Xie Chi moved to Song Wan’s room to live with her. No matter what, without being married, staying at He Feng’s place all the time wasn’t quite proper.

The temperature had dropped sharply these past days, making the mountains even colder. Everyone brought out their padded jackets to wear.

He Zhanghui’s concubine returned to the mountain. Hearing that He Feng had a woman, she rushed over to see her as soon as she entered the stronghold gates.

He Feng was eating at a table with Xie Chi and Qing Yangzi when they heard Chen Rongrong’s loud voice from afar: “Where is she? Come out quickly and let me see! What a rare thing—Third Young actually fell for someone! Where did everyone go?”

He Feng got up to go out. Xie Chi asked Qing Yangzi, “Who’s here?”

“Sister Rong, the head chief’s concubine.” Qing Yangzi also followed out.

Xie Chi had always thought He Zhanghui had no wife. The two women who were brought up with Song Wan last time had also been given to other brothers. She had previously speculated that perhaps he was too deeply devoted and couldn’t let go of He Feng’s mother, so he stayed away from women. Now it seemed she had thought too highly of this bandit.

Chen Rongrong was led in by He Feng. Xie Chi stood up, wanting to speak but hesitating, not knowing what to call her. She just smiled and nodded. “Hello.”

Chen Rongrong had a very spirited appearance, with a short scar at the corner of her eyebrow. She wore her hair in a high twisted braid, black cloth boots on her feet, shiny leather pants below, and a tight-fitting short blue jacket with many leather buckles and bells that jingled like singing when she walked.

She looked Xie Chi up and down. “Good eye—she’s a beauty. In a couple years, she’ll be even more stunning.”

Xie Chi glanced at He Feng, who smiled and sat down. “Sister Rong, sit and have a drink?”

Chen Rongrong wasn’t polite. She sat down casually and pulled Xie Chi over. “Sit beside me—let me take a closer look.”

Being stared at like this made Xie Chi uncomfortable all over. “What should I call you?”

“Call me whatever you like—Little Lady, Sister Rong, whatever works.”

Xie Chi followed He Feng and the others, calling her “Sister Rong.”

Chen Rongrong took a piece of jade from around her neck and gave it to her. “This is a fine thing from the imperial palace. I came back in a hurry and didn’t bring any gifts. This is for you.”

Xie Chi declined, “It’s too precious. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Hey, don’t refuse to give me face.” Chen Rongrong hung the jade cicada around her neck. “Beauty matches beautiful jade—looks good.”

“Thank you.”

Chen Rongrong reached toward her stomach. “I heard you’re pregnant?”

He Feng chuckled softly, propping his foot on the long bench and drinking leisurely. “Look at her completely clueless expression—does she look pregnant to you?”

“As if you’re any more enlightened.”

He Feng flicked a peanut at Chen Rongrong. “Less nonsense. Qing Yangzi, pour the wine.”

Chen Rongrong picked up the peanut and threw it back at He Feng. “Little brat, I’ll deal with you later. I haven’t seen your father yet. You two drink slowly.” Chen Rongrong stood up, drained her cup in one gulp, and patted Xie Chi’s shoulder. “Little girl, I heard those bastards from Qing Village beat you. Someday Little Lady will personally take you to settle the score. Also, if this little bastard bullies you, come find me—Little Lady will stand up for you. I’m leaving now, I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

Xie Chi was about to stand up to see her off, but Chen Rongrong pressed her down. “No need to see me out.”

Xie Chi watched her leave. He Feng kicked her under the table. “Eat. What are you looking at?”

Xie Chi moved her stool to sit farther from him. “Your little stepmother is quite young.”

Qing Yangzi said, “Almost forty, I think.”

“Can’t tell.”

He Feng stared straight at Xie Chi.

“What are you looking at me for?”

“Can’t I look?”

Xie Chi put down her chopsticks. “I’m full.”

“Wash up and wait for me.”

“…”

Xie Chi left without looking back.

She went back to her room and locked all the doors and windows.

As soon as she lay down, someone knocked on the door. Her heart tightened.

“A’Zhi, why did you lock the door?”

She sighed with relief and got up to open the door.

Song Wan ran in, gathered her clothes, and was about to leave.

“You’re leaving?”

“I’m going to live at Chen Zheng’s place!” Song Wan happily held up her hand. “Look, he gave me this. He says he’ll marry me at the end of this month.”

It was a gold bracelet.

Xie Chi was happy for her. “It’s beautiful.”

Song Wan lowered her hand. “Even though I’m moving out, I’ll still come serve you every day.”

“No need. I’ve recovered and can take care of myself.”

“Then I’ll come keep you company and chat.”

“Good.”

Song Wan didn’t have many belongings—everything fit in one cloth bundle. She left happily.

Xie Chi lay back on the bed, feeling an inexplicable emptiness in her heart.

She missed grandfather so much and wondered how his health was. But when she thought about leaving this place, she felt a reluctance that was hard to face.

She closed her eyes, trying to push away these mixed thoughts.

But she heard He Feng and Qing Yangzi talking and laughing as they walked out of the courtyard.

She pulled the blanket over her head, wrapping herself like a cocoon, rolling back and forth restlessly.

What exactly was she still attached to!

…

The next day, Xie Chi was practicing calligraphy when He Feng silently appeared beside her. “Write my name.”

Xie Chi was startled and pressed the brush heavily on the paper, ruining good calligraphy.

“Look at your courage—those who don’t know would think I’m a ghost.”

“…” Xie Chi couldn’t be bothered with him.

“Write one.”

Xie Chi changed the paper and wrote two large characters.

He Feng sat on the edge of the table, looking at his name with satisfaction, but then Xie Chi crumpled up the paper and threw it into the wooden box beside her.

“Why throw it away?”

“This one’s not good. I’ll write another.” Xie Chi pushed him to turn around. “Don’t look.”

He Feng obediently turned his back, thinking she was preparing some surprise for him.

“Are you done yet?”

“No.”

“Are you done?” He Feng couldn’t wait anymore. He turned around expectantly, but when he saw the two characters on the paper clearly, he frowned. “What’s this?”

“Can’t you read?”

“River clam?”

Xie Chi suppressed her laughter. “Mm.”

“I asked you to write my name—why are you writing ‘river clam’?”

“Don’t you think these characters look very similar?”

“…”

Looking at it this way, they really were similar. He Feng didn’t want to admit it. “Not similar at all! Write it properly: He, Feng.”

“This one’s for you.”

He Feng raised his hand. “Believe it or not, I’ll hit you?”

“I don’t believe it.”

He Feng lightly patted her head. “Taking advantage of my favor.”

Xie Chi picked up her brush again and drew a small river clam in the lower right corner of the paper.

He Feng was a bit annoyed. “Write it again—not river clam.”

“Yes, it is.”

“Change it!”

“Won’t change it.”

He Feng tried to snatch the paper, but Xie Chi lay over the characters, protecting the paper. “Won’t change it—it’s river clam. You are a river clam.”

“You’re the river clam.”

“You’re a river clam.”

“Then you’re a mosquito.”

“You’re a river clam.”

“You’re a crab.”

“You’re a river clam.”

“You’re paper—toilet paper.”

“You’re a river clam.”

He Feng ran out of words and ruffled her hair. “Say it again and I’ll pull down your pants and spank you.”

“Won’t say it anymore—you’re worse than a river clam.” Xie Chi straightened her hair that he had messed up. “River clams have pearls. What do you have?”

He Feng took her hand and placed it on his chest. “I have a heart.”

Xie Chi met his gaze and suddenly her heart raced, blood rushing to her head. She quickly withdrew her hand and steadied her breathing. “As if no one else has one. Still not as good as pearls.”

“You like pearls?”

“Mm.”

“You should have said so earlier.” He Feng’s finger scraped her earlobe, then he turned and walked away.

“Where are you going?”

“To find you pearls.”

“I was just saying.”

He Feng waved his hand without turning back. “I’m taking it seriously.”

…

Having learned from last time, Xie Chi would tell He Feng whenever she went out to sketch.

Today the weather was perfect, and He Feng went with her to the mountaintop to bask in the sun.

This area usually had no visitors and was covered with lush grass and wildflowers. Xie Chi didn’t paint mountains or clouds, but instead sketched the small flowers on the ground.

He Feng brought a blanket, lying on his side with a piece of grass in his mouth, leisurely watching Xie Chi paint.

Seeing him constantly watching her, Xie Chi asked, “Do you want to learn to paint?”

“My hands are for holding guns and knives—they can’t hold a brush.”

Xie Chi got tired of sitting and lay down to paint. He Feng looked at her profile and suddenly asked, “Do you still want to go down the mountain?”

Xie Chi paused, turned to face him. “Does what you said before about letting me go when my legs healed still count?”

“Of course it counts.”

“Really?”

“When have I ever lied to you?” He Feng removed the grass from his mouth, lazily lying flat and squinting at the blue sky and white clouds under the sun’s warmth. “It’s just that I’ll go with you.”

“Together?”

“To propose to your family and marry you back.”

“What if my family doesn’t agree?”

“They will.”

“My family is scholarly. My sisters all married into prestigious families, or at least merchant families.”

“I am too—the He family is very famous throughout Shandong Province.”

Xie Chi suppressed her laughter. “My grandfather likes cultured people.”

“I’m cultured too. I even know foreign languages.”

“What if I don’t agree?”

“You have to agree whether you want to or not.” He Feng glanced at her. “What, always thinking about going back—do you have a lover at home?”

“I actually do. Grandfather wants to marry me to a friend’s grandson who’s a student. I heard he’s even applying for government funding to study abroad, and after graduating he’ll return to serve the country. He’ll definitely be a pillar of the nation in the future—not like you, occupying mountains as king and oppressing the people.”

“Which eye of yours saw me oppressing the people?”

“Proper people don’t refer to themselves as ‘this old man.'”

“Fine, I’ll change.” He Feng continued looking at the white clouds. “I don’t oppress the people.” As he spoke, he began to grin mischievously, rolling over to press down on her back. Xie Chi couldn’t bear this weight and could barely breathe.

He Feng laughingly bit her neck. “Pressing you, on the other hand, is quite nice.”

Xie Chi couldn’t struggle free and reached back to grab him. This movement aggravated the wound on her back shoulder. Seeing her frown, He Feng let her go and rolled to the side.

Xie Chi’s face was flushed from being pressed. She sat up to catch her breath and casually pulled some grass to throw at him. “Bandit.”

He Feng felt completely comfortable, propping his face with his hand as he lay on his side watching her. “Why don’t I also go study abroad and take you with me?”

“What would you study?”

“I could study anything.” He Feng suddenly snorted and looked away. “I wouldn’t go to foreign devils’ territory. My mountains and my country are just fine. Besides, what’s so good about students? They can’t withstand one of my clubs.”

Xie Chi secretly smiled, then heard him continue:

“If he dares to block me, I’ll chop off his hands and feet. If you won’t marry me, I’ll take you by force. Anyone who dares block my way, I’ll shoot them down.” He Feng rolled over and pulled a purple-red pearl from his chest. “For you.”

Xie Chi was stunned.

He Feng pressed it into her hand. “I chose for a long time—this one’s the biggest and most beautiful.”

Xie Chi felt a warm tingling in her heart and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

“Do you like it?”

Xie Chi didn’t answer, just looked at the pearl in her hand. “I won’t call you river clam anymore.” She looked at him with a slight smile. “I’ll call you Pearl.”

“Can’t you come up with a more fierce pet name? I’m a man, and you want to call me Pearl.”

“Pearl.” Xie Chi smiled happily. “Pearl.”

He Feng looked at her smile, feeling even more restless. He grabbed her wrist and pressed her beneath him. Xie Chi was about to push him away when He Feng held her hands down. “Don’t move. Let me kiss you once.”

Xie Chi looked at his face without struggling.

He Feng didn’t kiss her. “Why are you avoiding me? Weren’t you willing that night?”

Xie Chi was silent for a moment, then spoke honestly. “That night was a special situation—I didn’t think much about it.”

“What did you think about later?”

“Many things.”

“Tell me.”

“I got scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared that you were just acting on impulse, that once you got what you wanted and got tired of playing, you’d discard me. Scared of ending up like Ninth Sister, being passed around—if I really fell into someone else’s hands, I’d never be able to leave. Also scared that if I became involved with you, I wouldn’t want to go down the mountain anymore.”

“What kind of nonsense are you thinking about all day?” He touched her ear. “How could I bear to give you to someone else? They are them, I am me. If I sleep with you, I’ll take responsibility for you. I’ll marry you, with eight sedan chairs to welcome you through the door—no, eight isn’t enough, at least eighty, so you can marry in glory and make your sisters jealous.”

Xie Chi smiled helplessly.

“Once we’re married, you can go back to your family whenever you want, stay as long as you want. But if you don’t come back for a long time, I’ll bring a bunch of brothers to find you every few days—just don’t frighten your father-in-law.”

“Who’s your father-in-law? My father won’t acknowledge you.”

“Whether he acknowledges me doesn’t matter—as long as you acknowledge me.”

Xie Chi bit her tongue lightly and didn’t deny it.

“If you don’t like living in the mountains, we’ll live down the mountain. There’s a big house next to Old Pei’s that just became vacant—I’ll buy it for you. If you miss your grandfather, we’ll bring him over. I’ll have Qing Yangzi and the others stay far away so they won’t frighten the old man. If you like food from your hometown, I’ll regularly send people to buy it for you. I won’t take three wives and four concubines—too many women are troublesome, chattering away and giving me headaches. I’ll only marry you.”

Xie Chi’s eyes suddenly reddened. Apart from grandfather, no one had ever loved her like this since childhood. What surged in her heart wasn’t just emotion, but boundless grievance. During this nearly month-long stay in the stronghold, too many things and words had been bottled up in her heart. She often remembered Ninth Sister’s tantrums, dreamed of Song Qingtao’s whip and Song Mang’s fierce expression before death, feeling so distressed she couldn’t sleep through the night.

“Why are you crying?” He Feng wiped away her tears. “So moved?”

Xie Chi smiled through her tears and hit him. “You’re so annoying.”

He Feng also smiled. “Does your body still hurt?”

“Mm.”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“It hurts.”

“I’ve gone deaf.” He Feng poked his ear. “Why can’t I hear anything?” His face lowered to kiss her eyes.

Xie Chi pressed her hands against his chest, wanting to push him away. She looked into his dark, lustrous eyes, her body seeming to lose control as her hands slowly slid from his chest to his back, embracing his waist. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

He Feng’s hand moved toward her collar. Xie Chi grasped his wrist. “Wait.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Here… isn’t it inappropriate?”

“No one will come. This is the highest mountaintop around—only birds can see us.”

“What if someone does come?”

“There’s no ‘what if’—I had Qing Yangzi guard the path.”

“So you came here with premeditation.”

“Yes, I’m not going back today until I sleep with you.” He Feng embraced her and rolled onto the blanket. “Why else would I bring this? I was afraid your delicate skin might get scratched.”

“I’ll never believe your lies again.”

“Believe them or not.” He Feng removed her clothes one by one, smiling as he examined her body.

Xie Chi covered her chest, then her face, but couldn’t hide everything. Her face flushed as she tried to block his eyes.

He Feng pulled her hands away. “What are you covering? I saw everything clearly that night I brought you back from Qing Village.”

He Feng leaned down to kiss her, his voice becoming hoarse as he whispered in her ear, “This is my first time too. Tell me if anything feels uncomfortable.”

Xie Chi nodded.

“Spread your legs a bit—I can’t find it.” As he spoke, he was about to straighten up to look, but Xie Chi couldn’t let him stare at her there and quickly pulled him back down.

He Feng chuckled softly, knowing she was shy, and went along with her. “Then I’ll keep looking.”

Xie Chi was so embarrassed her head felt heavy. Not wanting him to look at her, she pressed his face against her chest.

He Feng took the opportunity to bite her.

She was too tense, her body rigid as a rod, biting her teeth and not daring to breathe heavily. He Feng looked at her conflicted, aroused face with a smirk. “Right now you look like a big white pig that’s been scalded.”

Xie Chi got angry—even at a time like this, he didn’t forget to tease her!

She frowned, about to hit him.

He Feng caught her off guard and entered her.

Song Wan had said the first time doing this would hurt a little—she was lying. It wasn’t just a little painful; Xie Chi felt like she was about to die from the pain.

She had suffered twice in this bandit stronghold, but all those injuries combined didn’t compare to this pain. It felt like her body was being torn apart, and she couldn’t control her trembling.

She bit her lip, enduring the pain.

He Feng had no experience. He’d never been interested in this before and had only occasionally heard brothers chat about it. Actually doing it, he was like a dumb ox with no technique, only knowing to keep thrusting in.

Her mouth was blocked by his—sometimes he gnawed at her lips, sometimes he stuck his tongue in and stirred chaotically. When she was finally released and caught a breath, she was made dizzy again by his movements.

Xie Chi really couldn’t take it anymore. By now her body had transformed the pain into an indescribable stimulation, and she was sent to heaven again and again by massive waves.

Her gaze was unfocused as she watched black birds fly overhead. Suddenly she bit hard on his ear and called out softly between her uneven gasps: “He Feng, slower.”

“…Slower.”

…