"I've been away for days," Shi Chen said. "The house hasn't been cleaned. Let's eat outside. With the moon and the evening breeze, it'll be comfortable."
He hauled a wooden table out of the house, wiped it down, and laid out prepared dishes he'd bought.
Xue Kui didn't care where they ate. As long as there was enough food—and it tasted good.
He licked the corner of his mouth, staring at the spread, practically drooling. He'd never seen so much delicious food in one place.
"I heard someone called Shuang'er say," Xue Kui said, "that you call cooked food 'dishes'?" Shi Chen paused mid-plate, then smiled and nodded.
Xue Kui immediately gave him a thumbs-up. "Good dish!"
…That sounded weird.
Like he was praising *Shi Chen*.
But Shi Chen understood the yaksha's childlike ignorance and didn't dwell on it. Instead, he handed Xue Kui a pair of chopsticks.
Xue Kui took two smooth wooden sticks, stared at them, and in the next second tried to put them in his mouth to chew.
"Wait!"
Shi Chen stopped him in time. "You've never used chopsticks?" "Chopsticks?"
Xue Kui held one in each hand, confused. "They're tools for eating."
Xue Kui gripped one backward, stabbed a slice of pork belly, lifted it, and ate it—speaking around the bite.
"Like this?"
Shi Chen laughed and demonstrated the proper grip, then slowly showed how to pick food up. He knew the boy was smart. One example would be enough.
Watching the motion, Xue Kui felt a clean, simple kind of smoothness to it.
He copied the grip and neatly picked up a piece of meat, chewing thoughtfully. Then he raised the chopsticks before his eyes and opened and closed them a few times.
Convenient.
Did humans sit around inventing things like this for fun?
He rested his chin on one hand, thinking of chopsticks, then hoes and farming tools, then Shi Chen's crossbow.
Using external objects to make up for weakness… Was that how humans survived?
Maybe their continuation wasn't simply because gods protected them. Then a rich fragrance he didn't recognize suddenly drifted into his nose. A tuft of hair on Xue Kui's head snapped upright.
What was that?
He followed the smell and saw Shi Chen pouring something from a clay jar into a cup. Xue Kui had seen jars before—usually containing pickled foods with heavy flavors.
But flavored water? That was new.
Shi Chen noticed the white head peeking closer and smiled. "Oh? Little Xue Kui's interested in wine?"
"Wine?"
"It's a good thing," Shi Chen said. "Makes people feel happy for a while. Want to try?" Xue Kui held out his bowl.
A newborn yaksha would try anything. Except hilichurl food.
With a mischievous grin, Shi Chen poured him a bowl. Xue Kui drank it in one gulp.
Then he stuck out his tongue, face miserable. "Hahahaha! Well? How is it?"
"Strange," Xue Kui said weakly. "I don't like it." He poked the jar.
"Why does this water taste so weird?"
"It's not water," Shi Chen said. "It's brewed from grain."
"Grain?" Xue Kui tilted his head. "Isn't that your food? Humans aren't like me—if you don't eat, you die. Is it really good to waste food on something that tastes bad and doesn't fill your stomach?"
Shi Chen sighed softly.
"In this world… not many people die of hunger."
He swirled the liquid in his cup and drank, exhaling with heat spreading from throat to belly. "We're not short on food. Or rather—very few people live long enough to starve."
"You're not like us, Xue Kui. When you face beasts, you're the hunter." "We're the prey."
"Most people either die to monsters… or die on the road, taken by wounds and sickness."
He spoke calmly, but it left Xue Kui with an uncomfortable feeling crawling under his skin, as if he wanted to shake it off.
The evening wind turned colder. The Cryo yaksha felt a chill rise in his body.
Holding chopsticks, he silently watched Shi Chen tilt his head up, admiring the moon. "That's why I'm grateful to Lady Guizhong," Shi Chen said, voice full of reverence. "She's
helping us build a stable home… without asking for anything. We have nothing worth her greed."
Xue Kui thought of the woman who, in essence, was no different from the dragon—both had forced him into submission with violence.
He opened his mouth, then closed it. Maybe that was because he wasn't human.
"And I'm grateful to you too," Shi Chen continued, turning back with a smile. "Not just because you saved my life. If you've decided to stay here, that means you're willing to protect us too—like Lady Guizhong. Right?"
Shi Chen's smile looked real, warm. That uncomfortable feeling eased.
To keep him from sinking back into that heaviness, Xue Kui lifted his chin proudly.
"Of course. Human dishes are delicious, so I'll protect you. And I get to fight strong people too. Two birds with one stone."
Xue Kui might not know it, but among humans, that was called comfort. "Heh. Then I'll be counting on you."
Shi Chen lifted the wine jar again.
"Are you sure you don't want more? It only works when you drink the right amount. Don't you want to know the feeling humans trade grain for?"
Xue Kui rubbed his chin, curiosity stirring. It tasted weird…
But as long as it wasn't hilichurl food, he feared nothing. "Then give me some more."
A short while later, Shi Chen—cheeks slightly flushed—stared at Xue Kui, who sat dazed on the chair with unfocused eyes.
He looked down at the jar in confusion.
He'd wanted to see what a drunk yaksha looked like.
But even with a body far stronger than a human's, the kid got drunk *this fast*? Xue Kui's head swam. His mind was foggy.
He didn't want to think.
No sudden thoughts barged in. His consciousness felt… free.
Quietly sitting there, Xue Kui understood why humans brewed wine. A brief joy like this…
Maybe it was worth spending survival resources for.
Not long after, Shi Chen slung an arm around Xue Kui—who was a whole head smaller—and made a very undignified sound.
"Waaah… Xue Kui, I miss my parents. When I was little, they died during a migration…" Shi Chen wiped his nose.
"Say… is Lady Guizhong your mother?"
"Hm?" Xue Kui replied vaguely, mind still floating. "No. Yaksha are born of heaven and earth, aren't they? At least I didn't see any living thing when I was born."
"Oh." Shi Chen sniffled. "I thought Lady Guizhong gave you life. Names are usually given by parents, after all."
Guizhong… mother?
Xue Kui's usually sharp mind felt slow.
"Hah!" Shi Chen suddenly perked up. "Then we've suffered the same thing. Let's make a pact—become sworn brothers!"
"Brothers?"
"The closest kind of family!"
Someone who fed him good food, showed him what wine felt like… Yes. That should count as close.
Xue Kui smiled foolishly. "Okay."
"How old are you, Brother Xue Kui?" "…?"
"From birth until now."
"About… a thousand sun-and-moon turns?" "So young? Then I'm your big brother!"
Shi Chen slapped Xue Kui's shoulder hard, laughing. "From now on, you're my good little brother!"
Xue Kui, brain still a mess, copied him and slapped Shi Chen's shoulder in return. "Okay! Big brother!"
Xue Kui didn't notice—
Shi Chen's face went from rosy red to corpse pale in an instant. The pain snapped his drunkenness clean away.
He stared at his shoulder in horror as agony flared through it.
…How did it break?
How did it break like that?!