The wheelchair He Feng made was very useful. With it, Xie Chi could move around much more freely. Now she was recognized as someone from the young master’s quarters, and regardless of age or gender, everyone treated her with courtesy and respect.

This mountain stronghold was quite different from the bandit den she had imagined before. It wasn’t entirely filled with fierce and vicious outlaws—many ordinary common folk who looked as if they couldn’t even tie up a chicken lived here. Some elderly people, women, and children would even grow melons, fruits, and vegetables, and raise chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep.

Even so, this couldn’t change Xie Chi’s view of the place. Bandits were still bandits—they had set fires, killed people, and committed evil deeds. The pain they inflicted on others could never be compensated for.

Xie Chi was observing a flock of chickens when someone called out to her. She looked toward the northwest direction and saw Aunt Wang with her sleeves rolled up, standing in the field, holding a large, long radish in her hand.

She wheeled over to her. “Auntie.”

“Want some radish? Just dug it up, very fresh.”

“I don’t eat it, thank you.”

“I’ll cook it with meat tonight for you to eat—it’s delicious.” Aunt Wang smiled as she put the radish in the basket and continued digging, lifting her head to look at Xie Chi while working. The bruises on her face had almost faded, and her complexion looked much better. “No wonder the young master likes you—you’re really beautiful, prettier and more radiant than this fresh radish.”

“…” What a comparison.

“Is this your field?”

“No, it’s my brother-in-law’s. I just came to dig a few radishes—my two children at home have been clamoring to eat them every day.”

“What’s planted over there?”

Aunt Wang followed her gaze. “Green onions.”

“They’re so big.”

“There are even bigger ones.”

Qing Yangzi passed by and came over to take a look. “Aunt Wang is digging radishes.”

“Yes.”

Qing Yangzi asked Xie Chi, “How are you getting used to the wheelchair?”

“It’s quite good.”

“Third Brother put a lot of effort into making it.” Qing Yangzi looked at her legs. “How are your legs now?”

“Much better, but I still can’t stand up for the time being.”

“Take your time recovering, no rush.”

“Mm.”

Qing Yangzi crouched down and brushed the mud off a radish. “This radish is really beautiful.”

“Want to take a few?” Aunt Wang asked while digging and laughing.

“I don’t know how to cook.” Qing Yangzi rubbed his fingers together. “I’ll just come mooch some food after you’ve cooked it.”

“Make sure to come tonight.”

“Alright.”

“How come you’re not following the young master?”

Qing Yangzi stood up and stretched lazily. “Third Brother went drinking. There’s an escort agency that brought up some kind of bottle—seems to be an antique too.”

“What use is that thing? Might as well send some gold bars.”

“This is much rarer than gold bars.”

“I don’t understand, I only know gold is good.” Aunt Wang looked up, squinting at the blazing sun. “You should take her back. The sun’s coming up—the girl has delicate skin, don’t let her get sunburned, or the young master will blame you.”

“…” Xie Chi didn’t want to go back. “No need, I’m not that delicate.”

Qing Yangzi laughed. “Should I push you around to see other places?”

“I’ll do it myself.” With that, Xie Chi turned the wheelchair and left.

Qing Yangzi swung the cloth belt at his waist and followed. “Slow down—if you fall, Third Brother will beat me to death.”

…

Although Xie Chi came from a wealthy family, having lived in seclusion in the mountains for many years, she had no airs of a young lady. Now trapped in this bandit’s nest, though protected by He Feng, she still disliked ordering people around. Previously, when she couldn’t get up, she always had Aunt Wang bring meals to her room. Now that she was much better and had the wheelchair, when she was thirsty or hungry, she would go out to find food herself.

At the break of dawn, Xie Chi was already awake. She went to the kitchen herself, ate some steamed buns and drank some thin porridge, and that served as breakfast.

Just as she finished eating and was leaving, Aunt Wang came strolling over slowly. Seeing Xie Chi wheeling out of the kitchen, she quickly approached. “How did you end up here? You must be hungry.”

“Auntie, from now on I’ll just come eat by myself. You don’t need to trouble yourself running back and forth.”

“That won’t do.” Aunt Wang peered into the kitchen. “What did you eat?”

“Steamed buns and porridge.”

“The young master specifically instructed me to stew chicken soup for you. How could you just eat those things?”

“It’s not necessary. Eating meat every day gets tiresome too—drinking some thin porridge is comfortable.”

“Then I’ll stew it for you tonight.”

“I really can’t eat it. Why don’t you take it back for your children?”

“That won’t do—I wouldn’t dare.” Aunt Wang pushed her back to the room. “It’s cold this early morning, and you didn’t even put on a coat. If you catch cold, I won’t be able to explain it.”

“It’s fine, I’m not cold.”

“Your body hasn’t recovered yet—hurry inside.”

Just then, He Feng walked by from the front. Aunt Wang called out, “Young Master.”

He Feng saw the two of them and changed direction to walk over. Only then did Xie Chi notice he was carrying a gray rabbit in his hand.

“Caught a rabbit too.” Aunt Wang stretched her neck to look. “Not very big.”

He Feng suddenly threw the rabbit onto Xie Chi’s lap. She quickly caught it, holding it with both hands, and asked in shock, “What are you doing?”

“Caught it for you.” He Feng brushed off his hands. “It’s a bit thin—feed it for a couple days before killing it.”

“It is a bit thin.” Aunt Wang pinched the rabbit’s leg. “Can’t get much meat from this.”

Xie Chi stroked the rabbit’s back—it was trembling. “Let it go.”

“Up to you.” He Feng didn’t care how she dealt with the rabbit. “What are you wandering around for so early in the morning?”

Aunt Wang sighed. “It’s my fault. I was supposed to stew chicken soup and bring it to her room, but I got up a bit late, so the girl had to come to the kitchen to find food herself.”

Xie Chi explained, “The room was too stuffy, so I came out for some fresh air and had some porridge while I was at it.”

He Feng reached out to grab the wheelchair handle and pulled her over. “Finding it stuffy? That’s easy to fix—I’ll take you for a stroll.”

“Do I still need to follow?” Aunt Wang asked.

He Feng waved his hand, telling her to stop.

“Where to?” Xie Chi asked him.

“For fresh air—if you want fresh air, I’ll give you plenty of it.”

…

He Feng took her to the old place—the shooting range.

Xie Chi looked at the row of targets in the distance and drew in a sharp breath. Great, she was going to be a target again.

He Feng bent down to look into her eyes. “What are you thinking?”

“Living target.”

“Miss it?”

Xie Chi met his gaze. “My wounds haven’t healed yet—do you have the heart?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Playing like this poses no challenge for you—it’s boring. If you want to play, let’s play something different.”

He Feng became interested. “Tell me.”

“Let’s make a bet.”

“What kind of bet?”

Qing Yangzi came walking over from a distance, munching on corn.

Xie Chi pointed at the targets. “Shooting—bet on who can win.”

He Feng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. “Qing Yangzi, did you hear that?”

Qing Yangzi had reached behind the two of them, still munching on corn, speaking unclearly as he mumbled, “I heard.”

“This is the second time someone has dared to compete with me in shooting.” He Feng tapped the wheelchair handle with his finger, looking at her meaningfully. “Interesting.”

Qing Yangzi swallowed the corn and laughed. “A’Zhi, do you know what happened to the first person who competed with Third Brother in marksmanship?”

Xie Chi looked at him. “What happened?”

He Feng raised an eyebrow. “Guess.”

Her gaze returned to his face. “Died?”

“Death would be too boring.” He Feng leaned closer to her face, lips curved in a smile. “The bet was to run naked around the mountain.”

Xie Chi stared into his eyes without backing away.

“Do you dare?” He Feng straightened up, hands behind his back. “You’re a woman—bullying you wouldn’t be interesting. Let’s change the rules.”

“I might not lose.”

Qing Yangzi burst out laughing, spraying corn kernels in all directions. He Feng frowned at him, and Qing Yangzi quickly reached over to brush off his shoulder. He Feng slapped his hand away. “Go eat your corn.”

Qing Yangzi swallowed it all down. “Oh.”

He Feng took out his gun and handed it to Xie Chi. “You don’t even know how to play—how can you compete with me?”

“Who says I don’t know?” Xie Chi took the gun, checked the bullets, aimed at the sky and fired once. “Watching you play with guns every day, being your target—I’d have to learn even if I didn’t want to.”

He Feng smiled and nodded. “Alright, what’s the bet? You decide.”

“Promise me two things.”

“Fine.” He Feng threw her a magazine. “I’ll give you two magazines—if you can hit the bullseye three times, you win. Can’t say I’m bullying you.”

“Aren’t you going to ask what I want you to do?”

“No need to ask.”

“Then what do you want me to do if I lose?”

He Feng bent down and lifted her chin with his finger. “Be my wife.”

Xie Chi didn’t dodge, looking at him calmly. “Fine.”

He Feng was silent for a moment, then laughed softly. “No good—marrying me would be your good fortune. Either way I’d be at a loss. Let’s change it.” He stood up straight. “I’ll give you to Qing Yangzi as a wife.”

Qing Yangzi nearly choked.

He Feng turned his head. “Do you want her?”

Qing Yangzi panicked a bit, threw away the corn cob, and shook his head.

He Feng looked at Xie Chi with amusement. “See, nobody wants you.”

Xie Chi was speechless.

He sighed. “Then I’ll reluctantly take you myself.”

Xie Chi raised her hand to high-five him. “It’s a deal.”

He Feng slapped her hand. “Don’t cry when you lose.”

“Marry me? In your dreams.” Xie Chi mimicked his tone of speech, sarcastically curving her lips in a cold smile. She wheeled to the shooting position, raised the gun toward the target, aimed, and bang—

Hit the edge.

He Feng leaned casually against a wooden crate, watching her and the targets. “Continue. Let you practice first—I’ll give you a few more bullets.”

Xie Chi fired several more shots—bang bang bang—at most only reaching the third ring.

He Feng couldn’t watch anymore and suddenly gripped her arm.

Xie Chi’s shoulder trembled, and just as she was about to pull back, He Feng lifted her arm up. “Tighten here, don’t let your shoulders go slack.” He adjusted her hands. “This is how you hold the gun. Aim carefully before shooting. Understand?”

“Mm.”

He Feng steadied her hands. “Try firing once.”

Xie Chi shot, hitting the bullseye perfectly.

He Feng let go. “I’ll count that shot. Continue—two more to go.”

“No need, I won’t take advantage of you.”

Qing Yangzi laughed out loud.

He Feng also laughed. “Good, you have backbone.”

Following his recent guidance, Xie Chi fired another shot—grazing the edge of the bullseye.

He Feng nodded. “Mm, much better.”

Then another shot—right in the bullseye.

Qing Yangzi clapped. “Not bad.”

Xie Chi loaded the next magazine. The following five shots all hit the bullseye perfectly. He Feng was somewhat surprised, but his satisfaction outweighed his surprise. This little woman had good potential—she had some of his own style from back in the day.

Xie Chi stopped and looked up at him. “Six bullseyes—no need to continue shooting. You lost long ago.”

“I concede defeat.”

Xie Chi smiled happily. He Feng watched her smiling face, stunned for a moment, until she spoke. “Here’s your gun back.”

He Feng looked away. “It’s yours now.”

Qing Yangzi was shocked. “Ah, but that’s your favorite.”

“It’s just a gun.” He Feng took off the holster and threw it to her. “Take it and play with it.”

Xie Chi didn’t stand on ceremony with him. “Thanks then.”

“Speak up—what do you want?” He Feng leaned back against the wooden crate again. “To go down the mountain?”

“No.”

“What, fallen in love with me? Can’t bear to leave?”

“Yes.”

He Feng snorted with laughter. “I’d be a fool to believe you.”

“I want new clothes.” Xie Chi spread her arms—she was wearing a deep blue hemp coat, an old woman’s clothing. “I don’t want to wear this kind—it’s ugly.”

“Fine.”

“I want pretty ones.”

“No problem.” He Feng looked at her with amusement. “What else?”

She held up two fingers. “Two sets.”

“Fine. Two things—this counts as one. Tell me the other.”

Xie Chi suddenly raised the gun, pointing it at He Feng’s head. Qing Yangzi was terrified and quickly moved to block her, warning, “Hey, what are you doing? Don’t do anything rash! Be careful of misfiring!”

He Feng pushed him aside. “Get lost.”

Xie Chi smiled faintly at He Feng. “Any condition at all?”

“Obviously.”

“Good then.” Xie Chi tilted her head. “You go be my target.”

Qing Yangzi couldn’t believe it. “A’Zhi!”

“Don’t make noise.” He Feng glanced sideways at Qing Yangzi. “Stand farther away.”

“Third Brother!”

“Scram.”

Qing Yangzi reluctantly moved three meters away.

He Feng spread his hands. “Fine by me.”

Xie Chi lowered the gun. “Like how you treated me before—find a feather to stick on your head.”

He Feng ran his hand through his hair. “Look at my hair—how can I stick anything in it?”

“Simple.” Xie Chi pulled off the black cloth band tying her hair. “Tie this on your head, then you can stick things in it.”

He Feng took it. “A bet’s a bet.” He turned to Qing Yangzi. “Go find a feather.”

“Third Brother, she just learned! You can’t play like this.”

“Go.”

“I won’t go!”

He Feng raised his hand to hit him. “Go.”

“Forget it.” Xie Chi looked at the tree on the left. “I’m not as vulgar as you—I don’t need a feather. Go find a leaf. You hold the leaf with your hand and stand far away.”

“…”

A man of his word, He Feng refused the leaf option and insisted that Qing Yangzi find a feather to stick on his head. Xie Chi was also fearless like a newborn calf—she wasn’t afraid of hurting him at all, firing several shots at that feather.

He Feng stood perfectly still, while Qing Yangzi was scared nearly out of his wits.

…

When mealtime came, Xie Chi returned to the courtyard. He Feng and Qing Yangzi were dragged away by Li Zhi’an to drink.

It wasn’t until late at night that He Feng returned.

Xie Chi hadn’t fallen asleep yet and could only hear the conversation between Qing Yangzi and him outside.

And footsteps getting closer and closer.

Dong dong dong dong—

The force was so strong it nearly smashed through the door.

“A’Zhi.” He Feng called her name once.

Xie Chi didn’t want to pay attention to him, so she turned to face the wall and pretended to sleep. The door was locked anyway—at worst he’d tear it down.

Who would have thought He Feng would climb in through the window.

Xie Chi continued pretending to sleep.

He Feng reeked of alcohol. He walked to her bedside and gave her shoulder a heavy push. “Stop pretending—get up.”

Xie Chi turned to look at him. “What are you doing in the middle of the night?”

“Got something fun for you.”

“What?”

As soon as she finished speaking, He Feng lifted his hand from behind his back, dangling a frog by its legs as he leaned toward her.

Xie Chi screamed and shrank to the inner part of the bed. “Take it away.”

He Feng shook the frog. “Why are you screaming? You scared me.”

Xie Chi hugged the blanket tightly, not daring to look at it. “Take it away quickly—I hate that thing.”

“Pretending again?”

“I’m not pretending—I’m really afraid.”

He Feng got on the bed on one knee, about to crawl toward her. “I don’t believe it.”

Seeing him approach, Xie Chi grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. “Go away, don’t come over.”

He Feng saw how frightened she was and became even more excited. He got his whole body on the bed and crawled toward her. “It’s so cute—touch it, it’s slippery.”

Xie Chi had nowhere to hide and buried her face in the blanket. “Don’t come over, don’t come over.”

Her voice grew quieter and quieter until she suddenly began to whimper. He Feng froze and tugged at her blanket corner. “Crying?”

Xie Chi began to sob.

He Feng put his hands behind his back. “Alright, alright, I’m leaving, I’m leaving.”

He got off the bed and kept backing away. “Really leaving now.”

Xie Chi heard the sound of the window closing. She slowly lifted her face and peeked outside. Seeing that he was really gone, she snorted with laughter, calmly arranged her hair and blanket, lay down, and continued sleeping.

He Feng walked unsteadily, feeling depressed. He suddenly stopped in the center of the courtyard.

He held the frog up high and poked its belly, complaining, “It’s all your fault.”

“Scared her, didn’t you?”

“I’m going to eat you!”

…