After that, Cai Lihua only felt a buzzing sound filling the air.
Her ears were ringing so much that for a few seconds, she couldn't hear anything at all. Her head was completely muddled.
"What are you looking at? It was him. If he hadn't blocked the knife with his arm just now, you would have lost your life."
Cai Lihua noticed the man's confused look.
"Ah? Is that why it buzzed? My, my, my mind went completely blank."
After saying this, Meng Shaode looked strangely at his daughter, then at Cai Lihua:
"Blocked the knife with his arm?"
"Isn't that right? I saw it clearly. This is how I was holding the cleaver."
To put on a dramatic performance, Cai Lihua picked up the cleaver and mimicked holding it with both hands at the time.
"I was just like this, about to charge forward, when *bang*... it was gone. That kid's arm was faster than mine, and he directly blocked that blow."
After speaking, with a clang, Cai Lihua dropped the cleaver on the ground as if it were trash.
"..." Meng Shaode narrowed his eyes and looked at the young man. After a long while, he let out a sigh:
"So, if that's the case, this kid saved my life?"
"Indeed."
"Young man, come here." Meng Shaode, with his broad shoulders, walked towards him.
"I won't eat it, I really won't eat it. I... I'm not hungry."
Tuoba Yan waved his hands and retreated, "I'm really not hungry, ah..."
His heel landed in a mud puddle, and his whole body leaned backward.
Meng Shaode, with quick reflexes, pulled him out of the mud pit:
"Are you scared silly? Let Uncle see your arm. Uncle is grateful for you saving my life."
Tuoba Yan immediately relaxed, and said with a grin, "Uncle, I thought you were going to force me to eat that stuff. I won't eat it."
His smile was as awkward as it could get.
It even softened Meng Shaode's heart: "No, no, you can come over and cool off, then."
In this vast area, this was the largest tree, with the most vigorous canopy.
It was a banyan tree. With a little moisture, it would grow aerial roots, reaching into places with water according to the natural environment.
"Sit. If you don't listen, you're not giving Uncle face. Back then, when I traveled alone all over the country, what kind of bandits hadn't I encountered? I wasn't afraid of death, and I cared deeply about face."
Saying this, Meng Shaode pushed Tuoba Yan onto a stone.
"Don't talk about back then. Was it like this back then?" Cai Lihua interjected.
A Jiu glanced at his mother, then at his father. Only his mother could say a nonsensical sentence to bring his excited emotions back down.
"I..."
As expected, Meng Shaode, who wanted to brag about his lost face, lowered his head this time and obediently went back to eating his loaches.
"You should try some too. They're very crispy. We don't have salt right now, so we'll probably have to go to Nanming City to buy some."
A Jiu handed him one.
His hands were trembling.
"It's already dead, how can you..."
A Jiu's words trailed off, and he felt like laughing again, but he restrained himself, considering Tuoba Yan's pride.
"Ugh..." Tuoba Yan actually vomited.
He vomited on the spot.
He even vomited onto his own boot: "No, I don't feel well today."
Tuoba Yan got up and left, then went into the bushes and vomited again.
The couple exchanged glances. Cai Lihua guessed, "Could he be allergic?"
What was an allergy? A Jiu didn't have time to think about it. He chased after Tuoba Yan and patted his back a few times.
"Are you okay? Why is it so bad? These loaches are dead and cooked. They can fill your stomach. Do you know there are many people in the world who eat tree bark?"
"No, no..." Tuoba Yan waved his hand, his face twisted from vomiting. He looked at A Jiu, "I don't know what's going on. As soon as I think about those loaches wriggling, I..."
"Aww..." Turning around, Tuoba Yan vomited again.
"But... aren't yellow eels and loaches in the water all wriggling? If that's the case, then the blood of yellow eels is even more vibrant red, so you wouldn't get to enjoy that either?"
A Jiu stopped trying to persuade him. He crossed his arms and watched the over six-foot-tall young man vomit like a small shrimp.
"It's really not like that. I've just never seen this kind of creature before. I seem to have an adverse reaction to things I haven't seen before."
"Adverse reaction?" A Jiu was startled. "What is an adverse reaction? You've never seen human blood either, so you have an adverse reaction to that too? Then maybe you'll get better if you see it more often?"