Chapter 5, The Taste of Grasshopper Legs

Never had she imagined that trudging through the grass would be so arduous. Although Yunduan was leading the way ahead, Charlotte's bare arms were still occasionally cut by the razor-thin edges of the grass, leaving behind numerous fine wounds. She knew that this was not the time to cry out in pain, so she forced herself to endure, silently following behind Yunduan.

Being bitten by such a large mosquito, one might fear for their life; Charlotte involuntarily held her breath

"How could you think of that?" Charlotte said with a smile, rotating her arms. Aside from feeling a bit warm, she did not feel particularly uncomfortable. She glanced at Yunduan, who was focused on making holes in the other half of the life jacket, and asked, "I’ve been meaning to ask you, knives are not allowed on airplanes. Where did you get that Swiss Army knife?"

"It's nothing." Yunduan plucked a half leaf of grass and wiped the knife.

A warm breath gently brushed against the earlobe, causing a tingling sensation. Charlotte suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and nodded.

Recalling the torment of past mosquito bites, Charlotte, who harbored a deep hatred for mosquitoes, let out a sigh and glanced down at the dying mosquito, saying, "How ugly it is!"

I cannot eat this much

After a moment, a rustling sound came from the bushes. She turned her head warily to look and saw Yunduan emerging with a handful of charred items, presenting them to her: "Give it a try."

Let us go, we must find a safe place to stay before it gets dark. Yunduan determined the direction and walked deeper into the grass.

I am contemplating whether to spit it out or take another bite. Charlotte's expression was emotionless, and her tone was calm

A gentle breeze blew in, causing ripples to form on the surface of the lake

There is no need for you to use such harsh words!" Charlotte glared at him

At that moment, I was standing right behind you. "Yun Duan said, shouldering the life jacket filled with grasshopper legs and moving forward.

Charlotte's calmness was unexpectedly beyond Yun's expectations. He raised the corner of his lips, revealing a faint smile: "I just prepared some food, but I forgot to bring it over. Please wait for me here."

I saw it. "Yunduan nodded slightly.

I can't bear to watch it any longer: "Actually, you don't have to eat so tragically..."

"Grasshopper leg." Pass another one over from the cloud.

"No need for that." Without looking back, Yun Duan continued to walk forward: "There is no time to waste, we must quickly get out of this patch of grass. Pay attention to your surroundings; there are many grasshoppers here."

Charlotte glanced at the blood seeping from the arm on the cloud, shook her head, and followed. She felt embarrassed to express her concern, so she stubbornly muttered, "As long as you're fine, bleeding to death has nothing to do with me..."

Hmm, the plane jumped into the lake, but did not crash to death, did not drown, nor was eaten by fish. In her gaze, there was a hint of appreciation akin to that found in a picture book, as she smiled at her.

Who knows! Without even lifting my head from the cloud, my fingers deftly tied the laces: "I usually hang this on my keychain and forgot to take it down. When I went through security, it was checked along with my phone in the miscellaneous basket, but it wasn't confiscated. Of course, I wouldn't be foolish enough to hand it over again"

At this thought, Charlotte recalled the words previously spoken by Yunduan, advising her not to overthink. She quickly calmed her mind. Such reasoning was too cyclical; before uncovering the truth, she would surely have become lost and confused. It was better not to think too much.

What happened? Xia Luo was unable to stop in time and collided headfirst into the back of the cloud.

Yun Duan pulled her close to his side and made a gesture for silence. It was then that she noticed a mosquito, the size of a bird, resting on the tips of the grass blades slightly lower in front of her

He must have seen the embarrassing situation of me running around crazily! Charlotte immediately felt a sense of frustration. Raising her eyes, she noticed that the figure in the clouds had already moved far away, so she hurriedly called out: "Wait a moment! Your arm is also scratched; aren't you going to take some protective measures?"

His voice was deep and gentle, as if softly breathing on the glass window, and like a feather lightly brushing against the strings of one's heart. Charlotte's emotions involuntarily eased, and she nodded, her gaze following his figure until he disappeared into the tall grass.

"Why aren't you eating?" Yun and the bookend asked knowingly, their smiles tinged with an unmistakable mischief.

Cloud released Charlotte, swiftly charging up. Just as the mosquito was about to take flight, it severed its long, pointed proboscis with a single stroke, followed by a quick slash at its long legs, cutting through its wings. The dismembered mosquito fell headfirst onto the tips of the grass, twitching incessantly at the feet of the cloud.

"Do you trust me?" Charlotte complained while putting on her life jacket, "As if I have the face of a terrorist... Those two security personnel searched the watercolor paints in my bag as if they were checking for drugs and flammable materials, making me almost miss my flight"

Hmm? Charlotte paused her actions and cast a puzzled glance over.

"If you spit it out, you'll go hungry," said Yunduan, as she picked up a grasshopper leg and began to eat it, stealing glances at her reaction from the corner of her eye

Charlotte extended her hand to reach for the food, but it froze in mid-air. She swallowed hard, glanced at the clouds, then looked at the remaining grasshopper leg in her other hand, and fell silent for a long while

Yun Duan raised an eyebrow and stuffed the remaining handful of grasshopper legs into Charlotte's hands: "These are all for you"

Charlotte lowered her head and counted the grasshopper's legs; there were at least ten, varying in thickness. It was evident that these legs all belonged to the same grasshopper, having been broken into several segments for ease of carrying. So, this grasshopper must be about the same size as her, right? This is truly a remarkable thing. Is it that the grasshopper has grown larger, or has she become smaller?

Is it delicious? The cloud smiled radiantly.

Therefore, we must survive!" Charlotte resolutely swallowed the food in her mouth

To speak frankly, if it were not for such a bizarre experience, Charlotte would truly enjoy the dreamlike scenery here, which resembles a fairy tale world. Unfortunately, her bag was left on the plane, and she has no brushes at hand; otherwise, she would really want to capture it in a painting

Yun Duan glanced at her and reached out to take the life jacket, throwing it over his back: "I'll hold this for you"

What are you doing? Charlotte wanted to stop him: This life jacket might still come in handy

Xia Luo nodded solemnly, and suddenly stuffed all the leftover grasshopper legs into his mouth, mumbling, "I suppose we are quite lucky, aren't we?"

It is time to put it to use

Hmm. Charlotte nodded, swallowing the food in her mouth: "What exactly is this?"

"Do not move while you stand here," Yun Duan whispered softly in her ear

He said as he tossed a half of a life jacket with the tied straps to Charlotte, stood up, touched his face, and smiled: "Could it be that the security check deemed me not to resemble a hijacker, and thus let me off the hook?"

"Wait a moment." Charlotte looked awkwardly at her hands full of food, and finally had a sudden inspiration. She took off her life jacket and tied the grasshopper legs to the straps, making it much more convenient to carry them in her hand

After walking for a while on hetushu.com, the cloud suddenly came to a halt, and I tightened my grip on the Swiss Army knife in my hand

What is this? Charlotte curiously picked up a charred object about the thickness of a finger, examining it from all angles. It felt somewhat like roasted beef leg. Taking a gentle bite, it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a faint sweet aroma, surprisingly pleasant in taste

Yun Duan nodded slightly, and suddenly caught sight of the blood seeping from Xia Luo's arm. Frowning, he said, "In such a state of injury, why haven't you said a word?"

Charlotte glanced at her arm following his gaze and said helplessly, "There’s nothing we can do; all our belongings are left on the plane. Even if I shout a bit more, what good will it do other than create some noise? Besides, your arm is also cut just like mine."

If you cannot eat it, just save it! The cloud clapped its hands and stood up: "Until you find better food, you can only eat this to fill your stomach."

There is indeed nothing available at hand, the cloud fell silent for a moment, and suddenly removed the life jacket from itself, placed it on the ground, and cut it in half with a knife.

He picked up half a life jacket from the cloud, used the awl on the Swiss Army knife to drill a few small holes at the end without straps, and then threaded the straps through and tied them tightly. That half of the life jacket transformed into a long tubular shape. He inserted one of Charlotte's gloves into it, which was just like a sleeve. Although the length was still somewhat unsatisfactory, it could at least protect most of the arm