CHAPTER 12

The four of them returned to Yuan Heng's house together, and as they neared the entrance, they spotted Xiao Ruo waiting at the door. Xiao Ruo appeared cheerful and upbeat, though there was a hint of anxiousness in his pacing.

Upon seeing them, Xiao Ruo hurried towards them. "Hey, Xiao Ruo," Lai Yuan greeted, looking confuse. "What brings you here?"

Xiao Ruo grinned sheepishly. "I brought some snake meat for you all and distributed it to your homes. Brother Heng, since you braved the fog for the hunt, the brothers decided to share the spoils with you. The best cuts and animal skins are reserved for you. I also gathered milk and fruits and left them in your room."

Yuan Heng said, "Thank you." and nodded. Xiao Ruo felt bad and hesitated. "Brother Heng, I..."

Yuan Heng smiled a little and said, "It's okay, I understand why you called the leader."

Xiao Ruo was surprised. "You knew?"

Yuan Heng nodded. "Even if you hadn't called, someone else would have. I didn't want to go over the leader's head to deal with those guys. I just wanted to teach them a lesson while the leader was gone."

Xiao Ruo relaxed and smiled again. "I was worried, so I called the leader. I was scared you'd be mad at me, so I didn't go with him to find you."

Lai Yuan laughed. "So, you did all this to say sorry?"

Xiao Ruo playfully pushed him. "What apology? Don't make a big deal out of it. I've done this for you before!"

Lai Yuan smiled. Xiao Ruo continued. "After the leader left, what happened to the other guys? Did they get sent to a safe place to get supplies? Did they have to take care of the old people in the tribe?"

At this, the group fell silent. Xiao Ruo's expression turned puzzled. "Did he really just let it go?"

Lai Yuan let out a tired breath. "Even if they didn't say it directly, that's probably what happened. I'm not surprised. The leader has made Brother Heng look bad before..."

He suddenly stopped, realizing he might have said too much. He glanced nervously at Yuan Heng, but Yuan Heng's expression remained calm, as if they weren't talking about him.

Wang Jin was curious about the man, Yuan Heng. He noticed that orcs valued strength, and the leader was usually the strongest. But this tribe seemed different.

Yuan Heng had a special relationship with the leader, and the others seemed to respect him. Wang Jin wondered if there was more to the story.

Xiao Ruo felt bad and apologized to Yuan Heng. "I'm sorry, Brother Heng... I...

The man felt ashamed. He knew the leader wouldn't kick out the other men, but he was surprised the leader was so nice to them.

"Don't worry about it. Why don't you stay for dinner tonight?" The leader said, helping the man sit down.

Two other men put some leaves on the leader's table. "We can't stay. We need to take care of the snake meat. We'll leave the leaves here," one of them said.

"That's fine." The leader said, not pushing them. He then looked at another man, who mumbled something about needing to work with the meat and then left with the others.

Soon, only Yuan Heng and Wang Jin were left in the room.

The man sat down in front of Wang Jin and looked at his injuries again. The medicine was gone, showing the bruises and cuts.

"Looks like it's just us," Yuan Heng said with a soft smile as he looked at Wang Jin. He felt sad seeing the old and new wounds. He asked Wang Jin softly, "Does it still hurt?"

Wang Jin was surprised and looked at his own body. Since he woke up after drinking the tea, he noticed something strange about his injuries. The pain was strong at first, but it quickly went away, leaving only the wounds. This time was the same, the pain was gone, leaving only the marks.

Wang Jin was nervous. He realized Yuan Heng was more than he seemed, and he was curious about the tribe's complicated relationships.

He wanted to tell the man he was okay, but he saw how worried the man looked. He didn't know why, but he changed what he wanted to say. Instead of saying "I'm fine." He said, "It hurts, it hurts."

His voice sounded sad and sweet, like a sharp thing covered in honey. It made the man feel really bad. The man said. "I'm so sorry, I didn't keep you safe."

The man spoke with such seriousness that Wang Jin was surprised. Wang Jin could see the man's worried face as he looked at his wounds. Wang Jin felt a strange, nervous feeling in his chest.

The man said, "I'm going to put more medicine on. It will make you feel better soon, I promise. I'm really sorry this happened, and I won't let it happen again. I'll make sure you're safe."

The man's voice was serious and sure. Wang Jin felt bad because he had made his pain sound worse than it was.

He was unsure, touching his nose. "It's not that bad." He said.

But the man didn't seem to listen. He put the medicine on Wang Jin's wounds, being careful and gentle. As he worked, he talked to himself. "I should have been more careful. I should have been there to help. You shouldn't have had to go through this."

Wang Jin watched him quietly, feeling many things. He saw the man really cared and felt bad, how he carefully fixed each cut like he wanted to make things right. It was nice, and Wang Jin felt a little better with each gentle touch.

"Thank you." He said softly, breaking the silence. "Thank you for helping me."

The man looked up, their eyes met. For a little while, they just looked at each other, they understood without words. Then the man nodded, a small, happy smile on his face. "It's the least I can do." He said quietly. "I'll always help you, no matter what."

Wang Jin's face got a little red because the man was being so nice. He wasn't used to people being so caring, and it made him feel a little scared but also kind of good.

When the man finished putting medicine on his cuts and started wrapping them up, Wang Jin let himself calm down. He believed the man would keep his promise. Even though his life had been crazy lately, for the first time in a long time, he felt safe and hopeful.

Wang Jin looked at the things Xiao Ruo brought back. They were on a table, and he didn't know what they were. He saw that there were no herbs left. He was worried and grabbed the man's hand. "Did you use all the herbs you picked? Is there nothing left?"

He remembered that many people used the medicine earlier, so there wasn't much left. The man nodded.

Wang Jin was unhappy and took the jar from the man. "Why did you use it on me?" He asked, sounding worried.

Wang Jin quickly put some paste on the man's face. "This is where it goes." He said, touching a mark on the man's cheek. The cool paste got warm from his touch, making the man feel better.

The man looked at Wang Jin, surprised. Wang Jin was focused, his face looking worried. His usually bright eyes were dark, showing the man and looking serious.

Wang Jin put on the paste very carefully. The man felt a change inside him, feeling better.

The man smiled a little. His cold look softened, becoming kind. He held Wang Jin's hand and kissed it softly.

Wang Jin was surprised and his eyes got bigger. His fingers shook and he dropped the man's hand. The man didn't seem to notice Wang Jin was shocked. He took the jar from Wang Jin's other hand and kept putting medicine on the wound. "Let's treat your injuries first. I'll get more plants if we need them."

Wang Jin was still thinking about the man's kiss. He had never been kissed before!

"What do you want to eat tonight?" The man asked, clearing the items from the table after finishing the application.

Wang Jin tried to calm down, wiping the place where the man kissed him. He turned to look at the food. The man put the meat in neat lines.

The man saw Wang Jin was interested, so he pointed at the different pieces of meat. "These are all soft pieces that are easy to chew. This is chicken, this is pork, and this is snake meat."

Wang Jin thought all the meat looked the same. He looked at it, and a playful look came into his eyes. "I want to eat everything." He said.

The man was surprised. Wang Jin looked at him, waiting. The man's frown went away. He smiled and took the meat. "Okay." He said, "I'll cook it for you."

Wang Jin smiled, showing his white teeth. The man felt happy too. The man went to the kitchen with the meat, and Wang Jin followed him.

Wang Jin watched the man cook. He felt thankful and bad. He knew the man was being kind, even though he didn't have much. As the man cooked, Wang Jin watched him closely. He noticed how the man's hands moved quickly and how he looked focused.

Wang Jin said. "You don't need to do all this. You've already helped me a lot."

The man saw Wang Jin following him closely. Wang Jin moved like a shadow, copying the man's every step. The man felt a little trapped, but also strangely happy. He felt a bit less alone.

The man looked back and said. "Taking care of you is the least I can do. You deserve it."

The man started working with the meat. Wang Jin thought about the delicious food he used to eat. He remembered the tastes and wanted to eat them again. He was hungry for those flavors. Wang Jin hadn't had any of that kind of food since he came to this new world.

Wang Jin felt brave and asked, "Can you cook me a braised one, a fried one, and a stewed soup? I want to eat them."

The man stopped talking and looked at Wang Jin, confused.

He asked, "Do you want it cooked with soy sauce? Or fried? Or in a soup?"

He looked confused, and Wang Jin's face went still, his eyes moving a bit. Maybe they didn't know how to cook like this?

Thinking, Wang Jin asked in a calm voice, "How are you going to cook this meat?"

"The same way as before." The man said.

Wang Jin remembered the boiled meat from before, and his face turned dark. "Is this the only way to cook it?" He asked, sounding worried.

The man thought for a bit, then closed his lips. "You can also cook it over fire, but it gets hard, and I'm afraid you won't be able to chew it."

Wang Jin felt really hopeless. He didn't say anything for a while, then finally said. "I'll show you how to do it."

Wang Jin used to be rich and never cooked. But he knew a lot of fancy food recipes from a dream. Now, he's poor and needs to cook to eat good food. He knows what to make, but he doesn't know how to cook.

Wang Jin said, "If you're a fast learner, maybe we can cook something yummy." He looked at the man, feeling hopeful but unsure.

The man nodded. He looked serious. "Tell me what to do, and I'll do my best."

Wang Jin took a deep breath, thinking about the recipe. "First, we need to soak the meat in flavors. Do you have any special flavors?"

The man said no. "We have some basic flavors, but not the special ones."

Wang Jin felt a little sad. "Okay, we'll use what we have. Let's start by cutting the meat into smaller pieces."

The man cut the meat very well, and Wang Jin told him how to mix the flavors they had to make a special sauce. Watching the man work, Wang Jin felt a little happy. Maybe, just maybe, they could make something that tasted almost like what he wanted.

"Let it sit for a bit." Wang Jin said. "I'll show you how to get the other stuff ready."

The man paid close attention, doing what Wang Jin told him without any trouble. As they worked together, Wang Jin felt like they were becoming friends, working together to make a good meal.

Time went by, and the kitchen smelled delicious. Wang Jin's mouth started to water as he watched the man cook so well. Wang Jin felt happy inside. He never felt so loved and important. Watching the man cook, he realized that even though things were hard, he was starting to feel like he belonged here.

When the food was ready, the man put a lot of each kind of meat in front of Wang Jin. He smiled and said. "Here you go. Enjoy."

Wang Jin looked at the food, then back at the man. "Thanks." He said. "For everything."

The man nodded. "No problem." He said. "I'll always be here for you."