The path leading up the mountain was very rugged. After walking only a short distance, the group was already panting heavily. Song Wenqing frowned slightly when he saw Zhao Lin and the others directly dropping their bundles onto the ground to sit and rest. Possessing a bit of a cleanliness fixation, he gritted his teeth and continued to press forward alone.
Only after putting a considerable distance between himself and the men below did he spot a small resting pavilion nearby. Setting down the heavy burden from his back, he took out a square handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The weather was intensely hot, and his mouth felt parched. He opened his bundle, fished out his water flask, and took a large, fierce gulp before finally feeling a sense of relief.
Once he had cooled down, he noticed the large coat tucked inside the bundle, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart. Unbeknownst to him, the moment the men below noticed he had gone ahead, they began to gossip in low voices, making the atmosphere quite lively.
“Brother Lin, do you get the feeling that Brother Wen is a bit different from how he used to be?”
Zhao Lin had just taken a gulp of water and casually wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. Hearing the young ger beside him ask this so cautiously, he let out a laugh and said, “What of it? Brother Wen is married now. It is perfectly normal to have a few changes.”
The ger scratched his head, looking puzzled. “No, I do not mean his clothing or anything like that. It is just that he feels different, though I cannot pinpoint exactly what it is.”
Another man chimed in, “You are talking about his aura, right?”
“Yes, yes, yes, that is it, his aura.” The ger slapped his own forehead forcefully. “Before this, even though Brother Wen did not like to speak much either, every time you saw him, he seemed timid and subservient. He was never natural when spending time with us, constantly terrified of saying the wrong thing. But today, it feels like Brother Wen is highly confident and not afraid of us at all. The way he carries himself is completely different from before.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Lin found it strange as well. However, it did not take long for him to dismiss his doubts. He clapped his hand on the ger’s shoulder and said, “Stop letting your mind wander. What does it matter if his aura changed or not? Is he not still the same person?”
Zhao Lin was someone whose opinion held weight among them. Hearing him speak this way, the others stopped their chatter. The rough men stood up, brushed the dust off their clothes, and continued their ascent.
“Brother Wen, it truly was a pity that you were not around these past few days. I do not know what has come over the mountain lately, but rabbits are everywhere, and wild pheasants are abundant too.”
Catching up to Song Wenqing, the ger spoke with a tone of deep regret.
Hearing his voice, Song Wenqing looked over at the ger. He recognized this ger; his name was Lu Hui.
After a brief thought, Song Wenqing spoke truthfully, “I fell ill recently, so I was resting at home.”
Hearing this, the men nodded in understanding. Zhao Lin pondered his words before opening his mouth to speak, “Is your body doing better now?”
Logically speaking, since Song Wenqing was already married to Pei Jinrong, such matters were none of Zhao Lin’s business. Yet, Zhao Lin could not control his desire to care for Song Wenqing.
He wondered if Song Wenqing had been living well these past few days. Being forced to marry a youth whose legs were crippled, he must feel immense grief in his heart. Zhao Lin suddenly regretted why he had not gone to propose to the Song family back then. If only there were a second chance, even if Brother Wen could not bear children, he would never give up on him.
Unfortunately, there were no ifs in life. Even if Brother Wen were to divorce Pei Jinrong now, his own family would absolutely never agree to the match.
Song Wenqing caught the complicated emotions swirling in the man’s eyes and dazed slightly. He could tell that this man must have liked the original owner of this body.
He spoke up in a seemingly casual manner, “My husband treats me exceedingly well. During these past few days when I was sick, he stayed by my side the entire time and did not leave by even a single step. Brother Lin does not need to worry.” After speaking, he directed a faint smile toward Zhao Lin.
He now hoped that Zhao Lin could understand his underlying meaning and abandon these thoughts as soon as possible.
Hearing those words, the light in Zhao Lin’s eyes dimmed. Seeing that he had understood, Song Wenqing let out a sigh of relief and continued walking forward.
Lu Hui and the remaining men exchanged glances. They were well aware of Zhao Lin’s feelings, but none of them had favored the match before, leading Zhao Lin to steel his heart and hide his affection. They had not expected that once Song Wenqing actually married, they would instead feel that their brother’s sacrifices were entirely unvalued.
Seeing Zhao Lin looking completely lost, Lu Hui felt somewhat worried and muttered in a low voice, “How is Brother Wen even worthy of Brother Lin liking him that much?”
Zhao Lin remained silent for a long pause before saying, “He is just very good.”
Seeing that Song Wenqing had already walked far ahead, Lu Hui spoke out resentfully, “In any case, he is married to that cripple now, so you have no chance anymore, Brother Lin. You ought to find someone else you like soon.”
Zhao Lin cast his eyes downward, showing no visible emotion on his face.
Looking toward the distant figure of Song Wenqing, he dazed slightly. What if Pei Jinrong did not treat Song Wenqing well?
After delivering his piece, Song Wenqing left the men behind and headed up the mountain on his own. Walking and stopping periodically for two hours, he finally reached the mountain summit.
When hunters went out to hunt, they usually built a crude wooden cabin on the summit for temporary use. First, it provided a place to rest at night; second, wild boars roamed the mountains during the summer, and without a place to hide, one could lose their life at any moment.
After settling his bundle, Song Wenqing took his water flask to a fresh spring deep within the summit to draw water. The water was remarkably clear; a single gulp felt ice-cold and refreshing, and upon careful taste, it carried a hint of sweetness.
Having filled the flask, he was in no hurry to head back. Noticing a bamboo grove surrounding the spring, he decided to wander inside. It was now early June, and because it had rained just this morning, the bamboo fungus had sprouted up. If this were at the foot of the mountain, they would have been picked and brought home by villagers long ago, but on the summit, no matter how much people wanted to eat them, no one wished to waste two hours of hiking to come up here.
Thus, Song Wenqing claimed this easy benefit.
As for the bamboo fungus that had not fully sprouted yet, he did not greedily harvest them to bring home. Instead, he left them in their original spots, planning to check on them in a few days when he headed down the mountain. Before long, he emerged from the grove using his clothing to cradle a large pile of them.
Utilizing the flowing spring water, he washed away the black, slimy sections on the bamboo fungus. Estimating that he would likely stay on the mountain for several days, he knew there was no rush to harvest everything, so he carried the current batch back with him.
He intended to take these bamboo fungus back to dry in the sun so they could be used as medicine. The medical clinics of this era did not yet utilize this particular ingredient, but bamboo fungus was highly effective for moistening the lungs, relieving coughs, clearing heat, and draining dampness. The seasons would change in a few months, and the children in the village with weak constitutions would easily catch colds.
However, they were certainly meant for eating as well. He planned to search for some fresh ones when it was time to descend the mountain, and upon returning home, he would make stir-fried bamboo fungus caps. When the time came, he would first add sliced pork belly, garlic, and millet peppers to the pot to stir-fry until fragrant, toss in the bamboo fungus caps to stir-fry for two to three minutes, pour in a small amount of clear water, mix it evenly with salt, and then dish it out. It was delicious; back when his grandmother used to make it, he could easily down three bowls of rice.
Unfortunately, soy sauce had not become widely available yet, and only wealthy families could barely afford to add a little.
Song Wenqing felt as though he had not walked for very long, yet to his surprise, the sky was already nearing evening by the time he returned to the lodging. Fortunately, today was not without its rewards. He took the bamboo fungus cradled in his clothes, placed them into a basket, and set them outside to air-dry.
The cabin constructed by Zhao Lin and his group was right next door. Seeing him return with a bundle of items, they gathered around, and upon seeing that it was bamboo fungus, their mouths watered with craving.
He did not hide anything from them either, stating openly that they were located in the bamboo grove near the water well. Hearing this, the men wanted to go look for them too, but Song Wenqing mentioned that he had already taken all the sprouted ones. Consequently, they abandoned the idea for now, intending to search again in a few days.
Since they had just arrived on the mountain today, the matter of hunting could not be rushed. Lighting a fire at night risked attracting wild boars with the light, so the men turned in to sleep early.
At night, as Song Wenqing lay on the bed, he felt very unaccustomed to being all alone. It felt as though something was missing without Pei Jinrong around. However, his capacity to adapt was very strong; it had always been this way from the past until now, and it would remain so in the future.
After lying with his eyes open for roughly half an hour, he finally felt drowsiness wash over him and sank into a deep sleep.
The purpose of their trip up the mountain was to hunt, but while this was the domain the original owner excelled in, he himself could at most design a rudimentary trap. Therefore, the next morning, Song Wenqing joined Zhao Lin and the others to cut bamboo strips with their knives before taking his bamboo basket down a side path alone.
Lu Hui found Song Wenqing to be very strange. Watching him walk far away, he pointed at the trap designed for snaring rabbits and said, “Brother Lin, can getting married actually cause someone to lose their hunting skills completely?”
If he had not been afraid of making Zhao Lin angry, he would have directly called it a worthless trap that was better left unmade.
Zhao Lin paused slightly upon hearing this. Given that clumsy craftsmanship, if he had not been certain that this person was indeed Song Wenqing, he would never have guessed it was his work judging by the trap alone.
Yet previously, Song Wenqing’s skills had been the absolute best among their group of hunters. Every time he spoke regarding hunting, his eyes would light up with joy, and he cherished his tools as if he could not bear to part with them.
Just now, however, Song Wenqing had merely given them a faint glance before slinging his bamboo basket onto his back and walking away, showing absolutely no desire to linger.
It was as if he was no longer himself.
“How about we stop calling Brother Wen along for hunts in the future? His skills are nowhere near as good as before,” Lu Hui said with a twitch of his lips.
Zhao Lin did not offer a rebuttal. For them as hunters, there were many competitors and very little game, and he had many brothers behind him who needed to eat. Before this, they had already harbored some reservations because Song Wenqing was a ger. If he continued to perform this way, their complaints would only grow louder.
Slinging his bamboo basket on his back to pick bayberries, Song Wenqing was completely unaware of their thoughts. Even if he had known, he would not have cared much, feeling at most that the original owner was unappreciated.
He had spotted several wild bayberry trees on his way here yesterday. Taking advantage of the early hour, he planned to harvest some first and place them into his basket.
After walking for roughly half an hour, he indeed located the bayberry trees. The trees were heavily laden with bayberries, each one a deep, reddish-black color that looked incredibly delightful.
Before long, he had filled a whole basket to the brim.
Song Wenqing estimated that these bayberries were enough to steep three large jars of wine. Now that the sun was up and shining so brightly that he could barely keep his eyes open, it was better to head back first.
When he arrived back at the summit, Zhao Lin and the others had not returned yet. He paid it no mind, taking his changed clothes down to the riverbank to wash them.
In these parts, people used soapberries for washing. The fleshy rind of the soapberry contains saponin, which generates foam when rubbed with water.
By the time he finished washing and headed back, Zhao Lin and his group had already returned. The men were laughing cheerfully, indicating that they had secured a great harvest today.
“I never imagined we would actually catch that wild boar today. It must be worth at least five taels of silver.”
“Tonight, let us slaughter those rabbits and roast them to eat as a celebration.”
“If Brother Wen saw this, his regrets would probably turn his intestines green.”
“Who told him to stubbornly insist on going his own way? He was already living poorly when he hunted on his own before, and now that he has been married off to Pei Jinrong, his future days will certainly be even more miserable.”
Lu Hui noticed Song Wenqing standing right behind them and hurriedly nudged the young ger beside him, who was currently speaking with vivid gestures, using his elbow.
Zhao Lin was the first to react, and his body instantly stiffened. Song Wenqing merely gave them a polite smile before heading inside the cabin with his clothes.
Even after he went inside, the young ger stubbornly muttered in a low voice, “Even if he heard it, the facts still stand plain right there.”
After hanging his clothes out to dry, Song Wenqing let out a soft sigh. Lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, he thought to himself that it had only been two days, yet he had already begun to miss Pei Jinrong.