Jin Qianqian knew the old woman was making excuses for her family. They were all strangers who had t by chance, so of course, she and Ancient Wen Heng wouldn’t mind.
"You should hurry inside. The mountain wind is still a bit chilly; you don’t want to catch a cold." Jin Qianqian said, pulling her clothes tighter as she waved goodbye to Granny Zhu.
Only when they were out of sight did Granny Zhu turn and close the door.
"They’re gone." Zhu Lin, who had gotten up at so point without anyone noticing, stood in the courtyard as he spoke.
"Gone. They have their own path to follow. Isn’t your brother up yet? Go wake him. We don’t want to be late getting into town."
Zhu Lin shouted toward Zhu Mu’s room a few tis before turning back to his own.
Looking at the neatly made earthen bed, he nodded to himself in approval. ’They were considerate, at least. They didn’t leave my bed a complete ss.’
He was about to find a change of clothes when he spotted a small Silver Ingot sitting on his bedside cabinet.
He snatched it up in shock and ran toward the kitchen. "Ma, look at this!"
"Where did you get this?" Granny Zhu’s expression froze as soon as she spoke. She instantly guessed the young couple must have left it behind.
"Where did you find it? They probably dropped it. Maybe they’ll co back for it soon."
But Zhu Lin was hesitant. "It doesn’t look like it was dropped by accident. It was placed right on my bedside cabinet. Do you think they left it for us?"
"You’re saying it was on the bedside cabinet?" Granny Zhu asked again. Seeing her younger son nod, she carefully cradled the silver ingot. "This has to be at least five taels, right? Our entire family might not make this much in a whole year."
Granny Zhu felt a pang of guilt. She had hinted several tis that they should leave, yet not only had they not complained, they had left such a generous paynt.
"..."
&
"This is the end of the road," Ancient Wen Heng said, using his binoculars to survey the area. They had reached the end of the path.
"Then we’ll just forge our own path," Jin Qianqian said, pulling out two machetes with a self-deprecating smile. "There are no paths on the mountain to begin with, but after we pass through, there will be."
Ancient Wen Heng took the machete right from her hand. "I’ll handle the rough work. You just keep watch."
Jin Qianqian didn’t fight him for it. "Alright, but let take over when you get tired. Don’t overdo it."
Ancient Wen Heng forged ahead, clearing a path deeper into the mountains, never forgetting to look out for Jin Qianqian behind him.
"Looks like we’ll be spending the next couple of days in these mountains." As they ventured deeper, they heard more and more rustling and movent, a clear sign they had entered the animals’ territory.
"Just a little further. I think I see a flat area up ahead. We can rest there for a bit." Ancient Wen Heng wiped the sweat from his brow. He’d been hacking away for most of the day, and his arm had long since gone numb. He was just gritting his teeth and pushing on.
Jin Qianqian stood on her tiptoes. "That’s still a ways off. Let take a turn chopping!"
She reached for the machete, but Ancient Wen Heng smoothly dodged her. "How could I let you do this kind of rough work? If you’re hungry, grab sothing to eat and fill your stomach."
Jin Qianqian pursed her lips. "Am I the kind of person who eats alone?"
In their rush to get into the mountains unnoticed that morning, neither of them had eaten.
Ancient Wen Heng imdiately sensed the shift in mood and quickly changed the subject. "The Zhu family has probably found the silver ingot you left by now. It must have given them quite a shock."
"Probably," said Jin Qianqian. "I hope the Silver we left will be a help to them."
"You silly girl," Ancient Wen Heng said, once again explaining the economics of this era to her. "So, you see, even if it’s just one silver ingot, to the people of this ti, it’s a huge fortune.
Look at the Zhu Family Brothers. They both look older than , yet neither of them is married. It might be because the village is so remote, but it’s also possible they can’t afford the bride price.
With this silver ingot, if they can scrape together a little more, they could probably bring a new bride ho soon."
Jin Qianqian replied, "If that’s the case, then we’ve done a good deed and repaid them for their warm hospitality yesterday."
"It’s just like the old saying goes: ’Accepting gifts makes one obliging.’ I’ve been eating your food and using your things for so long... Your husband has no way to repay you, so I can only offer myself in return." Ancient Wen Heng never missed an opportunity to declare his feelings.
Jin Qianqian was speechless. ’...’ ’What happened to that cold, quiet upperclassman from before? Please bring him back, I can’t handle this version!’
Ancient Wen Heng carefully shielded her behind him as he surveyed the flat clearing. There were traces of charcoal ash on the ground. It looked like soone had been here before.
"Who would co all the way out here? There aren’t any paths nearby. How did they get in?" Jin Qianqian’s mind reeled with questions.
Ancient Wen Heng walked over and carefully prodded the ashes before shaking his head. "They’re stone cold. This fire wasn’t from last night."
A thin layer of dirt covered the embers, which ant the person had been careful about fire safety.
Jin Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief. "Maybe soone just passed through a long ti ago. Look, the weeds don’t seem to have been trampled recently. It was probably one of the hunters from Hunter Village."
"Maybe," Ancient Wen Heng said, though it was mostly to reassure himself.
Jin Qianqian wanted to pull them into her pocket dinsion; at least they would be safe in there. But the mont she suggested it, Ancient Wen Heng stopped her. "We need to adapt. We shouldn’t rely on it, especially in an open place like this."
The main issue was that you exited the space from the sa point you entered. If soone were watching, it would lead to endless trouble.
After walking for the better part of the day, they finally reached the deep chasm Zhu Da had told them about. With the naked eye, it was impossible to see the bottom.
Through his binoculars, however, Ancient Wen Heng could see a patch of green below. This ant the chasm did have a bottom; it was just a very long way down.
Jin Qianqian eyed the distance. "It’s a little over two ters wide. I have a five- or six-ter iron plate. That’s more than enough to make a bridge to get us across."
They found a relatively level spot, and in an instant, Jin Qianqian had the iron plate spanning the chasm. Just like that, they had a simple, makeshift iron bridge.
They checked the bridge’s stability, wedged a few stones under the edges until it no longer wobbled, and then, hand in hand, they quickly ran to the other side.
Jin Qianqian quickly retracted the iron plate back into her space.
The vegetation on this side was many tis denser than on the opposite bank. Ancient Wen Heng had no choice but to cautiously forge ahead, using a stick to probe the undergrowth and the machete to clear a path. As a result, their pace slowed considerably.
As darkness slowly enveloped the deep mountains, Ancient Wen Heng didn’t insist on staying out in the open this ti. The environnt here truly made him uneasy.
Finding himself once again in the familiar field, Ancient Wen Heng finally relaxed. He paid no mind to the dirt and sat right down on the ground.
Jin Qianqian, ignoring her own exhaustion, chose a corner of the field, produced an iron-fra bed, and then found so bedding to put on it.
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