PCJ – Chapter 594 The Beautiful Night

“What time is it outside now? Has it gotten dark?” Ji Jiaxin looked at the time—it was already 10 PM, yet inside the secret realm, it still looked like daytime.

“Want to go take a look?” Zhang Jiaohua asked with a smile.

“Sure!” Ji Jiaxin looked around. The bright light inside the secret realm kept any sleepiness at bay. Initially, the place felt incredibly mysterious, but after spending a few hours and walking almost the entire area, the novelty had worn off. It was still beautiful, but the desire to explore had faded. Outside, though, the mysterious, untouched forest at night was full of intrigue and excitement.

“Don’t wander off—just stay behind me,” Zhang Jiaohua reminded her before stepping out of the realm.

The three companions—Leopard, Fat Cat, and Fat Monkey—followed closely, as did Xiao Jin (the spirit leopard) and its fellow leopards. Xiao Jin was most familiar with the area, so having it along greatly increased their safety.

The dense forest outside was pitch black. Only faint starlight filtered through the tree canopy. But the night wasn’t all darkness—swarms of fireflies flitted about, giving the forest a magical and mysterious feel.

“So beautiful!” Ji Jiaxin exclaimed, tempted to chase after the fireflies.

Zhang Jiaohua quickly pulled her back. “Don’t run off! Be careful!”

“It’s just fireflies!” Ji Jiaxin said excitedly.

Zhang Yuanbao and Mute were unmoved. Having grown up in the countryside, fireflies didn’t excite them the way they did Ji Jiaxin. They watched her bounce around like an overjoyed child, smiling.

“City people really are easily amazed,” Zhang Yuanbao thought to himself, though he didn’t dare say it out loud for fear of being kicked.

Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head. Catching fireflies was something elementary school kids did. He remembered when he was young, he caught a whole jar of them one night, thinking the glow would rival a flashlight—but they seemed to stop glowing once inside.

Ji Jiaxin didn’t notice any of that. Like many girls, she was simply fascinated by glowing things.

At night, the forest belonged to the beasts. Many animals were active now, and the forest was bustling with unseen life.

Wild boars roamed through the woods in packs, undeterred by the darkness.

A black pit viper slithered slowly through the underbrush, hunting for prey.

In this darkness, every creature could be a predator—or prey. The night belonged to the brave.

“Xiao Jin, go get us a late-night snack,” Zhang Jiaohua said, patting the spirit beast’s head.

Xiao Jin shot off and soon returned with a plump bamboo rat, weighing several pounds—fat and full of meat.

“Let’s go back to the secret realm. It’s not safe out here at night,” Zhang Jiaohua said.

Just then, the pit viper lunged at its prey—but a black shadow was faster. Fat Cat had leapt into action, biting the viper’s neck.

“Meow!” Fat Cat bit down hard on the viper’s weak spot and refused to let go. The viper coiled its long body around Fat Cat, squeezing tighter and tighter. If Fat Cat didn’t finish it quickly, it would be in real danger.

But Fat Cat stayed calm, biting down even harder.

Crack!

A sharp snap echoed—the viper’s neck was broken. Its strength instantly drained, and it loosened its grip on Fat Cat.

Fat Cat released the snake and panted heavily.

“Fat Cat, you’re amazing! We’re in for a feast,” Zhang Yuanbao said, picking up the several-pound pit viper.

Fat Cat had spotted the snake before it could attack and swiftly dealt with it.

Ji Jiaxin, standing at a distance, kept warning: “Zhang Yuanbao, be careful! It might still be alive. That thing’s poisonous, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Zhang Jiaohua said, smiling. “It’s definitely dead, or Fat Cat wouldn’t have let go. We’re going to eat well tonight—you’re in for a treat.”

“We’re eating rat and snake tonight?” Ji Jiaxin looked more nauseated than thrilled.

“That’s not just a rat—it’s a bamboo rat,” Zhang Jiaohua explained. “These guys are clever and hide in bamboo groves to steal shoots. They’re delicious, but hard to catch. If it weren’t for Xiao Jin, we wouldn’t have this. As for the pit viper, it’s a highly aggressive local snake unique to Meishan. It often attacks people, so when you’re in the mountains, you need to watch out. And don’t be grossed out—once I cook up that bamboo rat and snake meat, you’ll be craving it for days.”

Mute added, “Even for us folks from Meizi’ao, eating bamboo rat is rare. Pit viper meat is even rarer. It’s a protected species—you’d be breaking the law eating it outside.”

“Isn’t eating it here illegal too?” Ji Jiaxin asked.

“Well, it attacked us first—so this is self-defense. If we don’t eat the meat, it’d just go to waste. So technically, not illegal,” Zhang Jiaohua said with a grin.

“Exactly! Self-defense!” Zhang Yuanbao echoed.

Zhang Jiaohua, Zhang Yuanbao, and Mute were all skilled and hands-on when it came to preparing food. None of them stood idle.

Ji Jiaxin felt a bit guilty. “How do you all know how to do this?”

“Well, kids from the countryside don’t have much choice,” Zhang Jiaohua replied. “If we didn’t learn how to cook, we’d go hungry when our parents weren’t home. Today’s kids are different—they have their meals handed to them. When we were little, both our parents and grandparents were working, so we had to take care of ourselves. We learned to do chores and farm work from a young age.”

Zhang Jiaohua recalled the days when his parents left to work in Guangdong, and he stayed home alone, refusing to live with his grandparents. Those days were hard, but still vivid in his memory.

“Jiaohua, let me help too,” Ji Jiaxin said, not wanting to just stand by.

“Alright, come with me to dig up some wild veggies. I think I saw a patch of potatoes over there,” Zhang Jiaohua said, leading Ji Jiaxin toward a field in the secret realm.

That area, far from the spirit spring, looked like it had once been used for farming. Although now untended, the crops had gone wild—but they still seemed to be growing well.