15 Pinch Her
◎Sickly body, but surprisingly strong◎
"Brother, why hasn't she woken up yet? She's been unconscious for a whole day and night."
A slightly worried voice came from my ear.
Shu Yao had a splitting headache and felt as if all the bones in her body were falling apart. She struggled to open her eyelids, but her vision was blurry and she could only make out two figures, one tall and one short, standing beside the bed.
She moved her lips but couldn't utter a word. Her body couldn't support her and she fainted again.
When she woke up again, it was already evening. She was very thirsty and her throat felt like it was on fire. She struggled to open her eyes. The things around her gradually became clear in her eyes, and she looked around carefully.
The room was dimly lit, and the walls were made of fired loess. The only furniture inside was a table in front and the bed she was lying on.
Shu Yao let out a light breath, opened her eyes and looked at the loess kiln above her head, and consciousness gradually returned.
After a while, there was a sound of light footsteps at the door. Shu Yao turned her head to look and saw a young girl in a coarse linen cotton coat, holding a broken bowl with a chip in her hand, walking in on the loess.
The two looked at each other, and the girl was startled. She ran out in a panic, shouting as she ran: "Brother, the person is awake."
There was another sound of chaotic footsteps at the door, and a dark-skinned young man walked in with the girl. The young man first glanced at Shu Yao on the bed, then picked up a dusty oil lamp from the kiln table and lit it with a flint.
The gray house finally became a little brighter.
The girl stood by the bed holding the medicine and spoke awkwardly, "You...you should drink the medicine first."
Shu Yao hummed and tried to sit up, but as soon as she moved, her bones ached. She endured the pain and half-leaned on the bed, taking the broken bowl from the girl's hand. The bowl was filled with a bowl of black medicinal juice, and the bitter smell of Chinese medicine instantly filled her nasal cavity.
After taking a break for so long, Shu Yao finally regained some strength.
After falling off the cliff, I was probably rescued by the two people in front of me. Fortunately, I did not fall into the hands of thieves again.
She looked at the two simple people in front of her, whispered "thank you", and then drank the medicine in her hand. The Chinese medicine was very bitter. She pursed her lips, holding the broken bowl in her palm. She was slightly stunned. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and asked the girl in front of her anxiously, "Excuse me, have you seen any other boys around sixteen or seventeen years old?"
The young man took the initiative and said, "Don't worry, young lady. The young master is in the side room, but he hasn't woken up yet."
Shu Yao covered her chest and felt a little heartbroken. Fortunately, Ji Shijing was not dead.
The young man turned up the light of the oil lamp, then sat on a small stool and looked at Shu Yao: "Girl, why did you and that young man fall off the cliff?" There was obvious inquiry in his words.
Shu Yao sighed and said weakly, "On our way up the mountain, my sister and I were unfortunately met by some bad guys. We were pushed down while struggling."
After she finished speaking, her voice choked with sobs, she truly felt the joy of having survived a disaster: "I thought I was going to die, but I didn't expect to be saved by the two of you. Thank you for saving my life."
The young man waved his hand and said, "Miss, you are too polite. What is your name, please?"
"My last name is Shu, where's your son?"
The young man immediately replied, "Miss Shu, just call me Qiao Liu," and pointed to the little girl next to him, "This is my sister Ah Qi."
Shu Yao nodded: "Thank you, Brother Qiao and Miss Qi."
Qiao Liu waved his hand, then seemed to have thought of something, and said seriously, "Miss Shu, you should stay here and recuperate for the time being. Don't leave the yard and let others see you."
Then he said to Ah Qi, "Ah Qi, you stay here with this girl. I'll call you when dinner is ready."
The girl named Ah Qi nodded.
Only Shu Yao and Ah Qi were left in the room.
Shu Yao asked, "Miss Qi, may I ask where this place is?"
Ah Qi heard her voice was hoarse from coughing, so he poured her a glass of water. After handing it to her, he said, "This is Shanshen Village."
She took a sip of water, and her burning throat finally cooled down a little, so she continued to ask, "Is this place far from the capital?"
Ah Qi tilted his head and thought for a while, then scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly: "Sister Shu, I have never been to the capital, so I don't know how far we are from the capital." After saying that, he pinched the corner of his clothes embarrassedly.
Shu Yao paused holding the cup, then smiled and said, "It's okay, I was just asking casually."
Ah Qi glanced at the red dress Shu Yao was wearing and couldn't help but touch the material of the dress: "Sister Shu, this dress looks like a wedding dress. I thought..." She immediately stopped talking and didn't say anything else.
At first, she and her brother were found on a haystack at the bottom of the mountain. Fortunately, there was a haystack below the cliff, otherwise they would have lost half their lives if they had fallen from such a high place.
When they saw Shu Yao wearing a red wedding dress, she and her brother subconsciously thought that they were a pair of mandarin ducks fleeing for their lives.
Who knew they were just siblings.
Ah Qi withdrew his hand and laughed awkwardly twice.
Shu Yao was a little confused and just thought that she liked the dress.
"If Miss Qi likes it, just take it." As she said that, she took off her big red coat, but it was stained with some blood, so she hesitated for a moment.
Ah Qi waved her hands quickly: "No, no." But her eyes were fixed on the wedding dress. From childhood to adulthood, she had never had a decent piece of clothing. This gray cloth jacket on her body had been worn for five winters and had countless patches on it. She also wanted to wear beautiful new clothes, but... She lowered her head, looking lonely.
The family is not well off and relies on her brother to go hunting in the mountains to support the family. She should be more sensible.
Seeing her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, Shu Yao said, "Miss Aqi, I will wash this dress and give it to you tomorrow as a way to repay you for saving my life." Of course she knew that this dress was not enough to repay their kindness. She was just looking for an excuse to let Aqi accept the dress because she could see that Aqi liked it very much.
After hearing this, Ah Qi's eyes lit up and he nodded embarrassedly.
There was a sound of chopping wood outside. Ah Qi said, "Sister Shu, lie down for a while. Call me if you need anything. I'll be outside helping my brother cook."
Shu Yao nodded.
The sound of a fire burning soon came from outside. She dragged her tired body out of bed. Because of her injured knee, she accidentally knelt on the ground, and some dirt stained the wound. She hissed in pain, gently pushed away the yellow dirt, stood up, and limped to the door.
In the yard, the young man was killing a chicken and bleeding it, while Ah Qi kept stuffing freshly chopped firewood into the stove. Seeing that they didn't notice her, Shu Yao began to look around.
This is a very small courtyard, made of mud. The wall is only half a person's height, and the gate in the middle is shaky. At this time, the wind is blowing, and the two doors on the left and right keep colliding with each other, making a harsh sound.
She withdrew her gaze, slowly walked towards the stove, picked up the firewood on the ground and threw it into the fire.
Ah Qi was startled and said quickly, "Sister Shu, my brother said you broke a bone and it's not easy for you to move around. Go back to your room and lie down."
Shu Yao shook her head: "It's okay. By the way, I'm worried about my brother and want to go see him."
Qiao Liu turned around when he heard the voice and pointed to another small, dilapidated house and said, "Master Shu is in that house."
Shu Yao was stunned, but did not correct the young man. Just call him Young Master Shu. After all, they are siblings now.
Qiao Liu winked at Ah Qi, who immediately understood. He trotted over to fetch the oil lamp and handed it to Shu Yao: "Sister Shu, hold the lamp. It's dark in the house. Don't fall."
"Thanks."
Ah Qi smiled and said nothing, then turned around and went back to helping Qiao Liu cook.
Shu Yao gathered her clothes and walked into the room carrying an oil lamp. This room was even simpler than the one she slept in. There was only a bed at the innermost part and nothing else.
When she saw the figure lying on the bed, she couldn't help but sigh that Ji Shijing was really lucky. He was originally weak, and everyone in the Ji Mansion said that he would not survive this winter. However, he had been to Banyan Village, fainted in the snow for several hours, and fell off a cliff with her. After all these hardships, he was still alive.
No matter how she looked at it, he didn't seem like the person who would be offline after two chapters as the system said, and she couldn't help but feel a little confused.
He walked to the bedside and put down the oil lamp. Ji Shijing's cheeks were pale and his lips were even paler. At this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed and he seemed to be muttering something.
Shu Yao leaned down, trying to hear what he said clearly.
The oil lamp beside him flickered faintly, and half of Ji Shijing's face was immersed in darkness. The darkness and light intertwined, making his face as tall and straight as mountains and ravines.
He moved his fingers slightly.
Shu Yao's warm breath fell on his neck. He suddenly opened his eyes, his hands tightly pinching her neck, and his pair of black pupils were frighteningly cold.
Before Shu Yao could react, a feeling of suffocation came over her. While struggling, she looked at the person under her, her pupils shrank, and she felt that Ji Shijing at this moment was not like a living person, but more like a ruthless puppet. There was no emotion on his face, and he just pinched her neck woodenly.
A man who usually looks sickly, now has surprisingly great strength in his hands.
Shu Yao wanted to make a sound, but the words were strangled in her throat. She could only reach out and keep pulling at him.
Her face gradually turned purple, and her strength to struggle became weaker and weaker. Just when she thought she was going to be defeated by Ji Shijing, he suddenly let go.
Shu Yao fell to the ground, touching her neck and coughing continuously. Her face gradually returned to normal, but her eyes were full of tears. She looked up and stared at Ji Shijing with some fear.
Ji Shijing sat up and looked at Shu Yao silently. His hands hanging on the quilt were clenched into fists. His face still showed no emotion, but his eyes showed a slight fluctuation when he looked closely.
Shu Yao got up from the ground and said unhappily, "If it weren't for me, you would have frozen to death on Banyan Mountain." She was also a person with a bad temper. The moment he strangled her neck, she really regretted saving this ungrateful person.
Ji Shijing was silent.
She was filled with anger, took a few deep breaths, turned around and walked out.
Until her back disappeared, Ji Shijing lowered his eyes and looked at his hands with mixed feelings.
As she left the house, the system's voice rang out: [After testing, the trust value is 5%.]
Shu Yao paused.
…
There was a small shed next to the stove, and Qiao Liu moved all the cooked food into the shed.
Shu Yao was originally furious, but when she saw the delicious food on the table, she touched her rumbling stomach. She really hadn't had a proper meal in the past few days since she came into the book.
Ah Qi served the meal and placed it on the table. Looking at the bowl of chicken soup on the table, she couldn't help swallowing her saliva. Although her brother went hunting in the mountains, he would sell all the prey he hunted, and the family could only eat meat a few times a year.
It has been two months since she last had any meat.
Qiao Liu knocked her head, but his tone was doting: "What are you daydreaming about? Go and move some chairs over."
Ah Qi came to his senses and hurried to find a chair.
Qiao Liu turned to Shu Yao and said, "Miss Shu, this is the only pheasant left at home. Please don't despise it."
Shu Yao quickly waved her hands: "How could that be? To be honest, I haven't had a full meal in a long time."
Qiao Liu was stunned and asked her to sit down.
The three of them sat around the small table. Ah Qi scooped a bowl of chicken soup and slurped it up, while Shu Yao also ate the dishes in small bites.
Qiao Liu asked, "Was Mr. Shu awake when Miss Shu went in just now?" He thought that if he was awake, he could come over for dinner.
Shu Yao swallowed the chicken in her mouth: "He hasn't woken up yet, it's okay, let's eat first."
Then he added: "Don't worry about him, he's very lucky and won't starve to death."
When Ji Shijing heard this, he supported himself and walked to the door. He quietly exerted force on the door frame and couldn't help coughing softly, but the sound was soon drowned out by the cold wind, and he walked back silently.
After a bowl of chicken soup, Shu Yao felt warm all over. She remembered what Qiao Liu had just said in the house and asked curiously, "Why did Brother Qiao remind me not to leave the yard just now? Is there something he is worried about?"
Hearing her ask this, Qiao Liu put down the bowl with a heavy expression on his face. Even Ah Qi beside him shuddered twice, with a flash of fear in his eyes.
After a long while, he finally said, "Actually...our village is not peaceful."
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