Chapter 3 Chapter 3 "You're Awake"

Zhang Jingxian puffed up her cheeks and blew several times, finally covering the man's injured leg with hemostatic powder.

She stood up, took the breathable linen, wrapped it around his leg twice, and tied a knot, and the wound was simply treated.

It was at this moment that she discovered that the buttoned basket had been lifted aside.

Zhang Jingxian's heart suddenly jumped, and she immediately took a step back vigilantly, looking at the person on the couch. Compared with the paleness before, his face seemed to have more redness.

It is a precursor to fever.

Zhang Jingxian tentatively reached out a hand, touched his neck, the side of his face, and finally his forehead. It was so strange, it felt cold to the touch, like a cold-blooded snake.

"Anyway, as long as there's no fever, there's no death." She muttered softly and put the basket back to its original place.

After that, Zhang Jingxian no longer cared about him. She had a lot of things to do.

It was early summer, and not only were the plants and trees lush, but there were also surprisingly many mosquitoes. Zhang Jingxian not only had to clear the weeds growing in the yard, but also fumigated the room inside and out with homemade mugwort incense.

Since leaving her uncle's house, she has been busy every day to support herself.

Fortunately, hard work pays off. In four years, she owned three wooden houses and a fenced yard.

One wooden house is used for living, one is the kitchen and bathroom, and the remaining one is the "treasure house" she has saved.

The small room was filled with things, including bows and arrows, vines, dried meat and honey, coarse linen obtained in exchange, wild pheasant feathers, several pottery jars with missing horns, dried millet, wheat and beans, ground herbs, rabbit and deerskin quilts for winter, and so on.

Zhang Jingxian took out some honey and preserved fruits collected in the spring, put them in ceramic jars, and carried them out of the house.

Compared to the wooden house, the yard is much larger and is surrounded by fences in front and back.

The front yard was dotted with a variety of flowers and trees. The flowers were wildflowers found in the mountains, and the trees were fruit-bearing peach, apricot, and jujube trees. Oh, and there were two wild grape vines in one corner. The grapes were so sour that they made your teeth ache, but the birds that came by loved them so much that a yellow warbler built a nest in the peach tree.

The backyard is planted with common vegetables and beans, and is close to a stream flowing from the valley. Zhang Jingxian gets her water from this stream.

She left the backyard and walked down the stream. After about a quarter of an hour, small plots of farmland and houses surrounded by mulberry trees came into view.

Almost all the villagers of Xishan Village live here, about twenty or thirty households, most of whom are surnamed Liu. The only two families with different surnames are the family of Zhang Jingxian's uncle Zhang Shuanghu and the Zheng family, which is said to be descendants of the aristocratic family.

The Zheng family's house was the best. Not only was it painted, but it also had precious tiles on the roof.

Zhang Jingxian's uncle and his family lived in a house that was exactly the same as the other villagers', about the same size, made mainly of wood and rammed earth, and was right next to the Zheng family.

She quietly approached her uncle's house, stopped and looked for a long time, but finally did not dare to knock on the door. She just put the honey and preserved fruits under the mulberry tree in front of the door.

The children in the village were playing together when they passed by Zhang's house. One of them, a little girl about seven or eight years old with a red cloth tied on her head, saw the two pottery jars and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sister, come out quickly, the elder sister is delivering things again." After shouting loudly, the little girl suddenly realized something and covered her mouth.

The gate creaked open, and a pretty young woman, probably about the age of a marriage, walked out. She glared at the little girl and picked up two pottery jars.

"Xia'er, keep your voice down. If Mother finds out, you'll get scolded again." The girl glanced around and quickly carried the pot to her kitchen. Zhang Xia'er eagerly followed her sister Chun'er, sucking her short fingers. She smelled something sweet and fragrant.

When Zhang Chun'er opened it, she was delighted to see that it contained rare honey and preserved fruits.

"Sister, let Xia'er have a taste first." The little girl couldn't help but begged.

Zhang Chun'er hesitated for a moment and did not refuse. Unfortunately, just when the two sisters were craving for the food, their mother Liu Pingniang appeared.

When she saw the honey in the clay jar, her face immediately turned cold.

"Throw it out!" As soon as Liu Pingniang opened her mouth, the two sisters didn't dare to say a word, only their eyes were filled with reluctance and expectation.

If father comes back... God seemed to have heard their voices, and at this time two figures appeared outside the house, one tall and one short, carrying hoes on their shoulders.

Zhang Shuanghu and his thirteen-year-old second son Zhang Rulin.

"Father, my elder sister brought some honey and preserved fruits. I saw her back." Zhang Chun'er hugged the pottery jar tightly, not wanting to throw it away.

The youngest, Xia'er, even shouted for food, "Sweet, sweet!"

Zhang Shuanghu understood what had happened after hearing this. He put down the hoe covered in mud and told his wife that he was very thirsty.

"Honey is rare, it's a pity to throw it away." He winked at Zhang Chun'er and asked her to make a few bowls of honey water.

The second son, Zhang Rulin, licked his lips and said he also wanted to drink.

Liu Pingniang glared at each of them one by one, turned away and left. The hatred in her heart never diminished at all.

"As long as my elder brother doesn't come back, my mother will never forgive me."

"It's been four years. When will my brother come back?"

"It's not just my brother. None of the men in the village who were conscripted have returned. Perhaps we have to wait until the war is over."

"But, it's not Big Sister's fault. Mother wants Big Sister to marry Big Brother. How can siblings be together?"

"You're stupid! Big sister and big brother are cousins, not blood relatives. Mother wanted to leave a bloodline for big brother, so she knelt down and begged big sister to agree."

"The honey water is so sweet, big sister, please give it to me again next time."

Zhang Chun'er and her two siblings were talking, but Zhang Shuanghu remained silent. His eldest son had been drafted into the army and his life or death was uncertain. Not to mention four years, he might not even come back in ten years.

It was also his fault for not explaining it clearly when he took his niece back to Xishan Village. It was common for cousins ​​to marry each other, and for many years, his wife had always considered Ah Xian her future daughter-in-law.

The eldest son was suddenly conscripted, and his wife was desperate to let Ah Xian marry the eldest son to leave a bloodline.

Ah Xian refused. His eldest son had been gone for four years, and his wife had been resentful for four years. Zhang Shuanghu had felt a great debt to his wife for taking his niece back. Given the current situation, he couldn't say anything, so he just looked after his niece in secret.

"The pig slave said that a man moved into the elder sister's house! He was covered in blood and was very tall!" After drinking the honey water, the little girl Xia'er said something shocking.

Tunu is the grandson of the village elder in Xishan Village, and he often plays with Xiaer.

Zhang Shuanghu frowned when he heard this. If the news came from his hometown, he had to go and take a look.

Without further ado, he put down the ceramic bowl with his intact hand, then stood up and walked out the door.

Zhang Shuanghu was a hunter in his early years. During one of his expeditions into the mountains, he injured his palm, leaving a large piece of flesh missing. Otherwise, he would not have been spared during the last conscription, even though he was in his prime.

"You just came back from the fields. Where are you going now? It's time to prepare dinner. Help me chop some firewood." Liu Pingniang came back and stopped him.

-

After seeing the pottery jar being carried in by her cousin Zhang Chuner, Zhang Jingxian returned to her home the same way.

Every now and then, she would send some things to her uncle's house, including cloth and food. Sometimes, she would just deliver it and it would be thrown out the door, but she would pick it up again and deliver it again next time.

Zhang Jingxian always remembers the kindness of her uncle and aunt in raising her and has never forgotten it.

Unlike the person lying on his bed in the room, he was cold-blooded and heartless.

But no matter how reluctant she was, she had to take care of him patiently for a while.

The noble young man from aristocratic family is willing to put himself in danger to fight against the northern Hu tribe to ensure the safety of all people in the world. No matter what kind of entanglement there is between them, Zhang Jingxian cannot let him die.

She returned to the backyard, her expression having returned to normal.

As it was getting dark, she carefully grabbed a handful of pounded rice and added water to make porridge. Then, she picked two cucumbers from the backyard, cut them into shreds, and mixed them with sesame oil.

She placed a few grains of rice and half a cucumber on the windowsill. Zhang Jingxian brought the porridge into the house, and her bird friend arrived as promised, making a melodious cry.

She curled the corners of her lips and took the purple berries that Huang Ying specially gave her.

The sour and sweet taste is the gift from the mountains and forests to all living things.

In the evening, the breeze was blowing gently and the green was swaying. Zhang Jingxian was in a good mood. She hummed a few times, imitating the call of a yellow oriole, with a cheerful tone.

Finally, after dinner, she poured a few spoonfuls of rice porridge into the man's mouth. She washed herself briefly in the bathroom, changed into clean linen clothes, and lay down on the straw mat.

Soon, Zhang Jingxian fell into a dream.

On a quiet night, not far from the straw mat, Xie Yun sat up and, in the moonlight, looked down at the simple wooden house and the defenselessly sleeping Zhang Jingxian.

He had regained some strength. Although he could not stand up, it was enough to kill the woman who dared to offend him and saw his miserable appearance.

In the dream, Zhang Jingxian seemed to sense the danger. She turned slightly to the side, facing the bed, and covered her face with one hand.

Xie Yun's dark eyes moved, and his gaze was fixed on her slender fingers, deep and unfathomable.

Women are weak, but it was these hands that carried him back in broad daylight.

However, the song she hummed was really unbearable to listen to.

Of course, the behavior is even more shameless.

Xie Yun casually shifted his gaze and looked at the person from head to toe once, twice, three times, and finally, his gaze returned to her hand.

Her hands covered her face, revealing only a bit of her smooth forehead and soft jaw.

Very ordinary, he thought.

At this moment, there was a slight movement on the windowsill. Xie Yun raised his eyelids suddenly and looked over with a cold gaze.

A green eyeball flashed by, and a black snake with only half of it left was thrown in through the window with a bang.

Zhang Jingxian was awakened and climbed up from the straw mat in a daze. When she saw the black snake, she also met a pair of cold and dark eyes, like the pupils of a snake.

However, this seemed to be her illusion, because the next moment, the man spoke gently.

"You're awake."

The author has something to say:

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Muah, the guy named Xie is good at disguise!