What is this?
Xue Niang looked at the dark, murky substance in the bowl. Was this fit for human consumption?
"This is the kind of food eaten by those who are relatively well-off in the village."
He was punishing her, punishing her for not cherishing what she had.
Xue Niang picked up her chopsticks in silence and began to eat.
The taste was bitter, the texture was hard, and it carried a fermented sourness. It could hardly be called food. Swallowing a mouthful felt like swallowing shards of glass, tearing at her throat.
She had been ungrateful earlier. Since he told her to eat, she would eat. Bite after bite, the rice in the bowl was quickly half-gone.
"That's enough! If you don't want to eat, then don't!"
Xiao Shan roared impatiently.
Was it so difficult to yield? Her temper was as stubborn as a mule.
Even he, a rough man, could barely swallow that food. He just wanted her to understand the hardships of the common people. Yet now she was obedient, eating bite after bite without stopping.
Xue Niang put down her chopsticks and stood up. Despite her efforts to conceal it, the sorrow in her eyes did not escape Xiao Shan's gaze.
"If your goal was to tame me like a wild horse, then you have succeeded!"
She ate his food and drank his water, and indeed, she shouldn't have been so defiant towards her master.
She would be obedient from now on.
She wouldn't run away anymore.
What else could a solitary orphan girl with a mysterious past, like duckweed adrift, do?
He had already done enough; it was she who was ungrateful.
If he insisted on making her his woman, it wouldn't matter.
Perhaps in this life, she would never remember who she was. Perhaps tomorrow, the day after, or even a year, several years... she would die in this mountain village.
Who knew what the future held!
As if all her strength had drained away, she walked out of the kitchen with vacant eyes.
"What do I need to tame you for! Xue Niang, do you have no heart?!"
Accompanied by the roar, the sound of breaking bowls and chopsticks followed from behind.
The mountain village was silent. The moon was obscured by dark clouds. Xiao Shan leaned against a willow tree, gazing at the outline of the green mountains, his dejected expression hidden by the darkness.
In the past, when he was angry, he could fight a good battle or gallop on Qianhang.
As a hunter, how should he vent his frustrations?
Should he go into the mountains to find a black bear?
Was this his retribution? In the past, he was the one who made women cry with his scolding. Now, he was so infuriated by a mere girl that he felt his heart was about to give out.
Alas, heaven's justice is a cycle, and the heavens spare no one.
...
What was that sound?
Xiao Shan straightened up, his gaze fixed on the bedroom in the small courtyard.
At this hour, she should be fast asleep.
He listened intently for a while, and the more he listened, the more something felt wrong. He got up, pushed open the courtyard gate with haste, and ran towards the house.
Xue Niang was tossing and turning on the bed, clutching her stomach. Cold sweat had already matted her hair on both sides. In the dim candlelight, her face looked as if it had been dusted with flour, her teeth biting down hard on her lower lip until it bled.
It hurt so much!
It felt like knives were twisting and turning inside her body; even slow slicing wouldn't be worse than this.
She might truly be dying.
"Xue Niang!"
Xiao Shan burst in with an icy chill, embracing her rolling form, his eyes filled with shock and panic.
"What's wrong? Where does it hurt? Your stomach? What happened?"
Was it because she ate that bowl of bran and wild vegetable rice?
"Xiao... Shan."
Xue Niang gripped Xiao Shan's arm tightly, her fingernails almost digging into his flesh.
"I... I didn't... I didn't knock it over on purpose. I'm... I'm sorry. I'm dying. Thank you for... taking care of me..."
"Damn it! Why are you saying this now! I forbid you to talk nonsense!"
His roar was deafening. Xue Niang managed to pull a faint smile to the corner of her lips.
Truly, thank you.
She was already happy not to have died out in the wilderness, nor at the hands of villains.
He was a good person. Perhaps he would build a grave for her, so she wouldn't become a lonely wandering spirit.
She was truly, so tired.
"Qu Linglong can save you. She's a divine doctor praised by the Empress. Don't be afraid, don't be afraid of anything."
Xiao Shan's composure was completely gone. He grabbed her clothes, helped her put them on, and then carried her on his back, running outside.
"Empress... Mother..."
A vague figure flashed through her muddled mind: benevolent, kind, dignified, and noble.
"Don't sleep, Xue Niang! Open your eyes!"
Xiao Shan moved with incredible speed, running along the mountain path like an agile leopard.
Xue Niang couldn't hold on any longer. Her arms loosened, and she slumped softly from his shoulder.
"Xue Niang! Don't sleep! It's my fault, I shouldn't have forced you to eat. When you get better, hit me as hard as you can!"
At this moment, Xiao Shan deeply regretted his assertiveness. How much suffering had Xue Niang endured? How frail was her body? Why did he always treat her like he treated soldiers in the army?
Experience the hardships of the common people? Hadn't she experienced enough? From a pampered young lady to a captive, it was a miracle she was still alive. He should have cherished her like a treasure, doted on her, and protected her. What did it matter if a bowl was dropped? What if she gave him a cold shoulder? As long as she lived, he would be willing to be her beast of burden!
As long as she lived!
"Xue Niang! Don't sleep! If you live, I'll help you find your family!"
Family? Did she still have family? The word "family" brought only rejection to her heart.
"No, don't find..."
Xue Niang bit her chapped lips again, trying to clear her head. She didn't want to die either. She had been too tired just now, wishing to fall asleep forever.
But this man was too much of a nag!
"It hurts so much..."
"Does your stomach hurt? What kind of pain is it?"
To prevent her from falling asleep, Xiao Shan tried to calm his anxious heart and engage her in conversation. The wait for her replies was long, but he could gauge her condition from her rapid breathing and the rise and fall of her chest.
He had spoken more in this day than in the past six months.
"More than the whip... that hit me..."
"If it hurts, bite me. That way, the pain will transfer to me."
"It's too... hard, I can't bite it..."
"Then take good care of yourself from now on. When you're stronger, you'll be able to bite it."
...
"Xiao... Shan, I... think I've seen you before."
Xiao Shan had already reached Qu Linglong's dilapidated clinic and was banging forcefully on the door. He didn't hear Xue Niang's last words, and even if he had, he wouldn't have paid them much mind.
The moment the door opened, Xue Niang completely succumbed to darkness.
Qu Linglong's expression was more solemn than ever. She took out her ancestral collection of the Nine Needles of Yang Revival, disregarding all else, and stripped Xue Niang's clothes off.
With the nine needles, fate is altered, destiny reversed. The dying are brought back for a moment, snatching life from the jaws of death!
This showed that Xue Niang was truly in a critical state.
The maid, Su Mian, lit two oil lamps and placed them by the bedside, looking at the person on the bed with a pained expression.
Xue Niang was too frail. The last time she saw her, she could barely get out of bed. How had it come to this, a fight for her life?
She hoped she could pull through. Otherwise, her husband might do something unpredictable, and it was quite frightening to witness.
Su Mian stealthily glanced at the man beside her, whose eyes were fixed and vacant, like a statue.
Every time he came, it was as if he was looking for trouble. This time, he had almost kicked the door down, scaring her into thinking a fierce bandit had arrived.
She understood his urgency to save his wife. She only hoped Xue Niang would recover well and that this fierce man would visit the clinic less often.
The commotion in the middle of the night might have disturbed the neighbors. She was timid, and she and her lady were two weak women hidden in this secluded alley. She hoped it wouldn't attract any trouble.