Chapter 018: How to Tell When Soone Left
With enough wood gathered, the only thing left was the roof.
Fortunately, Mu Liang had already carved grooves into the walls, making it easier to set up the wooden beams.
Thanks to his enhanced strength, the entire process took only ten minutes.
“Mu Liang, I’ll handle laying the stone tiles! Just pass them up to !”
Mino climbed onto the roof agilely, her rabbit ears twitching with excitent.
Mu Liang handed her a brick and reminded her:
“Be careful. Watch your footing.”
“Got it!”
Mino cheerfully arranged the stone tiles, already daydreaming about living in their new ho.
By the ti they had finished half the roof, the sky had gone dark.
They lit a bonfire in the courtyard for light and continued working.
An hour later—
The roof was complete.
Xiao Xuanwu used its ability to fuse the stones together, ensuring that even heavy rain wouldn’t cause leaks.
“We finally finished!”
Mino jumped off the roof, eyes sparkling with excitent.
She clenched her small fists, feeling a mix of joy and accomplishnt.
The overwhelming excitent from earlier had settled into a warm satisfaction.
Mu Liang patted her shoulder.
“Let’s move in. Ti to bring everything over.”
“Mm!”
Mino nodded vigorously.
Moving didn’t take long—
After all, she didn’t have much.
Her belongings included:
A pillowA wooden bed boardTwo wooden bowlsA wooden bucket
And…
The wooden door from her old hut.
Mino insisted on taking it and planned to install it as her new bedroom door.
It was a sentintal piece, a symbol of her past life.
Eventually, the only thing left behind was the structure of the old hut itself.
Everything else had been moved.
Mu Liang stood at the doorway, holding a torch.
He silently watched as Mino hugged her pillow, standing motionless in the middle of the hut.
But he didn’t interrupt her.
Mu Liang had no illusions about finding Mino’s sister.
But he understood—
Keeping small pieces of their shared past might bring her so comfort.
A mont later, Mino bit her lip, turned around, and said softly:
“Let’s go.”
She clutched her pillow tightly, her expression unreadable.
Who knew if she would ever return to this place again?
Mu Liang didn’t say anything.
At this mont, words were aningless.
He simply walked beside her, leading her back to Xiao Xuanwu.
Even as the hut disappeared from sight, Mino stole glances over her shoulder several tis.
But once they arrived at their new ho—
Her mood completely changed.
Mino bead, running in and out of her new bedroom, examining every corner.
She clutched her pillow and excitedly ran up to Mu Liang.
“This whole room is really mine?!”
Mu Liang laughed and nodded.
“Yes. You can decorate it however you like.”
“Hehe~~ Then I’m going to organize everything!”
Mino giggled happily and dashed back inside to start setting up her space.
anwhile, Mu Liang turned his attention to the courtyard.
They still needed a proper firepit for cooking.
His stomach rumbled, and he decided to set it up imdiately.
The process was simple:
A square firepit, identical to the one from the old hut.A layer of soil, followed by a layer of sand, for insulation.A chimney system, ensuring proper ventilationfor smoke.
Once the chimney was secured, Mu Liang dusted off his hands.
He grinned.
“That’s done.”
Then, he chuckled to himself—
“Looks like ‘Earth Spike Burst’ has more uses than I thought.”
He set up a cooking rack, hung the steel pot, and started boiling at soup.
At the sa ti, he placed skewers of at over the fire to roast.
At that mont—
A small nose twitched in the doorway.
Mino peeked out, her blue eyes wide with surprise.
She stared at the firepit, then at the simring soup and roasting at.
Her ears twitched in disbelief.
Mu Liang smirked.
“Why are you just standing there? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Of course I’m hungry!”
Mino imdiately ran over and sat cross-legged by the fire.
She stared eagerly at the at, but then hesitated—
She wanted to remind Mu Liang to ration their food.
But—
When she looked up and saw his dust-covered face, she swallowed her words.
Instead, she simply asked:
“Is it ready yet?”
Mu Liang raised an eyebrow.
He had expected her to lecture him on saving food.
But instead—
She had let it slide.
He smiled.
“at soup takes ti to absorb the flavors.”
Then, he flipped a skewer over the flas.
Mino hesitated for a mont, then asked:
“You said a group of scouts will co tomorrow, right?”
Mu Liang glanced at her.
“Yes.”
Mino bit her lip.
“So… how do we make it look like the villagers just left?”
Mu Liang turned a skewer, then asked:
“If you were a scout, how would you figure out when people left?”
He didn’t give her the answer imdiately.
Instead, he wanted her to think for herself.
After all—
They were going to survive together in this world.
And she needed to learn the skills he knew.
Mino pouted in concentration, her rabbit ears tangling together as she tried to think.
She looked down at her bare feet and wiggled her toes.
Suddenly—
Her eyes lit up.
“Footprints!”
She bead.
“You can tell when people left by looking at their footprints, right?!”
Mu Liang nodded approvingly.
“That’s correct. The depth and freshness of footprints can tell you how long ago soone passed by.”
But then, he added:
“However, there’s an even easier way.”
Mino’s ears perked up.
“What is it?”
Mu Liang smiled.
“The condition of charcoal and ash.”
He explained:
“By observing how long charcoal takes to burn out, and how long the ground beneath a fire remains warm, you can estimate how recently soone was here.”
Mino’s eyes sparkled with understanding.
“That makes sense!”
She nodded eagerly—
Even though she didn’t fully grasp it yet, she would learn.
Mu Liang handed her a skewer of roasted at.
“Now, eat first. You’ll need energy to work tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
Mino took the skewer absentmindedly, still deep in thought.
“Snap!”
Mu Liang flicked her forehead.
“Ah! That hurt!”
Mino yelped cutely.
Mu Liang smirked.
“Focus on eating.”
He handed her a bowl of hot soup.
Mino pouted but accepted the bowl.
Even as she sipped the soup, she kept thinking about what she had learned.
Tomorrow, they would put it to the test.
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