Chapter 44 Are you the fugitive from Disney...?
After listening to the head of the manor, Shen Lingyue did not rashly put her hand into the water. Instead, she had a bucket of water brought up and set it aside for later use.
It was getting late, and the area around the fishpond was pitch black. The lantern in the village head's hand wasn't enough to see anything. Shen Lingyue stood up and said, "I'll come back and take a look during the day tomorrow."
She reminded the head of the village: "Dead fish must be retrieved and disposed of promptly. Either mix them with quicklime and bury them deeply, or burn them all together. Under no circumstances should they be allowed to escape."
Despite her comfortable life in the Marquis's mansion, most ordinary people still struggle to get enough to eat, rarely tasting meat more than a few times a month. These dead fish are a huge temptation for them.
The head steward nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, Second Young Madam, I know what's important."
No matter how much he felt sorry for the fish fry, he wouldn't dare to joke about human lives.
Shen Lingyue and Pei Jinghuai planned to go back to their rooms to rest first, and then come back tomorrow morning to check on things further.
It was still quite a walk back from the fishpond. The two of them trudged along the country path, the moonlight shining down overhead, the distant chirping of cicadas, and the sound of the wind more expansive than in the city.
This gave Shen Lingyue the illusion that she was on a rural vacation.
As they walked, they heard a commotion ahead. Several young tenant farmers were talking animatedly, holding torches in their hands.
As the two approached, they heard several chirping sounds.
The man in the lead was holding a red fox upside down in his hand. He smiled honestly at the two men and said, "Boss, I caught a fox in the snare I set in the field. This little thing has probably come down the mountain to find food. No wonder we've lost several chickens from the village recently."
"Chirp!"
In the firelight, the red fox was long and thin, with a simple iron clamp clamped on its hind leg, and faint blood seeping from its fur.
It cried pitifully, its big, round black eyes looking at Shen Lingyue with a pitiful expression, its two front paws waving forward incessantly.
The man, trying to curry favor with the mistress of the house, laughed and said, "This little rascal is so clever, he even knows to bow to you and beg for mercy."
“Sell it to me.” Pei Jinghuai took out a silver ingot from his purse and handed it over, then said to Shen Lingyue, “Have the kitchen stew it tomorrow, and we can make you a pair of gloves after peeling it.”
Shen Lingyue's eyes widened. "What nonsense are you talking about? Eating wild animals is illegal, don't you know that?"
Pei Jinghuai was stunned: "What law?"
I've never heard of this law in the laws of Da Ye.
Shen Lingyue said in a serious tone: "Green River Law."
She's a long-time, officially licensed reader of Xiao Lv Jiang's novels; how could she do something like this?
Shen Lingyue carefully took the red fox from the man's hands, holding it by the scruff of its neck, and had Pei Jinghuai remove the clips from its legs.
The little fox only bared its teeth at her at first, but quickly realized that the two people were applying medicine to treat its wounds, so it became obedient again. Its furry snout even tried to nudge Chen Lingyue's hand, making a whimpering sound like a puppy.
"Don't move! You haven't showered yet, so you're not allowed to touch me..."
Shen Lingyue muttered to herself, both curious and disgusted, only daring to gently touch the little fox's head twice with her fingertips.
She noticed that the little fox's belly was flat, as if it hadn't eaten for a long time, so she asked someone to go to the kitchen to get some leftovers from dinner, poured chicken soup over them, and mixed them into a small bowl.
The little guy, dragging his injured leg, didn't run away. When he smelled the aroma of the food, his eyes lit up, and he plunged into the bowl and slurped it down.
After Pei Jinghuai finished applying the medicine to the little fox and washed his hands, he returned to find her squatting on the ground watching the little fox eat with great interest. He couldn't help but ask, "Do you want to take it home and raise it?"
However, Shen Lingyue shook her head, "No, there are so many cats in the manor, why would I keep a fox?"
Her legs were a little numb from squatting for too long, so she stood up and rubbed them a couple of times. She said to Pei Jinghuai, "We're not short of meat, and I don't need any fox fur gloves. Since we've met, it's fate."
As they were talking, the little fox had already eaten and drunk its fill and showed no intention of leaving. It circled around the room a few times, and finally curled up in a ball on the footstool, covering itself with its fluffy tail and closing its eyes to go to sleep.
Shen Lingyue poked its forehead, both amused and exasperated. "Hey, I never said I was going to keep you. Why are you being so friendly, you fox? You know you'll get caught again if you keep this up?"
She ordered Pei Jinghuai, "Throw it out, throw it far away, shoo it back into the mountains."
Pei Jinghuai was still a little reluctant, "It's already become attached to us, so let's just keep it."
Although this little fox is a bit thin and doesn't look fully grown, its bright red fur is completely free of any other color, making it truly beautiful.
Shen Lingyue shook her head, "It's wild and hard to tame. Who knows if it's eaten dead rats or something in the mountains? What if it bites someone one day?"
She had no hope for the medical care here; her own life was the most important thing, no matter what.
“You’re right. There are so many people in the Marquis’s mansion; we can’t keep it locked in a cage forever.”
Pei Jinghuai quickly came to his senses, grabbed the little fox by the scruff of its neck, and strode out the door amidst its dissatisfied squeaks.
He went around the farm and went straight to the foot of the mountain behind it. He walked a little further in and entered the woods before putting the little fox down and gently kicking it with his foot. "Hey, go back to your parents."
Under the cover of night, the little fox's eyes glowed with a faint green light. It tilted its head and looked at him in confusion. Suddenly, it lay down on the ground, rolled over, exposed its white belly, and stuck out its tongue at Pei Jinghuai.
Pei Jinghuai waved his hand menacingly, "Don't try to play the victim with me. My wife won't allow me to keep you. You'd better leave now."
He turned and headed down the mountain. The little fox's attempt to be cute failed, so it scrambled to its feet and limped after him, circling around his feet and making whimpering noises, as if accusing him of being a heartless man.
Pei Jinghuai was in a hurry to go back to sleep, but he was annoyed by it. With a whoosh, he drew the dagger from his waist and swung it at it threateningly twice.
"Are you coming or not? If you don't leave, I'll skin you alive!"
The blade was gleaming, flashing a silvery light.
Sensing the ferocity emanating from him, the little fox let out a howl, scrambled back several steps, crouched low, and bared its teeth as it roared at him.
Pei Jinghuai stomped his foot heavily, making a move to charge forward with his sword.
The little fox was truly frightened this time. It turned around and ran desperately into the night, quickly disappearing from sight.
Pei Jinghuai turned and went down the mountain, returning to his and Shen Lingyue's room, looking somewhat disappointed.
Even after taking a shower, changing into clean pajamas, and lying in bed, he still seemed unenthusiastic, with his hands behind his head, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Shen Lingyue was still doing her pre-sleep skincare routine, applying pearl cream to her face, smelling wonderful as she climbed into bed, and nudged him, "Still reluctant? Didn't you used to go hunting outside the city all the time?"
Pei Jinghuai muttered, "I used to shoot all the foxes I encountered dead with an arrow, so there's no need for all this trouble. They just won't leave."
Shen Lingyue said quietly, "Yes, if it continues to be so defenseless against humans next time, it will eventually become someone's scarf and gloves."
She wasn't claiming to be environmentally conscious or against fur; Zhao Lan had prepared quite a few good furs in her dowry, which would be very useful for keeping warm in winter.
She just felt that she already had enough and there was no need to harm another little life.
Pei Jinghuai retorted, "If you let it go today, it might be caught by someone else and made into scarves and gloves."
"At least it didn't die at our hands." Shen Lingyue ruffled his hair twice, offering a half-hearted consolation. "Foxes have their own fates. You can save this one, but what about the next one, and the one after that?"
After she finished speaking, she couldn't help but pinch Pei Jinghuai's cheek twice and said with a smile, "Oh my, Brother Xiaozhou can be so sentimental at times."
Pei Jinghuai rolled over, pulling her completely into his arms, and bit her in a fit of pique.
"It's all your fault, making it seem like I'm the one who's committed murder."
He's even started reflecting on the prey he's hunted over the past few years.
"You released my fox, how are you going to compensate me?"
Before Shen Lingyue could even utter a word of excuse, someone cut her off.
Familiar sounds soon filled the not-so-spacious room.
Outside the door, Qingchan and Shuangxu exchanged a glance, then skillfully took out two wads of cotton from their purses and began to use sign language.
Qingchan: I'm going to the kitchen to boil water.
Frosty Fluff: I'll come and relieve you in the middle of the night.
...
Since they weren't in his own residence, Pei Jinghuai restrained himself somewhat, only calling for water twice before calling back.
He still remembered Shen Lingyue saying she didn't want children, and at the last moment he managed to pull away, taking her hand and helping him resolve the issue.
Shen Lingyue felt weak all over, and her hands were about to cramp up. She angrily kicked his calves.
"...You're just trying to play the victim with me!"
The big dog, well-fed and watered, let her beat and scold it as she pleased, treating it like a kitten being tickled.
Pei Jinghuai hugged her from behind and patted her back gently.
"Go to sleep. If you can't get up tomorrow morning, the people on the estate will start to worry."
Shen Lingyue: ...How dare you say that?
She closed her eyes resentfully, and after tossing and turning all day and half the night, she fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, she and Pei Jinghuai went to the fishpond again.
This time, the village head also invited a doctor from a nearby village. In front of the two men, he inserted a silver needle into the swollen belly of the dead fish, and when he pulled it out, it was indeed still black.
Shen Lingyue borrowed Pei Jinghuai's dagger, pried open the fish's gills, and saw that they were faintly black. She then asked the doctor, "Can you determine what kind of poison it is?"
The doctor cautiously replied, "It looks like arsenic."
This is also the most common poison that can be detected by silver needles.
"But to poison so many fish fry, it would take a lot of arsenic, wouldn't it?"
Shen Lingyue stood up and looked at the vast fishpond in front of her, stroking her chin in thought: "I remember arsenic is hard to buy, right? Who is so generous as to poison the fish in our farm?"
It's not worth it, really not worth it.
She stared blankly at the shimmering water, then suddenly her gaze sharpened, and she pointed to a small patch of water in the distance that was bubbling. "What's that?"
Zhuang Tou followed her finger and looked over. "Oh, that's the sluice gate that connects to the upstream. Our fishpond is filled with water drawn down from the mountain."
Shen Lingyue walked along the fishpond embankment until she stopped at the point closest to the sluice gate.
She tugged at Pei Jinghuai's sleeve, "Look, the bubbles coming out of that spot seem to be colorful?"
It's not the rainbow color that comes from sunlight reflecting off the water's surface, but rather the water itself, as if a flowing film of light has been applied to it, giving it a viscous appearance.
The colored film flowed out from the sluice gate and slowly spread out, dissolving into the entire fishpond.
Pei Jinghuai quickly realized, "You mean, the upstream water was polluted and spread down the river, which is why the fish in the fishpond died?"
Shen Lingyue nodded, "It seems we have to go into the mountains."
Following the source of the water might yield more clues.
Pei Jinghuai: "Okay, I'll accompany you into the mountains this afternoon."
After lunch, the two changed into neat clothes, tying their cuffs and trouser legs tightly to prevent snakes, insects, and rodents from getting in.
Pei Jinghuai saw Shen Lingyue come out from the inner room, with her hair ornaments removed and only her hair tied in a high ponytail. He laughed and said, "You look like some young master who has run away from home, dressed like this."
Shen Lingyue showed off to him, "The men's clothes that Shuangxu made for me are beautiful, aren't they?"
"It looks good, but you're not allowed to wear it next time you go out with me."
Shen Lingyue: ?
Pei Jinghuai: "I'm afraid that if someone I don't know well sees me from afar, they might think I'm gay."
Enraged, Shen Lingyue stomped on his foot, then strode out the door with her head held high.
Pei Jinghuai followed with a smile.
The two quickly entered the mountains and, following the directions given by the village head, went to find the source of the mountain's living water.
This mountain isn't very high; from the village, it looks like a small mound. But only when you actually walk in do you realize that it's a place of deep forests and lush vegetation, a completely natural and pristine environment.
The mountains that Shen Lingyue used to climb have all been developed into tourist attractions. Climbing them is more like climbing steps, with neat and tidy roads. If you get tired, you can sit in the pavilions along the way.
She followed behind Pei Jinghuai, climbing uphill with uneven steps, constantly tapping the ground with a branch to prevent snakes from hiding inside. Before long, she began to pant heavily.
Pei Jinghuai, however, remained completely unfazed, even turning back to mock her, "You're already exhausted after walking for so short a while?"
"How dare you say that?" Shen Lingyue glared at him.
If I had known I'd have to go up the mountain today, I shouldn't have...
Knowing he was in the wrong, Pei Jinghuai turned back a few steps and squatted down in front of her. "Then I'll carry you on my back?"
"...No need, just hold my hand and walk slowly."
If she really asked him to carry her up the mountain, Shen Lingyue would be a little reluctant.
Pei Jinghuai noticed it too, grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers, laughing in a cheap, nonchalant way.
Shen Lingyue was infected by his smile, and even though she was very tired, she couldn't help but smile.
"Let's go, let's climb up together."
The two climbed halfway up the mountain, but Shen Lingyue was too exhausted. She found a flat open space, sat down, and drank water to rest.
She leaned against Pei Jinghuai's back, squinted her eyes, and felt the cool mountain breeze on her face.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
A strange laugh suddenly came from afar, startling her.
"What is that?"
Pei Jinghuai suddenly stood up, drew his dagger, and looked around warily.
rustling sounds...
The eerie sound grew closer, sometimes from the left, sometimes from the right.
Shen Lingyue's face turned pale with fright, and countless ghost stories she had read played out in her mind.
Good heavens, are these mountains haunted?
She stood up and ran to Pei Jinghuai's side, grabbing his arm tightly.
The two stared at the patch of grass, about a meter tall, from which the sound had come. The next second, a furry head popped out from it: "Hahahaha!"
Pei Jinghuai: ...
Shen Lingyue: ...
It's you, Little Red Hair!
But why did you yell "hahahahaha"?
The little red fox emerged from the bushes, seemingly having completely forgotten that it had been abandoned by these two "heartless men" the night before. It chirped and laughed as it ran around the two of them.
Pei Jinghuai squatted down and reached out his hand to it. The little fox immediately put its head on it and kept licking him with its tongue.
He turned to look at Shen Lingyue, "Now you should admit that you have a connection with it, right?"
Shen Lingyue snorted and deliberately threatened fiercely, "Come on, or I'll really turn you into a scarf."
The little fox tilted its head and stuck its tongue out at her, "Chirp?"
Shen Lingyue: ...Damn it, he actually tried to seduce her by acting cute!
It was a false alarm, and she and Pei Jinghuai started afresh.
The little fox didn't leave, but ran back and forth around the two of them.
Pei Jinghuai took out a piece of jerky and tossed it over. The little fox caught it in one bite and crunched it with relish.
Shen Lingyue: "You're still feeding it?"
Pei Jinghuai looked completely innocent: "I thought it was hungry, and it left after it ate its fill."
As it turns out, the little fox had no intention of letting go of these two two-legged creatures' meal tickets.
It persistently followed the two of them, then suddenly darted into the bushes and didn't come out for a long time.
Shen Lingyue quickly pulled Pei Jinghuai up the mountain, trying to shake him off.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
A moment later, the maniacal laughter came chasing after us from behind again.
As soon as Shen Lingyue turned around, she saw the little fox carrying a still-fluttering field mouse in its mouth. It dropped it with a thud at her feet, its big black eyes blinking as if it were asking for praise.
Shen Lingyue: ...Aaaaaah, big rat!
She jumped three feet high and leaped onto Pei Jinghuai, hugging his neck and screaming with her eyes closed, "Get it away right now!"
Pei Jinghuai was both amused and exasperated. Pointing at the field mouse, he "educated" the little fox, "You eat it yourself. We're not eating it, understand?"
The little fox looked bewildered, and seeing that the two were about to walk forward again, it quickly picked up the field mouse and chased after them.
Soon two paths appeared ahead, one to the left and one to the right.
Pei Jinghuai was stumped. "There's moisture under the ground on both sides. Where is the water source?"
If you choose the wrong direction, you'll waste a lot of energy and time going back and forth.
Shen Lingyue deliberately made things difficult for him, saying, "Go ask your little red-haired guy."
"Just ask."
Pei Jinghuai actually went there, turned around and found the little fox. The two of them whispered to each other, gesturing and guessing, seemingly communicating something.
However, the little fox then actually ran down the right-hand path, looking back at them as it ran, as if urging them on.
Pei Jinghuai proudly tossed his head back. "So, how about it? Dare to take a gamble?"
Shen Lingyue followed along with some skepticism.
...Is my husband a Disney princess who escaped?
The two followed the little fox onto the path on the right, and as they walked, they could faintly hear the sound of a babbling spring.
Pei Jinghuai's tail was practically wagging in the air as he declared resolutely, "I'm taking Little Red Hair down the mountain and home today."
As the head of the family, can't he even make the decision on such a small matter?
Shen Lingyue glanced at him sideways without saying a word.
Pei Jinghuai immediately backed down, grabbing her hand and shaking it back and forth. "Madam, please, let me raise it. I promise I'll have Ping An Jixiang keep it clean. It's so smart, it definitely won't bite people randomly."
Shen Lingyue couldn't keep up the act for long and burst out laughing, "Okay, I didn't say no."
She glanced at the little fox who was still frolicking ahead, leading the way.
They've really become shrewd; they've even managed to find themselves a secure job.
The two finally arrived at the source of the stream, which was a small stream about three meters wide with abundant and crystal-clear water.
Pei Jinghuai walked to the stream and was about to scoop up some water to drink.
Shen Lingyue quickly stopped him, "Hey, you're not allowed to drink untreated water from outside!"
Pei Jinghuai was taken aback, then his trouser leg suddenly felt heavy. It was the little fox biting his trouser leg, baring its teeth and pulling him away from the stream.
He frowned. "You won't let me drink either?"
Shen Lingyue carefully walked to the stream, bent down to smell, and detected a faint metallic scent.
It's strange. In her memory, the only place with this smell was a chemical plant not far from the orphanage when she was a child.
Every time the chemical plant's chimneys started rumbling and emitting smoke, the dean and teachers would shoo them back inside.
But there was no chemical pollution in ancient times, so how could there be a metallic taste in the stream?
Shen Lingyue was completely baffled. Her gaze wandered aimlessly, and then she suddenly looked towards the opposite bank.
There were several orange-red stones scattered over there, of varying sizes, looking as if they had been carelessly dumped in one place.
She instructed Pei Jinghuai to go to the other side of the river and pick up two pieces.
"What is this?" Pei Jinghuai picked it up and smelled it. With a little force, he crushed the stone into powder, which emitted a familiar smell.
He sniffed and asked Shen Lingyue, "Does it taste like the realgar wine we drink during the Dragon Boat Festival?"
Shen Lingyue's expression changed. "Throw it away quickly."
She took out a water pouch and quickly rinsed Pei Jinghuai's hands, anxiously asking him, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Pei Jinghuai shook his head.
Shen Lingyue frowned in annoyance, "I should have thought of that sooner, arsenic, realgar, sulfur..."
Arsenic is a heavy metal, and realgar also contains arsenic, which is highly toxic when dissolved in water.
The upstream water source was polluted and flowed into the fishpond, which is why a large number of fish fry were poisoned.
Could there be mineral deposits in these mountains?
But what kind of mines do realgar byproducts usually appear in...? She hadn't studied that either.
She told Pei Jinghuai her speculation, and Pei Jinghuai thought for a moment and shook his head, "I haven't heard of any mines nearby, unless it's private illegal mining—that's a capital offense."
According to the law, all mineral deposits discovered within the territory of Daye shall be confiscated by the state treasury and mined under the supervision of the government.
"Someone must have been digging it up illegally, otherwise where did these pieces of realgar come from?"
Shen Lingyue thought for a moment, "We can't solve such a big problem on our own. Let's go down the mountain first and have the head of the village block the water source of the fishpond. We also need to stop raising fish for the time being to prevent the pollution from spreading."
She still felt a little scared when she thought about it. Fortunately, only the fishpond was polluted. The well water in the village was still safe for the time being. Otherwise, everyone in the village and the crops they irrigated would have been in trouble.
Pei Jinghuai nodded in agreement. Anyone who dared to mine privately in the mountains so close to the capital must have something to rely on and be someone with considerable influence. There might even be a large number of guards hiding nearby.
He could escape on his own, but now that he's with Shen Lingyue, it would be troublesome if they were discovered.
Pei Jinghuai stood up, looked at the stream that seemed relatively clear but was actually polluted, and sighed.
"What will happen to the animals in these mountains in the future?"
The little fox started tugging at his trouser leg again. Pei Jinghuai followed it deeper into the grass and then saw the carcass of a slightly larger female fox. It looked like it had been dead for several days, and its fur was starting to rot.
Shen Lingyue followed and fell silent upon seeing this scene.
She asked Pei Jinghuai softly, "Was the mother fox poisoned by drinking the stream water? The little fox lost its mother and was hungry, so it came down the mountain to find food?"
Pei Jinghuai's voice was muffled, "That's the only way. No wonder it kept pulling on me and wouldn't let me drink water."
Shen Lingyue squatted down and patted the little fox's head.
"Let's bury its mother."
Then take it down the mountain and home.
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Author's Note: Little Red Hair: I, Fox, have successfully landed! [heart emoji][heart emoji]
I had another root canal this morning QWQ The dentist said there's still inflammation and I should come back in a week... Now my tooth is swollen and uncomfortable again, and I'm drooling uncontrollably [laughing and crying][laughing and crying]. I'm taking a day off today, and I'll see if it gets a bit better tomorrow before I pay back my debts [purple heart].
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