Chapter 21 Escape "Quick, quick, use your move to throw me into the river again..."
"Is there really no such thing as my great-aunt marrying your great-grandfather?" Zhong Ying asked persistently. "Is there also no such thing as my grandfather's cousin's son marrying your uncle's aunt's daughter?"
Three days have passed, and Zhong Ying still can't believe it. "Didn't we say that our ancestors were all servants of wealthy merchants, with maids and servants, that's how they had children born into the household? How can I not be related to you people with the surname Li at all?"
Li Linshi merely glanced at her indifferently, "I assumed you already knew this before you made your move against me."
Zhong Ying was speechless and choked up.
Although family relationships in the countryside are complex and intertwined, it is still necessary to thoroughly investigate before marriage. Marriage can only be arranged between people who are more than five degrees of kinship. When Zhong Ying took a liking to Li Lin, her mother, Deng Xia, secretly went to Hu to inquire. After careful consideration, she found that there was no blood relation between them, which made her feel that this was a perfect match made in heaven.
Zhong Ying had no choice but to continue walking forward.
The afternoon sun shone through the gaps in the branches and leaves of the forest, falling on the three ghosts and one person.
Li Changgui was amazed as the sunlight pierced through him and fell to the ground. He opened his arms to examine it and found himself completely unharmed. "I always thought that ghosts would turn to ashes when exposed to the sun."
Unlike the two young men who had recently died and still insisted on walking on the ground like humans, Cao Fang floated in mid-air. "That's all just people's imagination."
“Even if there are no conditions, we can create them; if there are no connections, we can create them,” Zhong Ying thought to herself. “Besides bowing to heaven and earth, we can also become sworn brothers! Just like the Oath of the Peach Garden!”
Following her train of thought, Li Linshi pondered for a moment, then said, "That works too."
Yes, on that day, after Li Changgui racked his brains and could only come up with an unfinished version of "Fourth Sister-in-Law", Ox-Head and Horse-Face gave him some pointers on this bad idea. Since they were almost husband and wife, as long as people and ghosts recognized them now, they could be considered to have passed the test in the world after bowing to heaven and earth.
The wife erected a memorial tablet for her husband, and then for her brother-in-law. With these two tablets, Zhong Ying could lead the two ghosts away, and the ghosts' activity area changed from the Tonggan Production Team to Zhong Ying's side.
So after lunch, Zhong Ying made an excuse to go to the foot of the mountain to collect firewood, but secretly went up Ying Mountain to collect pine wood for making memorial tablets.
The thought of having to collect wood, then swear brotherhood, and set up memorial tablets made Zhong Ying want to skip the steps. She suggested, "Or how about we try a different approach? How about we have godmothers? That way you can just steal your own memorial tablets from your own homes."
The memorial tablets for Li Linshi and Li Changgui were both erected by their parents, and according to custom, they were inscribed with "The Tablet of Son So-and-So". Zhong Ying wanted to use them directly, and she didn't mind having two more good sons, so that she wouldn't have to create "smaller" tablets for them.
She doesn't mind, but that doesn't mean the two ghosts don't mind.
Li Linshi coldly stared at Zhong Ying with his deadpan eyes.
Li Changgui couldn't believe it. What had he heard?
“We’re of the same generation!” Li Changgui protested. “How could I possibly acknowledge you as my godmother!”
"I was just saying." Zhong Ying remained calm, as if she wasn't the one who had just given the bad idea.
Mount Ying is covered with lush vegetation and there are few signs of human activity. Even the roads are narrow, only wide enough for four-legged animals to make.
Zhong Ying walked along the narrow, winding path that could barely accommodate one person. Along the way, she saw mushrooms growing at the base of trees, bamboo shoots sprouting from the soil, and patches of wild vegetables growing... She casually picked a wild cherry from a branch and popped it into her mouth. The sweet juice burst between her teeth, making Zhong Ying sigh from the bottom of her heart. She couldn't help but feel how much the people of Tonggan Production Team respected Yingshan Mountain. They could leave such a "treasure mountain" untouched and only gather firewood at its foot.
The atmosphere became much quieter in the latter half of the timber search. Zhong Ying was busy chewing, her mouth filled with wild cherries, raspberries, kiwifruit, and wild grapes, and she couldn't talk at all. There was no other way; if she hadn't sneaked up the mountain this time, she would have filled the straw basket on her back, and now she would only have her mouth full.
Cao Fang, with the most life experience, floated ahead, identifying the tree species. They walked halfway up the hillside before finally finding a pine tree. "Found it!"
Seeing that Zhong Ying kept talking, Li Linshi only nodded, glanced back at him, and gestured for him to take out the wood-chopping axe from the straw basket on her back. She was so self-righteous in giving orders.
Zhong Ying was naturally quite justified. It was Li Linshi's cousin who wanted to fulfill his dream, not hers. She was already being very kind by helping out. You can't expect her to be a saint who does everything without complaint.
Seeing that Zhong Ying gave him a single glance, Li Changgui realized that his fourth cousin had silently reached out and taken out the wood-chopping axe. This made him even more convinced of his own idea. After all, even his mother, Shan Shuhui, couldn't control his father, Li Yang, with just a glance. What did this prove? It proved that his fourth cousin was completely under Zhong Ying's thumb.
If Li Linshi could read minds, he would probably give a speechless explanation: he just felt that since it was his cousin's business, it wasn't right to always bother others, and it was only right for him to lend a hand.
Unfortunately, he focused all his skill points on water-related activities.
Li Linshi, holding a wood-chopping axe, walked up to the pine tree and made a gesture as if to chop down the thickest branch.
"Wait, how am I supposed to take this thick log back?" Zhong Ying forced a smile. "What am I supposed to say if someone sees me like this?"
Li Linshi stopped moving.
Zhong Ying raised her hand to shield her forehead, her gaze sweeping over the pine tree in front of her. Pointing to a slightly thinner branch, she said, "Cut that one."
Cao Fang floated up and took a look. "My dear niece, this branch is so thin, it's not even as wide as the memorial tablet."
“I’m planning to make a small one. I can’t very well carry two memorial tablets out in public like that,” Zhong Ying said. “If I make a small one, I can at least put it in my pocket.”
Cao Fang suddenly realized, "You're right. Actually, no one stipulates how big the memorial tablet should be. It's just that everyone does it that way, which has limited me. You young people are much more quick-witted."
Li Changgui looked at Cao Fang with an indescribable expression, still finding it difficult to accept that she had a face that looked like an older sister but spoke like an elder.
When Li Linshi cut down the pine branches, Li Changgui took over and chopped them into several pieces, disguising them as ordinary firewood and stuffing them into the basket Zhong Ying was carrying.
"Burp~" Zhong Ying burped. While they were working, she ate a lot of wild fruits, as naturally as if she were at home, and casually picked one up and put it in her mouth.
Her hands were sticky with fruit juice. Zhong Ying looked around; there was no water in the nearby woods. The only thing that could be wet was…
Zhong Ying, carrying a basket on her back, approached Li Linshi and tentatively asked, "Could I have some water to wash my hands?"
Looking at the hand extended in front of him, Li Linshi suddenly realized that Zhong Ying shouldn't have been born in the Year of the Pig, but rather the Year of the Monkey. She was the epitome of someone who would climb any mountain and take advantage of anyone.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Zhong Ying awkwardly withdrew her hand, "If it doesn't work, it doesn't work..."
The next second, her fingertips were gripped.
However, Li Linshi quickly let go of her hand, and then a stream of cool river water poured onto her palm. Zhong Ying quickly took advantage of the water flow to rub her hands together and clean them quickly.
This was the first time Li Changgui had witnessed his fourth cousin's bizarre ability firsthand, and his eyes widened when he saw the water appear out of thin air.
Zhong Ying washed away the stickiness, casually shook the water off her hands, and said, "Let's go down the mountain—"
The rest of her words suddenly caught in her throat.
Another color appeared in the lush green forest, and a fallen branch was stepped on and snapped with a crisp crunch.
Zhong Ying's pupils dilated, and she stood frozen in place as if she had been shocked. She could only watch as the muscular limbs took steady and powerful steps, gradually revealing its strong and massive body.
With its piercing black eyes and snow-white fur, its round head and broad snout exuded a terrifying and powerful aura of oppression, even from tens of meters away.
"Holy crap!" Zhong Ying was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat, her hair standing on end. The tiger's head was as big as a washbasin, and if it opened its mouth, it could probably bite off half of her body. "I thought saying there were wild animals in the mountains was an exaggerated way of scaring children!"
So she wasn't wrong at all! She underestimated it! If she had known there were tigers on the mountain, she would have waited for them at the foot of the mountain and let the ghosts climb up on their own!
The white tiger stared intently, its gaze instantly turning fierce and menacing. It wrinkled its nose and let out an angry, threatening roar. In an instant, countless birds flew out of the forest in panic, and small animals fled in haste.
Zhong Ying was terrified and jumped onto the water ghost next to her as if she had grasped a lifeline. "Quick, quick, use your trick to throw me back into the river! It can't bite you ghosts, but I'm real flesh and blood!"
"Hurry up! It'll be here in just a few steps!" Zhong Ying's voice changed.
As if to confirm her words, the white tiger took a step back and lowered its body, then charged forward like lightning.
Zhong Ying subconsciously turned her head to avoid it, closing her eyes tightly. The next moment, water rushed in from all directions. This time, she instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Zhong Ying suddenly felt a sense of security as the river water enveloped her with a slightly oppressive and suffocating feeling.
The white tiger missed its target and angrily scratched the ground with its claws, leaving several deep marks.
Li Changgui was dumbfounded, standing there stunned, unable to believe what he had just seen. In the blink of an eye, his fourth cousin had wrapped his arms around Zhong Ying's waist, transformed into a ball of water that enveloped her, and instantly melted into the earth and disappeared.
No? His brother is too decisive, isn't he? Li Changgui already knew that his fourth cousin was devoted to Zhong Ying, but he just abandoned him so easily for the sake of a pretty girl?
The white tiger turned its head and roared angrily again.
"Oh no, it can see us!" Cao Fang felt a sudden sense of crisis. She had a strange feeling that being bitten or scratched by this tiger would not be a good thing. She grabbed Li Changgui, who was still in a daze, and pulled him by the neck like a chick, then turned and leaped down the mountain.
Dragged along in the escape, Li Changgui was forced to let his soul fly ahead, while his long tongue chased after him, screaming, "Ahhh—!"
At the foot of the mountain, the production team members working in the fields also heard the two terrifying tiger roars. The wives with children turned pale with fright, wondering which child had disobeyed the adults and run up the mountain again.
Tian Mei turned to look at Li Ming with a panicked expression, "Father, I want to go back and see Guangzong one last time..."
Seeing the other women looking at him eagerly, Li Ming, not being an unreasonable production team leader, waved his hand and said, "Those who want to go back, go back and check on them. Make sure the children are alright, then come back and continue working."
Upon hearing this, the wives disregarded everything else and dropped their farm tools, rushing towards the village.
Looking at their panicked figures, Deng Xia couldn't help but sigh. There was a time when she was just like that. Her eldest son used to be the bravest child in the village. Several times when he went up the mountain, she was so scared that she wanted to break his legs!
But now things are much better. Deng Xia breathed a sigh of relief. The most mischievous Zhong Cheng has grown up, her youngest son Zhong Xin has always been an honest child, and her daughter Zhong Ying, now a grown girl, would never run up the mountain like a naughty boy.
Deng Xia clicked her tongue and shook her head. "I wonder whose child this is. He's such a worry for his parents. What a tragedy."
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Author's Note: Zhong Ying (soaked to the bone): Hehe, Mom, it's me...
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