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Chapter 8: Are You Insane?

The little girl didn’t understand why she had to wait until midnight to eat, but she was sensible enough not to make a fuss. Instead, she obediently lay curled up in her blanket.

This was because staying still would reduce energy consumption and prevent hunger from worsening.

Although Lu Wei felt heartbroken watching her, there was nothing he could do. That half jin of millet was seed stock, which he needed to use to return as a reward later.

Before the return, not a single grain could be wasted; losing one grain meant losing ten.

Time passed imperceptibly, and the night remained eerily quiet except for the occasional bird calls.

Though thousands of people were camping nearby, hardly anyone spoke.

When someone was truly hungry, they didn’t feel like talking.

Everyone lay silently on the snowy ground with numb expressions, quietly awaiting what seemed like impending death.

Some who lay down never got back up again.

As time slowly ticked by, Lu Wei glanced at the countdown timer on his system interface.

Midnight had already passed, and a new return opportunity had refreshed.

Lu Wei immediately took out the millet and stuffed it into Lu Xiaoxiao’s arms.

“Xiaoxiao, this half jin of millet is my gift to you.”

Lying in her blanket, almost asleep, Lu Xiaoxiao was startled by Lu Wei’s sudden action and couldn’t react for a moment.

Seeing her stunned expression, Lu Wei hurriedly urged, “What are you spacing out for? Take it quickly! Don’t you want to eat?”

Lu Xiaoxiao instinctively accepted it, thinking her brother wanted her to cook.

But just as she took the rice, she saw her brother snatch it back.

“Never mind, you stay here. I’ll go cook porridge for you.” With that, he left the tent holding the rice.

Lu Xiaoxiao blankly stared at her empty hands and then at her brother’s retreating figure.

“Ding! Host gifted Lu Xiaoxiao half a jin of millet soaked in Soul-Bewitching Grass juice, triggering a 10x return reward. Gained 5 jin of millet and 1 jin of Soul-Bewitching Grass juice.”

Upon seeing this return reward, Lu Wei sneered. It was exactly as he had expected.

These two fellows hadn’t harbored good intentions. He naturally knew what the Soul-Bewitching Grass juice was.

Soul-Bewitching Grass was a potent drug, often used for hunting or by certain criminals.

Just a tiny amount could knock out a wild boar.

Yet, this half jin of millet contained an entire liang of it. If he and Lu Xiaoxiao had eaten it, they would have slept for three days straight without waking up.

In fact, from the moment the guy handed over the millet to when he left, though seemingly respectful, there were many suspicious signs if one paid attention.

First, if it was truly an apology, how could they not even exchange names?

Moreover, Lu Wei found it hard to believe that a shameless thug who ate human flesh would give away half a jin of food to appease an ordinary person like him.

Unless, they stood to gain something greater from him.

And the only things of value here were himself and his sister.

As he had suspected, there was something wrong with the millet.

Fortunately, the system’s return separated the two components.

Although the original half jin was inedible, the returned 5 jin was perfectly fine, and he even gained a free jin of Soul-Bewitching Grass juice, which wasn’t cheap.

Five jin of millet, if rationed carefully, could last the two of them five days.

However, after those five days, they’d face hunger again. Thus, he needed to find a stable food source within that time.

Looking at the tampered half jin of millet, Lu Wei wore a contemplative expression.

—

Perhaps this could be useful.

Lu Wei lit a fire and started cooking the non-tampered millet into porridge.

Then, he took some of the tampered millet and went to the edge of a nearby forest.

After clearing a patch of ground, he scattered a handful of the millet on the ground.

Having done this, Lu Wei returned to the fire to continue cooking the porridge.

About a hundred meters away, on a small mound, two shadowy figures lay hidden in the snow, intently watching Lu Wei.

Seeing Lu Wei finally start cooking, both Ma San and Chen Qi sighed in relief.

“This kid, damn, he really has perseverance, waiting till now to cook,” Chen Qi grumbled.

Lying in the snow all night, he felt like he was freezing to death.

Ma San sneered, “It seems this kid isn’t stupid. He must suspect the millet is tainted. But suspicion won’t help. I don’t believe he can resist eating it when he’s starving.”

“When people are desperate, they’ll eat it even if they know it’s poisoned,” Ma San added.

Chen Qi gave Ma San a thumbs-up. “Third Brother, your scheme is brilliant.”

Hearing this, Ma San couldn’t help but feel proud. “Remember, in the martial world, brute strength isn’t important. What matters is using your brain.”

“Third Brother, look! The kid finished cooking and took it inside, probably to eat.”

“No rush, let’s wait. He can’t escape anyway. With that much Soul-Bewitching Grass juice, it could knock out ten wild boars. Once he eats it, he won’t wake up anytime soon.”

On Lu Wei’s side, after finishing the porridge, he brought it into the tent and called Lu Xiaoxiao to eat.

“Wow, half a jin of rice made so much porridge!” Seeing the pot full of golden millet porridge, Lu Xiaoxiao nearly drooled.

She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten rice.

“It’s late. Don’t eat too much. Have a bowl and then go back to sleep. We’ll save the rest for breakfast.”

With their limited food supply, they had to ration carefully. Eating just enough to stave off hunger was sufficient; eating to fullness was a luxury.

Soon, Lu Xiaoxiao finished her bowl and reluctantly returned to her blanket to sleep.

Lu Wei also had a bowl and stopped eating afterward.

His stamina and essence blood were at their peak, and his body was in its prime condition.

Eating just enough to maintain his energy sufficed.

After finishing, Lu Wei tidied up and quietly exited the tent.

With the fire extinguished, the surroundings were pitch dark, with only the faint starlight reflecting off the snow.

Lu Wei avoided the sightlines of the two men on the hill and hid near the tent entrance, covering himself completely with snow.

In such darkness, the vision of ordinary people was severely limited.

But for Lu Wei, it barely affected him. Though not as clear as during the day, his vision far surpassed that of others.

Lu Wei lay in the snow for over an hour before he saw two figures approaching from afar.

They moved slowly, making almost no sound.

Watching them draw closer, Lu Wei smirked coldly.

“So it’s you two. These guys sure acted fast.”

He hadn’t gone looking for them yet, but here they were, delivering themselves right to him.

The two reached the tent entrance, exchanged glances, and one cautiously lifted the tent flap with a stick.

The other raised his stick, ready to strike.

At that moment, Lu Wei moved…

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