After hearing Liu Ye’s words, Bai Zilin froze.
He had never expected the “silly girl” to say something so profound and sensible. Yet the more he thought about it, the more he felt she was right.
For the first time since his injury, a spark of hope reignited within him.
Even if my legs never heal… even if they rot away… then I’ll crawl on my knees!
As long as his hands still worked, he could draw a bow, hunt in the mountains, and support himself.
As for his parents…
Humph. If they can abandon me, then I can live without them too.
“All right, Brother Bai,” Liu Ye said. “I’ve cleaned everything up. Whatever you do, don’t move around. As the saying goes, ‘It takes a hundred days to recover from injuries to muscles and bones.’ You’ll need at least a hundred days of rest before you can move properly again.”
She thought for a moment and added seriously,
“If you need to use the bathroom, just do it in the room. Your father can help clean it up.”
Bai Zilin nodded awkwardly.
His father?
As if that would ever happen.
Suddenly, Liu Ye remembered what she had overheard earlier.
“I heard your father yelling. You must have heard it too. He was just speaking in anger, right?”
Bai Zilin’s expression stiffened.
“I…”
After a pause, he forced a nod.
“It’s getting late. You should go back and get some sleep.”
The moment Liu Ye saw his expression, she knew something was wrong.
So his father hadn’t been speaking in anger after all.
Damn it.
What kind of fate did the two of them have?
Still, she decided not to press the issue. She didn’t want to embarrass him.
“Oh. Then I’ll go back to sleep.”
Bai Zilin lowered his head and nodded.
A cloud of sadness seemed to surround him.
Liu Ye sighed inwardly and quickly left.
Every family had its own troubles.
Life was unpredictable; one moment everything was fine, the next it all fell apart.
Since she had climbed over the wall to get there, she easily climbed back over it and returned to her pile of firewood.
Before long, she was asleep.
The next morning, Liu Ye woke up from the heat.
Her clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking uncomfortably to her skin.
Good grief! It’s this hot first thing in the morning? How is anyone supposed to survive?
Just as she was about to slide down from the woodpile, she saw Bai Zilin’s father storm out of the house, cursing loudly.
“Damn it! This life is impossible! You worthless woman! It’s almost noon and the food still isn’t ready! Are you trying to starve me to death?”
Mrs. Bai hurried out of the kitchen in a panic.
“Husband, just wait a little longer. The food will be ready soon. The stove was smoking, and I only just got the fire going. Why don’t you go inside and drink some water first—”
Before she could finish, Uncle Bai slapped his thigh angrily.
“Drink water? To hell with that! If water could fill a man’s stomach, why would people bother eating? Do you think I’m like you, you useless woman?”
Mrs. Bai bit her lip, looking utterly wronged, and retreated into the kitchen.
Moments later, the smell of burnt food drifted out.
Liu Ye rolled her eyes dramatically.
Then she hopped down from the woodpile and wandered toward the back mountain.
Brother Bai really has it rough.
Now she understood.
His father was an absolute monster.
And his mother…
Well…
Come to think of it, she still hadn’t seen his younger sister.
What was her name again?
Oh right.
Bai Zimei.
There were quite a lot of people on the mountain today.
The hillside was crowded.
Groups of women and young girls carried baskets while digging for wild vegetables. Even quite a few men were scattered around the slope doing the same.
Suddenly, a mocking voice rang out.
“Oh my, Bai Zimei, you’re digging wild vegetables too? Is it because your brother got bitten by wolves and can never hunt again? He’ll probably be a cripple for the rest of his life, won’t he?”
The speaker, Chen Xiaocao, laughed loudly.
“What a pity! You’ll never get to eat meat again! Hahaha!”
Another girl, Wang Erya, joined in.
“Xiaocao’s right! The Bai family only survives because Bai Zilin hunts. Without him, that entire lazy family would’ve starved long ago!”
She giggled cruelly.
“Now that he’s hurt, they probably won’t even have enough food to eat. Bai Zimei, why don’t you go home? Digging wild vegetables isn’t work for a pampered young lady like you.”
She laughed even harder.
“Go back to being a rich little miss! Don’t stay out here too long and get tanned!”
Nearby, Bai Zimei had been quietly digging vegetables.
Unable to endure the ridicule any longer, she jumped to her feet, stomped angrily, grabbed her basket, and ran toward the village.
When she reached Liu Ye, all the humiliation and frustration she’d been bottling up suddenly exploded.
She found herself a convenient target.
“Get out of the way, you stupid idiot!” she shouted.
“Can’t you see where you’re standing? Move! Get lost!”
Liu Ye was stunned.
So this was the kind of person Bai Zimei was.
She got bullied by others and then turned around and took it out on someone weaker.
You little brat…
Fine.
There were too many people around.
Out of respect for her brother, Liu Ye decided not to argue.
Otherwise, she would have slapped her twice and taught her a lesson.
Her eyes darted around.
Then she immediately covered her head with both hands, pretended to be frightened, and ran deep into the mountains.
Seeing this, Bai Zimei felt immensely satisfied.
“Hmph! Stupid fool. Good thing you ran fast.”
She looked down at the tiny amount of vegetables in her basket.
Her mother would definitely scold her when she got home.
Whatever.
She was used to being scolded anyway.
When Bai Zimei returned home, she ran into her father at the gate.
Startled, she quickly hid the basket behind her back.
“Father… are you going out?”
Uncle Bai snorted.
“Worthless thing. I told you to gather wild vegetables, and you came back almost immediately. Hand me the basket. Let me see how much you dug up.”
Knowing there was no escaping this, Bai Zimei reluctantly handed it over.
“Father, it really isn’t my fault. Everyone in the village was on the hillside today. There were more people than vegetables. The whole slope has practically been picked clean.”
“I only managed to find this much…”
Uncle Bai snatched the basket from her hands.
After one glance, he sneered.
“Useless.”
Then he carried it straight into the kitchen.
Bai Zimei stuck out her tongue behind his back.
Just wait.
Once I marry into a wealthy family and become a rich young mistress, I won’t let you enjoy a single benefit from it.
I’ll cut ties with you!
She had already made up her mind.
Tomorrow she wasn’t going back to gather vegetables.
The village girls mocked her every time they saw her.
Why should she subject herself to that?
She would stay indoors, keep her skin fair, and wait until she could marry a rich young master and become the mistress of a wealthy household.
As she passed her brother’s room, she curled her lips in disdain.
Without even looking inside, she went straight back to her own room.
In the kitchen, Uncle Bai tossed the basket at Mrs. Bai’s feet.
“Mix these vegetables into the corn porridge.”
Then he pointed a finger at her.
“And listen carefully, you wasteful woman. If you burn dinner again tonight, I’ll beat you.”
Mrs. Bai nodded submissively.
“Yes, Husband…”
Uncle Bai snorted.
Just as he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly turned around.
“You didn’t secretly bring food to that beast, did you?”
Mrs. Bai hurriedly shook her head.
“No! Of course not! You forbade it, so how would I dare? I haven’t even brought him a sip of water.”
Uncle Bai snorted again.
“Hmph. I didn’t think you had the guts.”
The kitchen wasn’t far from Bai Zilin’s room.
Leaning weakly against the wall, Bai Zilin heard every single word of the conversation.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
So his father truly intended to starve him to death.
People always said that even a vicious tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs.
But his father…
Then again…
Strictly speaking, he wasn’t really—
“Heh…”
He laughed softly to himself.
“How ironic.”