Zhou Chenyu went outside to wash her hands and sat down where Baoyu had slept. She heard the soft sound of clothes being put on inside and glanced at the crack in the wooden planks.
The man in the room frowned, his thin lips slightly parted, and beads of sweat covered his neck, wiping away the bulging veins.
Zhou Chenyu abruptly withdrew his gaze, calmed down for a moment, and then, as if possessed, looked inside again. A surge of heat rushed into his body, and... he suddenly had a strong urge to sleep with him.
"Sis, sis, I'm back with people! Open the door quickly!"
Baoyu's urgent knocking came from outside the door, and Huangdou ran to the door to greet him.
Yang Xi walked out, clutching his shoulder. "Someone's here?"
Zhou Chenyu smelled the herbal scent on him and cursed inwardly, "Thinking about everything will only hurt you."
She suppressed her restless thoughts and said coldly, "It's Baoyu's voice. I'll go check it out."
She climbed down the wooden ladder and ran towards the gate. As soon as the gate opened, Baoyu stood outside, sweating profusely. "Sister, help has arrived!"
Zhou Chenyu glanced at Baoyu from head to toe. Good, all four limbs were intact, no missing arms or legs. "Why are you back so soon? I thought you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning at the earliest."
"Sister, I was afraid you'd be scared guarding Yang alone, so I didn't dare rest the whole way. Sister, how is Yang?" Baoyu wiped his face, with four constables carrying torches following behind him.
Zhou Chenyu recognized one of them as Xiao Qi, who often followed Yang Xi and had given her red bean pastries before.
"Yang Xi has been awake for a while, and I just changed his medicine." She opened the door, and Xiao Qi saw the figure on the door. She threw down her torch and ran over. She saw her master, who was covered in injuries, clenched her fists, knelt down, and tearfully begged for forgiveness.
"Master, I'm late. If you hadn't been trying to save me, you wouldn't have fallen off the cliff. It's all my fault for being so bad at martial arts."
Yang Xi was slightly moved when he saw tears welling up in Xiao Qi's bloodshot eyes, but upon further reflection, his expression darkened, and he scolded:
"My injuries are not serious, why are you crying? As the head constable of the government, you are responsible for protecting the people of this area. How can you cry at the slightest thing? Otherwise, how can you achieve great things in the future?"
“Master’s reprimand is absolutely right.” Xiao Qi wiped away her tears and said knowingly, “Master, I brought three people with me to follow Bao Yu up the mountain. The doctor is still on his way and will arrive in about half an hour. Why don’t you go back to your room and rest first?”
Yang Xi looked at his subordinates crammed into the courtyard, flames shooting into the sky, breaking the silence. "I've been bothering them for too long. No need to wait any longer, let's go down the mountain now."
Xiao Qi asked anxiously, "Master, what about your injuries?"
Yang Xi's cold gaze swept over them, his anger carrying an unyielding and stern expression. "I said we're going down the mountain, so we're going down the mountain!"
Knowing his master's temper well, Xiao Qi dared not disobey and loudly replied, "Yes!"
Yang Xi picked up the blade, walked towards Bao Yu, and his stern expression softened. "Bao Yu, I thank you for saving my life."
Baoyu scratched his head and chuckled, "Yang, you helped me and Hu Zi get our wages back last time. It's only right that I do these things, you don't need to thank me."
Yang Xi smiled with satisfaction, looked at Zhou Chenyu, his expression hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "Farewell."
Zhou Chenyu originally thought the two of them would spend the night alone, but she didn't expect the parting to come so quickly.
"Be careful on the road," she said blankly, and then saw them leave without looking back that very night.
After leaving the cabin, Yang Xi and his group headed down the mountain. Although it was night, the torches they lit were enough to illuminate the path ahead.
Yang Xi rubbed the hilt of his knife for a long while. Then he looked at the group and said coldly, "How many of you know that the siblings saved me?"
Xiao Qi replied, "Master, the person Baoyu happened to meet on his way down the mountain was me. After I learned of this, I immediately went to find the magistrate and then quickly led a few people up the mountain."
Yang Xi's eyes darkened. "Don't tell anyone that they saved me. If word gets out, I'll hold you accountable."
Xiao Qi was puzzled. "Master, Brother Baoyu and Miss Chenyu saved you. This is a good thing. Why can't we announce it to the outside world?"
The flickering firelight fell on Yang Xi's cheek, and his cold eyes were filled with worry. "After Baoyu went down the mountain, only Miss Zhou and I were alone. If those gossipy people heard about this, who knows how many nasty lies they would tell. It was already difficult enough for them to save me; I can't let others tarnish her reputation."
Xiao Qi smiled faintly, "I'm so stupid, I completely forgot about those gossips. Master is indeed Master, so thoughtful in every way!"
Yang Xi pursed his thin lips and remained silent.
As the torchlight faded into the distance, Baoyu sat down, wiping away his sweat, finally able to relax his nerves that had been tense all day.
"Sister, Yang is indeed Yang. Not only is he highly skilled in martial arts, but he also recovers from injuries much faster than ordinary people. If I had those injuries, I would have been bedridden for at least ten days to half a month."
Seeing Baoyu's unusual excitement, Zhou Chenyu felt a strange sense of loss. She thought that she could spend a night alone with Yang Xi, and that a lot could happen in one night.
However, that slight disappointment only lasted a few seconds before he quickly reverted to his cunning nature. After all, the effect of spending just half a day together was far better than his previous relentless pestering.
Zhou Chenyu raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "From now on, I can cling to his coattails whenever I want, right?"
Yang Xi's appearance and departure were like a minor interlude, only breaking the brief peace. After he left, the siblings' hunting trip returned to normal.
Zhou Chenyu stayed near the wooden house. In the morning, he would go to the mountain stream to set up the fishing nets. He would wander around in the gaps to catch small prey such as pheasants and rabbits. In the afternoon, he would slowly pull in the nets, clean the fish, and put them out to dry in the sun. After ten days, he hadn't caught many pheasants or rabbits, but he had unknowingly accumulated dozens of kilograms of dried fish.
Most of the live poultry in the cabin were caught by Baoyu, including a dozen or so pheasants and rabbits. Of course, the most valuable of them was the wild deer he caught on the second day after entering the mountains.
The deer meat is scarce, tender, and has the effect of warming the kidneys and strengthening yang. A live deer can be sold for one tael of silver.
They went into the mountains just before the Mid-Autumn Festival and stayed for more than ten days, just in time for the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, a time for family reunion. Whether it was a wealthy family or an ordinary family, they would buy some good things and prepare a table of food and wine to celebrate the festival.
At this crucial moment, they transported their prey to the city to sell it, and the timing was perfect.
Therefore, a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhou Chenyu and Baoyu transported the things down the mountain and headed to Zhoujia Village.
As dusk approached, Baoyu looked at the cart full of game. On the way back, his smile never stopped. "Sister, this harvest was quite bountiful. Mother will be so happy when she finds out. We can finally have a good festival."
Mid-Autumn Festival is an annual festival for family reunion. However, since her parents' divorce, Zhou Chenyu has always felt out of place no matter which side she goes to for the reunion dinner. As an adult, she prefers to be alone, which she finds more comfortable.
Come to think of it, she hasn't celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival in a long time.
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