Ich verkaufe meine Kleidung und kaufe etwas Wein, den ich mit dir trinken kann

Kapitel 7

When Taishan saw this, he turned around and saw me. "You're awake?" Although I was reluctant to admit it, he was a hundred times gentler to me than he was to that old Zhou.

Old Zhou had clearly never heard this cold-blooded fellow speak like that before. His old eyes were wide open, bigger than copper bells, and he stared at me intently.

Oops, caught red-handed. I touched my nose sheepishly, came out of my hiding place, and waved to Grandpa Zhou—well, he wasn't actually that old, probably around 40 or 50—"Hi!"

Taishan reluctantly introduced me to Lao Zhou, saying, "Ye Qing."

"Ah, good, good! Hello, Miss Ye." Good heavens, this is too much! He doesn't need to be so excited to see me that he cries, does he? I don't even know him!

I stared at the old man in front of me, completely bewildered, and suddenly felt at a loss for what to do.

"Steward Zhou, you've scared people."

"Oh, yes, yes, it was my rudeness, young lady, please forgive me." He quickly recovered and wiped his tears with his sleeve. But he kept staring at me.

"Okay, that's settled. Go back now, and remember, don't come back again." After giving those instructions, Taishan grabbed me and left without another word.

"Wait!" I struggled desperately, but I couldn't break free from his grasp. I watched helplessly as Lao Zhou disappeared from my sight—shit!

Once inside the cave, Taishan let go of my hand and looked at me helplessly.

"Why didn't you let me speak? I want to go with him, I want to leave here!" I protested loudly.

"I won't let you go. You'd better give up on that idea sooner rather than later." He glanced at me sideways, his eyes filled with determination, sorrow, and struggle.

"Why? What gives you the right to decide whether I stay or leave? And why should I stay in this godforsaken place with someone whose name I don't even know?" I clenched my fists, my face full of anger.

“Ji Huaiyuan.” He stared intently at me.

"What?"

“My name.” He smiled at me. “You said you didn’t want to stay here with someone whose name you didn’t know. Well, now that you know, you can’t leave!”

"How can this be?" I was speechless. "What kind of logic is this? What country's law stipulates this?"

“I made the rules.” He sat down calmly. “It’s settled. Unless I take you down the mountain, don’t even think about it.”

I protest!!!

This book was first published on Xiaoxiang Novel Original Website. Please retain this information when reprinting!

[Volume 1: Encounter Chapter 7: The Seven-Colored Azalea]

Taishan—oh no, I should call him Huaiyuan now—I'm still not used to it. Huaiyuan was clearly in a very good mood. He smiled and waved at me.

"Don't you have a mouth? Don't I have a name?" I muttered, reluctantly moving closer. "What is it?"

"Come and see, do you like it?" Only then did I notice that there was a large package on the stone table, which Huaiyuan was opening.

I peeked inside and saw it was a pile of clothes. I curled my lip. "What? Trying to bribe me with two tattered clothes? This girl—oh dear, I'm really adapting to local customs, calling myself 'girl' so quickly—isn't buying it."

"Really? You don't like it. Then I guess I'll just have to throw it all away?"

"Seriously?" I watched coldly as he actually picked up the package and walked out of the cave. "Wait a minute, just because I can't forgive you doesn't mean I don't want it! Why waste it like this? Do you think making money is easy?" Just kidding, having something to wear is better than having nothing, right? Why should I needlessly torture my body just to get angry with a brat?

She reached out and snatched the package from his hand. Wow, there was a wide variety of clothes: long coats, short coats, single-layer coats, lined coats, and cotton-padded coats, each with its own unique style. Most were straight-collared, open-fronted, without belts or buttons, only adorned with delicate lace trim on the cuffs, collar, and front. The colors were mostly elegant and understated, such as light blue, lake green, pale purple, and moon white.

Clearly, it was Old Zhou who brought it—so, did Old Zhou find his way here, or did this kid give him the information? I just wonder what method he used to deliver the message?

I glanced at him, and I couldn't help feeling a pang of emotion—he had been hiding in this desolate wilderness for years, concealing his identity and not returning home; he must have had some untold hardships. Now, for my sake, he had revealed his whereabouts. Could he still live so peacefully here afterward?

"Don't worry, Steward Zhou is very reliable. He would risk his life for me." Huaiyuan smiled faintly at me.

"Who's worried about you? Stop being so vain," I retorted stubbornly. "It's just that these clothes are too ugly, I don't like them!"

"We'll just have to make do here." He still didn't seem to mind my attitude and maintained his smile.

This actually made me feel a little embarrassed. Is it really worth it for an adult to argue with a child over such a small matter?

I awkwardly walked into the inner cave, picked out a moon-white top, a moon-white pleated long cotton skirt, and a light blue jacket, changing out of my "tiger-skin skirt and shirt." I then put on a pair of embroidered shoes with phoenixes. In an instant, I had become a citizen of the Song Dynasty.

There was even a bronze mirror, an ivory comb, some hairpins, and jewelry in the bag—I couldn't help but admire Uncle Zhou's meticulousness and thoughtfulness in handling matters.

I still prefer simplicity and clarity. So I discarded all those jewelry and hairpins. Looking in the mirror—the girl with shoulder-length hair, a slightly melancholic expression, elegant and graceful—could that be me? I sighed softly. Except for the hair, I'm practically indistinguishable from the ancient women on TV. How long will this kind of life last?! How I wish this were just a dream…

Looking around, I realized we had reached the end of the cave. Books were neatly stacked all around—this kid really liked books. The outer room was almost entirely filled with them as well. I casually flipped through them; they covered everything from classics and historical texts to philosophy, medicine, divination, astrology, astronomy, and geography—a veritable treasure trove. A chill ran down my spine: Could this kid really be planning to live in seclusion here forever?

A faint light emanated from the cave walls. I approached for a closer look and gasped—that casually placed, egg-sized, round object was none other than the legendary luminous pearl! Good heavens, he actually used it as an oil lamp. I was truly impressed. But then again, if I could travel through time to get here, what couldn't I do? This just means his parents were a little more materialistic than others; nothing special. Right?

Four months slipped by unnoticed. The cuckoo began to call mournfully in the mountains, and the azaleas bloomed in fiery splendor, but the legendary seven-colored azalea was still nowhere to be seen. Huaiyuan's face grew increasingly gloomy, his mood gradually became depressed, and he grew ever thinner.

He often sat motionless at the cave entrance for an entire day. His desolation and sorrow were so palpable that it was hard to bear to look at him.

I've made up my mind. I can't let this brat run wild any longer—besides, Heaven didn't send me to the Song Dynasty just so I could silently grow old and die here with a little devil, did it? I've never even been in a relationship yet, how can I be so irresponsible? Besides, this isn't fair! In novels and TV shows, the heroines always meet an emperor, a crown prince, a martial arts leader, or at the very least, a scion of a noble family—why am I so unlucky? Not meeting a handsome man is one thing, being stranded in the mountains is another, but to run into this stubborn and difficult little brat? I, Ye Qing, while I haven't done any great good deeds in my life, I haven't committed any crimes or evil deeds either! Why is Heaven treating me like this? This is just too incomprehensible!

"Huaiyuan, I think we should forget about it. Where are these seven-colored azaleas? I told you it's a scam. Let's get down the mountain as soon as possible. Not eating or sleeping won't solve anything." I stole a glance at him and swallowed hard. "Besides, I'm sure you're malnourished. Look at yourself! You look even younger than when I first met you! You looked about eight or nine years old then, now you're at most a..."

"What did you say?!" He suddenly turned around and roared at me.

I was startled and shrank back, muttering under my breath, "That's how it is. I don't care, I'll drag you down the mountain tomorrow, even if I have to."

Huaiyuan glared at me for a long time, then suddenly stood up, flicked his sleeves, walked into the cave, and coldly said, "Whether you stay or leave is not up to you."

"You just wait! Even if I die in these mountains, I'm leaving!" Hmph! A scholar can be killed but not humiliated! Who's afraid of who? My anger flared, and I didn't care about anything else. Anyway, the moon was shining brightly outside—was it the fifteenth again? "You barbaric and ignorant fool! I'm going to go and uproot that damned azalea. Without the flower, let's see what you're waiting for here!!"

I stormed out of the cave, calling out to Little White—for the past few months, Little White had become my personal mount and guide, leading me all over the mountains, exploring countless peaks, large and small, on the north bank of Wushan. Hearing my call, it emerged from the woods, naturally scooped me into its arms, and leaped off, galloping towards the moonlit mountains.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" Huaiyuan was caught off guard by my actions and couldn't stop me in time, so he could only chase after me. "Ye Qing, come back here! Stop right there! Don't you dare do anything reckless!"