The Daily Life of a Female Esper in Ancient Times - Chapter 247

Unable to set sail, Lu Liucheng and Lu Xuanyu were both very disappointed. However, when they heard from little Yu that during low tide, there would be many fish, shrimp, and shells to collect on the beach, they excitedly ran to ask Li Xia, “Mother, since we can’t go sailing, can we go beachcombing instead?”

“I won’t go. Let Qiu Chan take you two,” Li Xia replied. Beachcombing reminded her of a time during the apocalypse when she had gone once. That experience made Li Xia never want to go again in this lifetime.

“I want to go too!” Qing Niang, who had been listening nearby, quickly expressed her desire to join.

“Anyone who wants to go can go,” Li Xia didn’t restrict them.

“Aunt Qiu Chan, come quickly! Let’s discuss when to go!” Lu Liucheng pulled Qiu Chan away.

“When Cheng Cheng mentioned beachcombing, your expression changed. What were you thinking about?” After the children had gone, Lu XuanNing sat beside Li Xia and asked in a low voice.

“The interesting part of beachcombing is that there’s a lot of food to collect. But who’s the prey and who’s the predator isn’t always certain,” Li Xia recalled her past life when their team had completed a mission to escort a group of scientists to a coastal base. On the way back, they happened to encounter low tide and saw many fish and shrimp on the beach.

They decided to stop and collect some seafood to eat. As a result, they encountered level eight crabs and mutated seaweed ambushing them from beneath the sand on the beach.

Taking advantage of the terrain, their team almost perished there. In the end, it was the water and electric system users in the team who worked together to electrocute them. However, Li Xia was standing in the wrong position at the time and was also electrocuted from the outside in, which was quite an exhilarating experience.

As she spoke, Li Xia leaned into Lu XuanNing’s embrace, feeling drowsy.

Recently, her sleep time had been increasing again.

“Have the local thugs been dealt with?” Before falling asleep, Li Xia remembered to ask.

“Thanks to your help, the situation with the three families has been clarified,” Lu XuanNing replied. However, the pirate forces collaborating with these three families were not small, and it would be difficult to catch them all at once. More planning and strategizing were needed. Lu XuanNing’s naval training time had been too short, and he wasn’t yet skilled enough to deal with pirates who were adept at sea combat.

“If you need me to do anything, just say so,” Although she was tired, she wasn’t incapable of doing things.

“If I need anything, I’ll tell you,” If Li Xia was well, Lu XuanNing would discuss many things with her. Her abilities were very useful at sea. But now, Lu XuanNing only hoped that Li Xia would be alright.

When Lu Liucheng returned from beachcombing, he showed Li Xia the various seafood they had collected and recounted the interesting experiences of their trip. Li Xia listened attentively and had the kitchen prepare a grand seafood feast.

After the meal, Li Xia fell asleep again.

“Mother, what’s wrong?” Lu Liucheng couldn’t help but ask Lu XuanNing. In the capital, Li Xia also loved to sleep, but not as much as she was sleeping now.

“Your mother is ill and needs sleep to recover her health,” Lu XuanNing didn’t hide it from Lu Liucheng.

“What illness does she have? Can’t Uncle Xiao cure her?” Lu Liucheng anxiously inquired. Xiao Changning was an imperial physician with excellent medical skills.

“He can’t treat it. We’re waiting for your Uncle Zhou to come,” Lu XuanNing replied.

“When will Uncle Zhou arrive?” Lu Liucheng knew that Zhou Heng was a formidable poison expert and also the man Qing Niang’s sister liked.

“I’m here,” Zhou Heng’s voice sounded from the doorway. The father and son turned to see Zhou Heng, who had arrived covered in dust from his journey.

“Uncle Zhou,” Lu Liucheng stepped forward to greet him.

“Cheng Cheng, you’ve grown taller,” Zhou Heng said, gesturing with his hand. Lu Liucheng clung to Zhou Heng’s arm, urging him to quickly go see Li Xia.

Lu XuanNing stopped him, asking the dust-covered Zhou Heng to clean up before checking on Li Xia. Zhou Heng found Lu XuanNing’s caution somewhat unnecessary, but his clothes were indeed dirty. After washing up and changing clothes, he came to the Orchid Courtyard. He checked the pulse of the sleeping Li Xia.

“Xia Xia, how is she?” Lu XuanNing anxiously inquired.

“Now we’re just missing the last main ingredient, Snake Heart Grass,” Zhou Heng didn’t answer directly, but explained the current situation.

“Where can we find Snake Heart Grass?” Lu XuanNing had never even heard of it.

“I know where it is!” Qing Niang walked into the room, saw Zhou Heng, and wanted to approach him. Zhou Heng stepped back, avoiding her.

Zhou Heng frowned at Qing Niang, “Qing Niang, why are you here?”

“I came to find you,” Qing Niang said, trying to hold Zhou Heng’s arm again. Zhou Heng dodged once more.

“Qing Niang, stop joking around,” Zhou Heng was troubled by Qing Niang’s intimate gestures.

Years ago, when Zhou Heng was looking for medicine for Li Xia, he went to the Miao Village to see his old friend, Qing Niang’s brother, Qing Yang. For some unknown reason, this little girl had taken a liking to him and pestered him daily, saying she wanted to be his wife.

Afraid of the young girl’s persistent infatuation, Zhou Heng left in the middle of the night after obtaining the information he needed. He never expected Qing Niang to find her way to Li Xia’s place. Thinking of the message he had received from his friend Qing Yang a few days ago, asking Zhou Heng to accept Qing Niang, Zhou Heng didn’t know what to say. He was old enough to be Qing Niang’s father.

“Miss Qing Niang, you know where to find Snake Heart Grass?” Lu XuanNing wasn’t concerned about the love-hate relationship between Qing Niang and Zhou Heng; he only wanted to know where to find the Snake Heart Grass.

“Want to know?” Qing Niang mimicked Lu Liucheng’s posture, crossing her arms and looking at Zhou Heng.

“Please tell us,” Lu XuanNing said, bowing respectfully.

“Have Zhou Heng marry me, and I’ll tell you,” Qing Niang’s response made Lu XuanNing frown.

“Then there’s no need to say,” Li Xia opened her eyes and answered Qing Niang. Lu XuanNing stepped forward to support Li Xia.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Li Xia patted Lu XuanNing’s hand and looked at Qing Niang. “Zhou Heng is my friend, and I respect his choices. I won’t let him marry you against his will for my sake.”

Li Xia’s gaze reminded Qing Niang of being kicked off the boat, and she shrank back behind Zhou Heng. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ll tell you,” she said.

Qing Niang told everyone what she knew about the Snake Heart Grass. Legend had it that there was a Snake Island overseas. In the snake cave at the center of the island grew the Snake Heart Grass.

“Where is Snake Island?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a legend. We’re not even sure if Snake Heart Grass really exists,” Qing Niang thought it was all fake.

Snake Island, the name sounded familiar. Li Xia thought for a moment and called out to the courtyard, “Qiu Shui.”

“Madam,” Qiu Shui entered.

“I had a sea chart before, where did you put it?” Li Xia asked.

Qiu Shui found the sea chart and spread it out on the table. Everyone looked and saw that it indeed showed the location of Snake Island.

“So such a place really exists?” Qing Niang looked at the map in surprise.

“Where did you get this?” The location marked on the sea chart was very clear.

“Went fishing in the river,” Li Xia’s answer made Zhou Heng give her a look that said ‘stop joking’.

“I’m not joking. I really found it while swimming and diving in the river at night,” Li Xia explained.

Seeing Zhou Heng’s expression and gesture, Li Xia immediately understood what he meant. Qing Niang, feeling a bit jealous, stood between the two, trying to block them. But her height only reached Li Xia’s shoulder and couldn’t block them at all. Instead, she looked even shorter when contrasted with Li Xia and Zhou Heng.

“Prepare a ship, I’ll go,” Zhou Heng looked at the sea chart and decided to make the trip.

“I’ll go with you,” Lu XuanNing, feeling uneasy, wanted to accompany Zhou Heng.

“Are you sure you can go?” Zhou Heng’s question left Lu XuanNing unable to argue. He indeed couldn’t go.