After Being Stranded in the Wilderness, I Became the Bride of the Giant Tribe - 11

 

| GB | Feeling Depressed | 11

The warm, dry autumn sun made everything around seem surreal. In this dreamlike silence, Yu Bai slowly opened his eyes.

Still a little dazed, his long, thick eyelashes trembled slightly as he met Huo Duo'er's downward gaze.

Yu Bai half-closed eyes, his expression dazed, and asked in a groggy, unclear voice, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly widened, and his previously relaxed body nearly sprang up from the chair.

Yu Bai looked up at him, staring into Huo Duo'er's eyes in disbelief, circling around him a few times.

“You can see?!”

Huo Duo'er gave a slight nod, his silver-gray beast-like pupils barely moving, as he stared somewhat blankly at Yu Bai.

The sub-female circling him looked even more frail than he had imagined—so small, with a face just as tiny. The pale cheeks had been warmed slightly by the sun, dotted with a thin sheen of sweat, bringing a bit of color to his face, making him appear a little more vivid and less haggard.

“Huo Duo'er?”

Yu Bai looked toward the light, his dark eyes wide open.

He lifted an arm and waved his fingers in front of Huo Duo'er. “Are you okay?”

Huo Duo'er's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. “…I’m fine.”

He looked away, flickering shadows and lights still floating before his eyes, the image of the sub-female lingering in his vision.

Yu Bai tugged at Huo Duo'er's rough robe, speaking with strong suspicion, “Come inside first, I need to check your eyes.”

Huo Duo'er quietly lowered his beast-like eyes. In his pupils, the soft, thick hair at the back of the sub-female's head was reflected. Without a word, he followed Yu Bai into the house.

—

Inside, Yu Bai pointed to the stone bed and told Huo Duo'er to sit.

The giant settled down, legs slightly apart to make it easier for Yu Bai to get closer.

Yu Bai said, “Lower your head, let me have a look.”

Huo Duo'er obediently lowered his head. Yu Bai cupped that sharp yet steady face in his hands, his fingertips gently brushing around Huo Duo'er’s eyelids before carefully lifting them.

“How does it feel? Do you feel any discomfort, like stinging or a foreign body sensation?”

Huo Duo'er lifted his eyelids slightly. The pain around his eyes had already faded, so he shook his head.

Yu Bai curled three slender, pale fingers. He’d been working a lot lately, and the pads of his fingers had a few small nicks from scraping.

“How many fingers do you see?”

Huo Duo’er: “……”

He focused on the small cuts on the fingertips before him, then raised three fingers in response.

Unlike Yu Bai’s long, delicate hands, the giant’s hands were broad, with pronounced knuckles, rough skin, and a latent strength in every movement.

Yu Bai pressed his lips together, then smiled sincerely. “Looks like you're recovering pretty well.”

After speaking, he couldn’t help but feel a quiet sense of awe.

Huo Duo’er’s body was truly resilient.

Yu Bai had arrived here in the spring, and even with a steady supply of medicinal herbs to sustain him, it had taken more than half a year of bed rest just to barely survive.

But Huo Duo’er, torn up like that during the beast tide, had managed to recover fully in less than a month.

“Thanks to your care, Bai.”

Huo Duo’er looked into his eyes. His gaze was calm, without much expression, but in that single look, Yu Bai could feel the weight of sincerity behind the words.

“N-no it’s no big deal…”

Yu Bai mumbled, a little flustered. He wasn’t used to too much contact with others, so he was the first to avert his gaze. Then he let the hair tucked behind his ear fall back down to cover his cheek.

He lowered his head, eyes fixed on the dirt floor. “I’ll cook up some extra meat tonight… to celebrate you being able to see again.”

Huo Duo’er said, “Wait for me.”

Yu Bai: “Huh?”

He was still staring at the ground as he spoke, not lifting his head to look at him.

Huo Duo’er had the sudden urge to reach out and ruffle that soft, fuzzy back of Yu Bai’s head.

In a low voice, he explained, “I’m heading out for a bit.”

Yu Bai asked, “Do I need to come with you?”

Huo Duo’er stepped outside and looked toward the chair bathed in sunlight.

“Bai, you stay here,” Huo Duo’er said.

Then added, “I’ll be back soon.”

Yu Bai watched the tall figure disappear into the distance. It was still a while before evening. He slowly wandered back to the chair and sat down. Thinking about what had just happened, his mood suddenly lightened.

He squinted his eyes, a faint smile lifting the corners of his lips. After brushing the loose strands of hair back over his head, his face was fully revealed as he chuckled softly, basking in the warmth of the sunlight.

But the brief moment of peace didn’t last long, A’Li’s voice came calling from outside the wall.

“Bai—!”

Yu Bai hurriedly let his hair fall back down. “What is it?”

A’Li arrived just outside the door, nervously pointing at Yu Bai, then toward the path outside.

Two young orcs nearby looked completely stunned and asked, “That giant orc… he can see now?”

Yu Bai nodded. “Mm-hmm. He just regained his vision.”

A’Li and the other orcs stared at him in shock, eyes wide and mouths agape.

“Bai, y-you’re even better than the priest…”

“Last year, my father’s eyes were ruined by the miasma. He came back completely blind,” one of the young orc said, his voice growing quieter and quieter. “We offered the priest so many gifts, but to this day, there’s still no improvement…”

The younger orc gradually fell silent, not daring to say more.

Yu Bai acted as if he hadn’t heard any of that and asked with a awkward smile, “Is there anything else?”

A’Li scratched his head. “Nothing else.”

Then he quickly added, “We were thinking of heading up the mountain to see if we can get lucky and catch a few wild pheasants. Want to come?”

Normally, Yu Bai would be happy to follow A’Li and learn some hunting skills, but he’d just promised Huo Duo’er he’d wait here. So he shook his head and said, “Maybe next time.”

A’Li chuckled. “Alright then, we will head out first.”

As the orcs walked off, one of the horse hunters walking alongside A’Li clicked his tongue and asked curiously, “A’Li, are you trying to court that sub-female?”

Another chimed in, “Didn’t Ya’ya come looking for you a few days ago? You totally ignored her.”

“A’Li, don’t tell me you really have your eye on a sub-female? Would your father even approve of that?”

“W-what are you talking about?” A’Li nearly bit his tongue in surprise. “I just get along well with Bai. I see him as a friend.”

He stammered out a defense, face flushing with frustration. “And so what if Bai’s a sub-female? Which of you can treat the sick? Make flatbreads? Identify herbs? None of you, right? But Bai can do all that!”

The orc frowned.

“Bai really does know a lot.”

Just the fact that he’d saved a gravely injured giant-tribe orc, and even helped a few others in the tribe with broken arms or legs recover—that alone was something not even many other tribes could match.

A’Li and the others didn’t speak after that, quietly making their way up the mountain.

—

The setting sun hung low in the sky, its fiery red afterglow washing over the entire worn-down courtyard.

Yu Bai sat on a stone by the stove, feeding the fire. Suddenly, the door creaked open.

He turned toward the sound. The sunset painted his small face a rosy red. His gaze passed over the figure stepping into the doorway—at the end of the shadow it cast, Huo Duo’er had returned.

In his hands, he was carrying two wild pheasants and a large gray-furred hare.

He got up from the stone and walked over to meet him.

Yu Bai had to tilt his head all the way up just to see Huo Duo’er's lowered face.

“You went hunting?”

Huo Duo’er gave a quiet “mm” in reply, then added, “We’re having meat tonight.”

Yu Bai curved his lips into a smile, his voice lifting with a bit of cheer.
“I want to learn how to hunt too. Can you teach me sometime?”

Huo Duo’er nodded. Although he felt that someone as small and delicate as Yu Bai didn’t really need to learn such things, if Yu Bai wanted to, he’d bring him along next time.

Huo Duo’er picked up a rather dull stone knife, getting ready to slaughter the chickens.

As his gaze swept toward the door, he noticed the sub-female lingering hesitantly in the corner.

Yu Bai had never actually killed a chicken or duck himself, but when his family used to slaughter poultry, they’d sometimes ask him to lend a hand.

Yu Bai briefly recalled some past memories before slowly walking out from the doorway, softly asking, “Do you need help?”

He tried to make himself appear experienced. “I can hold onto their wings and feet.”

Huo Duo’er’s gaze flickered slightly. “Boil a pot of hot water.”

Yu Bai responded with a soft “Oh,” as though he had been entrusted with an important task, and quickly ran back to the stove to boil the water.

Huo Duo’er quickly finished slaughtering the animals he had hunted. His movements were swift and efficient, cleaning the two wild pheasants, leaving only the feathers behind. He also carefully removed the fur from the gray rabbit, preparing it separately.

He glanced at the blood staining his hands, then turned his gaze toward Yu Bai, who was focused on boiling the water at the stove. Huo Duo’er filled an extra basin with clean water and quickly rinsed away the remaining blood from the floor.

The sub-female didn’t seem too brave, so this way, he shouldn’t be too frightened.

As the night breeze picked up, Yu Bai placed the cleaned chickens into the pot to simmer, setting aside the fat that rose to the surface.

He crouched down in a dry spot, watching Huo Duo’er as he worked on tanning the gray rabbit’s fur.

Huo Duo’er’s movements were steady and calm as he spoke in a low voice, “It’s getting cold. I’ll prepare a few more furs for you.”

Yu Bai: “…”

He gave a wry smile, not expecting that Huo Duo’er would start doing things like this right after his eyes had just recovered.

A mist of tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, and he quickly blinked them away.

Yu Bai rested his elbow on his knee and cupped his face, continuing to quietly watch Huo Duo’er.

“I’ve never had siblings before, nor any peers I could talk to. If I had an older brother... maybe he’d take care of me like you do?”

Huo Duo’er’s expression remained unchanged. “Brother?”

Yu Bai nodded.

Huo Duo’er didn’t respond right away, and there was a slight heaviness in his heart, though he didn’t speak further.

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TL: Haha is this considered the brother zone instead of the friend zone? That’s pretty funny