Chapter 67:
What master would suddenly appear in this deep mountain forest?
Just now she thought he was gathering medicinal herbs to sell for money, but now it wasn’t that simple!
She recalled those novels and TV dramas from the modern era where people conspired about something and innocently stumbled upon it, only to be silenced.
And those scrutinizing eyes of his, she didn’t want to lose her life for nothing!
The man leaped up to the treetop, Bu Wei also leaped and flew up…
Seeing the wound on his chest, he said worriedly,
“Master, are you alright?”
“No problem, I was just swiped by that black bear, I’ll rest here for a moment first, then we’ll go!”
“Good!”
Feng Qingcheng lay supine on the big tree fork, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, taking in the entire view of the big mountain…
On the west side of the hillock, under a big pine tree…
Two figures, one big and one small, were still busily going back and forth.
“Whew, I’m exhausted, Mother!” Luo Zhi’er clapped her hands and put her hands on her hips.
She hid the things, gathered some branches, pine needles, and dead leaves to cover them…
Miaomiao was also helping her cover with pine needles. Feeling it was about done, Luo Zhi’er alertly looked around left and right, “Miaomiao, that’s enough, hurry and follow Mother away!”
“But… Mother, Miaomiao seems to have a thorn stuck in the bottom of my foot, it hurts so much.”
Luo Zhi’er leaned forward, took off her shoes, and carefully looked. Sure enough, there was something stuck in her heel…
She pulled out the thorn; it was a small, hard splinter of wood.
Miaomiao’s shoes were not only too small, but there was a hole at the big toe, and the heel was worn almost through…
No wonder it got stuck with wood shavings. Miaomiao was very obedient and didn’t cry at all. She regretted not paying attention yesterday and not buying her a new pair of shoes!
She put the shoes back on her,
“Miaomiao, hug Mother’s neck, Mother will carry you back!”
Luo Zhi’er picked up Miaomiao in one go, passed through the dense small forest, and reached the main road, then it was easy.
She also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, carrying the bamboo basket and trotting down the mountain all the way, “Yay! Home we go, my little rascal will have candied hawthorn to eat when we get back today!”
Miaomiao hugged her neck, giggling,
“Hehe, Mother, Miaomiao likes to eat candied hawthorn, Mother! Slow down! Mother!”
Miaomiao’s crisp voice laughed with giggles, and the two figures disappeared into the forest again with the sound…
Feng Qingcheng lounged lazily on the tree, watching their small figures from afar, a hint of envy in his eyes…
Was he that scary? Why did the mother and daughter act like they were fleeing a disaster? He remembered being quite friendly to her just now!
He had even given her the whole black bear…
Bu Wei hugged his arms, leaning against the tree trunk, and said, “Master, since she’ll be coming back here later anyway, she could have just left it there. Why go to the trouble of dragging it here to hide it first?”
“…”
Wasn’t it obvious she was avoiding him?
“Bu Wei, do I look very ferocious…?”
Feng Qingcheng said indifferently…
Bu Wei looked puzzled at the master whose temperament had changed greatly. It had been years since he last showed such a bewildered side…
“Uh… usually pretty… terrifying!”
Of course, just mentioning his name made some people tremble in fear!
Realizing what he had said, Bu Wei awkwardly pursed his lips. Had their master been despised?
And by a village woman from a remote area of the Dongli Kingdom, a chubby one at that…
Actually, he knew what kind of person his master was; those were just his disguised shells. In that position, one had to be strong!
Suddenly, Bu Wei couldn’t help but burst out laughing… “Haha!”
Something was off; the air suddenly turned cold. Bu Wei quickly shut his mouth: “Cough… sorry, Master. I just didn’t expect the war god who dominates the Feng Lan Kingdom to be despised by a village woman…”
Because his master was so popular with women in the Feng Lan Kingdom, he had never received such treatment before!
“She should take a look at her own identity!”
“Bu Wei, shut up! In this world… there are many people and things you can’t imagine…”
“Your master may be noble in some people’s eyes, but in others’ eyes, he’s nothing…”
He closed his eyes to rest…
“Yes, Master! Bu Wei was wrong!”
At this time, a woodcutting villager came up from the west slope on the side. He seemed to be coming from the direction of Luojia Village…
Right near the place where she hid the big bear, he started chopping wood. After chopping a bit, he seemed to smell something.
He threw down the sickle, looked around, and bent down to check…
He was heading straight to the stone mound under that big pine tree, “Master, this, should we do something about it?”
“…”
In his opinion, why bother with her?
Recalling her pleading eyes when she looked at him just now, he changed his mind for a moment, “Bu Wei, handle this matter!”
“Yes!”
Luo Zhi’er trotted all the way to halfway up the mountain, looked up at the sun in the sky. In ancient times without clocks, they told time by the sun.
The sun was slightly to the west, probably around three or four o’clock, time to go home for an afternoon meal.
She figured she wouldn’t get anything good to eat at home, and thought of the big bear paw in the bamboo basket. It might as well…
She found a flat spot about where she cooked last time, took out the flint, gathered firewood, took out that bear paw…
She ran to the gully with water, skinned it, processed it, then came over, fixed a firewood fork into the ground, and started roasting it…
She found a few big fat matsutake mushrooms, washed them clean, and put them on a stone slab to roast…
Seeing there was food but no drink, she remembered the honeysuckle tree on the rack where she washed the matsutake, which was blooming with many flower buds, so she ran over and picked some.
While picking, she saw a nest of yams, squatted down, and without tools, dug out two sections with her hands and threw them into the fire to roast…
She put the honeysuckle into the bamboo tube with some unfinished water, placed it by the fire to heat up…
The bear paw sizzled; she added some salt. Miaomiao was about to swallow her saliva…
Luo Zhi’er gave the roasted matsutake to Miaomiao and started eating herself.
After finishing, the yams were almost done roasting too. She peeled them and they tasted a bit sweet.
Soon, the big bear paw was almost roasted. She tore off a piece of crispy yellow meat for Miaomiao, took a piece herself, and the two ate it with relish!
“Mother, it’s so delicious!”
“Right! Mother’s cooking is unbeatable!”
“Master, no wonder this woman is so fat; she secretly enjoys delicious food like this. She can even make candied hawthorn herself and roast bear paw like this!”
He had wondered how such a poor nearby village could produce such a fat woman. This solved their puzzle…
Bu Wei swallowed his saliva… His stomach was hungry too!
Feng Qingcheng touched his rumbling stomach; he somewhat regretted giving her the whole black bear earlier!
Because of his momentary curiosity, the Li Sanmao household in Zhao Li Village echoed in his ears…
And due to his whim, he just wanted to see where Zhao Li Village was and where Li Sanmao’s home was.
Then, he was drawn over by this tantalizing aroma…
The two watched as she ate the last piece of meat, drank some honeysuckle decoction, and ate and drank their fill…
She buried the fire in soil to extinguish it, and the mother and daughter went down the mountain with their round bellies sticking out!
