Chapter 16: Fire Pit

“How are you feeling?”

Nagu looked worriedly at Hamoyin lying on the bed. His back was now covered with the pale red ointment, and the diseased scales had been cleaned up. There were twenty-three scales in total, all cleaned and hidden by Nagu. As for why they were hidden, it was because Hamoyin had told her to throw them away, but Nagu felt it was a waste, so she secretly hid them in the gap by the wooden bed.

“Do you want some water? Or something to eat? Is there anything I can do for you?” Nagu tried her best to take care of Hamoyin.

Hamoyin, exhausted, lay on the bed. The pain in his back was indescribable. He was barely staying awake, purely to prevent Nagu from doing something strange if he passed out. “…Water.”

As soon as he spoke, a cup of water was handed to his head.

“Do you want me to help you sit up a bit? You can’t drink lying down like this.” Nagu didn’t dare to move Hamoyin easily, fearing it would hurt his back.

“Pour… on… hand.”

“What?” Nagu quickly leaned closer to Hamoyin, his voice was so faint it sounded like he was exhaling. “What do you want?”

“Pour the water… on your hand…”

Nagu immediately poured some water on Hamoyin’s hand. “Like this?”

Hamoyin: “…I meant, pour it on your hand and feed me.”

“Oh…”

So that’s what he meant. Nagu felt embarrassed but quickly wiped the water off Hamoyin’s hand and cupped some water in her palm, bringing it to his mouth. “Drink, drink.”

Why do I misunderstand even simple things? As Hamoyin drank from her hand, Nagu began to reflect on her intelligence. She feared Hamoyin would kick her out one day because he couldn’t stand her stupidity.

“That’s enough.”

After Nagu poured water into her palm five times, Hamoyin moved his lips away. “I don’t want any more.”

“Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I need to sleep for a while.” Hamoyin was not used to Nagu’s excessive concern. He would rather she just sit quietly beside him, but in his current state, it was hard to eat or drink without help.

In fact, if Nagu weren’t there, Hamoyin wouldn’t have chosen to pull out the scales so extremely. No wonder people in the tribe always liked to work together. Having someone to help really made things easier, even though Nagu could be incredibly clumsy at times. He thought Nagu’s slowness was likely due to her inability to remember past events. However, it was probably for the best. If she recalled anything related to the monsters, she wouldn’t be chattering around his bed, asking questions.

Hamoyin lay on the bed, his eyes gradually closing from fatigue. “Nagu…”

“What is it? I’m here.” Nagu, sitting at the edge of the bed with a cup of water in her hands, was ready to follow any command. “What do you need?”

“If I don’t wake up tonight, help me apply the medicine again.”

“I got it. You sleep now.” This was simple; she could definitely handle it. “I’ll also prepare dinner tonight.”

“No need for dinner.” Remembering the tasteless and slightly fishy meat with bones from before, Hamoyin hesitated. “I’ll… handle it.”

Nagu shook her head. “No, your wounds are painful. Let me handle these small tasks. After all, you’ve taken care of me for so long; it’s only normal for me to take care of you once!”

Not wanting to eat that awful meat again but too exhausted to argue, Hamoyin collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

He’s asleep.

Seeing Hamoyin finally resting, Nagu was overjoyed. She began to think about their dinner. There were still some fruits Hamoyin had picked earlier and some roots piled outside. There didn’t seem to be any fresh meat, only stored hard jerky.

After some thought, Nagu decided that as long as she didn’t have to handle bloody raw meat, there shouldn’t be a repeat of the previous disaster. Plus, she now knew how to use the seasoning jars.

Cutting the cooked, soft, and tasteless roots into pieces and stewing them with the jerky, then cooking it like a stew until it bubbled with a thick broth—this was Hamoyin’s usual recipe. Nagu was confident she could recreate it tonight!

From observing Hamoyin, she knew that besides the hot meat dish, he would definitely want a bowl of fruit. His usual method was to chop various fruits and mix them with a strong-tasting herb. Nagu couldn’t handle the intense minty sourness, but Hamoyin seemed to like it. Of course, Hamoyin’s face was always expressionless except for a frown, so Nagu’s assumption that he liked it was just her own guess.

“Anyway, the plan is perfect, as long as it’s implemented at night… the fire pit.”

It was broad daylight, so naturally, the fire pit in the center of the treehouse wasn’t lit. Fresh firewood was piled in the corner of the room, waiting for its owner to use it in the evening.

After examining all the tools around the fire pit, Nagu had to face a certain fact. She didn’t know how to start a fire.

“…”

Why didn’t that leopard just bite me to death back then? No, why did I struggle so hard and even manage to kill it?

Nagu sat on the edge of the bed, her head hanging low. She wanted to go home, really wanted to go home. Although she couldn’t quite remember what her home was like, she just wanted to go back. She didn’t want to stay in this strange rainforest anymore, dragging her painfully sore ankle every day, wondering what she would do once she healed, how she could live without relying on Hamoyin.

Nagu’s mind wandered aimlessly, or maybe she wasn’t thinking at all, just staring blankly. It wasn’t until Hamoyin groaned in discomfort behind her that Nagu snapped out of it and looked at him lying on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“Ugh… it hurts…”

Hamoyin was clearly not fully awake, just mumbling in his sleep. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his brows were tightly furrowed, looking very uneasy.

See, I told you not to pull them out.

Nagu sighed helplessly and gently wiped the sweat from Hamoyin’s forehead. “Now you admit it hurts.”