Comic strip: Survival on a deserted island, surrounded by heroines

She sat quietly on the bed, her gaze occasionally drifting towards the direction of the green mountains.

A face like a nun's.

After Qingshan noticed, he smiled slightly at her and gave her a reassuring look.

He sat down by the fire, picked up a branch, and poked at the embers to make the snails heat up more evenly.

"The snails are almost done; they'll be ready to eat after grilling for a little while longer."

"Um..."

Shawu responded softly, then lowered her head, as if trying to calm herself down.

After a while, she suddenly raised her head, her voice slightly louder than before: "Brother Qingshan... when you came back, what did you catch?"

Qingshan glanced at her, a slight smile playing on his lips: "One snake, four snails, and one lizard."

Sagiri's eyes widened instantly: "A snake...a snake?"

She is most afraid of snakes.

Aoyama gestured towards the stove platform.

"Yes, the soup is already simmering."

"Madam's cooking is excellent; it shouldn't taste fishy at all."

Sawu's gaze fell on the steaming pot on the stove, and her expression became complicated.

Having grown up in the city, snake meat was something completely foreign to her.

But then I thought, this was caught by Brother Qingshan himself.

She took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind: "Then...then I'll try a small sip later."

Kasumigaoka Utaha chuckled softly beside her: "Sagiri, you've gotten bolder."

"When we were at the shelter, didn't you say you were most afraid of snakes?"

Sagiri's voice softened slightly: "That's different..."

"Tsk."

Kasumigaoka Utaha raised an eyebrow and said, "It seems that to cure this illness, we still need your brother Aoyama."

Shawu lowered her head and muttered in an almost inaudible voice, "Sister Shiyu is making fun of me again..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha walked over, leaned close to her ear, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Pay attention to safety measures, and make sure you're outside during the final moments, if you get pregnant..."

“…”

Izumi Sagiri was stunned by these blunt words.

She didn't even bother to figure out how Kasumigaoka Utaha had found out, and said nervously, "It's been inside several times..."

"..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha glared fiercely at Aoyama.

Green Mountain, which was burning with fire, suddenly focused his gaze and looked around.

"I feel like something's not right."

"Wait, what's with Shiyu's expression?"

Snow Mother took the soup pot down and placed it on the stone slab next to the stove.

She took several coconut shell bowls and used a wooden spoon to scoop the clear, milky-white soup into them.

Each bowl contained two pieces of snake meat and a few tender green wild vegetables, garnished with a sprinkle of roasted chopped wild onions.

She handed the first bowl to Aoyama: "Here you go, Aoyama-kun, drink it while it's hot."

Although he had just tried it, it was only to see what skills he could obtain.

"Thank you, Madam."

Aoyama took it, blew on it to cool it down, and took a sip.

The soup is sweet and savory, with the delicate sweetness of the snake meat and the fresh aroma of the wild vegetables blending perfectly.

He nodded: "It's delicious, even fresher than I expected."

"And it doesn't have a fishy smell."

To be honest, he has never eaten snake meat.

However, this snake didn't have a strong fishy smell even without many ingredients.

This was what surprised him.

"Drink more if you like."

Upon hearing this assessment, a gentle smile appeared on Xue Mu's face.

She handed the second bowl to Sage, the third bowl to Kasumigaoka Utaha, and the last bowl to the threshold, bending down to place it on the wooden board next to Yukino.

"Yukino, drink it while it's hot."

"Thank you, Mother."

Yukino closed her notebook, picked up the coconut shell bowl, and felt the steam rising on her face, bringing a warm sensation.

She lowered her head, took a sip, and her eyes flickered slightly.

Then he gave a soft "hmm" as a sign of his approval of the deliciousness.

Several people sat around the stove and on the threshold, holding steaming bowls of soup in their hands. Dusk gradually painted the sky a deep orange and warm yellow.

Sawu held the coconut shell bowl in both hands, carefully blew on the steam, and then took a small sip.

Her eyes lit up: "It tastes so good! There's really no fishy smell!"

She took another big gulp as she spoke, but it burned her throat, and she stuck out her tongue to breathe softly.

Qingshan smiled and said, "Drink slowly, don't rush."

Shawu's cheeks were flushed: "Thank you, Brother Qingshan."

Kasumigaoka Utaha sat cross-legged on the stone slab, holding a coconut shell bowl with an elegant posture, and drinking the soup at a leisurely pace.

She took two sips, then put down the bowl, tilted her head slightly, and looked at Qingshan.

"Aoyama-kun."

"Ok?"

"How's the map?"

Before Aoyama could speak, Yukino took out a map and said, "Sagiri is drawn in great detail here."

Kasumigaoka Utaha took it and unfolded it, her eyes scanning the paper.

Her expression changed slightly, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

"Wow... Sage, your drawing skills are simply amazing!"

When Sagiri was praised to her face, she said somewhat shyly, "It's...it's alright, I just drew whatever."

"How can a casual drawing turn out like this?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha flipped the map over and pointed to a small tree and rock marked with a simple line drawing.

"Even the landmark features are drawn so clearly, better than many professional field maps I've seen."

Sagiri's ears flushed pink again, but she couldn't help but smile slightly: "Because... I want to draw the map more clearly so that everyone won't get lost."

Yukino sat on the threshold, holding a bowl of soup, her gaze fixed on the map through the rising steam.

Her gaze lingered on the paper for a few seconds, then she spoke softly, "Is there still a water source in that forest?"

Sagiri nodded: "Yes, we heard the sound of water when we were halfway there."

"There was a stream to the west of the woods, but we were in a hurry and didn't make a special detour to see it."

Yukino lowered her eyes, as if she was thinking about something.

As Qingshan watched them chat, a gentle smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

"This is life."

The snails on the fire were roasted, their shells charred brown and emitting a rich aroma.

Snow Mother used a thin twig to push them onto the stone slab, and then spread a few clean leaves on the side, indicating that everyone could start.

"Snails should be eaten while they're hot; they'll have a fishy smell when they cool down."

Shawu looked at the golden-brown roasted snail, swallowed hard, and then pulled her finger back.

Aoyama picked up one, used a knife to pluck the meat out of the shell, and put it into his mouth.

"You guys shouldn't eat snails, it'll be bad if they get parasites."

Shawu asked worriedly, "What about Brother Qingshan..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha said, "It's alright, don't worry about him."

Yukino looked at Aoyama in surprise, as if she were meeting him for the first time.

Snow Mother didn't speak. She sat by the stove and poured the last bit of soup into a bowl.

Her gaze fell on Qingshan's profile.

That handsome face always carried a reassuring calmness.

"He's always thinking of everyone..."

Snow Mother lowered her head, took a sip of soup, and felt the warmth slide from her throat into her stomach.

She recalled the scenes from before.

While Aoyama was carrying himself on his back, with his hands on his hips, he was helping to prepare the coconut crab...

"At that moment... my body almost gave way, thankfully I..."

This realization stirred a subtle feeling within her.

She put down the bowl, gathered her thoughts, and when she looked up again, her expression had returned to normal.

"It's getting late, you should rest first, I'll take care of the tidying up."

"I'll help you."

Yukino stood up from the threshold, picked up a few empty bowls, and walked towards the stove.

Her movements were swift and quiet; she lowered her head, her hair slipping down from her ears, obscuring most of her face.

Xue's mother glanced at her but did not stop her; she simply whispered a word of advice.

"Just rinse the bowl with hot water, don't use cold water."

"Ah."

The mother and daughter stood side by side by the stove washing dishes, the firelight casting their distinctive shadows onto the wooden wall behind them.

Chapter 76: Life Evolution and the Transmission of Life Energy to One's Partner. [Image]

As night falls, countless stars fill the deep blue dome.

Qingshan leaned against the door frame, his gaze fixed on the horizon where the sea met the sky.

There was still a last glimmer of orange-red afterglow, slowly sinking below the sea level.

"The moon is so big tonight."

Sawu sat on the threshold, her arms wrapped around her knees, her silvery-white hair swaying gently in the night breeze.

She tilted her head back, and the full moon was reflected in her light blue pupils.

"Yes, it's almost a full month."

Aoyama responded, turning his gaze from the sea to her slightly flushed cheeks.

The weather was rather muggy tonight, so we didn't light a fire.

But the moonlight was still bright enough to illuminate her very clearly.