Su Xiaoqi did not believe she had been so indiscreet and, unwilling to admit defeat, cautiously asked, "What did I just say?"
Shen Yun said nothing, holding her hand with one and pointing to his eyes with the other.
The meaning was clear.
He had deliberately exposed her, precisely because he did not want Su Xiaoqi to dwell on such unfounded thoughts.
Why should a perfectly gentle and soft young lady think about such bloody matters?
Su Xiaoqi could not fathom Shen Yun's thoughts and was greatly embarrassed, thinking, "Oh no, oh no."
However, she maintained a forced smile, saying, "You must have misheard."
Before Shen Yun could speak again, she abruptly stood up, saying she wanted to go to Yuanbao Mountain behind them.
Shen Yun raised his hand to stop her, "It's getting dark, why are you going? To feed the wolves?"
Su Xiaoqi choked. Oh, this was a rather awkward topic shift.
She thought for a moment and then said she would go to Yuanbao Mountain tomorrow.
This was because the wild buckwheat she had intended to gather earlier had not yet fully matured.
Now, it was just the right time.
Even though she now had several businesses, who would complain about having too much money?
She had also promised Shen Yun that she would treat his sixth uncle's leg.
The prescription was written, and the medicine was obtained.
Now, only a few herbs that could be found on Yuanbao Mountain were needed.
She planned to collect the herbs, and since tomorrow was the county school's day off, she could give him a detailed diagnosis.
Su Xiaoqi said this and moved towards the courtyard.
But Shen Yun pulled her hand and did not let go, "Come in with me, I have something to tell you."
Su Xiaoqi was puzzled. Shen Yun rarely pulled her aside so seriously to talk about important matters.
She remembered the last time he was this serious was when he had cured Shen Aid an's muteness and wanted to divorce her.
She raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"
"Are you sure you want to discuss it here?" Shen Yun appeared mysterious.
Su Xiaoqi began to sense something and couldn't help but think, "Oh no, could it be that he knows about my space?"
As if to confirm her thoughts, Shen Yun formed a shape with his mouth.
Shen Yun frowned and watched. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the word "space."
She was startled and frantically broke free, fleeing with a flustered expression:
"I have something to do, we can talk later."
She rushed towards the kitchen as if flying.
Shen Yun watched her retreating back and shook his head.
He had originally intended to ask Su Xiaoqi about his younger sister's business at Chen Ji Grain Shop.
Who knew that she would reveal something about her space out of guilt?
However, what was this "space"?
Shen Yun was eager to know, but Su Xiaoqi was unwilling to say.
He figured that since he could hear Su Xiaoqi's thoughts, there was no rush.
One day, he would figure out everything he wanted to know.
However, Shen Yun soon discovered that his thoughts were perhaps too simple.
After that, Su Xiaoqi seemed to deliberately avoid him.
After dinner, she did not return to their room immediately as usual.
Instead, she quietly went to Shen Xiaomei and Zhao Xiaozhu's place.
The three of them hid inside, closing the door tightly, and Su Xiaoqi didn't know what they were talking about.
They chattered for quite some time.
Shen Yun thought he would wait; she had to come back eventually.
But as the moon climbed high, Su Xiaoqi still hadn't returned to the room.
The dim lamplight inside crackled and popped.
Shen Yun suddenly came to his senses and could no longer sit still in the room.
He got up and knocked on Shen Xiaomei's door, only to see the three of them with a layer of white powder on their faces.
He was startled and, after a moment of recognition, identified the three of them.
The one in the middle with a strange grin was Su Xiaoqi.
Shen Xiaomei and Zhao Xiaozhu flanked her, lowering their heads shyly under his gaze.
They rubbed their sleeves and didn't know where to put their hands.
Su Xiaoqi stood in front of the two, "Oh, we're putting on face masks.
Tsk tsk, why are you coming in here in the middle of the night? You've scared them."
"It's too late, and we have to go to the mountains tomorrow. Rest early and get plenty of energy."
Shen Yun skillfully shifted the attention of Zhao Xiaozhu and Shen Xiaomei by avoiding the sensitive topic.
Even Su Xiaoqi was swayed by his words,
thinking that what he said made a lot of sense.
After all, her plan for tomorrow had been set long ago. She washed off the pearl powder mask from her face and followed Shen Yun into the room.
Then, before Shen Yun could speak, she threw herself onto the bed and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
Seeing her like this, Shen Yun understood everything and sighed, not dwelling on the matter any further.
Shen Yun's attitude temporarily eased Su Xiaoqi's mind; she still hadn't figured out how to discuss these matters with him.
The next morning, Su Xiaoqi accompanied Shen Yun into the mountains.
Su Xiaoqi, possessing the space, carried only a bamboo woven basket.
Shen Yun, however, carried much more.
A longbow and a quiver of arrows.
He wore narrow-sleeved coarse cloth clothing suitable for movement, his hair tied high on his head, neat and efficient.
Seeing him dressed like this, Su Xiaoqi thought of the wild boar she had encountered on her way back to the village.
If Shen Yun hadn't shot it with an arrow in time, she might have been knocked off and died.
Of course, another reason Su Xiaoqi dared to stare at Shen Yun so boldly was
that with this attire, he looked incredibly handsome.
His handsome features exuded heroic spirit, his eyes clear and bright, and Su Xiaoqi was momentarily stunned.
She thought to herself, "Damn it, Shen Yun is too handsome."
Su Xiaoqi bit her lip as she watched.
Shen Yun suddenly leaned closer to her, tilting his head, and asked, "Had enough of looking?"
"Enough, enough, no, it's not..."
"So, not enough?" Shen Yun raised an eyebrow.
Su Xiaoqi helplessly covered her forehead, realizing that no matter how she put it, it would sound awkward.
"Alright, it's past sunrise, let's head into the mountains," Su Xiaoqi said and then ran off.
Shen Yun looked in the direction she had gone, frowned, and leaned against a large camphor tree, motionless.
Soon, the Su Xiaoqi who had just run off returned.
This time, she looked dejected and grumbled, glaring at Shen Yun:
"Alright, you knew that was a dead end, and you didn't even remind me."
Shen Yun shrugged, his meaning clear: you insisted on going, and he couldn't stop you even if he wanted to.
Su Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment, wavering between taking the right path and getting lost.
She quickly reacted and grabbed Shen Yun's sleeve.
The two of them walked for two hours before finally climbing Yuanbao Mountain.
In fact, it shouldn't have taken that long.
The main reason was that Su Xiaoqi kept stopping and starting along the way.
Whenever she saw useful herbs, she would gather a handful.
Especially those suitable for Zhao Liushun's leg treatment.
Upon reaching the mountain peak, Su Xiaoqi turned to look down.
In summer, the vegetation was lush, and everything was a verdant green.
Below were houses as small as ants.
Su Xiaoqi took a deep breath, estimating that the altitude here was probably between two thousand five hundred and three thousand meters.
Beside her were clumps of wildly growing black buckwheat.
This plant thrives in mountains above 2,500 meters in altitude.
She had discovered it a long time ago, and at that time, she had only picked some of the ripest ones and roasted them to make tea.
This time, they were fully ripe.
With a look of joy, she pointed to the wild buckwheat that was as tall as her waist and called out to Shen Yun, "Quick, quick, cut them down."
Shen Yun, however, ignored her and stared intently behind her.
There stood a person.
Still