Soon, a rich aroma filled the air around the campfire.
"Try my cooking. This isn't a farm chicken, but a wild pheasant. Its meat is tender and delicious. I used fragrant branches for roasting. The scent of the wood permeates the meat, guaranteeing you'll devour it to the bone."
Ning Beichen broke off a chicken leg and handed it to Liu Yilin.
Already tempted by the smell, Liu Yilin eagerly took the leg and took a bite.
Instantly, the fragrant scent of the wood mixed with the chicken's aroma, tantalizing her taste buds. It melted like early spring snow, eliciting an sound of pure enjoyment.
"One word: delicious."
"Two words: very delicious."
"Three words: extremely delicious."
Liu Yilin, who had started with small bites, soon abandoned all pretense of ladylike manners and began devouring the chicken leg with gusto.
"This is amazing, Ning Beichen! How can you be such a good cook? This is even more delicious than the food prepared by five-star chefs."
As she ate, Liu Yilin praised him endlessly, just as Ning Beichen had predicted, she even gnawed the bones and swallowed them.
"It's not that exaggerated. You're just eating it for the first time, and after a long, tiring day, you're bound to find the chicken more delicious. But since you like it so much, have some more. Opportunities like this aren't common."
Ning Beichen felt a bit embarrassed by her praise.
However, he had always been confident in his culinary skills, especially in the wilderness. Ning Beichen dared to claim the title of the best chef, and no one in his presence could dispute it.
"Delicious, delicious."
Liu Yilin didn't care about any reasons; if it was delicious, it was delicious. Besides, it wasn't the first time she had eaten Ning Beichen's cooking.
Before, when they were at home, she had always found Ning Beichen's meals tastier than those at fancy restaurants, which was why she insisted he cook for her every evening instead of eating out.
"You flatter me so much. If you were to live with me in the wilderness for a month, I guarantee you'd gain ten pounds."
Ning Beichen thought to himself, feeling pleased. After all, no one disliked receiving praise, and he was only human.
Liu Yilin ate an entire wild chicken before finally feeling satisfied. If she could have eaten more, she probably would have been happy with another one.
However, just eating chicken might be too greasy.
So, Ning Beichen once again unleashed his prowess as a wilderness chef. He easily procured some tasty wild vegetables from outside and, after some preparation, transformed them into a visually appealing and flavorful salad and a tempting clear soup.
"I can't eat any more, Ning Beichen. What will I do if I can't eat your cooking in the future?"
Liu Yilin said lazily, sitting on the ground and looking at Ning Beichen with a hint of melancholy.
"It's simple. Become my woman, and you can eat it for a lifetime."
Ning Beichen said casually.
"Okay!"
Liu Yilin blurted out immediately.
Both of them froze, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Ning Beichen and Liu Yilin had been together for quite some time. Although he used to tease her, calling her a "ice goddess" and claiming he wouldn't give up the whole forest for one tree, he had already made a place for Liu Yilin in his heart.
However, he had always assumed she wasn't interested in him, so he hadn't thought about it further.
But he had no idea that he had already deeply embedded himself in Liu Yilin's heart, and they had even shared a bed.
As for Liu Yilin, she had long since fallen deeply in love with the man she once loved and hated, without even realizing it.
Moreover, throughout their journey, Ning Beichen had always helped her whenever she encountered difficulties, and it would be impossible not to be moved by that.
It was just that neither of them had realized how important the other had become in their lives.
Furthermore, Ning Beichen had never explicitly told her he loved her, so in the past, Liu Yilin had simply suppressed her feelings for him.
"Yilin, I was just joking. If you want to eat it, I can cook it for you anytime."
After a moment of tense silence, Ning Beichen rubbed his head and hurriedly explained.
While he had many women around him, including models and celebrities, he had always seen himself as a free spirit. Especially since he wasn't sure of Liu Yilin's feelings, he didn't want his words to cause her any trouble.
"It's... it's fine. I know you were joking."
Liu Yilin lowered her head and said softly.
But for some reason, her heart felt uncomfortable, as if countless ants were gnawing at it, making her feel unutterably distressed for the first time.
Afterward, an awkward silence settled between them. Ning Beichen busied himself with tidying things up, while Liu Yilin fled back to her tent and refused to come out.
Ning Beichen could sense that she wasn't cultivating and had no idea what she was doing inside. However, he didn't feel comfortable asking.
Gradually, the night deepened, and the rain continued to fall outside, drumming against the tarp with a pitter-patter sound.
Ning Beichen didn't go into his tent. He sat alone by the campfire, boiling water to make some yam tea, taking sips occasionally.
However, his thoughts weren't on the recent events but on the Jiugong Ce.
The fact that the Jiugong Ce miraculously yielded a coordinate in Zhongnan Mountain through computer calculations was itself extraordinary. But whether this coordinate was real, what its purpose was, or if it was related to the concept of "harmony between man and nature" were all mysteries to both him and Liu Yilin.
So, while sipping his yam tea, Ning Beichen pondered in his mind.
Logically speaking.
They were already at the location indicated by the coordinates.
Yet, he and Liu Yilin had found nothing here, no ruins. He was now questioning whether the coordinate was generated by chance or if they had simply failed to uncover its secret.
It was indeed a remarkable coordinate. Without the world's fastest computers, it would have been impossible to calculate. It wasn't surprising that its secret had remained undiscovered for so many years.
Was it the superior wisdom of the ancients, or the inadequacy of modern intelligence?
Considering the ancients had no computers, how did they manage to conceal the coordinate within the Jiugong Ce?
If it was indeed a secret hidden by the ancients, why did they hide it?
Were they trying to convey a secret to future generations through the Jiugong Ce?
Or was it deliberately concealed?
If it was deliberately concealed, what were the ancients afraid of?
Or were they trying to evade some powerful enemies?