The house needed cleaning and organizing before it could be lived in, and it was only then that Ye Yao noticed there were actually two rooms suitable for habitation.
Both the east and west rooms could be used, and there was also a woodshed and a grass hut. The woodshed and grass hut were used to temporarily hold captured prey; letting them stay for a few days before taking them down the mountain to sell could fetch a good price. The east room was the main living space, equipped with a large heated brick bed (kang) that could easily accommodate three or four people. The west room was a side chamber, slightly narrower, usually used for storing Xie Hanshuo’s odds and ends, but it could suffice for resting.
After the meal, Ye Yao saw Xie Hanshuo gathering his things and heading straight for the west room, and she couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger. Goodness, the second Xie son—now that they were here alone in the deep mountains, he still wanted to sleep in a separate room from her?
“Xie Hanshuo—!”
Ye Yao couldn’t hold back and shouted his full name. The man turned around at the sound, a look of confusion on his face: “What is it?”
“You’re asking me what it is?” Ye Yao rushed in front of him in a few steps, looking up and glaring at him. “I’m just asking you, where do you plan to sleep tonight?”
Xie Hanshuo was momentarily speechless. He truly had intended to stay in the west room, assuming Ye Yao would silently agree. After all, he felt that Ye Yao’s insistence on sharing a room with him back home was not out of her own desire, but merely to save face and avoid gossip. Now that the two of them were no longer at home and didn’t have to worry about idle chatter, why continue with the superficial pretense?
Reflecting on this, Xie Hanshuo’s tone was flat, his voice devoid of any ripples: “There are only the two of us here; you no longer need to force yourself to keep up appearances.”
“Appearances?” Ye Yao was almost choked with rage. Did he actually think that her wanting to be close to him was all an act?
“Xie Hanshuo, what do you mean by that?”
“I don’t mean anything by it.” Xie Hanshuo’s expression remained indifferent, speaking as if it were a matter of course. “At home, if you didn’t live with me, perhaps your sister-in-law would ridicule you and Mother would give you a hard time. Therefore, even if you weren’t willing, you had no other choice. But here, it’s different. You can do whatever you wish, and I will never force you.”
Hearing this, Ye Yao was stunned on the spot. So, this is what he had thought all along? That her obedience was against her will and her marriage to him was a burden? How was she supposed to explain? Should she tell him plainly that she was willing to be close to him, with no one forcing her? She feared that would only be met with another “You don’t need to keep pretending, I won’t believe it.”
Trying to offer warmth to a cold hearth—once or twice was fine, but anymore than that, she had her own self-respect. How could she repeatedly invite such humiliation? She finally saw it clearly: this second Xie son was an utterly dense blockhead! He refused to live a good life and insisted on bringing trouble upon himself!
Ye Yao was so angry she laughed, her eyes burning with fury: “Xie Hanshuo, you are truly a scoundrel! Fine, from now on, sleep wherever you want—if you have the ability, go sleep in the doghouse! Stop acting like a righteous gentleman in front of me; it’s sickening to look at!”
With that, she turned around and went into the room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang, shutting the man out completely.
As soon as the words left her lips, Ye Yao knew she had been too harsh. That was not her true intent; it was merely anger clouding her judgment, causing her to speak without thinking. She lay on the bed, tossing and turning, regret gradually replacing her anger. Calming down to think, perhaps because of her rebirth, she was always afraid he would leave quietly just like in her previous life, which had caused her to be overly anxious.
Ye Yao did not know that outside the door, the man stung by her words felt the last bit of light in his eyes fade, leaving only a face full of desolation. Xie Hanshuo smiled bitterly to himself: She has tired of me after all; now she doesn’t even bother to pretend.
Early the next morning, Xie Hanshuo left early with his three hunting dogs, and for the following days, he continued to leave early and return late. The two lived under the same roof but rarely spoke a word. This cold war lasted for three days. They couldn’t continue in this deadlock. Ye Yao let out a soft sigh, suppressing the restlessness in her heart. Getting along with the second Xie son was, after all, not something that could be rushed; she needed to find the right opportunity to gradually ease the tension. However, for several days in a row, Xie Hanshuo was busy hunting, leaving Ye Yao with no opening to speak.
After noon on this day, the sky suddenly turned gloomy, dark clouds gathering like ink. Within moments, a drizzling autumn rain began to fall. The cold wind, carrying damp chill, seeped right into one’s bones. Because of this rain, Xie Hanshuo returned a bit earlier than usual. When the rain subsided, leaving only scattered droplets, he strode into the courtyard, a heavy, constantly wriggling sack hoisted on his shoulder.
Ye Yao happened to be out fetching water and couldn’t help but pause. She watched as he tossed the sack heavily onto the open ground in the courtyard, where something long inside seemed to be twisting restlessly. Ye Yao instinctively felt this wasn’t ordinary prey, but overcome by curiosity, she stepped closer and asked: “What is inside…?”
“Snakes,” Xie Hanshuo replied succinctly.
Upon hearing this, Ye Yao’s face went white in an instant, and after a sharp cry, she retreated several steps. In her life, she feared nothing more than those slippery, cold snakes; just imagining their shape made her legs go weak.
“You… how could you bring this thing home!” Ye Yao’s voice trembled.
“I stumbled upon a nest while on the mountain today, so I stunned them and brought them back. Some may have already lost their breath; there is no need for you to panic.” Xie Hanshuo explained while stating that his sack was tied tightly and that he would place it in the grass hut later, guarded by the hunting dogs at night. He mentioned that among them were two highly venomous five-step snakes, whose snake galls were very valuable. However, this was his first time catching snakes and he wasn’t sure of his strength, so he needed to sell them down the mountain as soon as possible before they died and depreciated in value.
Once she heard they could be sold for money, the fear in Ye Yao’s heart faded by more than half. She only urged him repeatedly to ensure the snakes could not escape. Seeing Xie Hanshuo wrap several more layers of sacks to reinforce them securely, she finally set her mind at ease. However, she could not sleep well that night.
Before dawn, Ye Yao heard Xie Hanshuo getting up and woke up herself. Today, he had to brave the rain to go down the mountain and into town to sell the snakes; the journey was long and muddy, so he did not take her along. Xie Hanshuo did not return to the Xie home, choosing instead to take a detour straight to the city. He did not intend to let his family know about the money from the snake sale, to avoid complications and the risk of his mother setting her sights on it again.
The city apothecary bought the snakes, offering higher prices for live snakes since the galls could be extracted. Although three of the seven snakes had died, fortunately, the two precious five-step snakes were unharmed; those two alone sold for five taels of silver, and the remaining non-venomous snakes fetched two more. Xie Hanshuo carefully tucked away the silver ingots and small change, bought the few items Ye Yao had mentioned previously, and hurried back.
As the sun sank in the west, smoke was already curling from the chimney of the mountain cabin, and the fragrance of food was wafting out. When Xie Hanshuo crossed the threshold, he was already famished, and smelling the aroma, his throat couldn’t help but move. Soon after, he saw Ye Yao coming out at the sound, a shallow smile blooming on her face: “You’re back.”
“Yes.” Xie Hanshuo replied. He looked up and saw her eyes curved, the dimples at the corners of her mouth slightly visible; she looked like a nimble, spirited little fox, not at all like the cold person from the last few days of their cold war. That smile was innocent and lively, and it made him unable to look away for a moment.