“Chengbei, you’ve also grown up under my watch. I’m speaking from the heart don’t get upset, okay?”
Using her age as an excuse to speak freely, Ning Xi felt a little annoyed.
Jiang Chengbei had indeed been raised by Cao’s mother, but she hadn’t. She was about to retort when the man beside her suddenly spoke.
“What your aunt said isn’t entirely correct. Ning Xi, if you marry me, you’ll live a good life not like your aunt here. When she was young, she picked a useless man. Some days she didn’t even have three proper meals, but the beatings? Those were never missed.”
His tone was calm and measured.
But it immediately left Cao’s mother speechless.
Her husband liked to get physical when drunk, and over the years, she’d endured many beatings.
Cao Xinrou saw her mother mocked by Jiang Chengbei and her eyes reddened with grievance.
“Chengbei, my mom is still a senior!”
Jiang Chengbei’s tone was icy. “She may be your elder, but that has nothing to do with me.”
“But…”
Tears welled in her eyes, and she wanted to say more.
Ning Xi suddenly smiled, her eyes curved in amusement.
“Xinrou, your mom was the one who spoke recklessly first. Why are you crying before even scolding her? If you ask me, you should manage your mom better. Don’t let her run around like a mad dog biting people. Just because she’s lived long doesn’t mean she’s wise. Has she become foolish from getting beaten so much?”
After saying that, she didn’t even glance at the defeated mother-daughter duo and grabbed Jiang Chengbei to leave.
“Brother, let’s go. There’s filth here.”
Not that calling him “brother” was hard her voice was sweeter and softer than Cao Xinrou’s.
That one soft, sweet “brother” lingered in Jiang Chengbei’s heart. His dark eyes darkened further; he felt dizzy and light-headed but Ning Xi only said it once.
After that, it was just “Jiang Chengbei” all the way.
Ning Xi quickly pushed the earlier unpleasantness out of her mind. Her thoughts were all on hunting, hoping to catch a wild chicken for some meat. But wild chickens and rabbits weren’t easy to find.
They didn’t catch any wild chickens, but there was no shortage of wild vegetables.
“This is shepherd’s purse; you can use it for dumplings. This is wild onion autumn is the best season for it. Under the pine tree here are pine mushrooms, and these are chanterelles. Come smell them they have a fruity scent.”
Having grown up in the countryside, Jiang Chengbei wandered through the mountain as if strolling in his own garden.
Ning Xi, having grown up in the city, had never seen these wild vegetables or mushrooms before, especially the chanterelles, which looked like little yellow trumpets. She bent over to sniff them indeed, they smelled faintly fruity.
She looked at Jiang Chengbei with delight.
“They really smell so good! Jiang Chengbei, you know so much!”
The little girl’s eyes sparkled like stars, full of admiration.
Jiang Chengbei couldn’t help but widen his smile. But… why hadn’t she called him “brother”?
An hour later, their bamboo basket was full.
“Let’s go. Time to head back.”
Already? Ning Xi was a little disappointed they hadn’t caught any wild chickens. On the way down, she secretly took some Spirit Spring water from her space and sprinkled it along the roadside grass.
Maybe the water would attract a wild chicken.
No more than a few steps, and she heard rustling nearby.
“Jiang Chengbei! There’s movement over there. Could it be a wild chicken?”
Her eyes lit up; she wanted to run, but Jiang Chengbei grabbed her arm.
His expression was unusually serious. He stared at the grass for a few seconds, then said in a deep voice,
“It’s not a chicken. It’s a wild boar. This place isn’t safe. Let’s go down the mountain quickly.”
Wild boars are extremely dangerous.
Adult wild boars can weigh over a hundred pounds, have sharp tusks, run fast, and are very aggressive.
If he were alone, he wouldn’t be afraid. But Ning Xi was with him he couldn’t let her be in danger.
Ning Xi hadn’t expected a few drops of Spirit Spring water to attract a wild boar instead of a chicken.
It was a wild boar!
She panicked as well, stumbling as Jiang Chengbei led her down the mountain.
Not far behind, she heard Cao Xinrou and her mother screaming like banshees, running as if chased by a wolf with a wild boar right behind them.
The boar had short, sturdy legs and bristly hair as hard as steel.
Its tusks could easily pierce a human neck.
Running was futile. Two legs couldn’t outrun four.
Jiang Chengbei pulled a machete from the bamboo basket and quickly instructed,
“Find somewhere to hide!”
Ning Xi knew he intended to confront the boar alone, tears welling in her eyes.
“Be careful!”
In that moment, Cao Xinrou and her mother ran past, one after the other.
Cao’s mother hid behind Jiang Chengbei, shoving him forward while yelling nonsense,
“You’re a soldier! Protect the civilians!”
Then she ran off.
Ning Xi was furious if it weren’t an emergency, she would have thrown Cao’s mother to the boar.
Knowing she couldn’t distract Jiang Chengbei, she quickly hid in the roadside grass, thinking she could enter her space if things went wrong. Unexpectedly, Cao Xinrou also hid nearby like a ghost.
Outside the grass came the angry roar of the wild boar, charging wildly and sending waves of stench through the air.
Jiang Chengbei dodged a deadly charge and ran toward a sturdy tree.
The boar roared, turning its body to charge the tree.
Its tusks nearly pierced Jiang Chengbei’s chest, but he nimbly dodged. The boar couldn’t stop its momentum, tusks stabbing into the tree trunk. Before it could turn, Jiang Chengbei thrust his machete into its vulnerable spot.
“Pff.”
Warm, thick blood splattered all over Jiang Chengbei.
He didn’t relax, mounting the boar, striking fast and hard, stabbing and pulling the machete repeatedly. After several strikes, the boar stopped struggling.
“It’s over, Xixi, come out.”
He dropped the machete and wiped the blood from his face to avoid scaring Ning Xi.
Hearing his voice, Ning Xi immediately stood, but a sharp pain shot through her ankle likely sprained from running down the mountain earlier. The pain was only now noticeable after the tension eased.
Seeing her frozen, Jiang Chengbei’s brows darkened. He quickly approached.
“Did it scare you?”
“A little… I think I sprained it.”
Ning Xi felt useless.
With tall grass blocking the view, Jiang Chengbei couldn’t see clearly. He looped his arms around her waist and effortlessly lifted her, placing her on a rock to sit.
“Which foot?”
“Left foot.”
As Ning Xi spoke, her gaze lingered on Jiang Chengbei. Before she could ask anything, he calmly explained in a deep voice that he was fine.
“Don’t be scared. That’s pig blood on my face.”
Seeing him squat before her, checking her ankle, Cao Xinrou felt a pang of jealousy rising.
She bit her lip and, still shaken, approached, patting her chest,
“Chengbei, you were amazing just now. No one else in our village could subdue a wild boar alone you’re the first.”
Most men would have felt proud of such praise, but Jiang Chengbei ignored it, focused on her ankle. He gently rotated it, listening to her sharp intakes of breath, frowning as he shook his head.
“It’s a bit serious. You need a professional doctor to check it.”
Ning Xi softly said, “Mm,” and glanced at the dead boar. “What about the boar?”
Jiang Chengbei shook his head. “Nothing else on your mind besides the boar?”