24
The little cubs were very sensitive. Though they didn’t quite understand what was different about He Tian today, they still scrambled to rub against her, one after another.
Dami was the most agile. In a few quick moves, she climbed onto He Tian’s shoulder, nestled into the crook of her neck, and let out a soft, milky meow.
Dahuang followed close behind. He couldn’t climb onto He Tian, but he could stand on his hind legs, plant his front paws on her thigh, and let out a series of awoos while wagging his tail vigorously.
As for Dahei and Xiaohui, they could only run in circles around He Tian’s feet, grunting and squeaking—it was unclear what exactly they were trying to express.
Rong Yan, who had been looking somewhat somber, paused at the sight. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to laugh or continue worrying.
“Meow~” Dami meowed as she rubbed her furry little head against He Tian’s neck, her (acting cute) skills maxed out.
He Tian, ticklish from the rubbing, laughed. “Hey, stop that. It’s too ticklish.”
Dami obediently stopped rubbing, but her soft, whiny meows didn’t cease. She just curled up on He Tian’s shoulder, meowing at her.
Little kittens were already adorable, but when they deliberately acted cute and spoiled, they could truly melt anyone’s heart.
He Tian pinched a wild grape she was washing, flicked off the water, and was about to feed it to Dami when she suddenly remembered that little kittens probably shouldn’t eat wild grapes. She noticed Dahuang staring at her with round, eager eyes, his tail wagging like crazy—his expression practically screaming, “I want to eat!”
He Tian laughed. “You’re a cat too. You can’t have any either.”
Dahuang: “Awoo—” He wasn’t a cat.
He Tian tossed the wild grape to Xiaohui, who was scurrying around her feet, and to Dahei and his companions.
The cubs were overjoyed, grunting with pleasure as they ate.
Seeing Dahuang still watching longingly, clearly wanting to try some but restraining himself from snatching it from Xiaohui and the others, He Tian specially cut a piece of meat for him and fed a little piece of egg pancake to Dami.
The cubs ate happily as He Tian busied herself, occasionally tossing them treats. The scene was so harmonious that Rong Yan watched in admiration.
But still—surely she wasn’t really planning to burn down He Erlang’s house?
Rong Yan was still mulling over this, but He Tian seemed completely unconcerned. This left him feeling conflicted, unsure whether he should continue the subject or drop it, after all, he was just a rescued stranger, not close to her. Saying too much might make him unwelcome.
As He Tian changed the water to continue washing, she happened to notice Rong Yan staring at her intently.
She fed Xiaohui, Dahei, and his companions in turn, then looked up to find Rong Yan still staring.
Hmm?
She hesitated for a moment, then pinched a clean wild grape. “Hey, catch.”
She called out to him.
Rong Yan snapped back to attention just as a small black object came flying toward him. He instinctively raised his hand and caught it.
It was cool and still wet.
It looked like some kind of grape. He examined it carefully and confirmed he had never eaten one before.
“Go on, eat it,” He Tian said, popping one into her own mouth. “It’s delicious.”
Rong Yan put it in his mouth. The wild grape was fully ripe; the skin broke at the lightest touch of his teeth. It was tart and sweet, juicy and moist—truly delicious.
He Tian washed and ate as she went, occasionally tossing a few to Xiaohui and Dahei, who were circling her feet begging for wild grapes.
—Since she was washing the grapes, it wasn’t convenient to keep cutting meat and tearing pancakes, so for the time being, the two carnivorous cubs, Dahuang and Dami, were somewhat neglected.
As she continued feeding them, He Tian would occasionally toss a wild grape to Rong Yan as well.
After eating one wild grape after another and seeing that He Tian truly wasn’t worried about He Erlang and his family, Rong Yan swallowed his words. Judging by her demeanor, there probably wouldn’t be any problems. And if something did happen, he was now in a position to help clean up afterward. With that in mind, he stopped worrying.
But as he ate, Rong Yan suddenly noticed something.
He held the freshly caught wild grape in his hand without eating it, staring at He Tian.
He Tian had finished washing the wild grapes and was scooping them into a basin. As she scooped, she tossed one to Xiaohui, one to Dahei, then one to each of the other piglets.
And then, she tossed one to him as well.
He caught it, pressed his lips together slightly, and continued observing.
He Tian tossed another round: to Xiaohui, to Dahei, to the piglets, and to him.
Rong Yan: “…”
So, it wasn’t his imagination—she saw him as the same as those little cubs?
He looked down at the shiny black wild grape in his hand, a rather amused look in his eyes.
Just as he was contemplating this, the corner of his eye caught another wild grape flying toward him. He raised his hand and caught it precisely.
He Tian smiled. “Good aim. You’ve trained before, haven’t you?”
“Before” as well?
Rong Yan’s brow twitched slightly. He didn’t hide it and nodded lightly. Then he picked up a branch and wrote on the ground: “Traveling with the family merchant caravan, I needed skills to protect myself.”
He Tian understood. No matter the time, being strong oneself was very important.
Seeing him just holding the wild grape in his hand without eating it, He Tian chewed and swallowed the sweet wild grape in her mouth. “Why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”
Such a delicious thing—someone actually didn’t like it? What a waste.
She was about to step forward and take the wild grape from his hand if he didn’t like it, fine, but don’t waste it.
But just as she reached out, Rong Yan shoved the whole thing into his mouth.
He Tian: “?”
Rong Yan chewed and shook his head, then wrote on the ground: “I like it.”
He Tian looked at him for a moment, thought about it, then grabbed a big handful from the basin. After another moment’s thought, she took a bowl and filled it for him—maybe he liked eating them in large batches because it was more satisfying, since she certainly did.
Looking at the bowl filled to the brim in his hands, the corners of Rong Yan’s mouth lifted slightly.
She thought he was saving them up to eat all at once?
He Tian had already started a fire to cook the jam.
For fruits with high water content, there was no need to add extra water when cooking jam. Wild grapes, being such fruits, were drained as much as possible and then poured directly into the pot.
Heat control was important for cooking any food, but it was especially crucial for cooking jam—it required slow simmering over low heat.
The wild grapes this time were fully ripe. Not long after being heated in the pot, some of the fruits were already bursting their skins and releasing juice as she stirred. He Tian watched the heat while stirring the jam in the pot—she couldn’t let it burn.
As she busied herself, she suddenly looked at Rong Yan. “Do you know how to tend a fire?”
She was too busy trying to handle both ends.
Rong Yan: “…”
He paused for a moment, then shook his head very seriously.
He truly didn’t know.
He Tian was shocked. Someone didn’t know how to tend a fire?
Even she, who had crossed over from the apocalypse, knew how to do it. This era had neither electricity nor gas—everything depended on firewood. How could he not know?
Even though he didn’t know, He Tian didn’t let him off the hook. “I’ll teach you. Watch carefully. Like this. When the fire in the pot gets low, add a couple of small sticks of firewood. The fire needs to be small—not too big. It’s not hard. Just sit in front of the stove and don’t let the fire go out.”
After demonstrating, she quickly got up and continued stirring the jam in the pot.
Rong Yan hesitated for a moment but still nodded.
It wasn’t right to eat and drink at someone’s home for free, and tending a fire didn’t seem too difficult. He should be able to learn it.
With He Tian’s help in her spare moments, Rong Yan managed to get himself in front of the stove.
He looked hesitantly at the fire in the stove, looked hesitantly at He Tian who was stirring nonstop and had no free time, hesitantly picked up a small stick of firewood, and hesitantly shoved it into the stove.
Watching the small stick catch fire, Rong Yan—who hadn’t even been nervous in the face of death—finally relaxed his tense nerves a little.
At least he hadn’t put the fire out on his first try.
From then on, he stared intently at the stove, adding a small stick whenever the fire was about to go out, not daring to let his gaze wander for even a moment.
The heat control was excellent.
Having cooked for several days now, He Tian reached this conclusion before long.
She even complimented Rong Yan: “You’re really good at tending the fire. It really doesn’t look like your first time.”
Better than her own fire control.
Rong Yan, who had been nervously staring at the fire in the stove, looked up at her when he heard this. He wanted to write a response but was afraid of messing up the fire, so he simply didn’t write. Besides, she had her head down, stirring the jam, and wasn’t really expecting an answer anyway.
Wild grapes have seeds—quite a few of them, though they’re small. As the cooking progressed and all the skins burst open, the seeds were exposed. He Tian used her spatula to pick them out little by little.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too troublesome. By the time she finished removing the seeds, the jam was ready.
She scooped some out with the spatula, dabbed a little on her finger, and tasted it.
Tart and sweet, rich in flavor—absolutely delicious!
She couldn’t help but taste a little more.
After one spatula-full, she told Rong Yan he could stop tending the fire.
As she scooped the jam into a clean jar, He Tian thought to herself that besides using this jam as a topping for grass jelly, she could also spread it on steamed buns. That would definitely taste good.
She could even make jam-filled steamed buns. Those would certainly be delicious.
Her mind full of delicious things, the corners of He Tian’s mouth stayed turned up as she scooped the jam, and her brows and eyes were filled with smiles.
Finally able to relax, Rong Yan looked up and saw He Tian’s delight.
He understood immediately—the jam must be very good.
The grass jelly had also finished cooling and setting by now. It was a vibrant, rich green, with plenty of springiness. When she tapped the basin, the green jelly jiggled—bouncy and elastic.
He Tian had been a little worried at first because grass jelly was best made with tapioca starch or corn starch, but she had neither at home and couldn’t easily obtain them. So, she had used rice water instead. Yao Yao had said rice water could work, though it sometimes failed. She had been afraid her first attempt would fail, after all, she had been looking forward to it all day, and if it failed, she might not get to eat it today.
Fortunately, looking at the grass jelly, which seemed even more bouncy and smooth than she had hoped, He Tian was very satisfied.
She used a knife to cut the jelly in the basin into small pieces, scooped out two bowls with a spoon, and then added a spoonful of the freshly cooked wild grape jam on top of each.
She didn’t give Rong Yan his immediately. Instead, she took a bite of hers first.
The jam was tart, sweet, and rich. The grass jelly was bouncy, smooth, and tender. The combination made He Tian’s eyes squint with pleasure.
So delicious, she thought. This world is truly wonderful. There are so many delicious things. Grass jelly is amazing. I’ve never had such a wonderful dessert. I want to eat this every day.
After eating half a bowl in one go, He Tian finally remembered that she hadn’t given Rong Yan his portion yet.
She handed him his bowl. “Try it. It’s super delicious!”
Hearing her tone and seeing how she had been eating so engrossed and happily—Rong Yan couldn’t help but feel a bit intrigued.
Of course, he had also been somewhat curious about this food he had never seen or eaten before. Now that she said this, he was actually looking forward to tasting it properly.
—After all, that grass was just rabbit feed. He really hadn’t thought it could possibly taste that good.
After one taste, Rong Yan’s expression changed.
It really was delicious.
He glanced at He Tian, but she had already finished her first bowl and was starting on her second, not paying him any attention at all.
She really was very different from any woman he had ever met.
He had seen country women before, but never one like her.
Rong Yan’s curiosity about her grew even stronger.
He Tian didn’t care what he thought. After finishing her second bowl, she went for a third…
Rong Yan had no choice but to look away and continue savoring the deliciousness in his bowl.
Seeing the two of them eating so happily, Dahuang tugged at He Tian’s pants leg, letting out little awoos. He wanted to try it too.
He Tian ignored him. Weren’t big cats supposed to eat meat? No grass jelly for him.
Seeing that acting cute with He Tian wasn’t working, Dahuang turned to Rong Yan instead. He was much bolder with Rong Yan, leaping directly into his lap and acting cute there, stretching his neck to try to reach the bowl in Rong Yan’s hand.
Rong Yan: “?”
He immediately lifted the bowl higher, frowning at Dahuang, who showed no fear of him whatsoever.
Seeing that his sneak attack had failed, Dahuang rolled his head against Rong Yan’s chest and let out a little whine, still acting cute.
Rong Yan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. After sleeping next to him for a few nights, this little tiger had become completely unrestrained with him. He had never seen him dare to act this way with He Tian. At such a young age, he already knew how to treat different people differently—truly remarkable.
He pushed Dahuang’s head away and gestured to him that tigers couldn’t eat grass jelly.
Seeing that he was eating by himself and had no intention of giving him any, Dahuang got angry. He jumped out of Rong Yan’s lap with a swish and let out a few dissatisfied awoos at him.
Only then did He Tian notice what was happening. In the midst of her busy eating, she glanced over. “Dahuang, don’t cause trouble.”
Dahuang had no choice but to stop bothering Rong Yan. He ran over to He Tian instead and rubbed against her.
He Tian gave him a piece of meat.
Dahuang: “…”
He took the meat in his mouth, lay down at He Tian’s feet, and started eating.
He Tian ate six bowls in one go, while Rong Yan only had one. When they both finally stopped, Rong Yan picked up a branch and asked He Tian, “What is this food called?”
He Tian glanced at the ground. “Grass Jelly.”
Grass Jelly?
He had never heard of it, but it fit the naming style of folk foods.
Something about grass or divine grass.
He Tian savored the taste for a moment, then served herself another bowl—fortunately, she had made a large batch; this big basin would last her a whole day.
“Do you want more?” she asked Rong Yan.
Rong Yan hesitated.
He Tian understood. She took the empty bowl from his hand and filled it again. As she poured the jam on top, she asked him, “Do you like it sweeter, or milder?”
Rong Yan wrote: “Sweet.”
He Tian added two extra spoonfuls of jam for him.
She liked it sweeter too. Desserts should be sweet to be delicious!
If it weren’t sweet enough, how could it be called a dessert?
After happily eating two more big bowls, He Tian finally put down her bowl.
She went to the east room to check. Liu Erniang was still asleep. She tiptoed back out without waking her.
The sky had turned completely overcast, dark and heavy. Though it was only noon, it looked like night was approaching.
Too many things had happened today, and it was about to rain. She couldn’t go to the county town anymore, and she couldn’t leave the wolves she had hunted just sitting there. So, she brought the wolves that had been hanging in the yard—intended to be sold in the county town—into the kitchen. She skinned them and turned the meat into jerky for storage.
Wolf meat wasn’t worth much anyway. The main value was in the pelts. The price of a skinned pelt was about the same as selling a whole wolf, and she got to keep the meat.
She decided to just do it. She sharpened her bone-cleaver on the whetstone and started skinning.
Even though her original era was the age of firearms, she was also exceptionally skilled with cold weapons. Rong Yan watched in astonishment.
Such knife skills—without decades of practice, how could anyone reach this level?
He practiced swordsmanship himself, so he understood better than most how difficult it was, how much effort and dedication it took to reach this point.
He knew that some hunters and butchers, having worked at their trades for years, could become effortlessly skilled as a matter of course.
But He Tian clearly didn’t belong to that category.
He could tell—she was simply that good with a blade.
Rong Yan concluded that she was also a martial artist, and a very accomplished one at that.
At the very least, her physical skills and knife work were even better than those of the most elite shadow guards by his side.
Logically speaking, someone like her shouldn’t be short of money. But from what he had observed and learned over the past two days, she was very short of money.
Was she deliberately hiding her identity, or was there some reason she couldn’t reveal herself?
What reason could a master martial artist have for hiding in such a remote mountain village?
Rong Yan couldn’t guess. He wasn’t trying to pry into her privacy—it was just a sudden curiosity. After all, he himself was living under an assumed name. Why couldn’t others do the same?
As he was thinking, He Tian had already skinned one complete wolf pelt.
Next came the meat.
It needed to be properly processed so it could be stored for a long time.
With the weather turning, she couldn’t sun-dry it. But she could roast it, or salt-cure it—there were plenty of storage methods.
As she worked, she fed tender meat to Dahuang, who lay at her feet, making satisfied purring sounds as he ate.
After processing two wolves, sounds came from inside—Liu Erniang was awake.
He Tian washed her hands and went in to check. Seeing that Liu Erniang’s emotions had stabilized, she asked her what she wanted for lunch.
“You went up the mountain again?” Liu Erniang asked, her heart aching as she smelled the blood on her daughter.
He Tian said, “No. The weather’s turned. It’s going to rain, so I can’t go into town. I just skinned those wolves and processed some of the meat. In a few days, I’ll go directly to town to sell the pelts.”
Only then did Liu Erniang feel reassured. “Anything is fine to eat.”
He Tian added, “I made some grass jelly. Let me get you a bowl to tide you over. I’ll have the meal ready soon.”
“Grass jelly?” Liu Erniang smiled. “Did you come up with that name yourself?”
It was something she had seen in Yao Yao’s journal, but that was hard to explain. So, He Tian nodded and said, “Yes.”
She’d just pretend she came up with it.
Liu Erniang assumed her daughter had chosen the name “grass jelly” for its auspicious meaning.
When her daughter brought over the bowl of grass jelly topped with jam, Liu Erniang’s smile faded, replaced by an expression of surprise.
“This…”
It was a vibrant, glossy green. Just looking at it, it seemed very valuable.
“This is the grass jelly I made,” He Tian said, smiling as she pushed the bowl closer. “Mother, try it quickly.”
Liu Erniang was amazed. She took a spoonful.
“Delicious!” she exclaimed. “Really delicious. It’s so bouncy and smooth. And the jam is wonderful too. My daughter is so talented.”
“There’s more if you finish it,” He Tian said with a smile. “I’ll go make the meal now. Take your time eating.”
Though she had eaten quite a bit of grass jelly, it was still a dessert, not a proper meal. She still needed to eat real food.
Checking the ingredients at home, He Tian quickly decided.
For lunch—noodles with bean sauce.
First, she mixed and kneaded the dough.
Then she prepared the toppings.
She would make two toppings.
One was scrambled eggs with scallions. The other was stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots.
Both were very simple and easy dishes. First, she washed the wild scallions and bamboo shoots. She chopped the scallions into small pieces and diced the bamboo shoots, setting them aside for later.
For the meat, she used the tenderest wolf meat. After washing it, she minced it finely. As for the eggs, she had bought some last time—there weren’t many left, just five, which would be just enough for one plate.
Once the ingredients were prepped, the dough she had just kneaded had finished resting. It was time to roll out the noodles.
This was her first time rolling out noodles. Even though she remembered every step of the process from Yao Yao’s journal perfectly, actually doing it turned out to be very difficult.
In the end, she used a crude method—she rolled it out bit by bit.
If she couldn’t wrap the dough around the rolling pin and roll it out all at once like a master chef, she would just use the most basic method.
After all, it was just for her own family to eat. No one would know. It didn’t matter.
Rong Yan watched quietly from the side. Seeing this usually quick and efficient person suddenly hesitate and even frown, he was a little surprised.
She hadn’t even frowned when He Erlang and Mrs. Li came looking for trouble, had she?
What was wrong now?
Was the dough unusable?
Then he watched her suddenly cut the dough into several pieces, roll each one out into a thin sheet with the rolling pin, and then cut the sheets into thin noodles with a knife.
Rong Yan: “…”
Though he had never cooked, he had seen others do it. Noodles shouldn’t be made this way.
After watching a while longer, Rong Yan reached a conclusion that made the corners of his mouth lift despite himself: He Tian didn’t know how to roll out noodles.
So, there were things she couldn’t do.
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Rong Yan himself paused.
He had only known her for two days. When had he decided that He Tian could do everything?
He was never one to jump to conclusions so easily.
Rong Yan’s brow furrowed slightly as he looked at He Tian with a deepening gaze. Ever since encountering her, too many things had happened to him that had never happened before.
Was it because his environment had changed, causing him to forget the grudges of his past life, and the bloody battles in the court a month ago?
Rong Yan fell into deep thought.
He Tian finally finished rolling out the noodles, little by little. Aside from taking some extra time, the results weren’t bad.
The thickness was just right and the width was even—perfect for noodles with bean sauce.
Next, she cooked the noodles in the large pot while stir-frying on the clay stove—two things at once.
“Xiao Gu!” He Tian had initially meant to call out “Gu Bing,” but changed her mind at the last moment. She thought “Xiao Gu” sounded better. “Come help tend the fire.”
She needed to watch both pots and couldn’t manage everything alone.
Rong Yan, who had been deeply reflecting on whether he had grown too comfortable and complacent these past few days, didn’t register who “Xiao Gu” was and didn’t even look up.
He Tian: “Hey? Gu Bing!”
Rong Yan didn’t register that “Gu Bing” was himself either.
He Tian had to walk over and nudge him with her foot. “Fell asleep?”
Only then did Rong Yan snap back to attention. He blinked and looked at her questioningly.
He Tian said, “I called you to help tend the fire. Why aren’t you moving?”
Rong Yan didn’t explain why he had been distracted. He just nodded and moved over to the stove to help.
Seeing that he wasn’t unwilling, He Tian didn’t ask further. She just said, “Is it okay if I call you Xiao Gu from now on?”
Although Gu Bing sounded nice, it felt too formal to say all the time. She didn’t like it.
Only then did Rong Yan realize that she had called him several times just now. He nodded in response.
He Tian smiled. “You can call me Tiantian. Sweet as in sweetness.”
He knew her name was “He Tian,” but he had never known which “Tian” it was. Now he did.
Rong Yan nodded again.
He Tian remembered something. “Is your throat injured, or have you never been able to speak?”
Rong Yan lit the fire and used a nearby branch to write: “Injured.”
He Tian nodded. That was really unfortunate.
But an injury meant there was a chance it could heal. Seeing how well he tended the fire, if she earned enough money in the future, she would find a doctor to look at him.
She kept this thought to herself. She would tell him when she actually had the money to take him to a doctor—no need to raise his hopes falsely.
She beat the eggs, added a pinch of salt, and heated the pan before adding oil. With a hot pan and cold oil, she poured in the egg mixture. This way, nothing stuck to the pan. Instead of using a spatula, she simply stirred the eggs with the chopsticks she had used to beat them. As soon as the eggs set, they naturally broke into irregular pieces. No additional seasoning was needed. Eggs from free-range farm chickens were already fragrant and delicious. They turned out golden yellow and looked wonderful. She cooked them until they were tender, sprinkled on the scallions, and took them off the heat.
Next was the stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots.
After the oil was hot, she first stir-fried the minced meat over high heat. It sizzled and popped as the fat rendered out. Then she added the diced bamboo shoots, stir-frying until they were just cooked. She added salt and other seasonings, and it was ready to come out of the pot.
In addition to this, He Tian also prepared garlic sauce.
She crushed the garlic cloves into a paste using a garlic press, adding only water and salt—it was already delicious enough.
Once the water in the large pot came to a boil, she added the noodles.
“Turn up the fire,” He Tian instructed Rong Yan as she forked the noodles.
High heat made for good noodles.
After the water came to a boil twice, the noodles were done.
She first went to ask Liu Erniang if she wanted garlic. If not, she wouldn’t add any. Liu Erniang said she wanted a little, so He Tian added half a spoonful of garlic sauce to her bowl, mixed it well, then topped it with the scrambled eggs with scallions and the stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots.
Then she served herself.
She added three full spoonfuls of garlic sauce to her own bowl, then added the toppings.
When it came time to serve Rong Yan, she asked his preference as well.
Rong Yan had initially wanted to say no garlic, but seeing that the two bowls before him both had it, he nodded. He Tian added one spoonful for him.
It was called “noodles with bean sauce,” but it was more like noodles with minced meat sauce.
As far as He Tian was concerned, noodles with bean sauce, noodles with minced meat sauce, or cold noodles—they were all pretty much the same.
As for whether they tasted different, He Tian didn’t know, because she had never eaten any of them before.
But today’s noodles were delicious!
Even the simple scrambled eggs with scallions were incredibly tasty. The bamboo shoots were tender and fresh, the noodles were chewy and rich, and mixed with the garlic sauce, the flavor was elevated to another level. Once she took a bite, she couldn’t stop.
Not only He Tian, but even Liu Erniang ate two bowls today.
Rong Yan ate less—only one bowl—because he wasn’t hungry yet, having already eaten two bowls of grass jelly.
He Tian polished off the remaining half basin of noodles. By now, Rong Yan was already familiar with her appetite and no longer surprised, though he did worry that her small frame might burst from overeating.
But he soon realized his concern was completely unnecessary.
After eating, she didn’t rest at all. She immediately got back to work, washing the pots and bowls, continuing to skin the wolves, and processing the wolf meat. Her energy seemed inexhaustible.
There were quite a few wolves to process. Some of the meat needed to be air-dried, some needed to be salt-cured, and some He Tian planned to roast. She didn’t have a moment’s rest all afternoon.
Outside, the wind howled fiercely. The air pressure was dropping, and the scent of an approaching storm grew stronger.
He Tian moved more firewood into the kitchen and stacked it up, so it wouldn’t get wet and leave them without fuel.
After that, she needed to move Xiaohui and Dahei’s food supplies inside. She ran back and forth, busy nonstop. Dahuang and the others followed behind her, going in and out, just as busy.
Dami was the most trouble-free of all. Her four little paws firmly gripped He Tian’s clothes as she sat steadily on her shoulder like a supervisor, making Rong Yan want to laugh.
Just past mid-afternoon, the sky was already pitch black. The wind rattled the tree branches noisily. The dark canopy of the sky was brewing a great storm.
In such weather, neither working nor going out was suitable. Every household prepared dinner early, planning to retreat to their rooms to rest.
Suddenly, He Tian lifted her head and sniffed the air. After a moment’s thought, she put down her work and turned back to the kitchen.
The fire for illumination had already been lit. He Tian found an old broken iron pot from inside and sat down in front of the fire. Using her bone-cleaver, she carefully cut a ring of iron along the pot’s edge.
Even though he already knew He Tian was no ordinary person, Rong Yan was still a bit taken aback.
Even for someone extraordinary, cutting through iron with an ordinary bone-cleaver was no simple task.
Strength, technique, and skill—all were indispensable.
After watching for a while, Rong Yan concluded that even he couldn’t do it.
As if she hadn’t noticed Rong Yan’s gaze, He Tian kept her head down, slowly cutting the iron.
Not knowing what she was doing, Rong Yan didn’t ask.
After quite some time, Rong Yan suddenly looked up and glanced outside.
Someone was coming.
Though the wind was strong and the person was being very cautious, he could still tell from the footsteps that it was a familiar person.
The woman who had come to cause trouble during the day.
He hesitated, wondering whether to warn He Tian, when he heard her, still cutting the iron pot, suddenly let out a soft “Ha.”
Rong Yan: “?”
He Tian had already cut two rings of iron. She straightened the pieces out as she muttered to herself.
When Heaven sends disaster, there’s still a chance to survive.
But when one brings disaster upon oneself, there is no escape.
Rong Yan raised an eyebrow. She had noticed too?
Not only He Tian, but even Dahuang, who had been lazily lounging by He Tian’s feet enjoying the fire, suddenly got up. His clear, round eyes stared warily outside, and he let out an awoo.
He Tian patted his head. “It’s okay. Don’t be nervous. Go back to sleep.”
How could Dahuang not be nervous? He even wanted to charge outside and bite someone, but He Tian stopped him.
“Stay down,” she said.
Dahuang looked at her in confusion, unwilling to obey. He Tian glanced at him. “Lie down.”
Dahuang let out a pitiful awoo but lay back down. Only this time, he didn’t close his eyes. Instead, he stared alertly outside.
He wasn’t wagging his tail either—he looked ready to attack at any moment.
Even Dami opened her eyes, which had been closed. Her eyes were wide and round, and all her fur stood on end.
Rong Yan thought for a moment, then picked up a branch and wrote on the ground: “I vaguely hear footsteps. It sounds like someone is coming.”
He Tian had already straightened out the iron pieces. Hearing this, she glanced down.
“Yes,” she nodded. “Someone is coming. Didn’t I tell you this morning? Someone wants to burn our house down.”
Rong Yan paused for a moment, then continued writing: “What are you going to do?”
Now that the person had arrived, taking action quickly was the right thing to do.
She hadn’t been in a hurry during the day because the person hadn’t come yet. Arson was hard to deal with unless caught in the act. But now the person was here—was she still not going to act?
He Tian glanced at the words, then took the two straightened iron pieces and connected their ends, twisting them together to form a longer iron strip.
“Don’t worry. I have a plan,” she said as she twisted the iron.
Rong Yan hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t ask further.
He had reminded her and asked twice. She hadn’t answered, which meant she didn’t want to say. Pressing further would make him seem meddlesome.
Besides, judging by her expression, she seemed confident.
Once the iron strip was twisted, He Tian tugged on it to make sure it was secure. Then she grabbed Dami, who was curled up on her shoulder, and handed her directly to Rong Yan. “Watch Dami. Don’t let her run around. I’m going out for a bit.”
Rong Yan grabbed Dami, who was trying to escape, and held her against his chest. He nodded.
Dahuang shot up to follow, but He Tian gently nudged him with her foot. “You stay home. You’re not going anywhere.”
Then she gestured to Rong Yan. “Keep an eye on him too. Don’t let him run around.”
She would go alone, move quickly, and no one would notice her. But Dahuang was too conspicuous and too easily recognized. He would give them away.
Rong Yan grabbed Dahuang by the scruff of his neck and pulled him into his lap, holding him down. He nodded.
He Tian stepped out of the kitchen and deliberately shouted loudly in the yard so that anyone outside could hear: “Mother, the wind is too strong! I’m going outside to find some big, cool stones to weigh down the shed. I’ll be right back!”
Mrs. Li, hearing the voice, quickly hid.
He Tian pretended not to notice anything. After closing the gate, she braced against the wind and headed toward the back mountain.
The path to the back mountain was in the opposite direction from He Erlang’s house. The sky was already pitch black. After walking only a short distance, she turned onto a small trail and circled around behind to reach He Erlang’s house.
While Mrs. Li was outside doing her dirty work, He Erlang and He Jin couldn’t sit still at home. The father and son kept muttering about whether they should go check, worried about what might go wrong.
Then they drifted into fantasies about how satisfying it would be when the people and the house were all burned to nothing.
Insults against He Tian and Liu Erniang kept drifting into He Tian’s ears.
There was nothing more to say. He Tian touched the long iron strip hidden in her sleeve and pulled the corner of her mouth into a cold, icy curve.
Mrs. Li wouldn’t act immediately. She would wait until everyone was asleep before setting the fire. Of course, if it rained early, she would have to act sooner. Otherwise, if she lit the fire and then it rained, the rain would put it out, and all her effort would be for nothing.
She needed to wait for the right moment.
And He Tian was also waiting for the right moment.
The air pressure was dropping lower and lower. A low rumble came from the horizon. He Tian, who had been waiting for her moment, suddenly brightened. She leaped directly onto the roof of He Erlang’s house and quickly secured the long iron strip to the rooftop. She also smeared a lump of fat she had brought onto the straw at the base.
After doing this, she quickly jumped down from the roof.
The entire process took no longer than a single breath.
He Tian was confident that no one had seen her.
Even if someone happened to be staring at the roof of He Erlang’s house at that moment, they would only see a vague shadow flashing by. They would think it was the shadow of a tree or a branch blowing in the wind—not a person.
After jumping down, she moved some distance away and waited quietly in an open area.
A massive lightning bolt suddenly tore across the sky, illuminating Crescent Village in an instant as if it were daylight.
A few seconds later, a deafening crash followed.
Thunder had struck.
The wind grew even more ferocious.
Mrs. Li’s heart jolted. No, it’s about to rain. I can’t wait for that little wretch He Tian to come back so I can burn her with the house. I have to act now!
She emerged from her hiding spot and took out her fire starter. Just as she was about to blow it alight and toss it onto the thatched roof of He Da’s house—
Another giant lightning bolt streaked across the entire sky, illuminating Crescent Village and lighting up Mrs. Li’s face.
Her hand trembled. She instinctively looked up at the sky, after all, she was doing something bad, and her conscience was pricking at her.
The moment she turned her head, she froze completely.
Lightning—that lightning that had crossed the sky—had struck someone’s roof!
A thunderclap crashed, jolting Mrs. Li back to her senses.
Then another bolt of lightning struck down, this one like a silver serpent, aiming once again for the same roof it had just hit.
Immediately after came the flames.
The house was on fire.
Mrs. Li was about to laugh, thinking with schadenfreude: Whose house is so unlucky as to get struck by lightning? They must have committed quite a few sins, haven’t they?
She was just about to continue with her arson when something suddenly occurred to her. She looked up again at the roof that had been struck by lightning, and her face changed dramatically.
Th-that roof that was struck and caught fire—it was her roof!
She immediately turned and ran toward home, completely forgetting about setting the fire.
“Father! Father! Come quick! He Erlang’s house got struck by lightning!”
A sharp child’s voice suddenly rang out in the howling wind, exploding in the ears of the panic-stricken Mrs. Li.
Hearing the shouts, villagers came out of their homes one after another to look.
What they saw was shocking—He Erlang’s house was ablaze…
From time to time, silver serpents of lightning rolled down.
He Tian was carrying a large stone, swaying as she walked back from the back mountain toward home. When she passed villagers who had come out to see what was happening, she asked in a very good mood, “What are you looking at?”
The person peeking out was a young man in his twenties. Seeing He Tian, he first let out a hey, then said with a smile, “Haven’t you heard? Your second uncle’s house got struck by lightning.”
He Tian looked completely bewildered and shook her head. “I went to the back mountain to find stones to weigh down the firewood shed. I didn’t hear anything.”
The young man looked around and clicked his tongue. “I was going to go watch the excitement, but being struck by lightning is divine punishment. Who knows if it might affect others nearby?”
He Tian nodded in agreement. “That’s true.”
Indeed, it wasn’t safe to go near He Erlang’s house right now.
She didn’t need to say it—no one was going near He Erlang’s house at a time like this. No matter how much Mrs. Li wailed and cried out for help, no one went near.
Are you kidding? That was divine punishment by lightning. Who would dare go near?
Mrs. Li herself didn’t dare enter the yard. She just stood outside and shouted, “Lightning struck our house! Get out! Get out now!”
Inside, He Erlang and He Jin were still fantasizing about the satisfaction of He Tian and Liu Erniang burning to death. Hearing a vague commotion, they wondered, “What’s that noise?”
He Jin: “It sounds like Mother’s voice.”
He Erlang ordered him, “Go outside and check.”
He Jin was immediately unhappy. “Why don’t you go?”
He Erlang: “I have a broken leg!”
He Jin: “I have a broken leg too!”
In the end, He Erlang used a temporary wooden stick as a crutch. The moment he came outside, he heard Mrs. Li shouting for them to get out quickly—the house had been struck by lightning.
He Erlang shouted back inside once, then hobbled quickly out with his crutch.
As he walked, he looked up and saw the roof on fire. Just then, another bolt of lightning struck directly down. He immediately threw away his crutch and fled as fast as he could.
“You came out by yourself? What about our son? Where’s our son!” Mrs. Li grabbed him and screamed.
He Erlang, having barely escaped with his life, was now in excruciating pain from his broken leg. Being hit and scratched by Mrs. Li only made him furious. He slapped her across the face. “Why didn’t you go in and help our son?”
Mrs. Li, knowing she was in the wrong, didn’t dare talk back—she had been afraid. What if she ran over there and got struck by lightning herself?
He Jin didn’t have He Erlang’s courage, but he still hobbled out of the house, leaning on his crutch.
The fire had already engulfed the entire roof.
Mrs. Li ran around shouting for people to come help put out the fire.
But who was willing to step forward at a time like this?
If Mrs. Li was afraid of being struck by lightning, weren’t they?
Back at home, He Tian glanced toward He Erlang’s house.
The fire was raging. She was very satisfied.
Even if a downpour came soon, it would be enough.
She closed the gate and casually tossed the large stone she was carrying into the yard.
Rong Yan, who had no idea what she had gone to do, had been on edge the whole time—if He Tian made a mistake, or if Mrs. Li acted while she was gone, he would have to get Liu Erniang and all the cubs out safely.
It wasn’t until he heard the shout cutting through the night—that He Erlang’s house had been struck by lightning that he relaxed a little.
But… struck by lightning?
Although houses were struck by lightning every year, Rong Yan didn’t think for a moment that He Erlang’s house being struck was a coincidence.
Could He Tian control lightning?
Rong Yan’s expression suddenly grew solemn.
Even when He Tian came into the kitchen and started playing with Dahuang and Dami, laughing heartily, Rong Yan still hadn’t shaken off his solemnity.
Could she control lightning?
Watching her laugh as she played with Dahuang and Dami like a child, he suddenly felt it was surreal.
Based on his understanding of this world, no one could control lightning.
Even the so-called mystics and extraordinary people in the capital or the palace were all frauds. It was all political posturing—no one could truly perform supernatural feats.
“What’s wrong?” Noticing Rong Yan’s gaze, He Tian looked up at him.
Rong Yan stared at her fixedly.
He Tian assumed he wanted to ask if things were taken care of. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t worry. It’s all handled.”
The noise outside grew louder. Rong Yan nodded, his thoughts complicated.
“Awoo~”
Dahuang heard the commotion outside too. He scrambled to his feet, wanting to go out and play.
He Tian thought for a moment, picked up Dami, and said to Dahuang, “Let’s go. Let’s go watch the excitement too.”
The timing was about right.
By the time He Tian arrived with her troop of cubs, He Erlang’s house had already burned down to an empty shell.
Mrs. Li sat collapsed on the ground, looking dazed, her face full of sorrow.
“Oh? Struck by lightning. This is what happens when you do too many bad things—even Heaven can’t stand to watch anymore. Divine retribution,” He Tian said, looking around. Her voice wasn’t loud, but she made sure everyone present could hear her.
The moment her words fell, the villagers, who were already very attentive to the matter, chimed in one after another in agreement.
The familiar rhetoric made Mrs. Li, still immersed in her grief, suddenly think of something. She looked up and met He Tian’s indifferent gaze.
Though He Tian said nothing more and just quietly looked at her, Mrs. Li suddenly shuddered.
With a crash—
The rain that had been brewing for most of the day poured down in torrents.
Without sparing Mrs. Li another glance, He Tian, holding Dami in her arms, turned and headed home with her cubs.
The gathered villagers, having no desire to get soaked, also returned to their homes to take shelter from the rain.
The rain fell harder and harder. He Tian walked like she always did after completing a mission back to base—neither happy nor sad. But the rain was too heavy, and the cubs were too small to get wet. She quickened her pace. Suddenly sensing something, she looked up and saw Rong Yan standing at the gate, holding an oilcloth umbrella.
He Tian blinked.
Was he waiting for her?
For the first time in her life, being waited for stirred a faint emotion within her—one she couldn’t quite name or describe.
**
Little Rong, home alone: Worried [chin in hands]