MTLNOVEL Chapter 21 - Only Immortals Can Understand
021: Only Immortals Can Understand
Mino carefully prepared breakfast, walked out of the hall into the courtyard, and got ready to call Mu Liang for breakfast.
At that moment, Mu Liang was carving a piece of wood with his military knife, with two finely shaved wooden boards placed beside him.
“Mu Liang, breakfast is ready,” Mino approached him.
Tilting her head curiously, she asked, “What are you making?”
“A drawing board,” Mu Liang set down the wood in his hands.
Brushing off the wood shavings on his body, he stood up and said, “After breakfast, we’ll head to the camp.”
Earlier, Mu Liang had used his telepathic ability to awaken the dozing Rock Armored Turtle and send it to the camp.
“Why go to the camp? We’ve already moved everything back,” Mino blinked in surprise.
“We’re supposed to track the thieves’ scout, right?” she questioned further, puzzled.
“Don’t you want to leave something for your sister?” Mu Liang replied, entering the hall.
He sat by the fire pit and asked, “What if one day your sister suddenly returns to the camp looking for you?”
Lacking life experience, the young girl needed some guidance.
“Hmm, that’s true,” Mino nodded belatedly.
She had been so focused on finding her sister that she hadn’t considered what to do if her sister returned before she found her.
“Think carefully and leave a message only your sister would understand.”
Mu Liang glanced at the pot brimming with meat soup, silently thinking that the girl had finally started to grasp things.
“I’ll have to think about it,” Mino said, catching Mu Liang’s expression and understanding his thoughts.
She handed him a bowl of soup, sighing, “We’re running low on water. If we don’t conserve it, we won’t last a few more days.”
She had made a big pot of meat soup because Mu Liang had been busy all night; otherwise, breakfast would have been dried lizard meat and a bowl of water.
Taking the soup, Mu Liang smiled easily, “We’ll figure something out.”
“Hopefully,” Mino rolled her eyes playfully.
She filled another bowl of soup and sat by the fire, absentmindedly eating.
Despite nearly finishing her soup, Mino still couldn’t think of what message to leave for her sister.
Blinking her blue eyes, she pleaded adorably, “Mu Liang, what should I leave for my sister?”
Mu Liang had clearly anticipated this, “Did you two have any childhood promises?”
“A promise? My sister asked me to wait for her to come back.”
A flicker of sadness crossed Mino’s blue eyes. With the threat of the Blood Beard Bandits looming, that promise seemed impossible to fulfill.
“A secret code, maybe? Something only you two would know,” Mu Liang suggested again.
“A secret code? Does a door code count?” Mino’s eyes lit up.
“What kind of door code?” Mu Liang was curious about what the girl used as a code when she was younger.
Eyes sparkling with nostalgia, Mino said, “Mine was ‘Long-eared Rabbit,’ and my sister’s was ‘Short-eared Cat.’”
When she was little, Mino had to stay home while her sister caught lizards. To keep her safe, her sister devised a secret code that had to be given to open the door.
“Then why not draw pictures representing your codes and the message you want to leave?” Mu Liang suggested.
Grabbing two white cloth pieces, he used his military knife to cut them.
Since Mino couldn’t read, drawing was the next best option. Mu Liang, being here for eight or nine days, wasn’t even sure if the written language was Chinese, though the spoken language was Mandarin.
“Isn’t this a bit wasteful?” Mino looked at the white cloth, slightly distressed.
“Leaving a message for your sister is more important,” Mu Liang gestured for her to come over.
He took the cloth outside, nailed it onto the drawing board, and prepared to sketch a meaningful picture using the sketching skills he learned in the military.
Mino obediently followed him outside.
“Here, draw what you want to say with charcoal,” Mu Liang handed her the drawing board.
“How should I draw?” Mino took the board hesitantly.
“You can sketch on the ground first and then transfer it to the cloth,” Mu Liang suggested.
Taking another board, he nailed a cloth to it and sharpened some charcoal on a rock.
“Oh.” Mino imitated him, sharpening her charcoal and crouching in hesitation.
Mu Liang glanced at the Rock Armored Turtle, now near the camp, and mentally commanded it to stop.
Turning to see Mino fiddling with her bunny ears in confusion, he smiled, “Mino, draw a long-eared rabbit to represent yourself, and a short-eared cat for your sister.”
“Oh, right!” Enlightened, Mino dropped to the ground, drawing on the turtle’s back.
Sitting on the turtle’s shell, Mu Liang began sketching a layout of the camp, incorporating its surroundings.
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
The charcoal moved across the white cloth, gradually sketching every house and detail.
After more than two hours, he finished his piece, titled Hometown, inscribing the name at the bottom right corner.
“Done.”
He packed up his board and walked over to Mino, peeking over her shoulder at her drawing.
“…” Mu Liang’s mouth twitched, suppressing laughter.
Mino’s true talent was abstract art—no doubt about it.
A rabbit with an elongated face and crooked teeth. A short-eared cat with mismatched eyes. A giant turtle carrying a grinning figure. The only normal-looking house was copied from blueprints.
Her art style was comparable to a kindergartener’s.
“All done!” Mino cheerfully wiped her cheek, leaving four black fingerprints.
“Can you explain what your drawing means?” Mu Liang fought back laughter.
“Of course!” Mino responded enthusiastically.
She pointed at her work, explaining seriously, “If I don’t find my sister at home, Mu Liang and I will leave. My sister can follow us, targeting the Little Xuanwu.”
“Kind of makes sense…”
Mu Liang listened, but couldn’t fully comprehend the art.
Well, he didn’t truly believe her sister would come back. He just wanted Mino to hold onto hope.
Reality was cruel. If her sister hadn’t returned in four years, she likely wouldn’t.
“Yes! My sister will definitely understand,” Mino happily held up her painting.
“Take the drawing, put it in a wooden box, and bury it at the camp,” Mu Liang’s mouth twitched again.
He silently thought: If your sister can understand this, she’s practically a god.
He was even tempted to keep her work—undeniably blackmail-worthy.
“Got it!” Mino eagerly ran off to grab the box.