After lunch and a short rest, Tian Yu felt much better. Thinking about how she hadn't figured out what to eat next, she took Tangyuan and a basket and went for a walk in the woods to the west, hoping to find some wild vegetables. They hadn't gone far when they saw a grave. They were puzzled by the lack of a tombstone. Asking Tangyuan, they learned it was the grave of Old Mrs. Zhao, and that Tian Yu brought Tangyuan to sweep it every year on the anniversary of her death. Tian Yu also told Tangyuan that it was her great-grandmother's grave. Continuing on, Tian Yu found several kinds of wild vegetables unique to early spring. Some were quite bitter and needed to be blanched in hot water and then rinsed repeatedly with cold water. Seeing that the basket was almost full and they had walked quite a distance, with mountains ahead, they were worried about wild animals. Tian Yu called Tangyuan back, and seeing a house at the foot of the mountain not far away, Tian Yu curiously asked Tangyuan...

"Tangyuan, who lives where?"

"Mother, are you referring to the Chen hunter's family over there?"

"Hmm, you know him?"

"Yes, I know him. Mother doesn't remember. During the New Year, Mother even traded a piece of meat with him."

"Is that so? Mother can't remember some things after she fell into a coma."

"Oh, I see. Then Tangyuan, please remember this for your mother. That hunter named Chen Chong is incredibly skilled; he's the best hunter around here."

"Oh, then there must be a lot of prey in these mountains."

"Of course, these mountains are home to tigers, pheasants, deer, and wild boars."

Just as Tangyuan finished speaking, they heard a pig's roar coming from the north mountain. Tianyu and Tangyuan stared wide-eyed, frozen in fear. As the roar continued, Tianyu finally reacted, grabbing Tangyuan and running back. Tangyuan was also too frightened to make a sound, but being too small, she couldn't run fast. The sound grew closer, and Tianyu glanced back to see a dark shadow and a wild boar with tusks running towards them. Terrified, Tianyu dropped the basket, picked up Tangyuan, and ran for her life. She hadn't gone far when she tripped over the dry grass and fell. Looking back, she saw the boar was already upon them. Without thinking, Tianyu shielded Tangyuan with her body, waiting for the boar's attack, hoping it wouldn't hurt her. It felt like a long wait, but instead of the expected pain, there was only a roar followed by the boar's scream. Tian Yu dared not turn around until she could no longer hear the wild boar's rapid panting. Only then did she slowly turn around to check. What she saw terrified her. The wild boar was lying on the ground with a pool of blood. Beside it stood a tall, strong man dressed in animal skins, with a bow and arrows on his back, a dagger at his waist, and a knife in his hand, blood still dripping from it.

Tian Yu looked up, trying to get a clear look at the other person, who also turned to look at them. His messy hair and beard obscured his face, but a pair of dark, bright eyes, like a wolf's, stared intently at her. Tian Yu felt uneasy under his gaze, as if she and Tang Yuan had done something wrong. But it was clearly him who had angered the wild boar, causing it to attack them. Tian Yu looked down and turned to check on Tang Yuan. Tang Yuan was unharmed. The two then got up, brushing the dirt off themselves. Tang Yuan, seeing the wild boar on the ground, was very curious. Looking at the hunter standing beside it, he excitedly cried out, "Mother, it was Hunter Chen! Hunter Chen saved us!" Tian Yu nodded at Tang Yuan's words, then turned to thank Chen Chong before picking up the basket and scattered wild vegetables. When she turned around to take Tangyuan's hand and leave, she found that Tangyuan had somehow squatted down in front of the wild boar. She had no choice but to go back to Tangyuan's side. As she passed Chen Chong, Tian Yu noticed that his left hand was bleeding and reminded him:

"Your hand is injured." But the man in front of her didn't move, only slightly raising his hand to glance at her. Tian Yu was a little angry. How could this person be so cruel and rude, constantly staring at her and Tang Yuan as if they were prey? Now that her hand was injured, he acted like nothing was wrong. Tian Yu put down the basket, tore a piece of cloth from the corner of her clothes, grabbed his left hand, carefully wiped it, gently blew on it, and finally wrapped it with a strip of cloth, instructing him to remember to disinfect it when he got home and not to get it wet. Throughout the whole process, the man named Chen Chong didn't utter a sound. At first, his hand resisted slightly, but Tian Yu held on firmly, showing no intention of letting go, so the man complied and let Tian Yu handle it.

After treating Chen Chong's wounds, Tian Yu helped Tang Yuan up and prepared to go home. Before leaving, she thanked Chen Chong again. No matter what, he had saved her and Tang Yuan. Although he didn't say a word, Tian Yu thought he was probably angry. If it weren't for saving them, his hand wouldn't have been injured.

Chen Chong didn't come to his senses until Tian Yu and the others were far away. He managed to utter three words in a low, deep voice: "You're welcome." Then, he slowly raised his left hand, staring blankly at the cloth wrapped around it. He recognized the mother and son; they had traded eggs for some meat with him before. But the woman then was different from now. He remembered that the woman was dull and lifeless, never speaking. If it weren't for the boy, he might not have recognized her as the same person who had traded meat with him. Now, this woman held his gaze captivatingly. If he remembered correctly, the villagers called her Xiao Tian, ​​a woman abandoned by her husband. But this woman named Xiao Tian now evoked different feelings in him. He had never been cared for like this before. His mother died in childbirth, and he had only his father by his side. His father only taught him martial arts, hunting, reading, and writing. Even when injured, he had to endure it himself, because his father had always told him he was a strong man, a man who wasn't afraid of pain or hardship, and who was never allowed to cry. But then his father left, and he lived alone in the mountains, making a living by hunting, a skill his father had taught him. Occasionally, he would go down the mountain to trade his game for necessities, and if he caught a lot, he would take it to a restaurant in the nearby county town to exchange for silver. This was the first time someone had held his hand and helped him treat his wound, which meant nothing to him. But this woman cared so much, so when she passed by and took his hand, he felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to pull away. But seeing her slightly reproachful eyes and the faint fragrance emanating from her, he felt something he had never experienced before. She resembled the mother he had imagined as a child. But when she bent down and gently blew on his wound, a different kind of flutter rose in his heart, making him lose himself in thought. She said a lot, but he couldn't hear a word, nor could he answer. Judging from her angry expression as she left, she was probably upset that he hadn't responded. He put down his injured hand, looked again in the direction where Tian Yu and the others had disappeared, and murmured, "Little Sweetie, that sounds so nice." Then he picked up the wild boar and walked towards the house in the mountains. Luckily, it wasn't an adult wild boar, otherwise he would have suffered more injuries than he had. His father was right; next time, he should fight back with one blow and not provoke or test the waters to avoid any other unexpected consequences.

Back home, Tian Yu and Tang Yuan were still somewhat shaken. After drinking some water and resting for a while, they noticed it was getting late. They tidied up the blankets and clothes that had been airing out before starting to pick wild vegetables. After washing and chopping them, they scalded them with hot water and rinsed them repeatedly with cold water to remove the bitterness. After washing, they drained some of the vegetables, cracked in two eggs, added a little salt, and stirred them well. They poured the remaining oil into a pan and fried the vegetables until cooked. They also reheated the leftover porridge from lunch and decided to have it for dinner. After serving the food, they washed the pot, filled it with water, and used the embers at the bottom to warm the water, preparing to take a nice hot bath with Tang Yuan that evening.