308 Son of the Artis

Compared to last time, at least she had lunch before going to the forest. It was also nice that she didn't end up in the forest because of a crazy horse. 

She really wished that her foot wasn't sprained, though.

The two of them could've continued along the riverbank, in hopes of finding the path out, but they both needed a break. 

Zixu set her down, carefully, by the base of a tree.

As he stretched, Yujia took off her shoe again to examine her ankle. It was even more purple now, the bruise running from her ankle down the side of her foot. When Zixu took a seat beside her, glancing over at her ankle, he frowned.

"When we get out of here, let's go see a physician first," he said.

Yujia, slipping her shoe back on, grinned. "Whatever happened to having a feast instead?"

"Are you hungry?" He leaned the side of his face against his hand, with his arm propped up on his elbow.

"What, did you bring a table of food with you?" she jested.

He glanced over at Mimi. "No, but Mimi knows how to hunt."

Yujia slid her gaze over to Mimi as well, envisioning the smiling dog pouncing on a rabbit and bringing it to its death. "I… don't want to eat a mangled, half-devoured rabbit."

"Well, I did some training with Mimi, since she came along with me for the business trip. Compared to last time, she knows how to bring her kills back without eating it. And I brought a knife." 

Reaching into his sleeve, Zixu whipped out a knife, Yujia stared at the blade, lips parting in slight surprise.

"You like to keep knives on you?"

He chuckled, twirling the knife in his hand. "Not usually. It was just that this time, I considered the possibility of getting lost. So, I wanted to be as prepared as possible." He then gestured at the knife, as if to say, "A knife is the perfect way of getting prepared."

"If you wanted to be prepared, you should've brought a basket of food or something. Or you could've told me, so that I could bring something. Having a picnic would be nice," Yujia muttered.

An unnerving smile appeared on Zixu's face. "I really wanted to try skinning a rabbit, though."

"Heavens." Yujia shuddered, cautiously peering at Zixu through the corner of her vision. "Don't tell me you've always had these bloodthirsty tendencies?"

"Ah, come on. It's just a rabbit. I've only done it a few times on the trip. It won't hurt to get some more practice in." He tapped his long fingers on the side of the knife blade.

Zixu tilted his head. "Roasting rabbit is not all too difficult, though. It'll also be a little bland. I feel like it wouldn't be a good display of my cooking abilities."

"You've cooked in a kitchen before?" she asked, eyes widening. When he nodded, she protested, "Really, how have you had experience in everything? Last time I found out that you know how to start a fire, pick locks, and the like. Now, I find out that you can cook."

His smile fell slightly, but he quickly replaced it with a brighter grin. "I am secretly omnipotent." Sheathing the knife back in his sleeve, he then continued, "But truly, I only know the basics of cooking. Don't have very high expectations for me."

"Your level of basic is likely the average person's level of highly advanced," she scoffed, shrugging a shoulder.

He looked away, still smiling, and waving Mimi over. Mimi, who had wandered to the edge of the river, came running back, placing a paw on Zixu.

"Mimi, go hunting, alright?" Zixu ordered, then gave a pet on Mimi's back.

Mimi was an intelligent dog. The words immediately clicked in his head, making Mimi run off almost the moment he heard Zixu begin the word "hunting". Yujia watched the dog scamper away and laughed.

"He's so enthusiastic," she noted.

"Hunting is probably his favorite thing to do," Zixu laughed back. 

The puppy, seeing that Mimi ran away, wanted to scamper after his older friend. However, Zixu had refastened the leash around his neck, making the puppy pull to no avail. After a few more tugs, he came back to Yujia's side, nudging her with his wet nose.

Yujia picked the puppy up, running her fingers through his fur.

"You don't have any ideas for the puppy's name?" she questioned, recalling how Zixu told her that the puppy was nameless before.

"Truthfully," he answered, "I actually wanted to let you name him, and give him to you, if you wanted him and got along well with each other after today. But the puppy misbehaved too much during this walk, so surely you don't want to keep him, right?"

Yujia gasped, her hands still holding the puppy in her lap. "Are you kidding me? How could I dislike this lil' cutie? He's just a soft, harmless ball of fur."

"Oh." Zixu let out a small breath of air, his head tilted to observe the puppy better. "I was worried for a moment that you would resent him for making us get lost."

"I can be petty and hold a grudge, but not against dogs." Yujia picked the puppy up to her face. It nudged her again with its nose, making her continue to grin like an idiot. "They're too cute to stay mad at."

"Very true."

"You said that I can keep him?" 

"He seems to like you quite a bit," Zixu responded.

Yujia, with wide, watery eyes, looked at Zixu. "Aww. I've always wanted a pet dog. Spraining my ankle and getting lost in this forest sucked, but this really made my day better."

He smiled softly. "I'm glad to hear that."

"What do you think your name is?" Yujia scratched the back of the puppy's ears. Obviously, the dog could not respond, but it was still fun to ask him the question. "You're so soft and fluffy and cute— how about meat bun? Roubao?" She turned her attention back to Zixu. "What do you think?" 

"Roubao suits him," he agreed.

"Perfect." Clapping her hands, Yujia scooped Roubao back up. "From now on, you are my son." She snickered. "And that human over there," she continued, nudging her head in Zixu's direction, "is your dad, okay?"

In response, the puppy tried to lick her face. Yujia backed away, laughing.

"Thank you," she called out, giving a bright grin in Zixu's direction. "This is really the best gift."

"As long as you're happy," he replied, still wearing that warm smile.

…

While Yu Zixu watched Yu'er play with the puppy— or Roubao, as she named him— his mind ran over the fact that his younger brother, Ziyang, was going to kill him.

Ziyang had grown a bit emotionally attached to the puppy, ever since Zixu returned back from the business trip with the dog. Yet after seeing how upset Yu'er was with herself after tripping and spraining her ankle, he really wanted to find a way to brighten up her day. The puppy was just conveniently there. 

How was he going to explain this to Ziyang?

Well. 

Zixu winced on the inside.

What was done was done, he supposed, all as long as she was happy.