“Uh, hello.” Gao Yang looked at Xing Zhaozhao, hesitated for a moment, and thanked her, “Thank you for saving my nephew earlier.”
Xing Zhaozhao froze for a second when she saw Gao Yang.
She actually saw a resemblance to her own Hongfei in his face.
Gao Yang waited a while but didn’t get a response from Xing Zhaozhao. Puzzled, he tentatively called out again, “Hello?”
Only then did Xing Zhaozhao snap out of it. She gave him a slight nod and said, “Hello, no need to be polite. It was just a small effort.”
After speaking, she looked down at the teenage boy, probably in his early teens, who was still clinging to her leg and crying uncontrollably. She asked, “Is he your nephew? How old is he?”
Gao Yang looked at Gao Lianzhou, whose eyes were red and puffy from crying, making him look like a little rabbit, and felt his own face burn with embarrassment.
How shameful. He’s not a little kid anymore, yet he’s clinging to someone’s leg and crying. It feels like if Zhaohong Group is handed over to him in the future, it’s doomed.
Gao Yang stiffly forced a smile and said, “He’s my nephew, 14 years old, already in middle school.”
As he spoke, he firmly pulled Gao Lianzhou off Xing Zhaozhao’s leg and scolded him irritably, “You’re not a little kid anymore, still crying. Aren’t you embarrassed in front of this young lady?”
Gao Lianzhou wiped his nose and snorted defiantly, “What do you mean not a little kid? I’m only 14, still a minor, still a child, okay? What’s wrong with crying? Crying is a normal emotional release. That big wild boar’s huge mouth was about to bite my butt. If it were you, I don’t believe you wouldn’t be scared enough to cry.”
Gao Yang: “…”
Quite the sharp tongue.
“I wouldn’t be scared enough to cry,” Gao Yang denied.
“Mm-hmm, you weren’t scared enough to cry, you just got so scared your legs went weak,” Gao Lianzhou nodded, a sly smile flashing across his face as he looked at Gao Yang. “I saw it earlier.”
“Is it kidney deficiency? Should we ask Grandma to find you a reliable traditional Chinese medicine doctor? While you’re not married yet, you should start toning up, otherwise…” Gao Lianzhou glanced at Gao Yang’s lower body and left the sentence hanging.
Gao Yang: “…”
Xing Zhaozhao: “…”
Gao Yang’s face turned livid as he gave Gao Lianzhou a chestnut flick to the forehead: “Looking for a beating again, are you? So much nonsense.”
Gao Lianzhou covered his head and let out an “ow,” protesting, “When you can’t win an argument, you resort to violence. That’s all you’re capable of.”
Gao Yang: “…”
If he ever brings him out again, he’s a dog.
Once the fear passed, Gao Lianzhou quickly became lively again. His eyes sparkling as he looked at Xing Zhaozhao, he said gratefully, “Thank you, fairy sister. If it weren’t for you today, I definitely wouldn’t have made it.”
“…No need to be polite, it was just a small effort,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
“How did you do it? Such a huge wild boar, and you took it down with just one punch,” Gao Lianzhou marveled, looking at the wild boar lying like a small mountain nearby.
“It’s nothing, just born with good strength,” Xing Zhaozhao said dismissively.
“My aunt’s Fanxing was also born with great strength. I really envy you guys. I wish I had that much strength too,” Gao Lianzhou said, looking at Xing Zhaozhao with eager eyes.
Xing Zhaozhao: “…”
This was something she really couldn’t help with.
“Sorry, my nephew tends to ramble a lot,” Gao Yang apologized to Xing Zhaozhao.
Gao Lianzhou was displeased and glared directly at Gao Yang.
Gao Yang completely ignored him.
Xing Zhaozhao didn’t mind and said with a smile, “It’s fine, he just likes to chatter, quite similar to my youngest son.”
“Youngest son?” Gao Lianzhou quickly exchanged a surprised look with Gao Yang and asked, “Fairy sister, you already have children?”
Xing Zhaozhao nodded, holding up three fingers: “I have three children—two sons and one daughter.”
“How old are you to already have three children?” Gao Lianzhou asked in astonishment.
“I’m 28,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
Gao Lianzhou: “…”
He had thought she was around the same age as his uncle, just in her early twenties.
But still, having three children by 28 was quite a lot.
Suddenly struck by a thought, Gao Lianzhou’s heart stirred, and he asked, “Fairy sister, how old is your youngest son this year?”
“Five years old,” Xing Zhaozhao replied.
Gao Lianzhou: “…”
He was crushed.
He was 14, and she compared him to a five-year-old…
Gao Lianzhou’s face fell involuntarily.
Seeing his nephew so dejected, Gao Yang felt much better inside.
He turned to Xing Zhaozhao, quickly looked her up and down, his eyes flickering, and asked, “May I ask your surname, miss?”
“My surname is Xing,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
“The Xing with the ear radical? What a coincidence, my great-grandmother’s surname was also Xing.” Gao Lianzhou’s emotions came and went quickly, and he soon leaned in again with a smile.
“That is indeed a coincidence,” Xing Zhaozhao replied casually, not paying it much mind.
“May I ask where Miss Xing lives? You saved our Lianzhou’s life, which is a great favor to our Gao family. I’d like to visit you sometime to properly thank you,” Gao Yang said.
“Home?” Xing Zhaozhao thought of that strange door, her expression shifting slightly, and quickly shook her head. “No need. I live in the mountains, and the roads are rough. It’s better not to go. As for saving him, it was just a small gesture. You don’t need to be so polite.”
So she really lived in the mountains?
Seeing Xing Zhaozhao’s attire, Gao Yang had already guessed as much.
After all, she had saved Lianzhou, and the Gao family wasn’t short of money. If possible, he still wanted to help improve her living conditions.
“How can that be? No matter what, you saved our Lianzhou. We must express our gratitude…” Gao Yang said.
Before he could finish, Xing Zhaozhao suddenly pointed at the several-hundred-pound wild boar nearby and said, “If you really want to thank me, how about giving me this wild boar instead?”
“Wild boar?” Gao Yang was taken aback and glanced at the boar. “That’s not out of the question, but this wild boar was hunted by you in the first place. It belongs to you…”
Hearing Gao Yang’s agreement and not waiting for him to finish, Xing Zhaozhao cheerfully dashed toward the wild boar: “Great, thank you!”
With such a large wild boar to take back, not only would she have food for herself, but she could also discreetly sell the extra at the black market in exchange for quite a few things.
Gao Lianzhou was not pleased: “A pig? Is my life only worth a pig? No, I don’t agree. Fairy sister, tell me your bank account number, and I’ll transfer money to you. Or just show me your QR code to scan.”
QR code? What kind of horse is a QR code?
“What horse? I’ve never raised one. I don’t have it,” Xing Zhaozhao said.
Gao Lianzhou: “…”
Gao Yang: “…”
“I just want this boar,” Xing Zhaozhao continued.
Seeing her determination to keep the boar, Gao Yang didn’t press further. Since she had emerged from the mountains once, she would likely do so again. He could always lend a hand next time they met. For now, he focused on helping her with the immediate challenge.
“This boar looks like it weighs several hundred pounds. It might be difficult for you to carry it back alone. How about I find you a cart…” Gao Yang suggested.
Before he could finish, he watched in astonishment as Xing Zhaozhao hugged the boar’s head and hoisted the entire wild boar onto her shoulder.
Gao Yang: “…”
Gao Lianzhou: “…”
“I’m heading back now. We’ll meet again if fate allows,” Xing Zhaozhao said, even managing to free one hand to wave at them before swiftly disappearing into the distance.
Gao Yang and his nephew Gao Lianzhou stared dumbfounded as Xing Zhaozhao and the wild boar vanished into the forest ahead.
The others who had come with Gao Yang arrived, carrying the eight piglets they had managed to capture, just in time to see a massive wild boar scurrying into the woods.
“Wasn’t that boar dead? How can it still run?”
“Where’s the girl who killed the boar? Why is she gone too?”
Gao Yang and Gao Lianzhou simultaneously pointed in the direction where Xing Zhaozhao had disappeared: “She ran off carrying the boar…”
“Carrying…”
The others were also stunned. After a moment, someone exclaimed in admiration: “Incredible.”
Then they began to discuss.
“Who would have thought such a delicate-looking girl would be so strong?”
“She’s not a young girl anymore. She’s 28 and a mother of three.”
“…Damn.”
“Judging by her attire, she might be from the mountains?”
“She said she is.”
“These days, people still live in these mountains?”
“Who knows? There are always some stubborn old folks who refuse to move.”
“Wait, that direction doesn’t lead down the mountain. Shouldn’t she go the opposite way to enter the mountains? Why did she run that way?”
The scene fell silent for a moment.
A sharp glint flashed in Gao Yang’s narrowed eyes, and he immediately took the lead, chasing after the direction Xing Zhaozhao had gone.
The others followed closely.
Gao Lianzhou trailed at the back, still looking confused: “What’s going on?”
Gao Yang and the group followed the trail of blood dripping from the wild boar until they reached the reservoir, where the trail completely vanished.
Staring at the vast expanse of water before them, everyone shuddered.
“I heard that when this reservoir was built, it submerged an entire village. Could it be from that time…” someone couldn’t help but speculate.
Gao Yang glared at him and immediately refuted, “What are you thinking? Impossible. This used to be my family’s hometown. When the reservoir was built, the area was completely cleared. There were no accidents. Besides, the reservoir was built twenty years ago, and her attire was from at least fifty years ago. The timelines don’t match at all.”
“Then how did she suddenly disappear?” someone asked.
Gao Yang was silent for a moment. “…Maybe we lost her on another path.”
At this point, Gao Lianzhou, who had been lagging behind, finally caught on: “Wait, you guys don’t think that fairy sister is a ghost, do you? What’s wrong with you? I hugged her leg—it was solid and warm. What era are you living in, still believing in such feudal superstitions? I’m ashamed of you.”
The others: “…”
Being looked down upon by a child was humiliating.
Just then, Gao Yang’s phone rang.
He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was a call from the old man at home.
“Hello?”
“Where have you been fooling around again? I’ve called you several times without an answer?” The authoritative voice of the old man came through the phone.
Gao Yang checked and indeed saw several missed calls, likely overlooked during the chase earlier.
“I’m in the mountains, the signal is poor,” he explained.
The old man didn’t press further. “Your grandmother’s memorial day is approaching. The old master will return for a short stay soon. Make sure everything is properly arranged.”
“Understood,” Gao Yang replied.
“That’s all,” the old man said before hanging up abruptly.
Gao Yang put away his phone, his enthusiasm for hunting now gone. He led his men back. On the way, they passed by Xing Zhaozhao’s collapsed stone house. He glanced at it but paid little attention, continuing on without pause…