The air seemed to freeze in that very instant.
Lin Xi remained stiffly in place, her small hand still frozen in the posture of leaning over to pick up the silver dollars, her heart thumping wildly. She looked nervously at the tall figure standing in the doorway, unsure of how he would react.
This unexpected windfall was her greatest hope for leaving the mountains and finding her father. However, it had been discovered in the hunter’s home; logically speaking, it should belong to him. Would he… give it back to her? Or would he…
Lin Xi didn’t dare think further. She had seen too many people turn against each other or even lose their humanity over money. Although the hunter had saved her and been kind to her, who could guarantee he wouldn’t be tempted in the face of such a fortune?
The hunter stood there silently, his towering frame casting a shadow that completely enveloped Lin Xi, making it impossible to read the expression on his face.
Time ticked by, second by second—each one feeling as long as a century.
Finally, he moved.
He took heavy strides, step by step, until he stood directly before Lin Xi.
Lin Xi instinctively took half a step back, shielding Huzi behind her, her small face written over with vigilance.
Seeing her look as if she were facing a great enemy, the hunter remained silent for a moment. Then, he slowly crouched down, bringing his gaze level with hers.
He reached out with his large hands, covered in calluses and scars. He didn’t snatch the silver dollars from the ground; instead, he picked them up one by one, with great care.
Lin Xi’s heart sank to rock bottom.
However, the hunter’s next move left her completely stunned.
He placed the five heavy silver dollars back into the small cloth pouch. Then, he gently placed the entire pouch into Lin Xi’s cold, small hand.
“Keep them safe.”
He looked at Lin Xi and spoke slowly in his usual low, gravelly voice: “This is your luck, and it is your fate. With this, you’ll be able to go a bit further and live a bit better in the future.”
Lin Xi looked at him in disbelief, then back at the heavy pouch in her hand. She stammered, “Un… Uncle, these… these were found in your house… they should… be yours…”
The hunter shook his head. A faint, strained smile—one that looked sadder than crying—appeared on his weathered face.
“They aren’t mine,” he said softly. “In my father’s generation, we were long-term laborers for a wealthy family in the mountains. Later, when the bandits came, the masters fled. My father took me and hid deep in these ancient forests. These silver dollars were likely buried in haste by the masters while they were escaping and forgotten. They’ve been buried here for decades, and today my dog dug them up and put them in your hands. This proves they are meant for you, not for me.”
He paused and raised his hand, intending to pat Lin Xi’s head as he had done days prior, but his hand stopped mid-air. He seemed to feel that his hands were too rough and might hurt her.
He simply watched her, his eyes filled with a complex emotion that Lin Xi couldn’t quite decipher—there was pity sadness, reluctance, and even a trace of… envy.
“Child, you are not like me,” he said softly. “I am destined to rot away in these vast mountains for the rest of my life. But you… you are still young. Your road is long, very long. You don’t belong here.”
Lin Xi’s heart was stirred profoundly.
She looked at the taciturn man before her. He had saved her life and given her a temporary home. And now, without a moment’s hesitation, he had handed her a huge sum of money that could have changed his own life.
This debt of gratitude was heavier than the mountains themselves.
Her eyes grew hot, and tears welled up uncontrollably. In all her two lifetimes combined, she had never received such pure, selfless kindness.
“Uncle…” she choked out, at a loss for words.
“Don’t cry,” the hunter said, sounding a bit flustered. “A real man… er, you’re a girl. Even a girl shouldn’t cry. You have to carve out your own path; tears are useless.”
He stood up and turned away, no longer looking at her. Gazing instead at the rolling mountain ranges in the distance, he said, “Your injuries are mostly healed. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll take you down the mountain. Head east from here, cross two mountains, and you’ll reach Qingshi Town. There’s a market there and a main road leading to the outside world. Once you’re there, you’ll be able to survive.”
Lin Xi knew that the moment of parting had arrived.
The next day, before dawn had even broken, Lin Xi woke up.
The hunter had prepared everything for her. He had taken the small rattan basket she had lost—which he had managed to retrieve—and packed it with roasted jerky and a few wild fruits. He also took the stone knife he had recovered, carefully wrapped it in animal hide, and tucked it into the basket.
He even gave Lin Xi a tiny cloak he had sewn overnight from soft rabbit fur, perfectly sized for her to wear and shield her from the wind and rain.
Lin Xi carefully tucked the five silver dollars against her skin for safekeeping. She hoisted the small rattan basket onto her back, donned the warm cloak, and held Huzi in her arms.
Standing at the doorway of the wooden cabin ready to say goodbye, she found herself not knowing what to say.
A thousand words finally culminated in a single, deep bow.
“Uncle, thank you. Lin Xi will never forget your life-saving kindness as long as I live. When I grow up, I will definitely come back to repay you!”
The hunter simply waved his hand, signaling for her to go. His old yellow dog affectionately rubbed its head against Lin Xi’s leg, letting out a reluctant whimper from its throat.
Lin Xi took one last look at the little cabin that had given her warmth and a new life. Then, she resolutely turned around and set off on her new journey.
However, she did not follow the hunter directly down the mountain.
She requested that the hunter take her to one specific place first.
Under her guidance, they arrived at the secret cave behind the waterfall.
When the hunter laid eyes on the pool of spiritual spring water radiating its crisp, pure aura, the shock on his usually stoic face was impossible to hide.
Lin Xi did not explain the origins of the spiritual spring. She simply used a clean bamboo tube (another gift from the hunter) and filled it to the brim with spirit spring water. Then, she left all the remaining water for the hunter.
“Uncle, this spring water can heal wounds and strengthen the body. Keep it to drink,” she said earnestly. “This is the only thing I have to repay you with.”
This was her greatest secret, yet she was willing to share it with this kind-hearted man.
The hunter looked at the spirit spring, then back at Lin Xi. After a long silence, he nodded and said solemnly, “Alright. I accept.”
After bidding the hunter goodbye, Lin Xi went to see her special “friends” in the mountain forest.
She visited the squirrels’ home and left behind a few nuts she hadn’t been able to bring herself to eat.
She went to the wild boars’ territory. Though she didn’t see “Brother Boar,” she still left behind a mental message: ‘Thank you. I’m leaving now.’
Looking up at the sky, she offered a silent farewell to the birds that had once guided her way.
She told them she was going somewhere very far away to find her father, but that one day, she would come back to see them.
The animals seemed to sense the sorrow of her departure. They didn’t approach as they usually did, but instead watched from a distance, seeing her off in their own way.
The mountain wind swept through, and the pines rustled in waves—it was as if the entire forest was playing a farewell symphony for its tiny queen.
Finally, Lin Xi stood upon the ridge where she could overlook Qingshi Town.
The town below looked like an ink-wash painting in the dawn light. With its blue-tiled roofs, white walls, and curling chimney smoke, it was full of the atmosphere of the mortal world. Down there lay the path to the wider world and the hope of finding her father.
She turned back, taking one last deep look at the vast, boundless forest that had both nurtured and tempered her.
Goodbye, my forest.
Goodbye, my friends.
She turned around, her small face filled with a resolve and determination far beyond her years.
Her journey to find her father and her path to vengeance truly began from this moment.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared to step down the mountain and enter the human world—a place completely unknown to her, filled with both opportunity and danger.
But just then, her peripheral vision caught something. At the entrance of Qingshi Town below, a crowd had gathered around an earthen wall used for posting notices. In the center of the crowd, a fresh, brand-new notice fluttered slightly in the morning breeze.
Because of the distance, she couldn’t make out the words.
However, her vision—strengthened by the spirit spring and far surpassing that of an ordinary person—allowed her to see clearly that at the very top of that notice, there was a drawing of… a little girl!
Though the portrait was a bit crude, those large, stubborn eyes and that thin, angular face…
Lin Xi’s heart skipped a beat.
The girl in that portrait was clearly… herself!