Chapter 45: White Fox Fur. Its importance in his heart.

The cold wind was blowing, and the doors and windows were creaking.

Qiu Xuan sat by the stove, warming herself by the fire. The weather was getting colder by the day, especially since they lived in the mountains. The mornings and evenings were freezing.

Qiu Xuan took out her thick quilt from previous years last night, but no matter how thick the quilt was, it couldn't withstand the cold in the room.

She still had work to do during the day, and it was impossible for her to stay in bed all day. Qiu Xuan thought that if she really couldn't help it, she would get angry in the house.

It’s just that I used a lot of firewood when cooking at home a few days ago, and the firewood left at home may not be enough to last through the winter.

Qiu Xuan wanted to go to the mountains to get some firewood, but unfortunately she didn't know the way and had to be led by someone.

After breakfast, Qiu Xuan knocked on the door of the next courtyard.

It was Huaixue who opened the gate. The little girl had already changed into a thick cotton coat and looked fatter.

"Aunt, have you eaten?" Huaixue asked with a smile on her little face.

Qiu Xuan took her hand and they walked into the house together. "Auntie has eaten. Where's your grandma? Is she home?"

Huaixue nodded, "Grandma is making clothes in the house. They are so beautiful."

When Qiu Xuan heard this, she guessed that her grandmother was making clothes for the New Year. She had bought several kinds of cloth at the cloth shop that day, and her grandmother meant that everyone should have one set of clothes.

Qiu Xuan took her into the house, and as soon as they pushed the door open, hot air hit them in the face.

The kang in the room where my grandmother and her family live had been heated a few days ago. After all, Huaixue is still young and is most afraid of getting sick in winter, so it would be better for her if the room is warmer.

"You're just in time. Come to your mother's side and try on this dress." The clan mother heard the noise outside the door early in the morning. She guessed it must be Qiu Xuan.

"Mom, you've finished it so quickly?" Qiu Xuan picked up the clothes in front of her grandmother and measured them against herself. At first glance, they seemed a little big, but this was a winter coat, and she had to wear another layer of clothes underneath.

The mother picked up another piece at hand, and the color showed that it was for Zong Xiao.

"Let Erlang try this one out for a while. It's not finished yet, so we can make some changes if it doesn't fit."

Qiu Xuan put the clothes down beside her legs and said, "Mother, Erlang is not home today. He went into the mountains."

Zong Xiao did not tell Qiu Xuan in advance that he was going into the mountains. It was only when Qiu Xuan heard the noise early in the morning and asked about it that she found out.

Zong Xiao said that it was about to snow and he wanted to go into the mountains to take a look. He also said that he might not be able to come back for the next two days, so she shouldn't worry and that she could sleep with her mother at night.

Qiu Xuan didn't think much about it at the time and just thought that he was going into the mountains to look at the hunting cave, so she let him go.

Looking back now, she always felt that something was wrong.

The clan mother was not happy about Zong Xiao going into the mountains. She frowned slightly, "This kid is the same. He didn't even tell me before going into the mountains. Why is he gone for several days?"

"Mom, is there a place to stay in the mountains?" Qiu Xuan remembered that Zong Xiao said he might not be able to come back in the next two days, and he even brought a thick coat with him when he left. She guessed that there might be a place to stay in the mountains.

"Where is the place to live in the deep mountains?" When the clan mother heard Qiu Yu ask this, she gradually understood.

It's not like Zong Xiao hadn't gone into the mountains before in previous years, staying there for three to five days to make money. But Zong's mother hadn't expected that this year, after Zong Xiao got married and his life had improved, he would actually go back to the mountains.

The clan mother sighed softly and said to Qiu Yun, "There are no houses or yards in that mountain, but there are a few abandoned caves. In the past, he always lived in the caves."

Cave? Qiu Xuan pursed her lips, speechless for a moment.

"Since Erlang has gone into the mountains, let him go. He won't be back for three to five days." The clan mother looked at Qiu Xuan and said comfortingly, "You can move in with me for a few days. I'll take care of you at night."

Qiu Yu listened to her advice and moved her things in that same day. The room where the clan mother lived was spacious, so having one more person in it was no problem.

-

There is heavy fog in the mountains.

Zong Xiao observed the surrounding situation as he walked. Now was the time when wild beasts were looking for food, so he had to be extremely careful.

Suddenly, there was a noise next to the dead tree. He held his breath, raised his bow and aimed at that place.

I saw a rabbit jumping out from behind, with a piece of dry grass on its mouth, looking like it had just eaten.

It turned out to be a rabbit. Zong Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. If it was a wolf, tiger or leopard at such a close distance, he would probably not be able to escape unscathed.

Zong Xiao let go, and the sharp arrow flew out with a whoosh. The hare that came out to look for food instantly became Zong Xiao's dinner.

Even though it was daytime in the deep mountains, there was not a single ray of sunlight and the surroundings were terribly cold.

Zong Xiao picked up the hare and continued walking towards the cave following the marks left behind.

This is only the first day in the mountains, he needs to conserve his energy, as he still has a lot to do in the next few days.

At night, the fierce wind blew the flames in the cave everywhere.

Zong Xiao was leaning against the wall of the cave, eating roasted rabbit meat in big mouthfuls.

Today he walked around the cave. There were no signs of wild animals around, so it seemed safe, but it also meant that there were no wild foxes in this area.

If you want to find it, you have to go deeper.

And deeper down, there might be more than just wild foxes.

It's not like Zong Xiao hadn't been there before. At that time, in order to earn money to pay for Huaixue's medical treatment, he went into the mountains alone to hunt bears. There was no other way, as bear paws were valuable and the price offered by the rich merchants in the town was really high.

Zong Xiao had long forgotten how he had done it that day, but he had managed to escape death and finally lured the huge bear into the trap, where he finally caught it.

It was a pity that the bear had too many scars on its body and its fur was severely damaged, so it was not sold for a high price in the end. Fortunately, the silver saved Huaixue's life.

Now he goes into the mountains again, still for his family.

Zong Xiao stared at the flames with his dark eyes, and he couldn't help but think that it was a good thing that he still had the skill of hunting.

The next day, he put out the fire, packed his things and headed into the mountains again.

This walk lasted a whole day. He walked for so long that he didn't even know where he was. It was really too far.

Fortunately, his efforts were not in vain, and he finally found the fox's trace here.

He followed the trail to the vicinity of the fox's cave. He hoped it was a white fox, but unfortunately, reality was always cruel. When he got near the cave, he saw a sliver of darkness.

Although it was a black fox, it was better to have it than not. Zong Xiao slowed down his pace and hid behind a tree, staring at the cave.

After a while, another fox crawled out of the cave. It was smaller in size. As soon as it came out, it approached the black fox intimately. Judging from its actions, the two must be a pair.

Zong Xiao suddenly felt an inappropriate sense of pity, but this thought disappeared just as quickly as it came.

Finally, he raised his bow and shot an arrow at the two foxes, freezing them together.

They groaned and died after a while.

Zong Xiao put them into his backpack and continued to move deeper into the area. He was sure there must be more in this area.

Just as he thought, he soon saw two foxes again, but this time he was slow and let one of them escape.

Zong Xiao was not discouraged. As long as there were foxes in this area, he believed that he would be able to catch one sooner or later. That night, he built a shelter next to a nearby dead tree so that he at least had a place to rest at night.

But it was too cold in the mountains, and the thick coats he brought were of no use. After much thought, he skinned all the foxes he hunted. Since he had killed pigs and sheep before, his skinning skills were quite good, and the whole fox skin was perfect.

With the fox fur to keep him out of the wind, he was finally much warmer at night.

In the next two days, Zong Xiao was busy hunting and paid little attention to his surroundings.

By the time he realized something was wrong, there were already wolf paw prints in the forest where he was.

Wolves are smart. Perhaps the strong smell of blood left by his hunting in the past two days attracted them here.

Zong Xiao looked at the marks on the ground and his heart sank. This was not just one wolf, but a group of wolves.

Although he had been to the mountains many times, he had never encountered a situation like this: a pack of wolves. How could he escape from their claws?

Zong Xiao did not linger any longer. The most important thing at the moment was to save his own life. He traveled light, carrying only a few fox skins and a bow, and quietly slipped down the mountain.

The wolves sensed his movements and chased after him.

Just when Zong Xiao felt that he was doomed, a rainstorm suddenly broke out in the deep mountains. Mud and water slid down the mountain ridge, covering up his scent completely.

Maybe God didn't want him to die, so he sent this heavy rain.

Although his clothes were all wet, he really survived.

Zong Xiao didn't have time to catch his breath. He was afraid that the wolves would catch up with him after the rain stopped, so he continued to march down the mountain in the rain overnight.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally saw the cave.

When he went into the mountains that day, he specially left some food in the cave. Now that food became his life-saving straw.

Zong Xiao set a trap in front of the cave before entering. He started a fire and piled up firewood, then took off his clothes and put them beside him to dry.

Today is his sixth day in the mountains. During these days, he has hunted six foxes, but unfortunately there is no white fox fur among them.

But he couldn't go into the mountains again. The wolves wouldn't leave for a while, and might even be waiting there for him to return.

Zong Xiao felt an indescribable pain in his heart. This was the first time he felt so powerless. If he couldn't hunt the white fox, there would be no hope at all.

He sat quietly by the fire all night.

At daybreak, he put on his backpack again and prepared to move to another place to continue searching.

I don’t know if it was because God felt sorry for him that he helped him again for the first time in history.

Not long after Zong Xiao left the cave, he saw two white foxes at the foot of a cliff. One of them was seriously injured. It looked like it had fallen from the mountain. Its fur was covered in blood and it looked like it was about to die.

The other one curled up beside it and kept licking its wounds.

Zong Xiao stood there in a daze. He had never imagined that his meeting with the white fox would be like this.

He didn't go forward, but just stood aside and watched until the seriously injured white fox died completely. He went forward to pick up the body, but the other one didn't move, just curled up beside it and sobbed, as if it had no desire to live.

Zong Xiao didn't want to kill it at first. After all, one was enough. But the other one wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried. He had no choice but to take out his sharp knife and walk towards it.

At this time, in front of the Zong family courtyard.

Qiu Xuan was standing anxiously in front of the door. Six days had passed and Zong Xiao still hadn't returned.

In the past few days, two groups of people came down from the mountains. Qiu Yu asked them about it, but they shook their heads and said they had never seen Zong Xiao.

Qiu Xuan's heart gradually became uneasy. Zong Xiao clearly said that he just wanted to go into the mountains to take a look, so why did he stay away for so long? Did something unexpected happen?

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. She even thought of her grandfather and the eldest son of the Zong family. They both had an accident in the mountains that year.

Qiu Xuan couldn't wait any longer, she wanted to go into the mountains to take a look, what if, what if they met him?

"Aunt, what's wrong with you? Why are you looking outside?" Huaixue rushed out of the house and ran straight to Qiu Xuan's side. She handed the cake in her hand to Qiu Xuan and said, "Aunt, have some."

Qiu Xuan took a bite and the pastry was sweet, just as delicious as when Zong Xiao first bought it that day.

She forced a smile and said to Huaixue, "Aunt wants to go chop some firewood."

"Then I'll go with my aunt."

Qiu Xuan rubbed her head and refused, "It's cold outside, I can go alone. If grandma asks about it when she comes back, just say I will definitely be back before dinner."

Huaixue pursed her lips and said obediently, "Okay then, Auntie, you have to come back early. Grandma said we'll have some stewed meat for dinner."

"Okay." Qiu Xuan took the machete and put on the backpack. Taking advantage of the ray of sunshine at noon, she hurried towards the forest.

She didn't dare go into the mountains, so she just stood outside and watched. When she saw someone coming, she would look up, and when there was no one around, she would chop some firewood.

She didn't know how long it had been, but just when she was about to go home and come back tomorrow, she suddenly heard Zong Xiao's voice behind her.

"Ah's brother, why are you here?"

Qiu Xuan thought she had misheard at first, until she turned around and saw who was behind her.

"You're finally back." Qiu Yu excitedly stepped forward and pulled Zong Xiao up to look him over. "Are you injured?"

After not seeing him for a few days, Zong Xiao had stubble on his chin, there was dirt on his hair and body, and there were scratches on his cheeks from branches.

"Why did you take so long? Didn't you say you were just going into the mountains to take a look and would be back in two days?" There was a hint of complaint in Qiu Yu's words, but her tone was full of aggrievedness.

Zong Xiao's heart warmed, and the fatigue of the past few days instantly dissipated.

He raised his hand to hug Qiu Xuan, but when he saw that he was dirty all over, he pulled his hand back.

"When I encountered foxes, I thought about killing a few of them." Zong Xiao still didn't dare to tell her the truth.

"Hunting foxes? Selling them for money? Didn't we make some money?" Qiu Yu was puzzled. She had been really worried these days, afraid that something might happen to him, but why would he hunt foxes just to make money?

Seeing this, Zong Xiao had no choice but to honestly tell her the use of fox fur. "Now that we have white fox fur, things will be much easier. If we can get a word from Prince Pingyang, I think those people won't dare to come."

Qiu Xuan didn't expect that he went fox hunting not for money but for her.

It was so dangerous, but he was willing to take the risk for her.

Could it be that I am so important in Zong Xiao's heart?