Chapter 5

Although Cloudy remained cautious of Titus, having someone take care of her when she wasn't feeling well was truly... refreshing.

Titus moved particularly fast and brought back a large basin of water after cleaning the insect shells. Cloudy drank like a dying old dog, burying her head in the shells and gulping down water, disregarding thoughts of filtering or bacteria in the water.

After drinking crazily and hiccupping, Cloudy stopped and said, "Thank you, benefactor." She was sorry that Titus couldn't understand her, but it seemed he didn't mind. He looked happy when Cloudy regained her strength to speak, repeating a few words.

"Aguloo..." Cloudy looked at Titus's somewhat strange but, after a while, found it quite unique face. His current expression seemed joyful, and based on past experiences, Titus appeared happy and would use a cheerful voice to say "Aguloo" or "Yi Aguloo" when they first met.

The single sound "Yi" had appeared many times, mostly combined with other syllables.

Cloudy speculated... no need for speculation, Aguloo was definitely a greeting, similar to hello or other joyful expressions when meeting. In any case, it was a positive word used to express delight upon meeting. Cloudy began to recall the extra courses she took in college out of interest, where many ancient words, though very short, contained a wealth of content and potential applications.

Aside from using Aguloo when meeting, Titus also said it when Cloudy recovered. There were two scenarios: saying it when meeting happily and when seeing someone's condition improve. Thinking this, Cloudy grinned, "Titus Aguloo!"

Titus widened his eyes, blinked several times at Cloudy, and seemed to be pondering why she could suddenly communicate with him. While the savage thought with his dual-pupil eyes, Cloudy buried her head back into the shells, gulping down most of the water. She now felt warm all over, her stomach slightly uncomfortable from the water swelling, but bearable!

She was now eagerly waiting to pee. Looking at Titus, who was still sitting silently beside her, his ears slightly perked up like an animal, and his eyes blinking, he tentatively said something to Cloudy, who naturally couldn't understand. She waved her hand, "I only learned how to greet you, the rest is too difficult for me."

Realizing they still couldn't communicate, Titus scratched his head with his hand, looking puzzled.

Seeing the bewildered savage, Cloudy was actually curious about Titus's motives. How did he know where she lived the first time they met? Why did he come looking for her for several days in a row? Why did he help her fetch water and worry about her? Why did he show happiness when they met?

To figure this out...
Although unable to communicate, Titus seemed a bit disappointed, but he quickly perked up. He muttered something and untied a small leather pouch that was fastened around his waist with rough hemp rope. Titus then squatted next to Cloudy and placed the pouch on the ground.

It appeared they didn't have the technology for sewing yet; the pouch was simply a piece of animal hide roughly cut and tied with rope at the opening. This type of pouch might not be very convenient for someone who needed to forage outside, Cloudy noted silently. As she pondered how to make a better pouch with the things around her, Titus unfolded the leather pouch.

In that moment, Cloudy caught a whiff of an unpleasant smell, like Chinese medicine, but with a mix of a slightly pungent fragrance that was hard to describe. She turned to look at Titus and saw him holding a thin, dry-looking piece of something, unattractively yellow-green, with some flattened brown dots on it.

Cloudy realized something unpleasant might happen. Before she could react, Titus had already stuffed that smelly thing into her mouth...

"....Mmm." Cloudy was momentarily stunned by the smell, and it was this moment of shock that allowed Titus to stuff more into her mouth. As the saying goes, familiarity breeds fondness; Cloudy knew whatever Titus gave her was edible and certainly good.

She started chewing slowly, and no joke... this strange thin slice was even more unappetizing than it smelled! Bitter and astringent, and very, very greasy. Although dry, once mixed with saliva, it turned into a greasy mess in her mouth.

The fat, whatever it was made of, was extremely rich in the thin slice. Cloudy could feel it, even though she found it repulsive, she kept swallowing. Until she finished eating all the thin slices from Titus's leather pouch.

This unappetizing thing was probably the most nutritious thing she had eaten since arriving on this unfamiliar continent. Tears welled up in her eyes as she grabbed Titus's hand and shook it continuously; he was truly a kind savage!

Titus was also pleased, making grunting sounds as he clapped Cloudy's arm with his rough hand. Afterward, he began to tidy up his things, lifting Cloudy and placing her closer to the cave entrance, then arranging bug shells and such near her hand, as if to make it easier for her to reach. Once he finished these tasks, Titus left.

Cloudy was a bit curious about Titus's daily routine. Judging by his robust physique, he was probably responsible for hunting outside the group. Food gathering was a daily necessity. Based on Cloudy's knowledge... in ancient societies, people would gather as much food as possible during warm weather, prepare and store it to prepare for the scarcity of winter.

But Titus had been coming to waste time with her for several days in a row. Was hunting not intense here, or was there no winter in this place? There were things that needed to be clarified.
Titus left at the right moment, and Cloudy almost felt the need to use the restroom. It was the first time she had been so excited about needing to pee, as if she could actually feel toxins leaving her body.

After several trips back and forth, she finally no longer felt the need to go to the restroom completely. And, whether it was a misconception or not, her body felt stronger, and the morning soreness had subsided. Part of it was due to the water, and another part was definitely from the strange thin slice that Titus fed her.

What was that thing? If it contained fat, was it made from animal meat? Or perhaps it was a nut with fat content found in the rainforest? Cloudy felt she had a new goal besides making fire; that thin slice looked very easy to store. If she could produce it in large quantities, she wouldn't have to worry about eating in the future.

Cloudy started to recall the appearance of that thin slice; the texture was similar to pork belly, but harder and crispier. The color was similar to old pickled vegetables, and the strange brown spots on the slice made it look disgusting, almost like it had gone moldy. It was slightly translucent, probably due to the large amount of fat it contained.

Thinking about it, Cloudy smacked her lips. Although it was somewhat painful to eat, like chewing on pork fat, there was a subtle oily and fragrant aftertaste between her teeth.

Feeling slightly more comfortable in her body now, Cloudy lay at the entrance of the cave and began to dream big. If she succeeded in making fire, the first thing she would do is try to catch fish by the river. Although she hadn't seen what kind of fish lived in this area, there must be some she could eat!

Apart from food, after the poisoning incident, Cloudy temporarily didn't want to change her living place. She planned to wait until her body recovered and then make a tool that could dig with stones to expand the area of her cave.

She wanted to dig a long storage room on the left side of the cave to store valuable items she collected, then expand the sleeping area and widen the cave entrance for better airflow.

And most importantly... she wanted to make a small door for her cave using wooden sticks! The kind that could be tied from the inside.

If she kept renovating like this, would her cave end up looking like the kind of hobbit hole? Cloudy dreamed too beautifully, a smile even appeared on her face. However, from all aspects, having a comfortable cave was indeed more realistic and reliable than a comfortable wooden house.

Perhaps due to the relief of poisoning symptoms, Cloudy was in a very good mood now. She had many ideas in her mind, like making a more convenient pouch to give to Titus as a token of gratitude. She also wanted to find a way to learn the production method of that thin slice...

Unknowingly, the day was quickly darkening, and Cloudy felt sticky all over from the sun today. Sleeping like this would definitely be a bit uncomfortable. She decided to indulge herself a little.

Returning to the cave, she took out the waist pouch she had made with short sleeves. It was called a waist pouch, but it was actually a reproduction of the ancient times when peasant women wrapped cloth strips around their waists to store things by rolling them up continuously. This kind of waist pouch...
Similar to Titus' leather bag, although usable, it's not very convenient.

In addition to this short-sleeved shirt, there is also a jacket and pants, stored under Cloudy's hay mattress. The weather here is hot, so she doesn't need these two thicker clothing items. But what if the temperature drops later? They will come in handy.

Apart from clothes, Cloudy also has a ring and a half-broken phone at hand. However, these two things are useless. Every time she sees them, Cloudy's mind is filled with thoughts like, "Why didn't I have a lighter with me at that time? Why no Swiss army knife?" So, she buried them in the ground, out of sight, out of mind.

She crawls out of the cave with the short-sleeved shirt, unfolds it, shakes off the debris, carefully pours water from a beetle shell onto the shirt, moistening a corner before setting down the shell and using the shirt to clean herself.

She is now wearing a loose grey camisole and baggy shorts without pockets, so she doesn't need to undress to clean herself. Just a quick rub inside the clothes will do. Although not perfectly clean, it feels much better. As she cleans, Cloudy starts daydreaming about shower gel and shampoo...

It's been a long time since she properly washed her hair! If she keeps this up, will she get worms in her hair?!