After returning home, Ye Jin ate lunch as if nothing had happened. That afternoon, while Wang Fengqin and her daughter were taking their nap, she quietly slipped out again.
Clutched in her palm was a note she had already written.
She did not know whether Gu Yan’s words could be trusted, but given her current situation, leaving the village herself was nearly impossible.
More importantly, Wang Shi was a local thug. Even if she found him, she might not be able to deal with him.
A young woman arriving alone in an unfamiliar place like Wang Family Village would be an easy target for bullying.
Ye Jin made her way to the Pine Forest behind the mountain. Among all the pine trees, she immediately spotted the crooked neck pine tree.
Not only was the tree distinctive in appearance, but there was also a smooth, rounded stone beneath it. It was obvious that someone often sat there.
She circled the tree once before finally discovering a hidden hollow in the trunk. Without Gu Yan’s reminder, she never would have found it.
She tucked the note into the hollow and carefully concealed it with bark and branches. After circling the tree once more and confirming that nothing looked unusual, she dusted off her hands and prepared to leave.
“Chirp, chirp.”
A faint cry sounded.
Then a little ball of fur tumbled down from another pine tree.
It was a fiery red squirrel.
Its limbs were curled up tightly, its fluffy tail swaying weakly as it convulsed in pain on the ground.
Ye Jin carefully picked it up.
The little creature kept struggling with its eyes half closed.
Not knowing how to treat it, she broke off a blade of grass and used it as a straw. Then she scooped up a spoonful of spring water from the Spirit Spring Space and slowly fed it into the squirrel’s mouth.
The little fellow, who had been motionless moments earlier, began moving its tiny mouth, proving it was still alive.
As the sweet spring water flowed into its mouth, the squirrel slowly opened its eyes.
Ye Jin broke off a piece of radish and tossed it onto the ground.
The squirrel hugged the radish, sniffed it curiously, and took a cautious bite.
It chewed slowly at first.
Before long, it could not stop.
Holding the radish with both front paws, it devoured it frantically.
Despite its tiny body, it somehow managed to eat nearly half a radish.
The little creature that had seemed at death’s door moments ago quickly became lively and energetic after Ye Jin’s treatment.
Seeing it recover, Ye Jin smiled and left.
She had only taken a few steps when she heard faint footsteps behind her.
Turning around, she saw the little squirrel following closely at her heels.
“I have to go now. Since you’re better, you should hurry home.”
The little fellow seemed not to hear her and continued following closely behind.
“Do you want to come home with me?”
Ye Jin asked tentatively.
The squirrel moved its head as if nodding.
“But I can barely take care of myself right now. How would I have the energy to look after you?”
Ye Jin sighed.
If her life were stable, she would gladly raise such an adorable little creature.
The squirrel ignored her concerns completely.
With a leap, it grabbed onto her leg and quickly climbed onto her shoulder.
“You little troublemaker. Where’s your home? I’ll take you back.”
Ye Jin found the pine tree the squirrel had fallen from and noticed a hidden hollow high up in the trunk.
That was probably its home.
“Go back home now.”
The squirrel jumped onto the tree and quickly disappeared into the hollow.
A moment later, chestnuts, pine nuts, and hazelnuts began dropping out one after another.
All the nuts had been cleaned and sorted neatly.
It was obvious this was a very diligent little squirrel.
“These are all your winter supplies. Are you really giving them all to me?”
Ye Jin immediately understood its intention.
The squirrel held a round chestnut in its paws and looked up at her eagerly, as if inviting her to eat it.
“You’re treating me to this?”
Ye Jin accepted the chestnut and cracked it open with her teeth.
The shell had already dried, making it easy to separate from the nut.
The flesh carried a hint of sweetness and was surprisingly delicious.
“This is good. Your chestnuts are excellent!”
Ye Jin praised it generously.
The squirrel tugged at her trouser leg, urging her to collect the nuts.
There was no reason to hide anything from a squirrel.
With a wave of her hand, she stored all the nuts inside the Spirit Spring Space.
The squirrel then led her to another location.
Under its guidance, Ye Jin soon discovered another hidden cache of nuts.
These had been buried underground and covered with dirt and grass.
An ordinary person would never have noticed them.
Ye Jin happily gathered them up, only for the squirrel to lead her somewhere else.
As they continued uncovering stash after stash, Ye Jin could not help marveling.
Such a tiny squirrel had managed to store so much food for the winter.
By the time they were done, she had taken every bit of the little fellow’s winter provisions.
If she did not bring it home and raise it herself, it might actually starve to death.
“Why go to all this trouble?”
Ye Jin patted her shoulder.
The squirrel happily jumped onto it.
“You’re so lively and adorable, and your fur is such a striking fiery red color. From now on, I’ll call you Xiao Huo.”
The squirrel chirped excitedly, clearly pleased with the name.
Ye Jin carried Xiao Huo down the mountain.
Not long after they left, Gu Yan appeared beneath the crooked neck pine tree with a hunting rifle slung over his shoulder and a sheepskin coat draped around him.
At a glance, he noticed a subtle change in the arrangement around the tree hollow.
Someone had clearly been there.
Pulling away the covering at the entrance, he found a small note resting quietly inside.
“That little girl is certainly patient. Something this serious happened, yet she held it in for so long before finally leaving me a note.”
Over the past several days, Gu Yan had used numerous channels to thoroughly investigate Ye Jin’s background.
No wonder he had spent years traveling far and wide searching for his benefactor without success.
The girl had changed her name long ago.
Trying to find her under her old name had been a hopeless task from the beginning.
If he had not recognized the red mole near Ye Jin’s ear during their previous meeting, and if her appearance had not remained largely unchanged, Gu Yan never would have realized they had been living so close to each other all along.
Smiling, Gu Yan unfolded the note.
He had expected her to be asking for help.
Instead, she was asking him to gather information in Wang Family Village.
Gu Yan pulled out a pen and paper from his pocket and quickly wrote a few bold characters.
“Received. Wang Family Village is a long journey away. While I’m gone, protect yourself. Don’t clash with your stepmother. Wait for me to come back!”
After tearing off half the page, he paused.
The wording felt too direct.
As far as Ye Jin knew, they had only met once.
The fact that she had worked up the courage to ask him for help was already remarkable.
After some thought, he rewrote the note.
“Leave it to me. Take care of yourself and wait for good news.”
Even after toning it down, Gu Yan still worried about frightening her.
After another moment of thought, he rewrote it again.
“Mission guaranteed!”
Though he had a thousand things he wanted to say, they ultimately condensed into just four simple words.
He crumpled up the previous drafts and tossed them aside before setting off toward Wang Family Village with his hunting rifle.