The Handsome Guy finished scolding him, then turned back to speak with the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man nodded as he listened, and even touched An Xiao's forehead, then said a few words.
An Xiao looked at the Handsome Guy.
The Handsome Guy's expression softened, and he gave a slight nod.
The middle-aged man immediately got up to rummage through the cabinet, and the two young men carefully moved over to help.
An Xiao turned back to look at the Handsome Guy.
The Handsome Guy happened to look down at him at the same time.
An Xiao quickly averted his gaze—pretending to.
The Handsome Guy didn't say anything either.
Soon, the middle-aged man dug out a pile of tree bark, roots, and seeds. The young helpers wrapped them in oil paper, tied them with thin hemp cord, bundled them together, and respectfully handed them to the Handsome Guy.
The Handsome Guy took them and said a few words.
The middle-aged man quickly responded with a few sounds, then grabbed a charcoal stick and paper from the side, and began writing with a flourish of his sleeve.
An Xiao: "!!"
Writing!!
The middle-aged man quickly wrote a few lines and respectfully handed them to the Handsome Guy.
The Handsome Guy picked it up, scanned it in one go, nodded, and said another sentence.
An Xiao was shocked. The Handsome Guy could read too?!
The middle-aged man bowed respectfully and replied.
The Handsome Guy folded the paper and tucked it into his shirt, then carried the medicine bundle over, bent down, and moved to pick up An Xiao.
An Xiao was still lost in disbelief that the Handsome Guy could read, and instinctively pushed him away.
After pushing, he saw everyone in the room gasp.
"?" He looked around in confusion.
The Handsome Guy frowned: "[Don't move.]"
He brushed aside An Xiao's hand, reached his arm under An Xiao's knees, and lifted him up cleanly and decisively.
An Xiao was startled and quickly grabbed his shoulder: "[You—]"
The light and shadows shifted, and before the second word could come out, they were already out of the courtyard.
A crowd of people came running out after them.
An Xiao had no choice but to shut his mouth and flash a smile at the group.
The Handsome Guy broke into a run—
"**!!" An Xiao yelled, and fearing the Handsome Guy couldn't hear him, he patted his shoulder twice.
The Handsome Guy stopped and looked at him.
Gasps came from the direction of the courtyard gate.
An Xiao glanced curiously in the direction of the gasps, didn't see any problem, then turned back and leaned close to the Handsome Guy's ear, whispering: "[Salt.]"
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt the arm holding his legs tighten.
The Handsome Guy frowned.
He: "?"
Glancing again at the crowd watching from a distance like sentries, he suppressed the urge to gesture and continued speaking quietly, "[How did you—]"
Never mind, business first. "
"[Grilled meat, salt, salt, understand?]"
The Handsome Guy frowned: "[There's still salt.]"
He had taught An Xiao this earlier when urging him to eat more meat and broth, so An Xiao could understand.
An Xiao racked his brain: "[Not asking for salt, it's… delicious, want it delicious.]"
The Handsome Guy: "?"
He tilted his head in thought, then changed direction and walked briskly.
An Xiao clung to his shoulder and muttered quietly: "[I can walk.]"
The Handsome Guy: "[No.]"
An Xiao: "…"
He lightly tapped the Handsome Guy's head in protest. "[I can!]"
Gasps came from near and far.
An Xiao looked up in surprise, glancing around—and saw many pairs of eyes quickly darting away.
He: "??"
He leaned close to the Handsome Guy again and muttered, "[This place, strange.]"
The Handsome Guy: "?"
He looked at him while walking, clearly waiting for him to continue.
An Xiao: "…"
Forget it.
He clutched his chest. "[I'll walk myself, like this… bleh.]"
Of course, that last sound was his artistic embellishment.
—With so many people watching, he needed to save face.
The Handsome Guy indeed stopped immediately and set him down.
An Xiao noticed he was trying to scoop him up, so he immediately reached for his shoulders—the height difference was too great, no luck—so he quickly grabbed the Handsome Guy's arm and whispered, "[I want this.]"
The Handsome Guy frowned. "[You're not **.]"
An Xiao pondered the word. Did it mean "comfortable"?
He tried to apply it: "[Hold, not **.]"
The Handsome Guy hesitated, then actually gave up on carrying him, instead wrapping an arm around his lower back to support him.
An Xiao breathed a sigh of relief. Being supported was more dignified than being carried.
The Handsome Guy helped him walk slowly forward.
After a few steps, An Xiao, sweating profusely, noticed something was off.
When a man carried another man, it was normal to attract attention.
But now that he wasn't being carried, why were even more people craning their necks and sneaking glances?
And more than that—if they were going to look, why were they so furtive, as if afraid of being caught? Even the children had their mouths covered.
An Xiao looked at the Handsome Guy.
The Handsome Guy seemed completely used to it. He led him around a corner and headed toward a small courtyard on the right side of the path.
A startled cry erupted from the crowd behind them, and then two figures darted out, ran past them, and stopped in front of the courtyard, nervously rubbing their hands as they waited.
A man and a woman, middle-aged, probably a married couple.
An Xiao: "…?"
The Handsome Guy, however, seemed not to notice. He walked up and said something in a flat tone.
The two of them nodded hurriedly. The woman dashed into the house and quickly ran back out, respectfully handing the Handsome Guy an oil-paper package, carefully tied with thin twine.
The Handsome Guy took it, nodded, and turned around with An Xiao, preparing to leave.
An Xiao: "?"
He immediately grabbed the Handsome Guy's arm and glared at him.
The Handsome Guy looked down in surprise, utterly confused.
Everyone—including the couple waiting at the courtyard gate—followed his gaze to An Xiao.
An Xiao: "…"
The pressure multiplied.
His language skills still weren't up to par, so he quickly waved at the Handsome Guy.
The Handsome Guy understood instantly and lowered his head.
An Xiao stood on his tiptoes and whispered in his ear: "[You can't take… look.]"
He hadn't learned "others" or "them" yet, so using his body as cover, he pointed behind and to the sides.
The Handsome Guy followed his pointing finger and swept a glance around. After a moment's thought, he shook his head. "[No need for ***.]"
An Xiao was frantic: "[Can't!]"
The Handsome Guy said nothing, tightened his arm around him again, and forcefully walked forward.
An Xiao struggled, furious, and shouted at the Handsome Guy: "[**!!]"
Gasps rippled through the surroundings.
An Xiao: "?"
The Handsome Guy frowned, glanced at him, and bent down—
Scooped him up and sprinted off.
An Xiao: "…"
He was angry!
The medicine was freeloaded, and the stuff was freeloaded too!
No wonder the residents here were so cautious and tense—they must be cowed by the Handsome Guy's formidable strength, too afraid to resist!
This was clearly a village bully! A transmigrated version of a delinquent!!
"**!!" An Xiao shouted into the Handsome Guy's ear. "[Not allowed!]"
The Handsome Guy stumbled from the shout, nearly crashing into the big tree at the corner.
Then he frowned, raised the hand holding the string of oil-paper packages, pressed An Xiao's head into the crook of his shoulder, and sprinted off again.
An Xiao: "…"
Furious, he pounded his shoulder and back.
Through the whistling wind, he could clearly hear startled cries drifting from afar.
An Xiao grew even angrier.
How did this guy usually bully people? No wonder he lived in isolation, alone on the mountain.
He'd actually felt sorry for the guy's lonely, pitiful state before—turns out he'd brought it all on himself.
And so, a fuming An Xiao was carried by the head all the way back to their cliffside stone cave dwelling.
The moment the Handsome Guy set him down, An Xiao kicked out at him.
Handsome Guy: “?”
He looked puzzled, but obediently stood there taking the kick, even steadying the unsteady An Xiao with a supporting hand.
An Xiao: “……”
His anger subsided slightly.
But he still had to say something.
Pointing at the oil-paper-wrapped skewers in the Handsome Guy’s right hand, he snapped, “[No!]”
The Handsome Guy looked even more confused, and said seriously, “[You’re not feeling well.]”
An Xiao paused, keeping his angry expression: “[Not feeling well, still no!]”
Handsome Guy: “??”
An Xiao frowned, thinking for a moment, then, with his burning, dizzy head, walked toward the warehouse.
The Handsome Guy followed closely, his hand still supporting him.
An Xiao glanced at him, didn’t resist, and went straight into the warehouse. He opened the wooden crate the Handsome Guy had just made, and pulled out a silver ingot three fingers wide and two fingers tall.
Then he raised the silver ingot, pointed at the oil-paper-wrapped skewers in the other hand, and said angrily, “[This, is okay.]”
Handsome Guy: “……”
He seemed to understand.
With a helpless look, he took the silver ingot from An Xiao’s hand, tossed it back into the wooden crate, and picked him up again.
An Xiao: “!?”
“Hey!! [You talk!? Don’t you dare—]” Carry!
He was carried into the room and pressed down onto the bed.
The Handsome Guy even tossed aside the oil-paper bundle and started pulling at his clothes.
An Xiao struggled in fury: “[Don’t—]”
A sound of fabric tearing, and the brand-new clothes he had just changed into last night split open with a large gash.
The Handsome Guy frowned and stopped.
An Xiao didn’t notice, forcing out what strength he had to punch and kick: “[Don’t you dare!]”
The Handsome Guy raised his hand and said gently, “[*Sleep, **.]”
…Not what he had thought? An Xiao hesitated and stopped.
The Handsome Guy seemed to let out a sigh. He stopped trying to undress him, bent down to take off his shoes, moved his feet onto the bed, then pulled open the wool blanket and covered him with it.
An Xiao: “……”
Oh, he was telling him to lie down and rest.
But—
“How can you rob people? That’s immoral behavior! You’ve got plenty of strength—are you afraid you can’t make a good living? Why do you have to go bully others?”
The Handsome Guy couldn’t understand, felt his forehead, then picked up a bundle of oil-paper-wrapped items and went out.
An Xiao silently shut his mouth.
All that agitation just now had made his head even more dizzy and swollen.
Lying in bed, all his drowsiness seemed to surge up at once, and he had no strength left to get up.
Before he drifted off into unconsciousness, he was still thinking—he needed to properly straighten the Handsome Guy out… and also learn to read characters from him…
In his haze, he was picked up by someone.
An Xiao opened his eyes.
The Handsome Guy’s face appeared before him.
An Xiao instinctively smiled: “Why are you all scrunched up? You look so fierce.”
The Handsome Guy frowned and leaned in: “[What did you say?]”
An Xiao came to his senses and said slowly, “[Oh, nothing.]”
The Handsome Guy didn’t seem inclined to press the matter. He scooped up a spoonful of something black and brought it to An Xiao’s lips.
An Xiao smelled a sour, bitter odor that hit him straight in the head… it was far too much like the Chinese medicine he remembered.
So he only hesitated for a moment before swallowing that mouthful of herbal decoction—it nearly blew the top of his skull off with bitterness.
But it also jolted him awake.
Seeing that the Handsome Guy intended to feed him a second spoonful, he struggled to sit up properly and reached toward the small bowl on the stool beside him: “[Give it to me.]”
The Handsome Guy hesitated, put the spoon back, and handed him the bowl.
An Xiao took it, tested the temperature, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.
Damn, it was even more intense than any bitter herbal formula he’d ever drunk—
Something was popped into his mouth, the size of a finger, sweet, with a faint floral fragrance.
An Xiao froze, then looked up at the Handsome Guy.
Handsome Guy raised an eyebrow, got up, and brought over an entire oil-paper package, placing it in his hands.
It was the package they had snatched from that couple.
An Xiao looked at him suspiciously, then opened the loosely wrapped oil paper, revealing a bundle of amber-colored cubes the size of a thumbnail.
He could even smell the same floral fragrance that lingered in his mouth.
—Did Handsome Guy think he was afraid of bitter medicine and wanted something tasty, so he grabbed him a pack of candy?
An Xiao froze, looking up at Handsome Guy.
Handsome Guy's eyes were soft, and he patted An Xiao's head.
…Although he was a yellow-haired punk, this yellow-haired punk treated him…
An Xiao suddenly understood a little why the good girls in TV dramas were lured away by yellow-haired punks.