Ye Qing shook her head, pushing the thought away.
This was no apocalypse where food was scarce. Down the mountain there were no zombies, no extreme weather. She had a whole wider world to see—she could not stay trapped on this mountain for the rest of her life.
Even putting it aside entirely: if one day she grew tired of the mountain and wanted to come down, everyone would already think she was dead. How would she explain herself then?
Ye Qing walked over, picked up her wicker basket, and stowed everything into her spatial storage in one go, planning to head home before the sun set.
Before leaving, she took a detour to check the trap she had set. She had originally placed it hoping to catch hares—their meat was tender, and though it wasn’t very fatty, they bred fast and were plentiful; she could catch several at once and eat her fill for half a day.
What she did not expect was that as soon as she drew near, she heard rustling sounds. She hurried forward, and before she even arrived, a smile spread across her face. Caught in the simple trap was a wild pheasant with brightly colored feathers.
“Looks like hardly anyone comes this deep into the mountains,” she muttered. “The animals have almost no wariness—such a simple trap managed to catch such a big pheasant.”
Stepping closer, she saw the bird flapping wildly, trying to escape. But its legs were tangled in fine wooden spikes; terrified, it thrashed all the harder, only getting more caught and scattering its beautiful feathers everywhere.
Down drifted the plumage, some right into her face and nose.
“Pah, pah!” Ye Qing spat the feathers from her mouth and nostrils. Once the pheasant tired itself out, she grabbed it firmly by the neck, pinned its wings down with her other hand, and looked around. Spotting some dry, tough vines hanging from a tree, she tore them loose, wrapped them twice around the wings, bound its legs tightly as well, and tossed the secured bird into her space.
Wiping her hands, she made up her mind at once: it was time to go down.
Even with her special ability and boldness, she was no foolhardy daredevil. The mountain was manageable by day, but once night fell, bears, tigers, leopards, and lynxes all came out to hunt. She had no desire to fight these “local tyrants” after dark.
Turning to leave, she took two steps then suddenly remembered the trap behind her. She walked back, gathered an armful of dead branches and dry grass, and covered it over, planning to come check again in a couple of days.
With everything collected and safely stored away, she began her descent.
The path down proved far more difficult than the climb up. Ye Qing had not exerted herself this much in a long time, and halfway down she felt her calves begin to cramp. By then the sky was already half-dark, so she gritted her teeth and kept going.
She did not know how much time had passed, glancing up every so often to judge the light. When she finally stumbled out to the foot of the mountain, night had fallen completely.
Before she even reached the bottom, she saw torchlight moving in the distance.
There were people gathered there—and quite a few of them.
Instantly alert, she slowed her pace, found a large rock to sit on and catch her breath, and watched the flickering lights from the shadows, wondering what was going on.
No one had been around when she went up—why were so many people appearing now?
After a short rest, Ye Qing took her wicker basket out of her storage and arranged all the plants and mushrooms she had gathered inside, packing it full. She topped it off with a bundle of dry firewood to hide the contents, then slung the basket onto her back and crept closer to the group.
Before she got near, a strong, deep voice rang out—loud and clear.
“Enough chattering! Finding her is the priority right now. Soon we’ll head up the mountain to search. First, we’ll hand out the hunting rifles. Work in pairs—each team gets one gun. When you’re up there, keep your eyes open. Most importantly, never point the muzzle at anyone else. Do I make myself clear?”
“Understood!” came the unified reply.
“Good. Now let’s form teams. Those whose names I call come collect your rifle.”
The young men gathered there grew visibly excited, leaning in to whisper among themselves.
“What’s going on that’s serious enough to bring out the guns?”
Curious, Ye Qing dared not make any sudden moves.
“Little Wu, you go with Old Zhao’s boy. Stay sharp up there and don’t go wandering off.”
“Got it, Dad—what do you take me for?” the young man called Little Wu answered loudly, his tone bright, then his shoulders slumped and he muttered under his breath.
When his father shot him a sharp look, he clamped his mouth shut like a clamshell.
Ye Qing grew more confused. Once Little Wu had received his rifle and turned back, she shifted the basket on her back and walked over, tapping him on the shoulder.
“Excuse me, young man.”
Little Wu jumped in surprise. “Who are you? You scared me half to death!”
Instinctively he swung the rifle around, but Ye Qing reacted quickly, guiding the muzzle away from herself and everyone else. “Watch what you’re doing—didn’t you just hear? Never point that gun at another person.”
“You’re the one who snuck up on me!” he protested, frowning. “Who are you anyway, running around this late? Get yourself home right away.”
Ye Qing scratched her cheek. “I am heading home. But what are you all doing here? Going hunting up the mountain?”
“Hunting? Hardly. A young wife from the village has gone missing—we’re going up to look for her.” He pushed her gently toward the village. “It’s pitch black out there; bears are already out foraging. Go on back, or you’ll end up as their midnight snack.”
Ye Qing did not joke back. The moment she heard someone’s wife was lost, she had a hunch—they were almost certainly talking about her.
She asked cautiously, “The woman you’re looking for… is she the one who married into the Xiao family?”
Little Wu froze. “That’s right. How did you know? You just came down from the mountain—did you see her up there?”
He grabbed her arm urgently. “If you have any news, tell us! It’s dangerous for anyone to be wandering the mountain alone after dark—this is a matter of life and death!”
Ye Qing easily pulled free from his grip and pointed at herself. “What if I told you… I am the Xiao family’s new wife? I’m not lost—I’ve come back on my own.”
Little Wu’s eyes widened slowly. Then he shouted toward the group behind him, “Dad! We don’t need to go searching! Ye Qing’s back! The Xiao family’s wife is right here—she found her own way home!”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her at a run toward the older man.
As she was dragged along, Ye Qing’s mind raced, trying to figure out how to explain her trip up the mountain. Clearly the Xiao family had thought she was missing, and the matter had stirred up half the village.
Before she could come up with a story, two figures came sprinting from the distance, knocking Little Wu aside as they rushed to Ye Qing’s side.
By the light of the torches, she recognized them immediately—Chen Xiuzhi and Shi Fengxia.
They arrived first, followed closely by the two Xiao brothers. Ye Qing steadied Shi Fengxia, who nearly collapsed from rushing so fast.
The moment she found her footing, Shi Fengxia burst into tears and scolding. “Ye Qing! Where on earth did you run off to all alone? We couldn’t find you as the sun went down and thought you’d vanished! We’ve been out looking for you all evening—worried out of our minds!”
“When it started getting dark and you still hadn’t returned, we went straight to the village chief,” Chen Xiuzhi added, her voice trembling with anxiety. “If you’d stayed gone any longer, the militia was going to be sent up the mountain to search! How could you go wandering up there all by yourself? We came home from work and you were nowhere to be found—we were terrified!”
The Xiao family truly had been frantic. A healthy young woman, newly married just a few days, still recovering from illness, had suddenly disappeared. When they asked around the village, someone said they had seen her heading deep into the mountains alone. Their hearts had leaped into their throats.
They had just nursed Ye Qing back to strength with good food and care—if anything happened to her now, the whole family would be devastated.
Chen Xiuzhi patted her arm repeatedly, and her hand landed right on the scraped shoulder. Ye Qing winced. “Mom, easy—my arm hurts!”
Chen Xiuzhi’s face paled. “Are you hurt? Where? How bad is it?”
Ye Qing rubbed the sore spot. “If you keep hitting me, it’ll get worse. But don’t worry—it’s nothing serious. Just scrapes and scratches from branches. No deep wounds, I promise.”
Unconvinced, Chen Xiuzhi borrowed a torch and began examining Ye Qing from head to toe. The more she looked, the deeper her frown grew.
“Look at you—your skin is all torn up from thorns and twigs!”
“Mountain trails are full of sharp branches,” Ye Qing explained. “You can’t help brushing against them no matter how careful you are. Next time I’ll wear thicker clothes so it doesn’t happen again.”
“Next time?” Chen Xiuzhi cut in sharply. “After the fright you gave us, you still think there will be a next time?”
She continued checking her over twice more, and only when she was certain there were no broken bones or serious injuries did she let out a long breath and turn to support Shi Fengxia. The two women held each other, eyes still wide with worry as they stared at Ye Qing.
They were both angry and relieved, but for the moment could hardly find the words—Ye Qing clearly did not yet understand how serious the situation had seemed.
At that moment, the older man who had given the orders earlier stepped over. From hearing him speak to Chen Xiuzhi, Ye Qing learned he was Tian Xingfa, the head of the village brigade.
He came to get the facts straight. “Xiuzhi—this is your daughter-in-law, then?”
“It’s her all right,” Chen Xiuzhi replied. “She’s got more nerve than sense, wandering up the mountain alone. Thank goodness she’s come back safe and sound. If anything had happened, I wouldn’t know how to face her own family.”
Tian Xingfa did not look entirely convinced. He brought the torch closer and asked again, “Young lady—are you saying you went up the mountain all by yourself, and came back down alone as well? Weren’t you afraid of losing your way after dark? How did you find your path? And how far up did you go?”