It seems that Master Shen has suffered from heatstroke.

Although Zhan Xinjia didn't quite understand how he had suffered from heatstroke in early June, Little Master Shen had been sitting under the old locust tree with his hands covering his face, looking like his head was about to split open.

Wangcai was so frustrated that he kept scratching his head.

What exactly happened to Er Gou Ge?

He plopped down next to Zhan Xinjia, but before he could even start a conversation, a stone hit him on the back of the head.

"Ouch!"

Wangcai clutched his head and yelled, then touched the back of his head where a small bump had appeared. He turned his head and glared at the upright young man under the locust tree not far away, his eyes filled with a mixture of grievance and anger.

"Brother Er Gou, what's wrong now!"

"One should not touch others, so sit far away from her."

The young man under the tree had a sour face, as gloomy as the winter dawn sky, dark and cold.

Wangcai choked, reluctantly moving away. Before he could even settle into his new spot, another stone came hurtling towards him, accompanied by the young man's angry voice from afar.

"Further away!"

"..."

Wangcai, feeling very uncomfortable, moved further away.

If Er Gou Ge is still not satisfied, he's practically about to move into the field, he might as well just go home!

Lowering his voice, Wangcai raised one hand to cover his mouth, facing the little sister, and whispered gossip.

"Hey! Do you owe Brother Er Gou money? He seems to care more about you than his money."

Zhan Xinjia: "..."

Before she could even formulate her reply, a girl in a light pink dress walked towards her from afar.

The sharp-eyed Zhan Xinjia recognized that this seemed to be one of the girls who had come to Su Yun's room when she was bedridden.

The girl also noticed Zhan Xinjia. She paused, then suddenly furrowed her brows and pouted, as if she had some kind of opinion about Zhan Xinjia.

With a forced, superficial smile, the girl stopped abruptly in front of Zhan Xinjia. Her eyes swept over the girl, looking down with disdain at the bewildered girl with her hands tucked in her pocket.

Once she was sure that Shen Suqing couldn't hear their conversation from this distance, she slowly spoke up.

"Oh, this must be the friend Brother Shen brought back. He's really good-looking!"

Some people aren't bad off, so why do they want to become pampered wives at such a young age? If you ask me, people should be more independent. Someone like Yun'er, who gathers herbs in the mountains to sell for money and helps her father with housework, is much better than some clingy people who can't live without someone's help.

The girl with the pink handkerchief waved her pink handkerchief and spoke in a pretentious and sarcastic tone, only to be met with an even more bewildered look from Zhan Xinjia.

The little girl turned her head in confusion and asked Wangcai, who was equally bewildered.

What is a "beloved wife"?

Wangcai racked his brains, "Uh, should I give someone who treats me badly the cold shoulder and do their laundry and cooking?"

I am delighted to receive your letter.

She blinked, then looked up at the girl in pink with a very upright expression, her fair face turned up.

"Are you trying to sarcasticly criticize Lord Shen? You can't let him hear you! He'll pick up stones and throw them at you in a minute. The scariest thing is that he just threw all the stones under the locust tree, and the only ones left that are the right size and easy to handle are two lumps of dried cow dung..."

Wangcai, standing nearby, looked terrified and immediately covered his head in fear.

The girl with the pink pastel color was also dumbfounded.

"What?!"

Zhan Xinjia was even more puzzled.

"Didn't you say that Master Shen is a pampered wife, always clinging to me, doing my laundry and cooking for me? I've only been away for a short while and he's looking for me everywhere like someone has taken away all his property."

Watercolor Girl: "..."

She glanced silently at the young man under the locust tree, a complex mix of disdain in her eyes.

Some people appear respectable on the surface, but secretly they're acting like dogs for others!

"That's all, I'm leaving now, I'm leaving."

With an awkward wave of her hand, the girl in pink staggered away from the field under the questioning gazes of Zhan Xinjia and Wangcai, one big and one small.

For a moment, the wind swept across the rice paddies, leaving only two people sitting far apart, staring at each other while innocently spreading their hands.

What's she doing here?

"I don't know."

"Then what is this?"

Zhan Xinjia pointed to an inconspicuous animal footprint on the ridge of the field. The imprint was still fresh, and it looked like it had been left less than a day ago.

If the girl in the pink dress hadn't been standing in this spot the whole time, she wouldn't have noticed.

Wangcai frowned and thoughtfully stroked his chin.

"It seems like some deer or wolves have been coming out of the mountains lately. They usually just wreak havoc on the crops and then leave. But this palm print is huge and a bit scary. I should tell the villagers."

Zhan Xinjia didn't ask any further questions. By evening, the aloof Master Shen, having failed in his attempt to appear cold, finally emerged from the shadow of "Shen Ergou, the Rice Planting King" and decided to face life anew.

Let her laugh, it doesn't matter anymore.

Turn the world to silent and listen to the sound of his defenses crumbling.

After saying goodbye to Wangcai, Zhan Xinjia followed Master Shen towards the Shen family courtyard. She felt uneasy, as if she had forgotten some very important detail.

We passed by the Su family's courtyard along the way. Because Mr. Su had gone to the county on business and had not returned, the house was completely dark.

Zhan Xinjia was taken aback.

Wait a minute, isn't Sister Su home too? It's so late.

The girl in the pastel dress had mentioned that Sister Su would occasionally go to the back mountain to collect herbs to supplement her family's income. The last time I saw Sister Su today, she was carrying a basket and looked like she was about to go out.

In theory, Zhan Xinjia doesn't need to worry so much. After all, she has lived in the village for more than ten years and is much more familiar with it than she is. She is unlikely to get lost or anything like that.

But the thought of the handprint on the ridge made her very uneasy.

Because her family offended the emperor, the land for the old general's mansion was allocated to a remote and desolate area. The neighbors were woodcutters, hunters, bandits, and the like. After dealing with these people for a long time, Zhan Xinjia also learned a little about this area.

Based on her experience, that handprint was clearly from an adult bear!

Startled by his own deduction, Zhan Xinjia's heart pounded faster and faster. Once inside the courtyard, while Master Shen was cooking in the kitchen, Zhan Xinjia, dragging his limping injured leg, turned around and hurriedly headed towards the back mountain.

Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, she can't just sit idly by.

Whatever, I'll just go take a look first.

It would be best if nothing happened.

The mountain behind Linshui Village isn't actually that big, but this dense forest seems to be the same kind of forest she accidentally wandered into when she was being chased before—both are towering trees whose canopies are completely obscured at a glance.

As night fell, the sounds of frogs croaking, cicadas chirping, and insects humming filled the forest, and occasionally a few fireflies could be seen flitting about.

Zhan Xinjia was initially worried that her leg injury hadn't healed and it wouldn't be convenient for her to go up the mountain. Fortunately, the path up the mountain must be frequently used by villagers, as the soil and fallen leaves were compacted by the footsteps of those coming and going, and the dead trees and branches on both sides were also cleaned up.

"Sister Su?"

Searching blindly like this isn't going to work, so Zhan Xinjia decided to call out around the mountainside, and if no one answered, he'd give up.

But as soon as she called out, the faint sound of a girl sobbing came from not far away. Her high-pitched, trembling voice was clearly crying, indicating that she was in a state of fear and panic.

"Don't come any closer!"