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墨書 Inktalez
As I carried Fo Zhang out of the cave, the sunset painted the sky in vibrant hues, casting a long, graceful shadow. Perhaps hearing my footsteps, Jian Jie crossed her arms and complained, "What’s taking you so long? You're a grown man!"
"I didn’t ask you to wait for me. Are you going to supervise every little thing I do? I can take my time if I want!" I retorted, leaning against the stone wall of the cave while gently stroking Fo Zhang.
"This cave needs to be sealed up. Come over and help," Jian Jie shot me an exasperated look before pulling out a bunch of items from her backpack.
I glanced at the high cave entrance and asked in confusion, "Do you really think two of us can seal such a big cave? It seems unrealistic."
Jian Jie held up what she had brought. "This is Dynamite. It’s used for blasting rocks when mining."
I scoffed, "You think you're so clever. If you're so capable, don’t let me save you or help you at all."
With a scowl on her face, Jian Jie barked, "Get over here and help already!"
Since I had already achieved my goal, I hurried over to assist her. Who knows what kind of monsters might emerge from this cave to threaten the village? Blowing it up would be a relief. I had originally planned to set up some formations for concealment.
Curiously, I examined the Dynamite in my hands. "How does this work?"
"Listen..." Jian Jie exclaimed suddenly. Startled, I tossed the Dynamite away and ran off to cover my ears.
Jian Jie doubled over with laughter at my reaction, her laughter ringing clear like water bubbling from a spring. It took me a moment to realize I had been tricked. Brushing off the dirt from my clothes, I suppressed my urge to snap back and said, "What’s next? I still need to get home for dinner."
This time, I focused as Jian Jie guided me in drilling several holes and stuffing the Dynamite inside. Then we found a slope to hide behind while dragging out the long fuse.
With a loud boom, the ground shook beneath us; my ears rang for what felt like ages before returning to normal. Through the rising dust, I saw that the cave entrance had been blocked by massive rocks, and I felt relieved as I bid farewell to Jian Jie.
Seeing her lying weakly on one side made me hesitate; my foot that had been raised fell back down. "Uh, are you okay?"
I poked Jian Jie with a stick; after all, I'd learned my lesson with this fierce woman and wasn’t about to get too close.
Though her voice was weak now, she still commanded attention. "I’m injured; take me home."
I widened my eyes in disbelief. "Uh, but I'm still just a young man; isn’t that inappropriate?"
Jian Jie probably huffed in annoyance but couldn’t do anything about it. With a sigh, she muttered, "Fine, I'll pay you." She tossed out several hundred-yuan bills.
"This is only because you're injured that I'm helping you; otherwise..." I warned her in advance to avoid any future blame from this woman.
I crouched in front of Jian Jie, and after some reluctant grumbling, she finally climbed onto my back. Feeling the warmth of her body against mine made my heart race uncontrollably; it was the first time I had been this close to her.
"I should warn you in advance, my family is quite poor. If you start complaining about everything later, I might just throw you back into the mountains to feed the wolves," I threatened playfully.
Jian Jie didn’t respond but began humming a tune I recognized all too well—“Zhu Bajie Carries His Wife.”
I joined in, humming along happily, but soon realized something felt off. Was she mocking me?
"If I had such a beautiful wife, being Zhu Bajie for a day wouldn’t be so bad," I replied with a chuckle.
Jian Jie shot back angrily, "A toad wishing for goose meat!"
When we arrived in the village, every household was illuminated by warm yellow lights. Neighbors eating at their doorsteps cast knowing glances at me and Jian Jie on my back.
“Ling Jiao Zi is lucky to bring home such a beautiful girlfriend; the Ling family can finally hold their heads high!”
“Ling Feng, how did you manage to bring back such a stunning beauty?” The chubby guy shouted from afar, as if he feared the entire village wouldn’t know. My face instantly flushed with embarrassment.
He ran over and, with an air of familiarity, greeted Jian Jie on my back, “Sister-in-law, hello!”
Jian Jie shot him a cold look and pinched me hard on the back, nearly causing me to drop her.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Fatty. I’m just doing a good deed,” I winked at him. After years of friendship, we had this unspoken understanding.
“Beautiful lady! Our Ling Feng is quite handsome; he’s a hidden gem! Just wait until he…” Fatty continued to ramble on like a salesman.
Finally, Jian Jie interrupted with a sharp “Shut up,” bringing his chatter to an end.
Once we got home, even my father—who usually only focused on smoking—seemed inexplicably cheerful. He complained to me, “Ling Feng, why didn’t you let me know you were bringing friends home? I could have prepared something.”
Then he rubbed his hands together awkwardly and added, “Miss, Ling Feng lost his mother early on; our home is a bit chaotic. Please don’t mind it.”
After that, he urged me to take good care of her before heading into the kitchen to busy himself.
During dinner, I was initially worried that my dad might say something inappropriate and embarrass Jian Jie. To my surprise, they actually shared some laughs together, creating an unexpectedly pleasant atmosphere.
Our house had only two rooms; I would sleep with my dad while Jian Jie took my room. As I changed the sheets and blankets for her, I said, “If anything happens tonight, just call for me. And remember to lock the door.”
“It's nothing. You seem to be someone with a thief's heart but no courage,” Jian Jie said with a smile.
I rolled my eyes in silence. “So you mean you have the courage of a thief?”
Jian Jie looked me up and down and said, “Why don’t you join me? I won’t skimp on your share of the money. You should think about it.”
“Thank you for the kind offer, Jian Da Mei Nu, but I have my own plans. I’m too used to being carefree; I can’t stand rules,” I declined with a smile, thinking to myself that working under a tigress would be more than just painful. Besides, I intended to be my own boss.
“Get lost, I want to sleep,” Jian Jie said, directly shooing me away after my firm refusal.
As soon as I stepped out, I saw my dad giving me a knowing smile. “Dad, you’ve been through this too.”
I felt a deep sense of grievance inside. Was my innocence really being tarnished like this?
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