Jiang Yue was genuinely taken aback. These ancients certainly had wild imaginations—she was only twelve years old, for heaven’s sake. A twelve-year-old girl as a wife? Could he even live with himself?
The man chuckled. “Why? Does the prospect of being my wife wrong you so deeply?”
“Set the ‘wrong’ aside for a moment,” Jiang Yue countered. “If I followed you, wouldn’t I be spending my life as a fugitive, constantly dodging assassins?”
The man’s lips twitched, and he fell silent. Back in the capital, he was known for his effortless charm and elegance; women practically lined up to marry him. Now, he was being looked down upon by a little country girl.
Jiang Yue supported him as they shuffled step by step into the depths of the mountains. She had no desire to invite trouble into her home, so she planned to hide him in a cave. Once his injuries improved, he would surely leave.
The forest was pitch black, punctuated only by the occasional howl of a wild beast. Supporting Zhai Qingya was no easy task, and Jiang Yue soon felt her strength flagging. “You scoundrel, have you no bones? Do you have to press your entire weight onto me?”
He replied with a tone of pure entitlement, “I am injured, after all.”
Jiang Yue spat in disdain. “I think you’re doing it on purpose. Hmph, do you feel like those gold pearls were spent in vain? You should know I’m saving your life—and for the second time, at that. Is your life really worth so little?”
The man laughed. “You’re not wrong. You applied hemostatic herbs to my wound, preventing me from bleeding out—that was the first time. Now, you’re taking me away from that den of trouble to keep the assassins from finding me—that’s the second. In that case, I really ought to thank you properly, shouldn’t I? Little lady, you are truly heroic!”
Jiang Yue rolled her eyes. There was something about his tone that didn’t sit right, but she answered bluntly anyway. “Obviously! Now hurry up and use your own strength. Stop leaning on me.”
“I truly cannot walk,” the man insisted. “I must trouble you further.”
With that, he leaned into her again, his weight nearly knocking her over.
Jiang Yue stopped abruptly. She propped Zhai Qingya against a tree and, fumbling in the dark, snapped several sturdy branches. She lashed them together to form a makeshift sled. She had planned to bind her prey to drag them back anyway; she might as well use the same method for him.
“You. Get on. I’m dragging you,” she commanded.
“This… seems improper,” he remarked.
“Nothing improper about it. It’s faster this way. I can drag a fat pig just fine; you’re no different.”
The man: “…”
Ignoring his pride, Jiang Yue forced him onto the sled and hauled him all the way to the cave. The mountain was thick with weeds that acted as a natural cushion, so Zhai Qingya didn’t suffer too many bumps along the way.
When they reached the entrance, Jiang Yue carefully scanned the area for any signs of movement. Finding none, she pushed aside the concealing brush, grabbed Zhai Qingya under the armpits, and carefully dragged him inside.
“I say, little girl, couldn’t you just take me back to your house?” he complained. “Hiding in a cave… there’s nothing to eat or drink.”
“Saving your life is already a great kindness. A cave is plenty good enough,” Jiang Yue muttered as she blocked the entrance and began to build a fire.
As the flames flickered to life, illuminating the space, the man finally noticed a pile of half-dead game. “So, this cave is your base of operations? Not bad, not bad at all. You’ve caught quite a bit!”
Jiang Yue rose to inspect her haul. A pheasant and a rabbit were already dead. She deftly plucked and skinned the pheasant, propping it over the fire to roast, before drawing her dagger to skin the rabbit with practiced ease.
The man watched her in silence. Her movements were clean and efficient—hardly those of an ordinary farm girl.
Without looking up, Jiang Yue asked, “Have you seen enough?”
The man narrowed his eyes. “Enough. You’re young, but your hands are quick. Is your family a household of hunters?”
Jiang Yue shot him a look of pure apathy. “Why on earth should I tell you?”
“Sharp-tongued, aren’t we? I only ask about your situation so I might repay your life-saving grace. What is your name?”
Repay my foot, Jiang Yue thought. She sharpened a branch, skewered the rabbit, and set it over the flames. “You eat this rabbit. If that’s not enough, there are steamed buns here.” She pointed to a cloth bag in the corner containing a few leftovers.
Once they had finished eating, they sat at opposite ends of the cave to rest.
The night passed in silence. As a streak of white light appeared on the horizon, Jiang Yue began packing her things. She kept only a bamboo tube, two squirrels, and a few buns before preparing to depart.
“Once you’re feeling better, get out of here,” she warned. “Don’t linger too long. These mountains are full of wild beasts. It would be a shame if you survived your enemies only to end up as a predator’s dinner!”
The man blinked in mild surprise. “You’re leaving?”
Jiang Yue glanced back at him. Sunlight filtered into the cave, catching his features and making him appear almost radiant. With a faint, enigmatic smile playing on his lips and a face designed to lead hearts astray, he was a dangerous sight.
Devil, Jiang Yue cursed inwardly. “What, did you expect me to stay and serve you?”
“What if I don’t recover?” he asked.
“Life and death are up to fate,” she replied flatly. “If you don’t make it, what can I do? Rest easy, though—if you die, I’ll dig a hole and bury you. I won’t let you rot and stink up my cave.”
The man let out a long sigh. “I suppose that’s fair. We are but strangers meeting by chance; you’ve already done more than enough.”
Jiang Yue had no patience for his pity party. She thoroughly camouflaged the cave entrance and began the trek down the mountain, dragging her haul behind her. She had things to do and no time to waste.
The man watched her work in silence, eventually closing his eyes to rest. Encountering this girl wasn’t just “fate”—it was a clear sign that his time wasn’t up yet.
The load of pheasants, rabbits, and a roe deer wasn’t particularly heavy. On her way down, Jiang Yue detoured to the site of last night’s skirmish. The bodies of the ten or so men in black showed no signs of being scavenged by beasts yet. She dragged them one by one into a nearby overgrown ravine, leaving them to return to nature.
She used her feet to scuff dirt over the bloodstains, ensuring a casual passerby wouldn’t notice anything amiss. She gathered the dozen or so discarded blades and hid them away, planning to move them to her cave stash later.
Finally, she descended the mountain, making a deliberate point to pass through the village entrance. Only after making sure enough villagers had seen her did she head home.
“Big Sister!”
“Sister’s back!”
The moment she stepped through the gate, her siblings swarmed her.
Seeing the roe deer on the ground, Jiang Xue’s worries finally evaporated. “Sister, you’re amazing! In just a few days, you’ve brought home a bear, a wild boar, and now a deer.”
Jiang Lei’s eyes crinkled into crescents as he smiled. “Sister, look! We’ve almost finished building the pigsty.”
Jiang Ming began untying the birds and rabbits from the sled. “How should we handle these? Are we selling them? That big boar from yesterday fetched twenty-five taels…”
“We sell them,” Jiang Yue decided. After a moment’s thought, she added, “Keep two pheasants. Take the other two and the three rabbits to the Luo family. Borrow their ox cart while you’re at it. If the Luos refuse to take the meat as a gift, tell them we’ll give them the proceeds after they’re sold.”
Jiang Ming nodded and headed off with the game. Since Luo Douzi had stepped up to help yesterday, Jiang Ming felt too embarrassed to keep a grudge. He told himself it was time to let the past go, and since neither boy brought up their old feud, they remained on peaceful terms.
Mrs. Cai wasn’t home; she had gone to Granny Han’s to help feed the pigs. Inside the house, Jiang Youshan heard his daughter return and wished he had wings to fly out and see her. Instead, he had to lie in bed and wait for her to come to him.
When Jiang Yue entered, she found her father’s eyes full of worry and affection. “Yue’er, did everything go well? You aren’t hurt, are you?”
Jiang Yue nodded. “Don’t you worry, Dad. I have the protection of my master, Lord Lao-jun. Nothing will happen to me.” Sometimes you have to fight magic with magic, she thought, borrowing the name of a deity once again to ease his mind.
“Dad, let me give you a massage.” She helped him roll over and began expertly working on the muscles around his spine, silently calculating exactly when she could let his “miraculous recovery” happen without arousing suspicion.
Jiang Youshan lay on his stomach, letting out a heavy sigh. “Your father is useless. I’ve dragged you children into such hardship.”
“Dad, we aren’t suffering. We’re having stewed chicken tonight! Besides, you aren’t useless—look, I brought this pheasant in specifically for you to pluck.” She tossed a bird toward him, hoping to give him a task to keep his spirits up.
She knew the main household must be seething with regret after seeing their recent hauls. They would likely try to backtrack on the separation agreement tomorrow. But with the contract signed and her standing in their way, their regrets would mean nothing.
Jiang Lei scurried over to his father’s side. “I’ll help you, Dad! Let’s pluck it together.”
When Mrs. Cai returned, Jiang Yue handed her the remaining pheasant. They would keep one for themselves and give the other to Granny Han tomorrow when they went to pick up their piglets. Granny Han had helped the family many times—she was essentially the village’s “human loudspeaker.”
Just wait, Jiang Yue thought. She would make it known to everyone: those who were kind to her family would be rewarded, and those who weren’t… would get exactly what they deserved.