Six years ago, her first encounter with Fu Shiwen had also been on this mountain.
That day, the sky had been overcast and gloomy, dark clouds pressing down like they might topple the city walls. The weather had been bitterly cold too, with snow threatening to fall at any moment.
Jiang Zhu hadn’t wanted to go out that day. It was too cold, and she preferred staying home, warming herself by the charcoal fire while reading.
But then she’d suddenly noticed that one of her hens had run off, disappearing to who knows where.
That hen was an important member of the household—it laid an egg for Jiang Zhu every single day, providing her with nourishment.
Since it had gone missing, Jiang Zhu naturally couldn’t just let it be. She put on warm clothes and furs, dressed herself properly, and set out on her journey to find the hen.
She had lived on this mountain for years and knew it better than anything. Every corner of the mountain bore the imprint of her footsteps.
Occasionally, the hen would run off before, and Jiang Zhu would always bring it back—half an hour at the fastest, or a little over an hour at the slowest.
But today, she’d been searching for two hours and still hadn’t found it!
Breathing slightly heavily, she sat down on a large rock, thinking she’d rest for a while before continuing her search.
After taking a sip of hot water and steadying her breath, she set off once again on her hen-hunting journey.
A few minutes later, she didn’t find the hen—instead, she spotted a man collapsed on the mountain!
When she first saw him, Jiang Zhu was startled. She stood frozen in place for a moment before cautiously stepping forward and crouching down beside the man.
Trembling, she extended a finger toward the man’s nose to check if he was still breathing.
A faint wisp of breath brushed against her finger, and Jiang Zhu let out a sigh of relief—at least he was still alive.
But then, Jiang Zhu began to agonize over whether she should save this man. If she did, should she take him down the mountain or bring him to her home?
Moreover, she had no idea whether this person was good or bad, or what had caused him to collapse here in the first place.
She examined the man’s clothes carefully—they were well-made, and he had a backpack slung over his shoulder. He looked like he’d come hiking.
Climbing a mountain in weather like this—he really was something, Jiang Zhu thought to herself.
Just as she was wrestling with her dilemma, the man suddenly reached out and grabbed her ankle, letting out a faint cry for help: “Save me…” His voice was weak and listless.
If Jiang Zhu hadn’t been so close, she wouldn’t have heard it at all.
Jiang Zhu remained torn. She couldn’t bear to watch someone die, but she also didn’t want to carry him down the mountain.
Did that mean she had to bring him home?
But snow was expected in the next few days. Soon, the mountain would be sealed off by heavy snowfall—no way up, no way down.
“Save me… save me…” The man’s will to live was strong, and he repeated those two words over and over until he’d exhausted his last bit of strength.
In the end, Jiang Zhu couldn’t harden her heart enough to leave him there. She abandoned her hen search, checked the man’s body over, and dragged him back to her home.
When she got back, she discovered that the hen had returned at some point on its own and was quietly perched in the coop.
Jiang Zhu breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that it had come back by itself—otherwise, that would have been a great loss for her.
After hauling the man into the house, Jiang Zhu had also used up the last of her strength. She sat down in a chair first, gasping for air, drinking water and resting.
After about ten minutes, she’d recovered enough strength to get up and check on the man’s condition again.
The man had fallen unconscious once more. There were several small wounds on his face and hands, his left leg was fractured, and his body was suffering from hypothermia—his condition looked far from optimistic.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhu could handle all of this. She had plenty of medicinal herbs at home, so treating this man was no problem at all.
Jiang Zhu helped the man onto the bed, first tending to his minor wounds before preparing the herbal remedies for his fracture.
She also needed to find a few wooden boards to bind around his leg for stabilization, which would aid in his recovery.
Jiang Zhu bustled about here and there, gathering all the necessary supplies before treating the man’s fracture.
By the time she had cleaned him up and dressed his wounds, night had fallen.
Jiang Zhu sat by the bedside, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and looked up at the man’s face. His expression was no longer so pained, and his tightly furrowed brows had relaxed.
Only then did Jiang Zhu have the mind to take a closer look at the man’s face. She had to admit, he was rather handsome.
Even with several patches of medicinal paste on his face, it couldn’t diminish his good looks.
Jiang Zhu didn’t linger on the sight, having no particular interest in it. She got up to clean herself up as well, then hurried to prepare dinner.
There was no telling how long this man would sleep—he wouldn’t be waking up anytime soon—so Jiang Zhu only made enough for herself.
Her dinner was simple: rice with pickled vegetables, no meat. That was enough to fill her stomach.
Up in the mountains, meat was a luxury. The last time Jiang Zhu had gone down the mountain, she’d bought some and cured it into preserved meat, only eating a little when the craving became unbearable.
As she ate her dinner, she calculated the grain she had at home. If the two of them were to eat from it, they wouldn’t make it through the winter.
This man had a broken leg and couldn’t walk. Even after he woke up, he shouldn’t be moved and would need to rest quietly. He’d have to stay up in the mountains for the rest of the winter.
So, she would need to go down the mountain tomorrow to buy more grain. But she didn’t have much money left and couldn’t buy much.
Would she have to sell another batch of medicinal herbs?
Jiang Zhu sighed inwardly, finished the last bite of her meal, and got up to wash the dishes.
Night had fully fallen. There was no electricity in the mountains, only oil lamps, and those had to be used sparingly.
Jiang Zhu gave herself a quick wipe-down with hot water, then moved a chair to the bedside to keep watch over the sleeping man.
She needed to observe his condition and check whether he might develop a fever in the middle of the night.
Having been exhausted all day, Jiang Zhu dozed off after sitting in the chair for a while. She always fell asleep quickly and slept soundly.
In the middle of the night, worried about the man’s condition, she woke up in a daze and felt his forehead, comparing the temperature to her own. No fever. Reassured, she drifted back to sleep.
She slept all the way until dawn.
The first thing she did upon waking was feel his forehead again. After confirming there was no fever, she let out another sigh of relief.
The man still hadn’t woken up. Jiang Zhu got up to cook breakfast and drank a bowl of warm porridge, feeling comfortable all over.
She needed to go down the mountain today to buy supplies, so she didn’t waste any time. She left a note and some porridge for the man, then headed down the mountain with her medicinal herbs on her back.
Going down was easier than going up—it only took a little over an hour to reach the foot of the mountain.
Jiang Zhu first sold the herbs, then went to her good friend Li Shan’s house to borrow his donkey, and finally led the donkey to buy grain.
By the time she finished all this, it was already noon. She ate a cornbread bun she’d brought from home and led the donkey back up the mountain.
The climb was strenuous, but thankfully the little donkey helped carry the goods, making it much easier for her.
Back home, Jiang Zhu unloaded the supplies, fed the little donkey a bit, and then carried everything inside.
As soon as she walked in, she saw that the man on the bed had already woken up. He was sitting up in bed, and the porridge by the bedside had been drunk.
“You’re… awake?” Jiang Zhu set down her things and walked over as she asked.
Fu Shiwen watched her approach, his gaze sweeping over her. He gave a low “Mm” in response, then asked in a hoarse voice, “You saved me?”