Ah Mian, who was perched on a tree branch, saw the mountain spirit leap to the ground with a "whoosh," and without even looking back, it fled into the forest in the opposite direction.
What is brotherhood? Is it delicious?!
He made the decision almost instantly: whether it was a person or a wild animal, there was no need to save them.
Making another sound would only reveal one's presence.
The reason why Shan Gui was able to rise to the third position in the bandit gang was not because he was particularly capable or intelligent.
It's simply because many of the people who joined with him back then have long since died, and he's the only one still alive.
No sooner had he left than the ghostly figure emerged from the darkness, leaving a deep trail of blood at his feet—the result of him dragging the bandit by his long hair.
"Meng Chijian!" A joyful voice came from the tree branch. A-Mian jumped down, her big smile accompanied by large tears. "You weren't killed! That's wonderful!"
"Ah Mian... I'm still here, I'm still alive!" Yuan Hua practically hopped out, apparently having fallen and now one leg seemed to be crippled, so he could only hop around on one foot.
Meng Chijian loosened his grip, feeling completely drained. He wanted to yell at A-Mian and A-Dou for being disobedient and running around, but he also feared that what he was seeing was just a hallucination. For a long time, he couldn't utter a complete sentence.
He quickly carried A-Mian to the fire and checked her over to see if she was injured.
Amian said, "I'm fine. You scared away one of the bandits."
"I understand." Meng Chijian pressed his forehead against A-Mian's, staring intently. "So that's why you ran up the tree, isn't it?"
"Well, that bandit is called Mountain Ghost. By the way, how did you find me?" A-Mian didn't feel ashamed of crying or that she should avoid people; she just cried naturally when she wanted to. After she finished crying, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and asked curiously.
“We followed the footprints, but after a while the footprints disappeared, so we went in the wrong direction. At night, we suddenly saw smoke from a fire in the distance and thought it might be you.”
Amian lowered her head. "They wanted to eat Adou, and I stopped them. But they forced me to catch fish for them to eat. That guy called Mountain Ghost said you were killed and told me to marry him, saying he had a thousand taels of silver."
After she finished speaking, she felt something was wrong. She looked up and saw that Meng Chijian's eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he was about to die of anger.
"I didn't agree to that!"
Meng Chijian caught his breath.
“I’m not stupid. He stole that money. It’s ill-gotten gains.”
Ah Mian thought that if her silver coins were stolen, the feeling would be like her heart being torn apart.
"But he said he hid all the money in a cellar..."
Meng Chijian gritted his teeth, "You're not suggesting we go find that money, are you?"
Amian shrank her neck. "No, no, I know. I'll follow you down the mountain as soon as it's light."
"Aren't you two done? Can't you see there's an injured person here? Lu Amian, I almost got bitten by a poisonous snake while looking for you, and then I slipped and fell on a very slippery rock!"
Yuan Hua's eyes were practically hurting from looking at the two of them.
Having just experienced the joy of losing and regaining something, Meng Chijian now wishes he could keep A Mian by his side with him at all times.
Fearing that the escaped mountain spirit might cause further trouble, the three of them did everything together and never separated.
First, they threw the body of another bandit across the stream to avoid attracting wild animals.
Then Meng Chijian examined Yuan Hua's leg and said, "The bone is fine, it's just twisted," like a quack doctor trying to fool people.
None of the three of them slept all night, but nothing happened.
As soon as it was light, the three of them went down the mountain. Yuan Hua had injured his foot, so in order not to delay the journey, he rode the donkey.
I rushed home, but didn't get there until the afternoon.
Everyone hadn't slept for two days and one night. When they saw them return, Meng Jing, her mother, and her second brother's family burst into tears.
“This morning, my second brother went to the shop, and some government officials brought silver, saying it was to settle the remaining debt. We were all terrified and begged them to tell us what had happened and why you hadn’t come back…”
At this moment, Meng Chijian broke off a willow twig, determined to teach Adou a lesson.
"The stupid donkey got frightened and led Ah Mian into the mountains. We searched all night before we found Ah Mian."
Everyone was filled with fear and thankful that all the gods and Buddhas had protected them. Mencius' mother knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
"Thank goodness she's alright... thank goodness she's alright..." Second Sister-in-law patted her chest, went up to check on A-Mian, and seeing that she was indeed safe and sound, she sighed that she was truly blessed with good fortune.
Amian mustered her courage and asked if she could refrain from punishing Adou.
Meng Chijian certainly wasn't trying to teach a stupid donkey a lesson—it probably still doesn't even know what's going on!
He was waiting for Ah Mian to plead for mercy, and this time he threatened her fiercely: "If you encounter danger, and it's just a donkey, you should abandon it. Nothing is more important than your life, you know? If this happens again, it won't just be your donkey that gets beaten!"
Amian retorted, "How can you say that! Adou and I are like you and me! If Adou gets lost in the mountains, I will definitely go and find him!"
"..."
"…………"
"Pfft," Second Sister-in-law laughed, "Hahahaha, Meng San really is a donkey..."
Meng Er's shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
Even Meng Jing, who had cried out a big snot bubble, turned her back and chuckled.
Meng Chijian was just pretending to beat up A Dou.
I really want to punch him now.
Yes, he always knew that A-Dou was very important to A-Mian. But in those days, livestock were always considered very important to a family, after all, they were worth more than ten taels of silver.
So he never really paid much attention to it.
However, when he realized that in Ah Mian's heart, he was practically nothing more than a donkey, he still felt a sense of suffocation.
Who would have thought that despite all the precautions, the rival in love would turn out to be a donkey?
Adou leisurely pawed at the ground with his front hooves, gave the crowd a rather provocative look (in Meng Chijian's opinion), and then strolled off to the backyard with Amian's lead.
"Oh dear, you must be starving and exhausted—" Second Sister-in-law plopped down at the table and began giving instructions remotely, "My lord, hurry up and boil water for them to bathe. I'm not saying it's strange, but it smells like blood. Xiao Jing, don't just stand around, hurry up and cook. Tiger, Tiger, don't mess with your sister, you hear me! If you make her cry, I'll call your father to beat you up!"
Meng Jing said angrily to A Mian, "This is why I hate my second sister-in-law!"
Amian whispered, "How much money did the government send?"
"Twenty taels, full weight of snowflake silver." Meng Jing understood immediately. "Don't worry, I'll put it in your room as soon as I get it back."
Meng Chijian frowned. "...How come it's doubled?"
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