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墨書 Inktalez
The next day at dawn.
On a small hill in the pine forest where Ziyan had been the previous noon, the one who intended to harm Little Ziyan gradually opened his eyes from the excruciating pain that felt like it was eating away at his very bones.
It was just a brief moment before he managed to open his eyes despite the pain.
What he saw was the most terrifying sight of his life: right in front of him lay a massive Python coiled on the ground, staring at him with its deep green eyes in an unusually eerie manner, its long tongue flicking in and out as if it were about to pounce on him.
In an instant, Zhi Shunli instinctively rolled away, desperately calculating how to escape from another direction.
Looking up, he was met face-to-face with a large South China Tiger, its orange fur gleaming as it fixed its fierce gaze on him like it was eyeing a delicious prey. It growled lowly while stretching its front paws, ready to attack, followed closely by two juvenile South China Tigers of the same color.
Surrounding him were several snarling monkeys, each glaring at him with their blood-red eyes, giving off an impression of ferocity.
At that moment, Zhi Shunli truly regretted being born into this world; he shouldn’t have come to such a place, let alone entered this forest.
Ultimately, unable to withstand the shock, he fainted once more.
With a whistle, Zhi Shunli did not see that the previously fierce-looking beasts all obediently retreated two meters back.
Then, three figures emerged from behind the animals. Leading them was none other than the handsome and extraordinary young man—Gu Yuxuan.
Gu Yuxuan took a couple of steps forward, glanced at Zhi Shunli, and lightly kicked him with his foot. Seeing that there was no response from him at all,
he turned back and nodded to the two Masked Men dressed in black who had been following closely behind him.
As a result, the two immediately moved forward, one of them shouldering the unconscious Zhi Shunli, and they quickly used lightness skills to leap down the mountain and disappeared.
Watching the three vanish, Gu Yuxuan first approached the giant python and gently touched its head.
Next, he walked over to the adult tiger and similarly patted its forehead. The South China Tiger obediently extended its tongue and affectionately licked the boy's palm.
Just as the boy was feeling reluctant to part with these wild beasts, an inexplicable image of a young girl appeared in his mind—Ziyan.
Thus, Gu Yuxuan immediately turned around and whistled. The group of beasts retracted their affection and reluctance, retreating into the depths of the jungle.
After a while, a faint light resembling dawn began to appear on the horizon.
At this moment, Ziyan, who had just woken from a beautiful dream, stretched her arms and legs in bed to shake off her morning grogginess before getting up to prepare to tidy up her things.
Turning her head, she noticed that Ziying was no longer in bed. Ziyan thought her sister had gone to the bathroom and didn’t pay it much mind.
However, upon exiting the room, she saw two figures busy in the kitchen from afar.
Seeing that Ziyan was up, Zhou asked, "Daughter, why don’t you sleep a little longer? We’ll call you when we’re done."
Ziying smiled at the stove as she tended to the fire. "You got up, so you got up! Breakfast is almost ready; come wash your face, sister."
Saying this, she picked up a basin and walked to the left side of the stove, scooping two ladles of hot water to hand over to Ziyan.
Ziyan gratefully accepted the basin from her sister and went to the well in the yard to add some cold water for a quick wash.
After finishing, she returned to her room and tidied her clothes and hair in front of an old copper mirror that was slightly yellowed, only allowing her to vaguely see her features.
Ziyan felt a bit disdainful inside, thinking to herself: It would be great if there was a big glass mirror here.
At that moment, Ziying's voice called from outside: "Sister, are you ready? It's time for breakfast."
"Yeah, I'm coming!"
Ziyan quickly responded while hurrying out. She saw that on the Stone Table in the courtyard, there was already a bowl of porridge, a small plate of Sour Bamboo Shoots, and several large pancakes.
Ziyan walked over to pick up the porridge to drink but noticed that neither her sister nor her mother seemed inclined to eat with her. So she raised her head and asked, "Why aren't you eating?"
Ziying glanced at their mother and then rubbed her hands together as she said to her sister, "Today you're going out, and County Town is far away. You need to eat something to have the energy for the journey. Don't we usually skip breakfast at home?"
After saying this, she looked at her sister with some confusion.
Ziyan felt uncomfortable but still calmly smiled and nodded at her mother and sister. Then she drank from her bowl of porridge and tore off a piece of pancake to eat with some Sour Bamboo Shoots.
Deep down, however, she silently vowed: I must change the current situation in this family as soon as possible; at least everyone should have three meals a day and be well-fed. Skipping breakfast is really bad for health!
While Ziyan was still eating her breakfast, Zhou had already gone to open the courtyard door.
Before long, after finishing her meal, Ziyan saw that familiar tall and slender figure walking towards her with great energy from afar.
Ziyan looked up and down at Gu Yuxuan. There wasn't much difference from usual; he had changed into a deep blue cotton short shirt of the same color scheme and wore a homemade fur vest on top.
However, sharp-eyed Ziyan noticed that there were some mud stains on Gu Yuxuan's pant legs and quite a few dew droplets on his clothes.
At the same time, Zi Lao Er also got up and walked out of his room.
Gu Yuxuan walked up to everyone confidently and nodded in greeting to Zi Lao Er and Zhou.
Then he turned to face Ziyan, "Are you ready?"
"Ready," she said, taking the cloth bag from Ziying's hands.
Ziyan approached the backpack filled with He Shou Wu.
But she heard Ziying's weak voice, filled with concern, "I wonder if Gu Young Master has had breakfast on the way here. If only—"
Before she could finish, Gu Yuxuan interrupted her without even looking at her, "No need to trouble yourself."
He turned and picked up the backpack at Ziyan's feet.
Looking at Ziyan, he said, "It's a long journey; we should set off early."
As he spoke, he walked straight toward the door, prompting Ziyan to wave goodbye to her family and hurriedly follow him.
Watching Ziyan and Gu Yuxuan's figures fade away,
Zhou let out a soft sigh and said to Zi Lao Er, who was standing nearby in a daze, "You shouldn't dwell on those things. If some matters are destined by fate, then we should just go with the flow! As long as the children are happy, that's what matters. Besides—don't you think our Little Ziyan has become much more mature and sensible than before? I believe our girl knows what she's doing."
After saying this, he gave Zi Lao Er a meaningful look.
Then he turned to Ziying and instructed, "Ziying, if you're still feeling sleepy, you can take a nap. Anyway, there isn't much to do today; I'll be busy with your father in the morning."
Feeling down because of Gu Yuxuan's mood, Ziying didn't say much in response; she simply murmured an "okay" and went back to her room.
As Ziyan walked some distance from home, she couldn't help but think of that scumbag, Zhi Shunli, from yesterday.
Unable to resist, she asked Gu Yuxuan, "Brother Yuxuan, do you think that jerk will die in Pine Forest? Sigh, if he dies in that forest, I won't dare to go there to pick Shiitake and He Shou Wu anymore. And those particularly precious and rare Matsutake mushrooms—there might also be many valuable Herbal Medicines in that forest."
Thinking about the possibility of losing so many delicious treats and precious Herbal Medicines, Ziyan felt anxious and inadvertently let her thoughts slip.
To this, Gu Yuxuan, who had long since grown accustomed to her antics, was not surprised. He raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Ziyan intently.
Calmly, he said, "So you know quite a bit about Herbal Medicines. Who taught you?"
"W-What? I dreamt about it," Ziyan stammered, feeling guilty and immediately doubting her own excuse.
Seeing Ziyan looking slightly flustered, Gu Yuxuan wisely chose not to press further and continued walking ahead.
After a few steps, he added, "Don't worry; he won't die. But from now on, he'll definitely take a long detour when he sees you."
"Uh? Oh!" Ziyan could only respond absentmindedly, still processing their earlier conversation.
As they walked on, they unknowingly reached a spot not far from Red Mud Village. Ziyan recalled some memories of this village from her previous life.
Most people in this village had the surname Zi, with only one or two families having different surnames. The Zi Lao Er family was originally a large household in this town with many members.
Great-Grandfather Zi was once a respected gentleman in the area, skilled both in literature and martial arts. He had two sons in his lifetime; one was Zi Lao Er's father, and there was an older brother above him.
The eldest son was diligent and studious from a young age; he took the imperial examination and pursued an official career. Thus, he left early to serve as an official in another place.
This left Zi Lao Er's father by himself. However, this old man had never been academically inclined and had a penchant for gambling. Originally, Great-Grandfather Zi cherished this youngest son the most during his lifetime, so he left behind an exceptionally rich inheritance for him.
It's a pity that under such pampering, one can never become a filial child; no matter how large the family business is, it cannot withstand the turmoil caused by such a prodigal!
Just a few years after Great-Grandfather's death, Zi Lao Er's father lost most of their properties and land in gambling, and then moved his entire family back to the remaining ancestral home in Red Mud Village.
Zi Lao Er has seven siblings, and he is the second eldest. His mother had already passed away from illness caused by his father's anger.
Since his two younger sisters got married, the other brothers have all married and had children, while Zi Lao Er only had two daughters.
Thus, Zi Lao Er's father, who favored sons over daughters, separated Zi Lao Er from the family without giving them anything and drove them far away to Mountain Valley, where Ziyan's family currently lives.
Since then, the heartbroken Zi Lao Er's family has had little contact with their brothers and parents in Red Mud Village.
Only during festivals or on his father's birthday would they send some wild game or similar items they hunted from the mountains, usually just dropping them off and leaving.
This was because Zi Lao Er's father always had a disdainful and indifferent expression, never indicating that he wanted Zi Lao Er to stay for a drink or a meal.
Thinking of this, suddenly there came a sound from not far away in Red Mud Village—a man's agonizing wails filled with unbearable pain.
At the same time, there was also a heart-wrenching cry from an elderly woman mixed in with it.
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