Chapter 87

Chapter 87

"We can rest here."

"Great!"

Titus sat cross-legged by the puddle, using his hands to scoop up the water and wipe his arms. Cloudy, on the other hand, was caught up in a frenzy, squatting by the puddle and vigorously scrubbing the brown fruit in her hands. This fruit was discovered about an hour ago by Titus and her on a tree trunk, not a fruit grown by the tree but a parasitic plant.

The fruit was about the size of two fists, with an uneven shape but mostly round. The brown skin felt like fine sandpaper, slightly painful when rubbed hard. At the bottom of the fruit, there were many hard thorns. Cloudy plucked them all out and kept them. It was the closest thing she had seen to a needle, which she planned to use later to sew clothes or bags for Titus.

The prickly sensation of the fruit's skin disappeared after being soaked in water and rubbed with leaves a few times, similar to a peach or kiwi. Peeling the fruit was a bit challenging. Initially, Cloudy had Titus help her break it open barehanded, but later she mastered the technique. She used the thorns on the fruit to poke around from top to bottom, giving it a slight tap to open it. The thickness and hardness of the fruit's skin resembled a pomegranate. When opened, the fruit's skin oozed juice, which, when exposed to air for some time, turned into a deep brown-yellow color, emitting a strong fruity fragrance.

Cloudy couldn't quite describe the fruity scent, a mix of various refreshing tropical fruits. After smelling it for a while, her eyes seemed to sparkle.

After peeling the fragrant fruit skin, Cloudy wrapped it in leaves for safekeeping. She picked out the white flesh and placed it on another clean leaf. Unlike the tough skin, the flesh was very soft, resembling a thick, watery porridge. It had no distinct taste at first but left a slightly sweet flavor in the mouth. Cloudy felt a hint of peculiar onion-like fragrance in the sweetness of the flesh, a strange but captivating taste.

The fruit's core was very small, densely packed like chia seeds, and both she and Titus swallowed it without spitting out the seeds. For Cloudy, this fruit was like eating porridge, but a white porridge soaked in flower buns.

"I want to take a lot back with me," Cloudy said, her belly bulging from eating on the leaves. "I like this."

Titus smacked his lips, glancing at the huge leaf bundle behind him. Throughout their journey back to the settlement, Cloudy kept asking him...

"Titus, can we eat this?" "Titus, is this edible?" "Titus, this smells so good, can we eat it?" "Titus, what is this..."

Eating, eating, eating... Along the way, Cloudy asked him if she could eat everything she saw, which made Titus doubt himself. Perhaps he had underestimated Cloudy's appetite over the past few sunsets. Maybe she could eat more than she appeared. However, deep in the rainforest...
The plant species are diverse, many of which Cloudy has never seen before. Knowing that the outside hunting has already begun, he is not in a hurry to return, slowing down to teach Cloudy about these plants, which is also nice.

However, the things they collect are increasing. It started with just a few fist-sized leaf bundles, but now the size of the bundles is almost as tall as half of Cloudy. Every time he says, "This can be eaten," Cloudy starts to frantically pick and then bundle them up.

He wants to tell Cloudy that they have collected enough and more movement would lead to trouble. However, seeing Cloudy's cheeks flushed as she devours fruits like a wild beast, he feels very pleased... The two of them are currently hiding behind a huge tree root, taking a rest.

The tree roots have a somewhat unnatural curved shape, rising high and hitting another large tree nearby, forcing them to change direction. At the turning point of the tree root, a natural "fortress" is formed, with tree roots serving as walls on the left and back, a purple bush shaped like a banana leaf in front, and a triangular depression on the ground at the turning point where excess dew from the converging tree leaves forms a puddle.

In the puddle, some tender green water plants are growing, with some poking above the water surface, showcasing light green flowers at their tips. Naturally, Cloudy points at these cute little water flowers and asks, "Titus, can we eat this?" Since this question is quite inexplicable, Titus can only shake his head, saying, "I have never eaten it."

"This place is really nice, with lots of food." On the way back to the settlement, Cloudy's mouth never stops, as if she is exploring a street food market. In fact, her stomach is so full that it's about to burst, but she can't resist continuing to eat, partly because she has discovered more edible things and partly because the thought of starving scares her into retaliatory binge-eating. As long as she eats until full, there are no negative thoughts.

"We've rested for too long, should we continue walking?" She pats her belly, burps, and says, "I'm full."

In fact, she doesn't want to move yet. The resting place Titus found is too comfortable, with a thick layer of plant cushioning under the bushes instead of damp soil, more like a trimmed lawn in winter. Although the temperature is still high, there is a water puddle nearby where she can immerse herself and rest.

The high pressure Cloudy felt in the past few days while looking for Titus has been fully relieved during this short rest. Titus no longer has hallucinations, looks very energetic without any abnormalities, and she has also learned and recognized many new plants. Just thinking about going back to the settlement to arrange the collected items properly makes her feel... happy...

Cloudy, who initially appeared dull after being full, gradually regains clarity in her eyes. She furrows her brow, carefully recalls, then hesitantly looks at Titus, "When I came to find you, the Matriarch locked me up. She didn't want me to find you, and I escaped. Will the Matriarch be angry?"
"Will."

Cloudy's eyes flickered, and she once again subconsciously thought about just going back to her cave to live...

"They will regret it, not breaking your legs."

Now her eyes weren't just flickering, but dancing like wild bees in her eye sockets. She grabbed the hair beside her ear, gnashing her teeth, "If I go back now, will they break my legs?!"

"No." Titus smiled, "If they break your legs, I'll break mine."

...No need for such a drastic measure.

Cloudy couldn't decide which was scarier, having her legs broken by the Matriarch or seeing Titus say such things with a cheerful face. The logic of the wild people was straightforward, to say the least, and now thinking carefully... back then, the Matriarch just had others lock her in the house instead of breaking her legs directly, probably thinking that Titus was very fond of her.

Or perhaps, knowing that Titus would react more drastically if he saw her injured, she refrained from harming her. After all, a mother knows her child best.

Cloudy wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. She wasn't planning on sacrificing her own legs for the sake of building a settlement. Seeing that Titus wasn't concerned about it, she relaxed, "Let's continue on, can we make it back to the settlement today?"

"We can." Titus stood up, stretching lazily, and slung Cloudy's large leaf bundle onto his back. To make it easier for him to move, Cloudy used all her brainpower to manipulate vines into making a "backpack," very rudimentary, simply vines wrapped around the leaf bundle with two straps that could be slung over the shoulders.

With this thing on his back, Titus looked like he was going to school, quite amusing. Cloudy chuckled every time she looked at him, the wild man didn't know what she found funny, but seeing Cloudy laugh, he grinned and joined in, "Cloudy, this is convenient. I can do this when I go out hunting, can carry a lot of things."

"When we get back to the settlement, I'll make a better one." Cloudy patted the small leaf pouch on her waist, filled with sharp thorns of the rice fruit. Although she didn't know yet what to use for the thread, she would find a way!

...

Matriarch led a group of people, holding torches, standing at the entrance of the settlement, their faces looking as if they had seen a ghost.

"..."

"We're back." Titus greeted everyone normally, even waving his hand.

Cloudy, on the other hand, half of her body hidden behind Titus, dared not make eye contact with the group of people who wanted to break her legs. The atmosphere wasn't as warm as she had imagined... just as she was thinking this, Matriarch rushed over and hugged Titus.

Others also crowded around, chattering incessantly, squeezing her to the point where she could only cling to Titus' back. Matriarch's voice had changed, carrying a very unpleasant, tearful tone.
Us were estimated to be uncomfortable and began to shout loudly, causing a moment of chaos. Cloudy was afraid of being trampled in the midst of these tall individuals, so she desperately tried to push her way out.

After she managed to get out, the group of wild people continued to surround Titus. Despite the noise under the glow of torchlight, it felt somewhat warm.

He's really the village chief's son... Cloudy sighed, thinking back to the previous rainy season when they all thought Titus had died. When he suddenly returned to the settlement, he must have been welcomed in a similar manner, except Titus hadn't informed her. The lack of information led Cloudy to believe that Matriarch didn't see Titus as her son.

The "welcome party" lasted for about ten minutes. Once Matriarch calmed down, she dispersed the crowd, saying, "Titus and Cloudy, come with me to the longhouse. Let's make sure you're both okay."

Why do I have to go too? I want to go back to the house. Feeling suddenly singled out, Cloudy felt like she was caught by the teacher, her whole body tensing up. "I... I'm not injured. Don't ask me, don't talk to me. I'm not your son, ask your son about his condition."

Matriarch shook her head, parted the crowd, and came up to Cloudy, taking her hand. "You brought him back. Thank you."

Really? Did I bring him back? Cloudy nervously chuckled, unsure whether to nod or shake her head, her mind filled with thoughts of "They're going to break your legs."

"We're very tired and exhausted. Let's rest. No need for a check-up," Titus intervened, separating Matriarch from Cloudy. "We'll go to the longhouse at sunrise." With this intervention, Cloudy took the opportunity to hide under Titus's armpit, eager to retreat back to the house away from everyone.

Titus noticed her intention and bent down slightly, lifting her up with one hand, swiftly dodging the other wild people, and running towards their shared house.