Only after she had finished applying all the medicine did Ding Lan call toward the door, “Benefactor, I’m done. You can come in now.”
As soon as the man entered, he immediately turned around and closed the door.
The wind outside was incredibly strong, making the wooden door creak loudly. Ding Lan could not help worrying whether this little wooden hut could withstand such terrible weather.
The wind blew through the gaps in the walls. The man took a piece of fur from the chest of drawers—she could not tell what animal it had come from—and tossed it to Ding Lan, who was sitting on the edge of the bed and shivering.
Ding Lan caught the fur and thanked him before wrapping herself in it. Once she was covered, the cold wind could no longer reach her.
The man sat on the only stool in the room and took out a dry cloth, carefully wiping his bow and arrows.
The atmosphere was a little awkwardly silent, so Ding Lan tried to make conversation.
“Benefactor, may I ask your name?”
The fingers holding the bow and arrows stiffened for a moment before he answered briefly, “Xue Chuan.”
Ding Lan had been carefully observing him and noticed the subtle movement. Her eyebrows lifted slightly. There might be some hidden reason behind his reaction, but she did not ask any further.
Clearly, Xue Chuan had no interest in making small talk with her. But to distract herself from the pain, Ding Lan began telling him how she had fallen down the slope, rambling on about the strange animals that had chased her—creatures that looked like a cross between wolves and dogs.
After hearing her story, Xue Chuan finally raised his eyes slightly and gave her a brief assessment.
“Those were dholes. You’re lucky to be alive.”
Now that she was out of danger, Ding Lan treated what had just happened as little more than something to talk about.
Listening to the wind and rain outside, she suddenly began worrying about Ding Shouxin, who had gone into the mountains with her.
“I wonder how the villager who came up the mountain with me is doing.”
Xue Chuan remained silent, continuing to wipe his quiver without responding.
Ding Lan did not mind his silence at all. After all, Xue Chuan lived here alone, and there was no one around for miles in these mountains. It was no wonder he had become such a quiet person.
Although the fur covering her kept the cold wind away, the clothes she was wearing were already completely soaked. They clung uncomfortably to her skin, so Ding Lan rubbed her wet hair with her hands.
Xue Chuan glanced up at her.
After a while, he opened the door, went outside, and returned carrying a small iron pot along with some dry firewood that had not yet gotten wet.
The hut was made of wood, so it was not suitable for lighting a fire indoors. Xue Chuan placed the iron pot beside the bed. For now, they could only make do with a small fire there to keep warm.
As soon as the fire was lit, the entire room quickly became warm.
Ding Lan secretly sighed.
What could she even say? This benefactor was simply too considerate! Any woman who married a man like him would be incredibly lucky.
After lighting the fire, Xue Chuan returned to his stool.
Ding Lan moved closer to the iron pot and called out, “Benefactor, your clothes are wet too. Why don’t you come over and warm yourself by the fire?”
Xue Chuan hesitated.
Of course, Ding Lan knew what he was worried about, so she persuaded him, “Besides, we’re already a man and a woman alone together in the same room. Why worry about those other formalities?”
After hearing that, Xue Chuan had no choice but to carry his stool over and sit beside the iron pot.
Although the size of the iron pot limited the fire, it was enough to keep the two of them warm.
Ding Lan had not had the chance to properly examine Xue Chuan’s appearance earlier. Now that he was sitting closer, she secretly began studying his features.
Xue Chuan had exceptionally deep and striking features. His eyes were especially impressive, set beneath deep eye sockets. Even a brief glance from him could feel sharp enough to make people uneasy.
Perhaps because he was a hunter who had lived alone for many years, spending his days hunting in the forest and frequently encountering blood, there was always a trace of ferocity in his eyes. An ordinary person would probably find his appearance rather intimidating, even frightening.
But Ding Lan was not an ordinary person in that regard.
As she stared at Xue Chuan, her mind was filled with one thought after another.
He’s so handsome! Absolutely flawless!
Whether it was his face or his physique, he practically radiated masculinity.
Xue Chuan was definitely the most handsome man Ding Lan had seen since arriving in this era. More importantly, he seemed to have a good character as well. He was practically the perfect candidate for a husband.
She wondered which lucky girl would eventually end up marrying a man like him.
For some reason, Ding Lan felt a little frustrated.
Wait…
Why should such a good man belong to someone else?
Why couldn’t he belong to her?
The more Ding Lan looked at Xue Chuan, the more satisfied she became. She could not help nodding repeatedly to herself.
She secretly swore that she would definitely win this man over!
Xue Chuan had noticed Ding Lan’s gaze long ago, but he had never been fond of talking, so he did not ask about it.
Just as Ding Lan was preparing to get a little closer to him emotionally, the torrential rain outside suddenly stopped.
Summer rain was always unpredictable. Just moments ago, thunder and lightning had been crashing all around them with tremendous force, yet after only a short while, the rain had simply stopped.
Xue Chuan stood up and pushed open the door.
After resting for some time, Ding Lan had recovered part of her strength, so she could only follow Xue Chuan out of the little wooden hut.
The oppressive heat from earlier had completely disappeared. Ding Lan took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air after the rain and felt completely refreshed.
Xue Chuan turned his head and glanced at her.
“I’ll take you out of this part of the forest.”
Ding Lan nodded.
Xue Chuan led the way, taking her toward the old locust tree.
The old locust tree was quite far from the little hut, and after the rain, the ground was covered in mud. Every step was slippery.
Xue Chuan picked up a branch and handed it to her.
“Use this to support yourself.”
After walking for quite some time, they finally reached the old locust tree.
Ding Shouxin was standing there, anxiously pacing around. When he saw Ding Lan’s battered and disheveled figure, he hurried over and asked, “Ding Lan! Where did you go?”
Ding Lan had no choice but to explain everything that had happened.
Ding Shouxin was also badly frightened when he heard her story. He asked about the person who had saved her.
Ding Lan was just about to introduce her benefactor to him when she turned around—
Xue Chuan was already gone.
After Ding Lan finished telling her story, Ding Shouxin began explaining what had happened to him.
It turned out that he had gone farther ahead to search but had found nothing. Just as he was preparing to return, he came across a large patch of the medicinal herbs he had been looking for. That was what had delayed him.
When he returned to the place where he had left Ding Lan, he found only her basket lying on the ground.
He immediately knew something was wrong and feared that something had happened to her in the forest.
He quickly picked up the basket Ding Lan had left behind and hurried toward the old locust tree, calling her name as he went. He could only hope that Ding Lan had somehow already made her way back there.
After waiting for quite some time, the weather suddenly changed.
Ding Shouxin’s heart tightened. He became afraid that Ding Lan might never make it back, so he anxiously circled the old locust tree again and again.
Fortunately, not long after the rain stopped, Ding Lan finally returned, allowing Ding Shouxin to breathe a sigh of relief.
A short while later, the other villagers who had gone off separately to collect medicinal herbs gradually returned to the meeting point.
The sudden downpour had completely disrupted everyone’s plans. Each person had been forced to find somewhere in the forest to shelter from the rain. Only after the rain stopped did they finally emerge.
Although almost everyone had come away empty-handed that day, once they heard about Ding Lan’s frightening escape, the villagers became animated and started talking among themselves, repeatedly marveling at how lucky she was to have survived.
Inevitably, the conversation once again turned to Xue Chuan.
Ding Lan’s thoughts stirred.
Since her benefactor’s surname was Xue, there was a good chance he was from Xue Family Village.
Her gaze shifted toward Ding Shouxin’s brother-in-law, Xue Yongnian.
“Brother Xue, is this Xue Chuan someone from your village?”
Xue Yongnian exchanged a glance with an older man from Xue Family Village before answering.
“That’s right. He is indeed from Xue Family Village.”
After a pause, he added, “But ten years ago, he severed ties with his father. After going into the mountains, he never returned to Xue Family Village.”
Ding Lan was surprised.
Ancient people valued filial piety above almost everything else. Severing ties with one’s own father was an enormous matter.
She carefully asked, “Was there… some special reason?”
The elderly man from Xue Family Village stroked his graying beard and nodded.
“Yongnian doesn’t know the details, but I happen to know a little about it.”
As the old man walked down the mountain, he began telling everyone what had happened ten years ago.
Whenever Xue Chuan was mentioned, the first person who had to be mentioned was his father, Xue Xingye.
The Xue family had been farmers for generations, and their lives had been fairly comfortable.
But by Xue Xingye’s generation, life had become difficult, all because Xue Xingye was lazy and loved to eat but hated to work.
He was already twenty years old and still had not found a wife. It was hardly surprising. His reputation for being lazy and unwilling to work had spread beyond the village, and no girl’s family was willing to marry their daughter into such a household.
It was not until he was twenty-three that he finally got married.
Even then, the wife was someone his mother had arranged to buy from another place.
Because the woman had a large red birthmark on her face, Xue Xingye disliked her even more.
Xue Chuan’s biological mother was an especially pitiful woman.
As mentioned earlier, Xue Xingye was lazy and unwilling to work, so all the household and farm work fell on her shoulders.
Even when she was eight months pregnant, she was still working in the fields.
Perhaps because she had been exhausted for so long, her health never fully recovered after giving birth to Xue Chuan.
And Xue Xingye regularly beat and cursed his ugly wife.
Even after she gave him a son, his attitude toward her did not improve.
Six years later, Xue Chuan’s mother could no longer endure it. She soon fell seriously ill and died.
At the time, Xue Chuan was only six years old.
After his mother died, all the household responsibilities fell onto the shoulders of the six-year-old Xue Chuan.
Xue Chuan was the type to quietly put his head down and work. He never complained.
Two years later, Xue Xingye married another widow who already had two children.
After his stepmother entered the household, Xue Chuan’s life became even harder.
He had to do all the housework, while the family would hide any good food and eat it without him.
He endured this for another two years.
Then, for reasons no one knew, Xue Chuan had a huge argument with Xue Xingye. He even went to the village chief over the matter.
Xue Chuan was a stubborn person.
In front of the village chief, he severed his relationship with Xue Xingye. Then he went straight into the mountains.
He had never returned to Xue Family Village all these years.
However, villagers had occasionally seen him in the mountains.
And the sight of him, with his fierce and intimidating appearance, was enough to make people shudder.
When the old man finished telling the story, everyone fell silent.
Ding Lan had never expected that her quiet and taciturn benefactor would have such a painful past.
When they reached the edge of the forest, everyone separated and returned to their respective villages.
Ding Lan leaned on the branch and walked down the mountain together with Ding Shouxin.
Despite everything she had just gone through, Ding Lan was not frightened away from the mountains.
She said to Ding Shouxin, “Next time you go up the mountain, call me along!”
Ding Shouxin stared at her in disbelief.
“You’re still going?”
Ding Lan raised an eyebrow.
“He saved my life. I should at least bring something with me to thank him.”
Ding Shouxin nodded.
“That’s true. Take care of your injuries first. The next time I go into the mountains, I’ll come get you.”
Ding Lan waved goodbye, then leaned on her branch and limped all the way back into her family’s courtyard.
It was just around noon.
Ding Qiao was in the kitchen cooking porridge.
When she saw her elder sister covered in injuries, she was terrified.
“Big Sister! What happened to you?”
Ding Lan smiled lightly and reassured her.
“I just took a tumble on the mountain.”
Ding Qiao immediately dropped what she was holding and hurried over to help Ding Lan back to the room.
Ding Lan sat down on the bed and instructed Ding Qiao to find her a clean set of clothes from the wardrobe.
After that, she waved her hand and told Ding Qiao to return to the kitchen and continue making the porridge.
Her wounds had already been treated earlier.
After changing her clothes, she quietly lay on the bed and closed her eyes to rest.
She was simply too exhausted.
She had originally planned to eat something before sleeping, but the moment her body touched the bed, she fell into a deep sleep.
She did not wake until the noise outside disturbed her.
Ding Lan heard the commotion and immediately frowned.
Why has Ding Jing come back again?
He really is like a ghost that refuses to leave!