Gu Xiao was awakened by pain. The burning sensation in his chest left his entire upper body weak and sore.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dilapidated house, spider webs hanging overhead. He was lying in the only pile of wheat straw inside.
He struggled to sit up, but the pain made him unable to move. His right hand went to his left chest—at some point his clothes had been removed, and the wound had already been treated.
Pressing weakly against the wound, he forced himself upright and only then noticed a bowl of plain white porridge placed on the stone table nearby.
He licked his dry, cracked lips. The taste was thick with blood, mixed with the bitterness of medicinal herbs.
It seemed he had been saved.
Suddenly, a face flashed through his mind.
The girl from the reed marsh!
His stomach growled loudly, but instead of reaching for the bowl, he forced himself to his feet and staggered toward the door.
He tugged at it and realized the door had been locked from the outside.
With no strength left in his body, he stumbled back to where he had been lying. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the bowl and drank the warm porridge in one go.
This porridge was really sweet!
He’d been able to endure the hunger before, but after drinking it, he felt even hungrier.
Gu Xiao lay back down on the straw pile and fell asleep again within minutes.
Shen Nian went to the forest behind the mountain. It had rained a few days earlier, and bamboo fungus covered the ground everywhere.
Her eyes lit up. She cut five or six bamboo poles, then chopped some vines nearby to bind them together, picked a basketful of bamboo fungus, and strolled back at an unhurried pace.
Gu Xiao slept fitfully. Footsteps sounded at the door, along with a soft rustling noise. He opened his eyes warily, grabbed a stone in his hand, and stared straight at the wooden door.
Then came the sound of a lock opening. He quickly closed his eyes.
Shen Nian opened the door and calmly walked over to him, reaching out to touch his forehead, then her own.
“Good. The fever’s gone.”
She unwrapped the cloth strips on his chest and took a look. The bleeding had already stopped.
Her gaze shifted to the empty bowl beside him, then to the tense, stiff body. The corner of her lips tugged slightly.
So he’s awake?
“Hey, if you’re awake, open your eyes. Stop pretending to be dead.”
She sat cross-legged beside him, propping her face in her hands, staring straight at him.
That figure—so long and lean!
Gu Xiao felt uncomfortable under her blazing stare. It seemed that if he didn’t open his eyes, she wouldn’t give up.
Helpless, he slowly opened them.
The first thing he saw was her clean, fair face. Her two braided pigtails looked messy, snagged by branches—fluffy and disheveled, with a few bamboo leaves tangled in her hair.
A white towel hung around her neck. She tilted her head and blinked.
“Awake? Not pretending anymore?”
Gu Xiao felt a little awkward under her gaze. Her eyes were far too clean, and her delicate face was particularly easy on the eyes.
That morning in the reed marsh, he hadn’t had time to see her face clearly. He’d thought she was with those two men and had threatened her because of it.
“Did you save me?”
“Who else? You think those two who wanted to kill you saved you?”
Gu Xiao flushed with embarrassment.
“Sorry. I thought you were with them.”
He was about to explain further when Shen Nian raised a hand to stop him.
“I don’t want to hear your explanation. I could save you, and I could just as easily hand you over to those two. First tell me who you are, or I’ll go straight back and tell our village secretary to bring people to tie you up.”
Gu Xiao turned his head away proudly. “Anyway, I’m not a bad person.”
“Not saying? Just because you say you’re not a bad person means you’re not? Let me tell you—I’m not that soft-hearted. I saved your life, and judging by what you’re wearing, you don’t look poor. You’ll need to pay me for saving you, or I won’t let you leave.”
Seeing a young girl living alone halfway up the mountain, with not even a bed in the house, Gu Xiao felt she was very likely not a local and probably had secrets of her own.
He deliberately said, “Fine. Go tell your village secretary—tell him you saved a man.”
Shen Nian was left speechless.
Hey!
She saved him out of kindness, and he didn’t even appreciate it.
She was just bluffing anyway. Even if she really went to the village secretary, he might not believe her.
Now, the moment she entered the village, everyone treated her like a lunatic. Only Sister Li treated her kindly.
A flicker of panic crossed her eyes, followed by irritation.
Just from that, Gu Xiao could tell—like him, she was hiding some unspeakable secrets.
Seeing her fall silent, Gu Xiao said, “Miss, don’t worry. I’m not a bad person. If I make it back alive, I’ll definitely come back to repay you. As long as it’s something I can do, I, Gu Xiao, will do it.”
“Your name is Gu Xiao?”
Gu Xiao nodded firmly. Shen Nian glanced at him. His features were upright, his bearing righteous. She’d saved him based on her sharp intuition.
“Yes, my name is Gu Xiao.”
“No matter what your name is, don’t think you can freeload here. Don’t expect me to wait on you either—you’re not my father. Why should I serve you? Once you’re better, leave as soon as possible.”
She only wanted to earn some money quietly, find a way to get herself registered, and then leave this place.
She didn’t want trouble.
Gu Xiao nodded. “Thank you. Is there anything I can do for you?”
As a grown man, lying there being waited on really wasn’t right.
Shen Nian shot him an annoyed look and stood up. “With how sickly you look, what could you possibly do? Just lie there. As long as you don’t die here, that’s enough.”
Her words weren’t pleasant—who told him to try stabbing her in the back?
She turned and left. Gu Xiao watched her thin, frail back, and for some reason, he felt an unexpected sense of reassurance.
Less than a minute later, Shen Nian came back in, carrying a coarse bowl in her hands.
Reluctantly, she nudged his calf lightly with her foot.
“Get up. Time to take your medicine.”
Gu Xiao struggled to sit up. Seeing how slow he was, she squatted down, helped him up, and brought the bowl to his lips.
A strange glint flashed through Gu Xiao’s deep eyes. The light outside filtered through the window and landed perfectly on her face, making her seem wrapped in a soft halo, warm and gentle.
Gu Xiao drank down the bowl of strong dandelion decoction and clicked his tongue.
“You’re not afraid I might poison you?”
Gu Xiao froze. He really hadn’t suspected anything.
“You wouldn’t.”
The certainty in his tone made Shen Nian pause. Looks like he had a brain—and wasn’t a bad person.
“Alright, lie down. It’s just ordinary dandelion—clears heat and detoxifies. When I carried you back this morning, you were practically burning to death.”
With that, Shen Nian turned and left the house.
Gu Xiao fell into thought. He was 190 centimeters tall and weighed 140 jin. She wasn’t even 165 centimeters tall and looked under 100 jin. How had she managed to carry him into the house?
As he pondered this, a man’s voice suddenly came from outside.
“You worthless money-loser! Where the hell have you been these past two days? You’ve gone and caused trouble again—see if I don’t beat you to death!”