C11 Mo Xuxiao Was the Master of This Island

"..." Mo Xuxiao had been on the battlefield with his father since he was a child, leaving a trail of countless enemies in his wake. His reputation alone was enough to instill fear in many. Yet, this little girl seemed unafraid of him and even had the audacity to boss him around.

"There are over a dozen fish over there. Could you help us out, buddy?"

Buddy? Mo Xuxiao's mouth twitched.

"Please, please!"

In the end, Mo Xuxiao couldn't resist her sweet voice and pleading eyes.

"Sis, who's helping us pick up the fish?" Luo Zixuan and his sister came down carrying baskets.

"It's Mr. Mo, being the hero!" Luo Lingyan grinned at Mo Xuxiao. Whether he was a killer or a rich young master, making another friend couldn't hurt.

"Mr. Mo?" Since Mo Xuxiao was bent over picking up fish, Luo Zixuan could only see his profile. He thought it looked like Mo Xuxiao and, hearing his sister call him Mr. Mo, he panicked. "Sis, are you out of your mind? How can you ask the Island Master to help you pick up fish?"

"Yeah, I might be a bit tired of life," Mo Xuxiao replied.

"Island Master?" She only asked him to help pick up some fish, so how was she tired of life? Wait, did Luo Zixuan just call him the Island Master? Could it be that this place is an island, and Mo Xuxiao is its owner?

"Why does the Luo family have so much salt?" she wondered aloud.

Uh-oh.

"Sis, how can you not recognize the Island Master?" Luo Fengjiao pulled Luo Lingyan aside, with Luo Zixuan following closely.

Luo Lingyan instinctively glanced at Mo Xuxiao, who was tossing stream fish into a basket. He gave her a knowing look, almost amused by her unease, and then chuckled.

Luo Lingyan felt her heart pounding in her chest.

Living on the same small island, it was expected that the former resident would know the Island Master. But did Mo Xuxiao recognize the former resident? If he did, had he noticed any changes in her?

Did she give herself away just now?

"Sis, what's going on with you?"

Steadying herself, Luo Lingyan came up with an excuse. "I was really shaken up a few days ago. I... I lost my memory and don't remember anything from before." She carefully watched her siblings' reactions.

"What? Sis, you don't remember anything from before?" Luo Zixuan and his sister exclaimed in unison, their faces full of surprise.

"Did you forget things before? Why did you lose your memory?" Luo Lingyan asked curiously.

"Maybe you fell off a carriage or something?"

"It seems like it, but we were so young back then, it's hard to remember..."

"Fell off a carriage? The Luo family was dirt poor. Did they even have a carriage? Could they afford to hire one? But seeing Luo Zixuan and his sister hesitating and looking shifty, Luo Lingyan immediately realized they knew more than they were letting on.

But that was all in the past, and she couldn't be bothered to dig into it. As for her current 'memory loss'...

"Xuan, Feng, please don't tell Mom about my memory loss. Otherwise, she'll call a doctor again, and we really can't afford that. Besides, apart from not remembering the past, I'm perfectly fine. Maybe I'll even remember everything soon, so could you..."

"Sure, sis, don't worry, we won't say a word."

"Yeah, we won't say anything."

Seeing that the siblings weren't suspicious and promised to keep her secret, Luo Lingyan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But did Mo Xuxiao know the former her?

After pondering for a while, Luo Lingyan focused on gathering fish.

Not long after, Mo Xuxiao left, and she successfully got her hands on those five stone frogs.

Learning from her past mistakes, Luo Lingyan was smarter this time. She returned home after lunch, and the first thing she did was put the stream fish on the stove to roast. Once they were all dried, she got an early start on dinner.

She first cleaned the stone frogs, removing the innards, skin, and claws, then chopped them into small pieces. Planning to prepare the five stone frogs in two different ways, she took half of the frog meat and some ginger slices, tossing them into a hot oiled pan. Once the frog meat changed color, she added warm water to the pan. When the broth started to boil, she ladled it into a soup pot to simmer.

"Sis, why did the soup turn this color?" asked the ever-curious Luo Fengjiao.

"If you cook it with warm water, it turns milky white. If you use cold water, it stays clear like the soup we usually drink." After adding fresh dendrobe and wild red dates to the pot, Luo Lingyan covered it with a lid.