Jun Jiuling

Chapter 164: Talking about Logic, Chatting about Money

From the moment the stranger appeared, his eyes had been fixed on the Immortal Ziying Plant in Miss Jun’s hand.

He could have easily just taken the Immortal Ziying Plant, and not cared about whether she lived or died.

But he had still saved her, and engaged over the semantics of thievery.

Someone who was so forcefully overbearing definitely would not try to reason.

Miss Jun was silent.

"If it isn't because you need it to cure someone, if it's for money, I can buy this medicinal herb from you," she said, looking at him. "How much do you want?"

The man chuckled out loud.

"Young lady"—he poked the tip of her nose—"not everything in this world can be measured by money."

He straightened up and put the hatchet back on his waist. He tightened his grass rope, then rubbed his nose before walking away.

Miss Jun watched him disappear two or three paces into the mountain forest, before breathing a sigh of relief. She rubbed the silver bracelet on her left wrist.

As she rubbed it, the design on the silver bangle suddenly revealed a sharp, silver needle. The tip glistened green in the sunlight.

Although the venom was extremely poisonous, against the woodcutter, it could not guarantee her life.

After all, this woodcutter was a very fierce and dangerous person.

‘Was this just a coincidence, or did it have to do with the enemy of the Fang Family?’ Miss Jun wondered.

How was Fang Chengyu doing? She hurriedly rose. Pain stabbed in her foot, making her fall down again.

Miss Jun retracted the hidden blade into her bangle. She lifted the end of the skirt to inspect her ankle. Blood had bled through her shoes and socks.

She pressed down. Good, there hadn’t been any damage to the bone. It was just a flesh wound.

There was medicine for this kind of wound back in the carriage. If she applied it for two or three days, it would be fine.

But now the problem was getting down the mountain.

Miss Jun looked around at her surroundings. She would have to use some snapped off branches as crutches. She should have enough energy to get down before it was dark.

Just as she was crawling over, she heard footsteps again. Miss Jun raised her head to see the woodcutter return.

She sat up straight and clenched her hands.

The woodcutter stopped several paces in front of her, looking down at her with his arms crossed.

"Hey, I will not sell the herb to you," he said. "But I can take you down the mountain. How much will you pay?"

...............…..

Miss Jun reached up to snap off some of the branches hanging overhead. From experience, she knew just how tall this person was.

Being carried on his back was like riding a horse.

And he moved very quickly, like there wasn’t any craggy mountain road or pesky trees in front of him. But when he was about to bump into them, he would nimbly move to the side.

This made Miss Jun nervous. She couldn’t help but squeeze his shoulders.

"Hey, hey," he called out to her immediately. "I’m carrying you back, no need to paw at me."

Did this person really care, or was he playing a fool?

Miss Jun let go, only touching him with her wrists to minimize their point of contact.

This pleased him.

"Young lady, is it true you really have money?" he added. "I’m warning you ahead of time, you better not use that kind of lie to deceive me in carrying you down, and then start crying about how you have no money, and thank me for being such a good person."

As he was speaking, he stepped onto an incline, and began to slide down with the gravel.

Miss Jun swiftly hugged his neck because of their sudden fall and pressed herself to his back.

Perhaps it was because of his neck being constricted or because a girl’s body was getting too close to him, but he cried out again.

"You’re strangling me," he yelled.

Miss Jun immediately let go, and straightened up on his back.

He grunted twice. "Be more careful," he said with dissatisfaction.

Miss Jun looked at her bangle.

"You should be more careful too, " she retorted.

Since she agreed to be carried by him, after pointing out which direction to go, this was the second time she had spoken.

He tilted his head to look at her, his expression strange, before laughing twice.

"Young lady, you don’t need to say such a thing," he said. "Such nice words, praising my character, showing concern for me, is useless if we get down the mountain and you don’t pay."

He barked out a laugh again.

He took one of his hands off her legs and patted his front.

The rabbit and hatchet were hanging there.

Because he suddenly removed a hand, Miss Jun started to slide to the side. She could only squeeze his shoulders again.

"I told you to be careful," he shouted again. "Don’t think you can play any of those tricks."

Miss Jun sighed internally but didn’t say anything. She straightened herself up again.

"Young lady, you’re not old, but you think quite a bit. It’s just a pity that these thoughts are not put into an appropriate setting. This kind of pretending to be weak and pitiful is not worth it. In this world, things can be bought with money. This is not something that is incomprehensible."

He spoke and walked quickly. He seemed to be very familiar with the mountain; he moved extremely nimbly.

She suddenly raised a hand.

"Wait a moment." This was the third time she spoke.

He stopped, somewhat impatiently.

"What do you want to do? Do you have to relieve yourself? Just hold on, we’ll be down soon," he said.

Miss Jun reached out to snap off a part of a short shrub next to her. She ripped off a small branch.

"Chew on this," she said, thrusting it towards his mouth.

He stared blankly, guarded.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"This is a medicinal ingredient. I heard your voice was slightly raspy. Recently you might have retched in the night, and your throat must feel blocked."

He raised his eyebrows. That’s right, she spoke true.

She said she was a herb gatherer, so this level of medical knowledge was normal.

This shrub was not anything rare. Although he didn’t know whether it had medicinal uses, at least he knew it wasn’t poisonous.

He took the branch into his mouth.

"But I won’t let you treat this illness in exchange of paying me," he said.

Because he had a mouthful of branch, his voice was slightly muffled.

Miss Jun said ‘en’.

At ease of mind, he sped through the mountain forest once more. But because his mouth was full of tree branch, speaking was not convenient. Silence settled between the two. Only the sound of footsteps and the beasts of the mountain could be heard.

No matter if he was a coincidental passerby, an intentional acquaintance, or a deceitful thief playing the fool, Miss Jun did not care. However, she was sure of one thing.

This person loved to talk.

She sighed lightly. The silence was truly so wonderful.

Because she was so relaxed, she couldn’t avoid pressing closer to him slightly, evoking some muffled complaints.

Miss Jun braced herself against his shoulders, then straightened up again as she rode down the mountain.

............…..

The stove fire had already gone out. The remains of the meal were still neatly arranged on the cushion.

Fang Chengyu was always looking in the direction Miss Jun had left.

Why was it taking so long?

Was it very hard to find?

If she couldn’t find it, it wasn’t so big of a deal. Could she have met with an accident?

She was but a weak girl, and these were wild mountains.

Fang Chengyu caught sight of Lei Zhonglian, squatting to the side.

Previously there was a situation, he had told Lei Zhonglian to go up to find her, but he had promptly refused.

"Young Lady told me to look after Young master," he said. "I will not go look after some other person."

He was a very stubborn person. Fang Chengyu was familiar with this kind of personality, so he didn’t try any sort of threatening, scolding, or making a scene tactics.

Lei Zhonglian suddenly stood up.

"Young Lady is coming," he said, his voice happy but also strange. "But who is that man?"

Fang Chengyu also raised his head to look at the first sound.

A man came charging into his view. He was very tall, making the girl on his back appear smaller.

‘Something happened to her,’ thought Fang Chengyu immediately. He didn’t think about who the man was, nor did he spare him a glance.

He gripped his crutches but did not stand up.

A lame person should stay still and not give more trouble. That was the most dependable.

Lei Zhonglian went forward a few steps, but didn’t leave Fang Chengyu.

The incoming man stopped several paces away, and said a few things.

His voice was very loud, but his words were indistinct, like there was something in his mouth. Lei Zhonglian and Fang Chengyu unconsciously looked at his face.

There really was something there.

This was a young, handsome man, but this valiant man was holding a branch in his mouth.

Some men would chew on grass or flowers, indicating their casual and uninhibited style.

But in his mouth was a giant branch. That definitely was not style.

He really was a strange person. Was this the custom of the people of the mountain?

‘It seems a somewhat familiar custom,’ thought Lei Zhonglian, who had looked after simple carts, driven carts, had many dealings with oxen, horses, and donkeys.

It was like the bit a beast of burden would wear during their work.