Inside the wild boar cave, the flickering firelight illuminated the cramped and narrow space.
It was just large enough for two people and a boar.
Cui Xiaoqi sat by the fire, panting so hard it felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat.
If she hadn’t brought the rope today, there would have been no way to drag both the boar and Wang Wenhan into the cave.
Earlier, she had tied one end of the rope to Wang Wenhan’s ankle, braced her foot against a tree trunk near the cave entrance, and pulled with all her might, straining every muscle to haul both man and beast inside.
Only when her heartbeat steadied and her breathing calmed did she rise and walk over to Wang Wenhan. She crouched down and untied the rope from his leg.
With a sharp rip, she tore a strip of cloth from his cotton jacket and roughly bandaged the wound on his leg.
The bleeding had stopped, but the leg was likely beyond saving.
He had brought this upon himself.
The wind howled like ghosts and wolves at the cave entrance, sending shivers down her spine.
It was already well past lunchtime, and the sky was growing darker. At this rate, night would fall in less than three hours.
Cui Xiaoqi paced to the cave entrance, where snow still swirled endlessly in the wind.
She looked up at the narrow path more than ten meters above, then glanced back at the man and boar inside the cave, her brow furrowed tightly.
Carrying the boar alone back to the village would be difficult enough, but with an injured man in tow, it was simply impossible.
If they stayed in the cave and wolves caught the scent of blood, the consequences would be dire…
Tomorrow was the final day of the three-day deadline. She absolutely could not spend the night in this cave.
If they stayed overnight, the mountain would surely be sealed by heavy snow by morning, trapping them here. Then, she would truly be at the mercy of the Official Matchmaker’s Designation…
Biting her pale lips, Cui Xiaoqi returned to the cave, lifted her foot, and pressed the sole of her shoe against Wang Wenhan’s face with deliberate force.
She had no intention of pinching his philtrum—she found the thought repulsive!
“…It hurts…” Wang Wenhan groaned, his eyes fluttering open as he winced in pain.
“Shut up! Keep making noise, and I’ll toss you into Hukouya.” Cui Xiaoqi withdrew her foot and drew a sharp blade. “Weren’t you eager to crush a flower with your cruel hands? How about trying a blade to the throat? Hmm?” she taunted, deliberately drawing out the last word to intimidate him.
She bent down, tapping the cold blade against Wang Wenhan’s face, making his flabby flesh tremble.
At that moment, Wang Wenhan was filled with terror. In Cui Xiaoqi’s eyes, he saw undisguised murderous intent.
Killing him now would be effortless, and no one would ever know.
The thought sent shivers through his entire body, his fear overwhelming the pain in his leg.
His obsession with marrying Cui Xiaoqi vanished completely. He wished he could crawl out of the boar cave immediately, putting as much distance as possible between himself and this “vicious” woman.
“I… I was wrong. I’ll never dare bother you again, I swear. Please, spare me…” Wang Wenhan pleaded, tears and snot dripping onto the blade.
Disgusted, Cui Xiaoqi withdrew the dagger, wiped it clean on Wang Wenhan’s clothes, and slipped it back into her deer-hide boot. “Crawl back to the path!” she ordered.
Without another word, she hoisted the hundred-pound wild boar onto her shoulders and headed for the cave entrance.
Wang Wenhan whimpered timidly, “C-could you carry me up instead…”
She hadn’t killed him, but his leg was too injured to crawl. The pain was unbearable!
“No! The boar is valuable. If you don’t crawl, you’ll be dinner for the wolves tonight.” Cui Xiaoqi strode out of the cave without looking back.
Wang Wenhan pounded his uninjured leg in frustration, filled with bitter regret. “I failed to steal a woman and ended up losing a leg!”
He was terrified that Cui Xiaoqi would abandon him. Lying on the ground, he strained his arms, crawling painfully toward the cave entrance. Behind him, he left a trail of smeared blood and darkened cotton padding.
It took him a long while to crawl just three or four meters.
Cui Xiaoqi stood on the narrow path and threw a rope down the slope toward Wang Wenhan, then tied the hemp rope to a large tree by the roadside.
As for whether he could survive and crawl back to the village, that would depend on his own fate.
Cui Xiaoqi lowered her bamboo hat, hoisted the wild boar onto her back, and headed down the mountain.
In the cold wind, a layer of frost formed on her thick eyelashes.
As the sky gradually darkened and Xiaoqi still hadn’t returned, Xu Qiaoqiao grew restless, unable to sit still.
Xiao Ba stared out the window at the heavy snow, lost in thought for a long while. “Mother, let’s go wait for Seventh Sister at the foot of the mountain…”
“Eighth Sister is right, let’s go…”
Before Xiao Jiu could finish speaking, they heard the sound of the wicker gate being pushed open.
All three on the kang hurriedly climbed down, not even taking time to put on their shoes properly, and ran out of the house.
“Xiaoqi, you’re finally back! I was so worried…” When Xu Qiaoqiao saw Cui Xiaoqi, her mouth fell slightly open in surprise, clearly not expecting her to return carrying a wild boar on her back.
Inside the house, Pei Ji, hearing the commotion, opened his closed eyes and looked out the window.
He saw the woman, under her straw raincoat, dripping with blood droplets as she heavily dropped the wild boar from her back.
She removed her bamboo hat, revealing clearly visible scratches on her face. For a woman, appearance is often of utmost importance, yet she seemed indifferent to it.
Was she putting on a tragic act to gain sympathy? To lower his guard?
Pei Ji closed his eyes again, focusing on recuperating.
“Xiao Ba, take Xiao Jiu outside and cover up the bloodstains in the snow.”
Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu immediately understood Cui Xiaoqi’s meaning—if the villagers saw this, they might become suspicious.
Although the wind and snow would likely cover it up, there was no guarantee someone wouldn’t step outside and notice. It was better to be cautious, just in case.
Xu Qiaoqiao reached out to help Cui Xiaoqi remove her straw raincoat, her heart aching. “Did you suffer while hunting? Look at how scratched up your little face is.”
“It’s nothing. A few superficial wounds in exchange for this fat pig—totally worth it!” Cui Xiaoqi’s lighthearted remark dispelled Xu Qiaoqiao’s worries.
Cui Xiaoqi washed the blood off her hands, took off her blood-stained cotton coat, and wearing only her inner garments, pushed open the door and entered the house.
She took a change of clothes from the broken wardrobe missing one door, glanced at the man leaning against the wooden wall who seemed to be asleep, and quietly slipped out of the room.
Pei Ji’s eyelids twitched slightly.
The hot water in Xu Qiaoqiao’s large pot had been boiled and reboiled, finally finding its use.
“Mother, Mother, something bad has happened!!” Cui Xiaoqi was shivering as she washed herself when she suddenly heard Xiao Jiu shouting excitedly.
Xu Qiaoqiao brought over a bundle of corn stalks to cover the wild boar. “You silly girl, what’s so bad about your mother?”
Just then, screams and shouts erupted from the village entrance, especially Yang Da’e’s grating, gong-like voice, startling Xu Qiaoqiao.
Xiao Ba closed the courtyard gate and pulled the curious Xu Qiaoqiao and Xiao Jiu into the kitchen.
“That… that dead fat pig was lying at the village entrance, covered in blood. It was terrifying.” Xiao Jiu, who had never seen such a horrifying scene, chattered through chattering teeth.
After finishing her bath, Cui Xiaoqi shivered as she pushed open the kitchen door, sat down in front of the charcoal brazier, and began combing her damp hair with her fingers.
"Seventh Sister, did you injure that person? Are you hurt anywhere?" Xiao Ba's concerned gaze fell upon Cui Xiaoqi.