“We knew each other, but weren’t exactly close. Back then, when we followed Matchmaker Zhao, the people who left the village were, apart from Ming-ger, all people I met at the County Anji Pavilion.”

Anji Pavilions existed in every county town, funded by the government or local wealthy merchants, specifically managing relief for orphans, the elderly, the destitute, and beggars.

Yan Qi had previously obtained two medicinal pills from a physician at the town clinic, precisely within the Anji Pavilion.

Seeing Huo Ling’s deeply furrowed brow, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why bring this up suddenly?”

“Do you recall when I returned from Shuangjing Village earlier today and mentioned two constables had gone there? Word is there’s been an incident at the Shen residence.”

Yan Qi nodded. Huo Ling continued, “I was in a hurry back then and didn’t ask much. But Dayang overheard some rumors and mentioned them to me over drinks just now. It seems to involve a new servant who recently joined the Shen household. “

Good news never travels far, but bad news spreads like wildfire. Especially since the two villages are close and people often visit each other. Anyone with an interest could easily find out by asking an acquaintance.

Yan Qi’s heart skipped a beat. “What kind of case? Did Brother Yan say?”

Even if they weren’t close, they knew each other by name and had dealt with one another before—not complete strangers. Seeing Huo Ling’s grave expression, Yan Qi grew tense too.

“He heard it’s a homicide. A ger jumped into a well.”

Yan Qi’s face drained instantly. Huo Ling hurriedly added, “But it might just be hearsay.”

The man before him remained silent for a long moment before lifting his eyes to meet Huo Ling’s.

“Originally, six of us came down to Xiashan Village together—three girls and three ger. Besides me and Ming-ger, the other four all went to serve the Shen family. If you ask about the girls, I might not even know which one it was, but if you’re talking about the ger, it could only be that one.”

Yan Qi took a long while to recover, his voice heavy with sorrow.

He then told Huo Ling that Ming-ger had originally been chosen too, but that fellow had sabotaged it, preventing him from going.

Hearing this for the first time, Huo Ling felt a chill of dread.

“You and Ming-ger both turned misfortune into fortune. Had you not fallen ill, the Shen family would surely have taken you too.”

Those wealthy households didn’t hire just anyone as servants. The first requirement was a decent appearance, followed by sharp wits and nimble hands. If one also possessed a skill—like needlework, embroidery, or culinary arts—there might even be a chance to catch the master’s eye.

“I only recall his surname was Tian. He had a competitive streak, and because of that, we had a few arguments back at Anji Pavilion. He held it against us and deliberately tried to prevent Ming-ger from going to the Shen household.”

Looking back now, the reasons for those arguments seem trivial—nothing that could be called deep-seated hatred.

“I also thought that with his temperament, entering a wealthy household would either lead to him suffering a great loss or rising to prominence.”

Who could have imagined he’d lose his life in mere days?

“A man like him—how could he jump into a well for no reason?”

Even though Yan Qi hadn’t interacted much with Tian-ger, upon first hearing this, he found it hard to believe.

He bit his lip. “He must have been bullied. That Shen family probably isn’t a good one!”

Huo Ling pondered, “I haven’t heard of the Shen family mistreating their servants…”

Of course, even if such things happened, they wouldn’t easily leak out for the mud-legged peasants in the outer villages to know.

“Still, it’s peculiar. When a major household faces a fatal incident, they’d never voluntarily spill the beans. A newly acquired servant—even if truly missing—who would notice where he went? And if discovered, it’d be more likely he ran away than died.”

Yan Qi also found it strange, convinced that Tian-ger likely hadn’t taken his own life.

But the man was gone. Pondering it now was pointless. In the end, he could only sigh.

“We can only hope he’s reborn into a good family next time.”

“You have a kind heart.”

Huo Ling rubbed his temples. “Enough of this. Go to sleep. Seeing you like this, I regret telling you tonight.”

After extinguishing the oil lamp, Yan Qi pulled the quilt tighter around himself, fearing nightmares. His fingers brushed the small gourd as he closed his eyes.

Huo Ling would head up the mountain tomorrow. The thought of being apart for several days filled him with reluctance.

Tonight, he’d originally planned to find another way to earn a sweet reward, but this incident had disrupted his thoughts. The ger was clearly in no mood.

He gave up on the idea and slept soundly through the night.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

This mountain trip was short, so he needed to squeeze in more time for work.

Before dawn, Huo Ling rose quietly.

Dager wasn’t fully awake yet. Seeing Huo Ling up, he excitedly circled around his legs. Especially when Huo Ling picked up the backpack used only for mountain trips, his tail nearly left a trail of motion blur.

Huo Ling feared it might bark and alert others, so he pinched its muzzle, made a shushing gesture, and pointed to the items he intended to take up the mountain.

Dager understood and obediently lay down beside the luggage to guard it.

Huo Ling patted its head, intending to wash his face and go inside to grab some snacks for himself and the dog.

Unexpectedly, Yan Qi had also gotten up. He emerged silently, startling Huo Ling.

“You got up without waking me?”

Fearing he might disturb the family of three in the east room, Yan Qi spoke in a whisper.

“Why should I? I used to leave early on my own, too.”

Huo Ling reached for the water jug atop the low stove. The leftover water from last night had long turned cold. He intended to take a few sips, but the ger gently pushed his hand away.

“It’s no trouble to light the fire. That water’s gone ice-cold.”

With that, he sat down, took out a flint, struck a spark, found a slender stick of kindling, and stuffed a handful of dry leaves into the stove to stoke the flames.

“I’ll boil a few eggs for you to take. Your sister-in-law counted them out last night. Eat two, and take two up the mountain. They won’t spoil if you finish them today.”

Huo Ling listened to his soft murmurs, feeling utterly comforted.

“Back then, no one ever spoke to me like this.”

Once on the mountain, forget it—only the howling wind and the howling dogs were nearby.

The young man lifted the corners of his lips. “From now on, I always will.”

Of the four boiled eggs, Huo Ling peeled two and shared one each with Yan Qi, then ate a large piece of warmed flatbread.

The pickled mustard greens served with the bread were stir-fried in oil by Yan Qi during last night’s meal. This method made them more flavorful than simply slicing them raw and also preserved them well.

“I’ll be going now. You should head back inside.”

Huo Ling checked the dagger at his waist, tightened his leg bindings, and slung the backpack onto his back.

Yan Qi also filled a deerskin water bag to the brim, enough to last until they reached the mountain home.

Big Guy, seeing him linger, paced restlessly between the gate and the house door.

“I’ll walk you to the entrance.”

Yan Qi pulled his outer cloak tighter and urged Dager forward. Huo Ling thought to himself: After years of traversing these hills, this was the first time his feet felt heavy.

Even when they reached the courtyard entrance, he hesitated. Under the ger’s inquiring gaze, Huo Ling bent down and pressed a light kiss to the birthmark between his eyebrows.

The spot wasn’t hidden, yet it was sensitive. Yan Qi visibly trembled, his cheeks flushing crimson.

After all, this wasn’t the warmth of their bedchamber, but the village path outside their home. Even though no one was around at this hour, it was enough to make him nervous.

Yet after the kiss, Huo Ling showed no intention of leaving. Yan Qi paused, then finally understood without needing to be told.

His face flushed, he stood on tiptoe and pressed his lips to the man’s cheek.

Huo Ling felt only a fleeting warmth against his skin. His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and he wished he could hoist the ger onto his shoulders and carry him up the mountain right then and there.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

After seven days apart, the mountain appeared unchanged at first glance, yet closer inspection revealed the weeds on the ground had grown significantly taller.

Such wild grasses, given sunlight, would grow wildly. All it needed now was a heavy rain. Once drenched, they could blanket the hillside in green overnight.

Huo Ling spotted deer droppings in several places. Climbing higher, he also saw several clusters of roe deer dens huddled together.

Beyond the mountain-travellers, Bailong Mountain also hosted many hunters. Approaching areas frequented by wild beasts, one had to watch carefully for traps and snares.

But every trade has its code: hunters who set traps or snares would carve a mark into a nearby tree with their knife.

After walking for over an hour, more than halfway through their journey, Huo Ling paused beside a mountain stream. He scooped water to splash his face, washing away the steaming sweat.

The mountain stream remained unfrozen year-round, its surroundings stripped bare of snow. Upon closer inspection, numerous animal tracks of varying sizes were visible.

Dager hopped onto the rocks to drink, then plunged back into the water, darting back and forth twice before finally settling down.

While the beast frolicked, Huo Ling kept busy. He scanned the nearby trees and spotted a white lingzhi mushroom larger than a palm growing on one. Estimating its height, he judged he could reach it from over ten feet above the ground. Without waiting for his climbing gear, he scaled the tree barehanded, reached up, and plucked it down.

Bailong Mountain yielded several varieties of lingzhi. The most valuable was the purple lingzhi, followed by the red lingzhi. Beyond these, other types bearing the lingzhi name were indistinguishable from ordinary mushrooms—some even less palatable than wild mushrooms like hazelnut mushrooms.

The white lingzhi in his hand, for instance, held little medicinal value. Still, it could be dried and stored, rehydrated in water before being stir-fried with meat.

Thinking Yan Qi had surely never tasted white lingzhi stir-fried with meat, Huo Ling tossed it into the basket on his back. He resolved to gather more over the coming days, saving them to prepare for the wedding banquet.

“Woof! Woof!”

Dager trotted tirelessly ahead, his fur drenched. Huo Ling carried a thick wooden stick, tapping it against passing tree trunks every few steps. The noise, combined with Dager’s barking, was enough to keep nearby beasts at bay.

Truthfully, in these deep, ancient forests, humans feared beasts as much as beasts feared humans. Unless one had terrible luck and stumbled face-to-face with one, most days passed peacefully, each living their own separate lives without encountering the other.

As the water skin emptied, Huo Ling finally climbed halfway up the mountain, catching sight of his mountain courtyard.

Like the village houses common down below, it consisted of three connected rooms. Since Huo Ling was now the sole occupant, he slept in the east room, while the west room was given to Dager. Inside, he had laid down a straw mat, placed a food bowl, and set out a water bowl.

The dense mountain forests brought fierce winds; after days without sweeping, the courtyard was littered with tangled debris—twigs and leaves swept in from outside—while the houses were thick with dust.

He circled the perimeter, Dager following closely, sniffing intently. Only after confirming no signs of wild beasts had he relaxed, letting out a relieved sigh.

After resting on the doorstep for a quarter of an hour, Huo Ling regained his strength. He rubbed his slightly swollen legs, then got up to fetch a broom and sweep the yard. Finally, he gathered the swept-up debris into a pile, stuffed it into a sack, and carried it into the stove room to use as firewood.

The flames leapt up, steam billowed, and the heat traveled through the chimney into the heated bed, slowly drying out the mountain dampness.

Sitting before the stove, Huo Ling broke open the warm, soft flatbread in his hand, stuffed a spoonful of eggplant sauce inside, and took a hearty bite.

Dager was equally famished, circling Huo Ling with eager little paws.

He broke off a piece of pancake, mixing it with the eggplant sauce juices.

“There’s barely enough for me, but you’re welcome to have some.”

He poked the dog’s nose. “After this meal, go hunt rabbits yourself. I’ll roast them for you when you return.”

A dog of Dager’s size ate more in a day than a burly man. Relying solely on household leftovers couldn’t sustain him, so keeping him on the mountain was actually more practical.

Besides hunting game, Huo Ling also hauled up his own ration of cornmeal. Whenever he had a moment, he’d steam some corn cakes for both man and dog to eat.

Dager, drawn by the aroma, paid Huo Ling no mind. He turned and buried his head in the food, licking the bowl until it clattered loudly.