“Li family’s eldest son, where are you two young newlyweds heading?” Liu Jincui, the wife of Village Head Xu Jiang, asked with a smile when she spotted Li Chen and his wife.
Yesterday’s Pine Grouse had smelled unbelievably good.
Standing beside Liu Jincui was a young girl around Yu Qingwan’s age. At that moment, she was looking at the pair with a set of bright, clear eyes, especially fixed on Li Chen.
The girl was extremely tall, only half a head shorter than Li Chen. Her brows and eyes were broad and open, carrying the bold beauty unique to the northern frontier people.
Most striking of all was her figure. Even in this chaotic age of famine, she still possessed a full chest, curving hips, and a slender waist. Any man passing by would inevitably swallow hard after taking one look at her.
If given enough time and proper nutrition, she would undoubtedly become a breathtaking beauty.
Compared to Yu Qingwan, one excelled in delicate elegance like misty southern rain, while the other possessed the fiery allure and bold curves of the northern lands. For a moment, it was hard to say who surpassed whom.
The girl was none other than Xu Jiang’s daughter, Xu Xiu’er.
“We’re heading into the city to sell game,” Li Chen replied with a smile.
His gaze swept briefly across Xu Xiu’er, yet did not linger for even a second on the figure she was most proud of.
That fleeting glance caused Xu Xiu’er to bite her lip slightly, a trace of indescribable resentment surfacing in her eyes.
“What’s so impressive about that? Once these men return from the mountains, the whole village will be eating and selling meat,” Wang Caifeng, another village woman nearby, said unwillingly as she eyed the two rabbits hanging from Li Chen’s shoulder. She swallowed visibly, her tone filled with jealousy and dissatisfaction.
Li Chen could not even be bothered to respond. After greeting Liu Jincui, he turned and continued walking away.
Yu Qingwan lowered her head, one small hand tightly clutching the corner of his clothes as she followed beside and slightly behind him in tiny, hurried steps.
“Hm? Why is that little wife walking so awkwardly?”
“Exactly. Why is she swaying like that? Did eating meat make her start acting spoiled and smug?”
Two women nearby immediately began gossiping noisily.
“Stop talking nonsense. She really did eat meat, but it was human meat. She almost choked to death from it. You all don’t know just how fierce Li family’s eldest son is…” Ma Lian recalled the scene from last night, and her gaze unconsciously turned heated.
Then she vividly described everything with animated gestures.
“Heavens, if that’s true, then Li family’s eldest son is basically a beast!”
“With how delicate that little maid wife looks, can she even endure it?”
“That poor little maid wife really suffered. Third Sister, why don’t you help her out a little? Share some of the burden for her?”
“Don’t drag me into it. I think you’re the one who wants to experience what heaven feels like.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The farm women, whose husbands had all gone to the border pass, burst into giggles and teasing laughter. As they looked toward Li Chen, something seemed to burn inside their hearts.
And seeing Yu Qingwan’s swaying walk only filled them with even greater envy, jealousy, and bitterness.
If any household had a husband this capable at hunting and this vigorous, wouldn’t that wife be living like she was in heaven?
“Aunt Liu, what are you all talking about? What beast?” Xu Xiu’er asked, utterly confused.
She had only just turned eighteen and had not yet married, so naturally she only half understood.
“You’re not married yet. Stop asking,” Liu Jincui scolded with a flushed face as she pulled Xu Xiu’er aside. Then she glared at the other women and cursed, “A bunch of shameless wives, what nonsense are you babbling about? Li family’s eldest son is only a nineteen-year-old boy.”
“He’s a boy in age, but not in certain other places, Sister-in-law,” Ma Lian laughed boldly.
“Keep talking nonsense and I’ll tear your mouth apart,” Liu Jincui snapped.
The women’s chatter drifted on the wind into the ears of Li Chen and Yu Qingwan.
Li Chen himself felt nothing about it, but Yu Qingwan’s face turned completely red from embarrassment.
Yet when she thought about her husband’s fierceness last night, she unconsciously bit her lip. Even now, there was still a faint ache.
At that moment, two seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boys carrying hunting forks and machetes were walking up the mountain path ahead of them.
One of them accidentally looked back and immediately spotted Li Chen coming down from the fork in the road. The sturdier of the two youths instantly shouted joyfully, “Brother Chen!”
Li Chen turned and recognized them at once.
They were childhood companions who had grown up playing with him. Both were two years younger than him. The tall and sturdy one was Zhao Dashi, while the smaller and thinner one was Hou Xiaobai.
“Brother Chen, you’re amazing! You actually hunted so much game. Last night, even from so far away, we could smell the meat stew from your house,” Hou Xiaobai said with admiration as the two ran over to him.
Since childhood, Li Chen had always been the leader among the village children, leaving a deep impression in their hearts.
Even though the adults at home constantly warned them not to keep associating with Li Chen because he was “no good,” in their minds he was still their boss, someone they deeply admired.
“It’s nothing special. You can do it too,” Li Chen replied with a smile.
Suddenly remembering the armored wild boar pit he had discovered beneath the pine trees yesterday, he kindly warned them, “Be careful in the mountains. There’s an armored wild boar in there. It can easily kill people.”
Unexpectedly, the women behind them, who had been listening closely the entire time, immediately became displeased. Their concern for their men heading off transformed into mocking resentment toward Li Chen.
“Oh? Li family’s eldest son, what kind of talk is that? If there are wild boars, how did you dare go into the mountains?”
“Exactly. Who are you trying to scare? Afraid someone else will hunt game and steal your glory?”
“Dashi, Xiaobai, don’t listen to his nonsense. Hurry up the mountain and come back early with your uncles after hunting game.” Get faster updates on g.com.
The women erupted into noisy chatter again.
Under the urging of the elders, Zhao Dashi and Hou Xiaobai could only reluctantly say goodbye to Li Chen before carrying their hunting forks up the mountain.
Li Chen watched their backs and frowned slightly, though he said nothing more and simply continued down the mountain path.
“They’re too much,” Yu Qingwan whispered bitterly, biting her lip. Her delicate little face was already flushed red.
“In this world, excess and injustice are the norm. Calm hearts are the rarest thing of all. As long as your own conscience is at peace, that’s enough,” Li Chen said calmly.
Yu Qingwan quietly pondered his words and unconsciously lost focus. Her foot suddenly slipped.
“Ah!” she cried as she stumbled forward.
But instead of falling onto the hard ground, she fell into a warm and powerful embrace.
“Careful.” Li Chen steadied her.
Half lying in his arms, Yu Qingwan’s heart pounded wildly. Not from fear, but because she still was not used to this feeling.
Looking up at Li Chen, her heartbeat became even more chaotic.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Li Chen touched his face.
“I… I feel like Husband is different from before…” Yu Qingwan said softly.
“How am I different?” Li Chen’s heart skipped a beat.
“Husband used to be unlearned and… ah, no, not like this…” Yu Qingwan swallowed the second half of her sentence, looking at him nervously.
Li Chen narrowed his eyes slightly before smiling faintly. “A few days ago, a heavenly god appeared in my dream. The god said my talent wasn’t bad. As long as I corrected my mistakes and walked the right path, I would be granted a great fortune. And now, it seems that fortune has really arrived. I don’t even know why, but suddenly I can shoot arrows, hunt game, and even fight. Perhaps… this is the blessing of the heavens.”
His voice carried a trace of emotion.
“A blessing from the heavens? That’s… so miraculous…” Yu Qingwan stared at him with her beautiful eyes wide open, filled with both wonder and excitement.
But at that moment, she clearly felt the muscles on Li Chen’s body tense slightly.
She looked up and saw Li Chen staring toward a small village path on the right side.
A man in his thirties was slowly strolling toward them along the path with his hands tucked into his sleeves.