Yi crouched down and searched the area.

A few stalks of lemongrass were indeed growing nearby, though their numbers were rather sparse.

Because of the limited height of the lemongrass, surrounding weeds had blocked the upper space, making the plants very difficult to spot.

Fortunately, their vitality was remarkably strong, allowing them to survive even under such conditions.

They grew in clumps, and the patch Xu Yi found was a single, sturdy cluster.

Xu Yi severed the entire clump of lemongrass right from the base, placing it into the wooden bucket to carry back.

With nightfall approaching rapidly, they needed to return quickly to kindle the fire. Afterward, he would need to gather more dead wood so they could maintain a roaring bonfire through the night to keep Su Keke safe.

This jungle was home to predatory beasts, and those creatures might easily follow their scent right to the campsite.

Consequently, maintaining three or four bonfires throughout the night was essential to guarantee their safety.

Thus, upon returning to the camp, Xu Yi handed the responsibility of starting the fire over to Su Keke.

He immediately set off to gather dead wood, aiming to collect as much as possible before total darkness fell.

After all, they were planning to establish a long-term camp here.

In the future, they would inevitably consume a large quantity of firewood.

Starting a fire was no difficult task for Su Keke.

She retrieved her wooden bowl from her woven pack, as the fire-starting fungus was stored safely inside it.

Inside the basket, she also kept some extremely dry and flammable withered grass.

Next, she used a small stick to rake together a pile of fallen leaves into a neat mound.

She used a stick instead of her hands precisely because Xu Yi had instructed her to do so.

Using bare hands risked bites from scorpions, venomous insects, poisonous ants, or even venomous snakes.

Once everything was prepared, Su Keke began gently blowing on the fire-starting fungus.

Before long, she successfully ignited the withered grass.

Placing it into the pile of leaves, she pulled out a hollow reed tube to continue blowing on the embers.

This technique increased the air circulation around the flame zone, allowing the fire to burn more thoroughly.

The flames quickly caught and flared up. Su Keke then added some fine, dry twigs, gradually working her way up to thicker branches.

Xu Yi had no intention of eating roasted cassava tonight.

Therefore, once the fire was burning brightly, Su Keke added several river pebbles directly into the flames.

Next, Su Keke threaded a stick through the sleeves of Xu Yi's clothes, setting them up to dry by the heat.

Within a dozen minutes, Xu Yi returned carrying a massive bundle of dead wood on his back.

Following that, he took the wooden bucket to fetch water.

Although the snakeskin bag still held a fair amount of water, it retained a slight fishy odor, so Xu Yi decided they could boil fresh river water to drink instead.

After returning with the water, Xu Yi headed back out once more to gather additional firewood.

When he staggered back into camp with a second heavy load of wood, the jungle had grown too dark to navigate safely.

Still, their stockpile of firewood was now more than sufficient.

Sitting before the crackling fire, Xu Yi began processing the lemongrass.

The leaves would later be crushed and rubbed onto their bodies to repel mosquitoes.

Already, a fair number of mosquitoes were hovering about.

Without the barrier of the bonfires, their numbers would have been staggering.

Perhaps due to the proximity to the riverbank, the night air carried a noticeable, cooling breeze.

Xu Yi sliced a few stalks of lemongrass, rinsed them in river water, and placed them into a bowl.

Then, he chopped the snake into chunks and laid them over the fresh leaves he had gathered earlier.

"Daddy, your clothes are dry."

"Good. Then you can go take a bath." Xu Yi accepted the garments and draped them over his shoulder.

He then picked up his machete and a stout branch, transferring the heated river pebbles into the wooden bucket.

Once all the stones were submerged, the water quickly turned pleasantly warm.

"Go on, take a bath. You've endured quite a hardship these past few days."

Previously, conditions had been too harsh to permit bathing.

Now that they had found a river, it was only natural to let Su Keke wash up properly.

[Aww, Contestant Number One is so considerate! He must have planned to let Keke bathe all along—no wonder he washed his own clothes first; he was saving them for her to wear.]

[Indeed, he's a great father. I'm rooting for both of you from now on. Number One, keep it up!]

[So touching. Number One is truly a responsible father. I hope my future children have a father just like him.]

Xu Yi carried the wooden bucket behind the trunk of a large tree. After all, Su Keke was already six years old and deserved a proper sense of privacy and gender boundaries.

As her father, certain situations still required a measure of discretion.

"Scoop out a little water first to wash your clothes, and use them to wipe down your body."

"There isn't a massive amount of water, but it should be plenty to get yourself clean."

With that, Xu Yi planted his spear at an angle in the soil, propped it up with a branch, and draped his dry clothes over it.

As soon as Xu Yi walked away, Su Keke began her bath with a joyful smile.

Going seven days without washing had been thoroughly uncomfortable.
Yet she had endured it quietly without a single complaint.

Now, not only could she wash, but she had a tub of warm water to use as well.

Her father was truly amazing.

Even without a metal pot, he could heat up so much water using just ordinary stones.

"Mmm, snake meat cooked with heated stones is bound to taste delicious."

The thought of hot snake soup tonight made Su Keke quicken her pace just a bit.

After all, Xu Yi still needed those pebbles from the bucket to cook their meal.

A special thanks to book friends Haohao Xianren Bu Fengliu and This Name Is So Long for their generous tips on this book!

(End of this chapter)