Song Yanyan still remembered the path leading to that hidden mountain hollow.
As she walked toward the hollow, she diligently gathered firewood along the way.
Song Yanyan was worried—what if, because Luo Jinyu wasn’t here, fate decided to take back this opportunity? What if the injured young man no longer appeared in the mountain hollow?
If that were the case—well, there was nothing she could do about it.
So Song Yanyan decided she might as well gather more firewood. Even thieves knew better than to leave empty-handed. Since she was making the trip into the mountains, she ought to bring something back.
The mountain hollow was quite secluded. By the time Song Yanyan arrived, she had already collected a half-basket of dry branches scattered along the mountain path.
Fortunately, things went smoothly—the injured young man was lying unconscious on his back beneath a crooked tree, blood soaking a large patch of snow beneath his leg.
Good. This meant fate hadn’t withdrawn this opportunity just because Luo Jinyu wasn’t around.
Song Yanyan’s heart burned with excitement.
She strode forward, set down the basket of firewood, and briskly helped the unconscious young man to his feet, supporting him as she led him into a nearby cave.
After a moment’s thought, Song Yanyan took out some of the firewood she had gathered and built a fire for the injured, unconscious young man.
Beside the fire, she pulled out the cloth strips she had prepared earlier, along with some common herbs for stopping bleeding in the wild, and applied them to the wound on his leg.
Song Yanyan worked busily for quite some time.
Perhaps because she had built a fire this time—unlike in her dream—the young man woke up a bit earlier than he had in the dream.
When Li Qiyi regained consciousness, he felt waves of pain surging from the wound on his leg.
The pain was so intense that his whole body…
Huh? Warm and cozy?
That wasn’t right. He remembered that he had lost his strength and fallen from the cliff. Everything around him had been covered in snow—how could it be so warm now?
Li Qiyi opened his eyes in confusion. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he struggled to prop himself up and saw a fire burning not far away. Beside it sat a young girl, about the same age as his sister, poking at the firewood with a stick. Something seemed to be skewered on the stick?
Perhaps because Li Qiyi’s movements as he propped himself up to observe his surroundings were too noticeable, Song Yanyan turned her head and saw that the previously unconscious young man had opened his eyes.
Although she knew from her dream that the young man would eventually wake up, Song Yanyan still hadn’t been entirely certain. Now that she saw he was truly awake, she was delighted.
Her voice was cheerful: “You’re awake?”
Li Qiyi was taken aback for a moment before replying hoarsely, “Mm.”
Song Yanyan eagerly moved closer: “I saw you injured and unconscious in the snow earlier, so I helped you into this cave. How are you feeling? I bandaged your wound, but it’s only a temporary emergency measure. You should have your family come get you as soon as possible and get proper treatment.”
Just as Li Qiyi began to show hesitation, the girl spoke considerately: “Is there something inconvenient about that? …I can help you send a message.”
Li Qiyi hesitated for a moment, then took out a dagger from his person, cut a piece of red silk fabric from his inner garment, and sliced it into several strips with the dagger. He handed them to Song Yanyan, saying, "Could you please hang these on the path into the mountains? My family will come looking for me when they see them…"
Song Yanyan agreed and promptly stood up without asking any further questions. She even handed him something blackened and skewered on a stick: "Here, this is for you. I just dug up fresh wild yam and roasted it. Don't mind the charred look—it’s still quite tasty."
Li Qiyi stared at the blackened yam in his hand, his expression tinged with confusion.
"Keep an eye on the fire, and add more wood if it runs low," Song Yanyan said as she took the strips of cloth and left without another word.
Li Qiyi grew even more bewildered.
Wasn’t this girl going to ask a few more questions?
For some reason, he got the feeling that she was just going through the motions—and seemed eager to speed things up.
Li Qiyi began to suspect that his injury wasn’t in his leg but in his head. Otherwise, why did he feel completely unable to grasp what was happening?
…
When Song Yanyan returned, she found Li Qiyi adding wood to the fire.
Scattered nearby were some charred yam skins, indicating he had eaten the roasted yam.
Song Yanyan was pleased and smiled, saying, "I’ve tied all the strips."
Li Qiyi let out an "Ah," still somewhat flustered. "Th-thank you…"
Song Yanyan looked at him expectantly.
Aren’t you going to say something else?
Under Song Yanyan’s intense gaze, Li Qiyi flushed from his neck to his face. After stammering for a while, he finally asked the question Song Yanyan had been waiting for: "I… I am Li Qiyi. I cannot repay your great kindness. May I ask, Miss…"
Here it comes! Finally!
Song Yanyan’s eyes sparkled. "My name is Song Yanyan!"
She wasn’t like Luo Jinyu, who would "accidentally" reveal her name and then claim she didn’t expect repayment—acting as if she wanted both the benefits and the reputation!
She had genuinely saved someone, so what was wrong with wanting something in return?
"Miss Song…" Li Qiyi’s face grew even redder, and his words stumbled. "Don’t worry, once I return home, I will definitely repay you…"
"You don’t have to wait until you go back," Song Yanyan’s eyes brightened further. "Do you have any silver on you? Just give me silver!"
Li Qiyi was stunned. "Huh?"
Song Yanyan thought he didn’t have any.
She felt a bit disappointed. "You didn’t bring any? Never mind, then."
Li Qiyi frantically searched the places on his person where he might have kept silver and finally produced a silver ingot along with a few pieces of broken silver.
For some reason, he felt a little embarrassed. "I don’t have much on me…"
But Song Yanyan’s eyes lit up even more. "That’s enough, that’s enough!"
She pointed to one of the pieces of broken silver. "If you want to repay me, just give me this."
Don’t call her greedy! What’s wrong with liking money? Besides, a noble person loves wealth but acquires it through proper means. Asking for this piece of broken silver was entirely her rightful reward for her efforts!
Such a young girl like her had dragged the injured and unconscious Li Qiyi into the cave with great effort—wasn't that labor worth some silver? She had painstakingly bandaged Li Qiyi's wounds—wasn't that worth money? And the fire—she had gathered the firewood with much effort, wasn't that money too? And also, that roasted yam—she had dug it out with great difficulty! Wasn't all of this money?
Every single thing was money!
She wanted payment—it was reasonable, lawful, and perfectly justified!
The more Song Yanyan thought about it, the more righteous she felt, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Li Qiyi.
Li Qiyi's ears flushed bright red! He frantically stuffed all the silver he had on him into Song Yanyan's hands: "Take it all, take it all!"
Now it was Song Yanyan's turn to be stunned: "All of it?"
Li Qiyi nodded.
Song Yanyan smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons, and sighed, "You really are a good person!"
But… she couldn't be too unreasonable.
Leave a little room for others, and you'll meet again on better terms in the future!