An hour later.
Yi'an and the man returned. They gathered a few herbs that could stop bleeding from external injuries and sent them to help.
The rest is up to fate.
The couple started sitting in the yard, sighing.
"Oh, what a pity." The man shook his head with great regret. "She just wanted to go to the back mountain to pick some wild vegetables to improve her meals. Who knew she would step into a trap that someone had set? A perfectly good person turned into this."
Xu Xinghe also sighed and said, following his words, "Yes, it's so unlucky. I hope those herbs will be of some use."
She spoke sincerely, but her heart remained completely unmoved.
A spy faking an injury doesn't deserve her utmost sympathy.
Time slowly moved into the afternoon.
The man said he was going to check on the injured woman and went out, leaving only his wife, Xu Xinghe, and Yi An in the courtyard.
Xu Xinghe sat in the courtyard, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings. She keenly sensed a gaze coming from the house behind her, fixed on her.
A thought struck her, and she deliberately spoke to Yi An, "Luckily I met you on the mountain, otherwise I would have gotten lost and might have fallen into some trap, which would have been terrible."
Yi An immediately replied, "No, the villagers often go to the back mountain to cut firewood and gather mountain products. No one would set traps there; that would be harmful. Only in remote, uninhabited areas deep in the mountains could hunters set traps."
Xu Xinghe continued, "Brother Yi'an, when we go back to Lijia'ao, could you please not tell anyone that we came here together? I'm afraid the villagers will spread rumors, after all, I still have a fiancé, and it wouldn't be good if it affected my reputation."
Yi An nodded immediately, "Don't worry, I won't say anything. Before we go back, we'll go one after the other. You can say you're going to town to visit relatives, and I'll say I'm going hunting at Black Wind Ridge. No one will connect the dots."
"Thank you so much." Xu Xinghe thanked her, then got up and said she was going back to her room to rest.
Yi'an also returned to the side room next door, leaving only the man and his wife in the main room.
Not long after, the man returned.
Once Xu Xinghe was sure the two had entered the house, she quietly left and went behind their room door, pressing her ear against the door panel.
The man asked in a low voice, "What were those two talking about in the yard just now? Did they say anything that seemed off?"
The wife recounted the entire conversation between the two, and added at the end, "I think Su Xiao should be fine. She even said she has a fiancé and is afraid that it wouldn't sound good if she came out with Yi An. She's quite thoughtful and seems like an ordinary girl."
The man pondered for a moment, "From this perspective, they seem to be fine. Yi'an is a native of Lijia'ao, we know her well, but this Su Xiao is an outsider, so we still need to be more careful."
"What problems could there be if she has a fiancé?" The wife said dismissively. "Judging from her tone, she's just an ordinary girl who cares about her reputation. Don't overthink it."
Xu Xinghe, who was hiding behind the door, secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this.
It seems that the people of Lijia'ao haven't spread the news of Jiang Linchuan being injured and rescued.
That makes sense, since this matter involves Ah Cui's reputation, the village chief must have specifically instructed the villagers not to talk about it.
Moreover, if word got out, it could damage the reputation of all the girls in the village, and no one would casually tell outsiders about such a thing.
Just then, the man seemed to sense something and suddenly raised his voice, asking, "Who's outside?"
Xu Xinghe was startled. Without thinking, she took a step forward, dodging the doorway, and then instantly entered the space with a thought.
Almost simultaneously, the man suddenly pushed open the door and came out, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings of the courtyard, but he found nothing.
He was silent for a moment, then his gaze fell on the house where Xu Xinghe lived to the side, and he walked over.
Xu Xinghe was keeping track of the time in her spatial dimension, knowing that once he discovered someone outside, he would definitely go to her room to check first.
It would take about ten seconds to walk there.
After silently reciting the numbers, Xu Xinghe exited the space with a thought, and quickly ran towards the outhouse on the other side of the courtyard, keeping her footsteps light.
After going in, she came out again, deliberately slowing her pace and pretending to have just come out of the outhouse.
Sure enough, the man arrived at Xu Xinghe's room, pushed open the door, and saw that no one was inside. He immediately went in to check.
Just then, he heard footsteps behind him.
He turned around and came face to face with Xu Xinghe.
"Hey girl, where did you just go?"
Xu Xinghe replied casually, "I just went to the outhouse, what's wrong, brother?"
The man sniffed and indeed smelled a faint scent on her. The doubt on his face lessened a bit, and he smiled and said, "It's nothing. I just thought I heard some noise outside your door. I thought you were inside and wanted to ask if you wanted some water."
"It's probably the wind," Xu Xinghe replied with a smile. "I'm not thirsty, thank you, brother."
The man didn't ask any more questions, nodded, and turned to go back to his room.
Xu Xinghe stood still and exhaled.
That was really close. Luckily I reacted quickly, otherwise I would have been discovered.
Fortunately, the woman didn't come out to check.
It seems the people here are extremely vigilant!
And how did he find out when he hadn't made any sound?
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