Chapter 23: He's No Lighter Than a Wild Boar
Now, the first step was to find a nearby village.
Su Ying took out some dry food and handed it to Xiao Jin.
Xiao Jin looked at her in doubt. He clearly didn't feel anything on her back when she was carrying him yesterday. How did she still have so much dry food?
Once Su Ying ate some dry food, she carried Xiao Jin and walked down the slope along the current. It was easier to find villages on either side of the river.
The vegetation here was denser than on the mountain before. It was freezing on the mountain, and Su Ying didn't even sweat after walking for so long.
She wondered if they would be able to meet someone today.
"If you're tired, stop and rest for a while." Xiao Jin said when he saw Su Ying slow down.
Su Ying hummed in acknowledgment and placed him on a large rock on the side.
"The trees here cover the sky. It's hard to tell the direction."
Su Ying was about to sit down when Xiao Jin abruptly pulled her away.
Su Ying turned around and saw a wild boar charging in their direction.
Xiao Jin grabbed a stone in his hand, but Su Ying stopped him. "Don't use your internal energy casually when you have internal injuries." She pulled Xiao Jin and hid behind the rock under him as she spoke.
The wild boar rushed past them fast.
Su Ying didn't want to miss this chance to catch a pig!
She let go of Xiao Yi and stood up. "Wait here. I'll be right back."
Su Ying shot out like an arrow.
Xiao Jin propped himself up with his hands on the big rock and turned to look in the direction the wild boar had come from. He saw a few people who looked like hunters chasing after it.
Those people ran close and were surprised to see Xiao Jin sitting on a big rock. "Brother, did you see a wild boar run past? "
Xiao Jin thought for a moment, then pointed in the direction Su Ying had disappeared.
After the men thanked him, they ran in that direction.
About half an hour later, Su Ying returned with the hunters. They carried the wild boar with a thick wooden stick.
"It was too dangerous just now. That wild boar would have hit you if you didn't dodge quickly."
"That's right. This pig was doomed. It didn't hit the young lady, but hit the big stone and died."
Su Ying looked painfully at the messy head of the wild boar. She was so close to putting the boar into her inventory!
Losing a pig for no reason made Su Ying a little depressed.
Xiao Jin saw her sad look and guessed what had happened.
They still needed these people to bring them out of the forest, so they could just give them the pig.
"It's just a pig," Xiao Jin said in a low voice as Su Ying walked close.
Su Ying understood what he meant, but she still glared at him. Did he know how much meat a pig had?
Xiao Jin ignored her glare and looked at the happy hunters. "Brothers, I wonder if you can bring us down the mountain."
The hunters caught the pig and got in the mood to consider other people's business. "Are you lost in the mountains?"
Xiao Jin nodded. "Yes. We haven't been able to get out."
"That's easy. We're just about to bring our prey back. Come down the mountain with us."
Xiao Jin nodded slightly. "Thank you."
Su Ying carried Xiao Jin on her back. They had no pig, but they could at least walk out of there.
"The sun will set after we go down the mountain. They'll ask us to stay for a meal." Xiao Jin's voice came faintly from behind.
"They will give us food?" Su Ying paused.
"Yes."
She had never had a peasant meal that might have a different taste.
Considering this, Su Ying's depression from losing the pig disappeared immediately.
Xiao Jin looked at her relaxed brows and eyes, and his lips' corners curled slightly. She was an easily satisfied person.
The hunters were surprised to see Su Ying carry Xiao Jin on her back without changing her expression. Only then did they realize that Xiao Jin's legs seemed injured.
How could they let a woman carry a man? A Hunter stepped forward and said: "Young lady, this mountain road is not easy to walk. Let me carry your husband."
Su Ying shook her head calmly. "It's fine. You guys are carrying the pig. He's not much lighter than that. I'll carry him."
Xiao Jin was speechless.
"This, will this really be OK?" Some hunters felt that Su Ying was forcing herself. Xiao Jin was tall, and even though he looked thin, he could envelop Su Ying with his body.
"Don't worry. I've been carrying him all the way."
"Thank you for your good intentions. My wife can do it." Xiao Jin said.
These words made the hunters look at Su Ying in amazement.
If Xiao Jin were to tell them that Su Ying could easily lift their wild boar, who knew what they would think?
As Xiao Jin predicted, the sun had set by the time they came down from the mountain.
A quiet village was located at the foot of the mountain.
Everyone was very excited that they got a game today. Su Ying found out that the hunters were in the same family that hunted for a living.
After they left the mountain, they warmly invited Su Ying and Xiao Jin to their house.
Su Ying readily accepted.
The hunters' house was near the foot of the mountain, with a black brick wall around the courtyard to prevent attacks from wild beasts. Five sizeable black brick rooms stood in the yard. Many chickens and ducks were raised in it too. The living standard of this family seemed not bad. After all, the house diagonally opposite them was made of yellow mud and thatch.
"Mother, we're back." The man at the front shouted towards the central room, and a thin and agile middle-aged woman walked out.
When she saw that the brothers had caught a wild boar, she smiled excitedly, making the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes look even more profound.
"Let's sell this wild boar in town tomorrow. Then we will have money for your second brother to get a wife."
The woman, Auntie Wang, saw Su Ying and Xiao Jin behind them. She was a little confused. "These are..."
The eldest son, Zhang Shan, smiled and said: "Mother, this is young lady Su and her husband. We met them on the mountain. They were on a mountain trip but accidentally lost their way. They happened to bump into us, so I let them follow us down."
Auntie Wang was a kind woman. Her face revealed a worried expression when she heard Zhang Shan's words. She hurriedly let Su Ying and Xiao Jin into the house.
"How long have you been in the mountain? You must be hungry. I've already prepared food in the pot. Stay for dinner tonight."
Su Ying had the same thought. "Then, thank you."
Seeing that she had accepted, Auntie Wang smiled and walked out the door. "Wait here, and I'll go and make two more dishes."
"How can I trouble auntie?"
"It's no trouble at all. It's straightforward to cook two dishes." Auntie Wang said as she turned around and left the room.
The floor made of black bricks was very flat and comfortable to walk on. The central room was also very bright. It differed from past battleships and exuded a sense of ordinary life. Su Ying liked it very much.
"You like this place?" Xiao Jin casually asked as he saw her delights.
Su Ying nodded. "This is nice." It was quiet and peaceful. Even though there could be trifle quarrels between people, they were all harmless.
Xiao Jin drank some water. It was just an ordinary farmhouse, and she was already satisfied.
He was curious about what kind of environment she had lived in.