Chapter 35: My Lady, Do Not Worry

Time always slips away unnoticed. By the time Chen Jie snapped back to his senses, the sun was faintly beginning to rise in the east.

It must be nearly four in the morning.

Chen Jie took a piece of linen to wipe the sweat from his body, then immediately went to the water vat in the house, wanting a drink of water.

To his surprise, he found the vat was nearly empty.

Seeing he still had time, Chen Jie went to fetch water to fill the vat. In the past, when he wasn't around, this chore of carrying water was always done by Su Yunjin.

However, she didn't know how to use a shoulder pole and could only carry buckets by hand. Over time, the joints in both her hands had become inflamed, causing a dull ache whenever it was cloudy or raining.

Thinking of this, Chen Jie felt a pang of heartache; he had never once heard her complain.

Picking up the pole and the buckets, he went to the well. Drawing the water and carrying it back was done in one seamless motion.

He soon filled the vat. With his current physical fitness, this kind of labor was effortless.

Having finished that, Chen Jie split some firewood and carried it all into the house so his wife wouldn't have to carry it herself.

With everything prepared, Chen Jie left a note, grabbed a stick from by the wall, and headed up the mountain.

Half an hour later, Chen Jie arrived at Wild Wolf Gully. He searched the surroundings but could not find the injured Red-Eyed Golden Pheasant. Had he come too early?

Thinking this, Chen Jie found a patch of grass, kicked away the weeds, and sat on a rock. The mountain air was still somewhat cold in the early morning, and the grass was damp with dew, which was quite bothersome.

Chen Jie sat on the rock, his eyes fixed on Wild Wolf Gully, while his breathing shifted according to the breathing technique of the Spring-Nurturing Art. It wasn't very comfortable at first—even a bit awkward—but as time passed, the benefits became apparent.

Not only could it eliminate fatigue, but it could also relax the mind, which felt very pleasant.

Thus, Chen Jie waited for a long time. He watched as the sun rose fully in the east, casting a crimson glow across the earth.

Just then, he heard the sound of flapping wings coming from the distant forest.

*Flap, flap, flap...*

Chen Jie looked over and saw a "phoenix" descending from the sky.

No, it was a golden pheasant, but it was exceptionally beautiful. It possessed seven-colored feathers, with a red belly, a verdant green back, and golden feathers covering its wings.

Its claws also shimmered with a golden light, and its eyes were a striking crimson, as dazzling as rubies.

"A Red-Eyed Golden Pheasant!"

Chen Jie's eyes lit up. He watched as the pheasant fluttered down from the sky; looking closely, he saw its wing was injured. It was exhausted from the flight and could no longer stay aloft.

Filled with joy, he quietly crept toward it.

He saw the pheasant standing on the ground, looking around vigilantly. Utilizing the breathing technique of the Spring-Nurturing Art, Chen Jie adjusted his breath to be extremely slow. He approached slowly, inch by inch, until he was close enough to swing his stick and strike down hard.

Before the pheasant could react or even turn its head to see the stick, it was struck. Had it been a person, it certainly would have dodged, but one cannot dodge a blunt blow from behind.

*Thud.* Before the pheasant could even cry out, it was struck dead.

Chen Jie breathed a sigh of relief. He took out the burlap sack he had brought, slipped the bird inside, and prepared to head down the mountain.

But just then, voices suddenly drifted from the distance.

"Quick, quick! I saw that pheasant flying this way. Catch it quickly, and Master Yu will reward us!"

Hearing this, Chen Jie was startled. Good heavens, this pheasant was someone else's prey. This wouldn't do; he couldn't let these people see him.

They had the advantage of numbers; he couldn't fight them off.

Thinking quickly, Chen Jie scanned the area and finally spotted a large locust tree not far away. It was incredibly lush. He hurried over, climbed the tree, and used the leaves to hide himself, pressing his body as close to the trunk as possible.

Using the Spring-Nurturing Art to hold his breath, he became like a chameleon, merging with the great tree.

Unless one looked very closely, he was invisible.

While Chen Jie hid against the trunk, a group of men dressed as servants rushed over, searching everywhere.

"This is strange, where is it?"

"Search carefully! I saw it just now, it flew right this way!"

The group brandished sticks, waving them through the bushes, but after much searching, they could not find the pheasant.

Chen Jie remained motionless in the tree, holding his breath, not even daring to breathe heavily. He felt very fortunate that he had struck quickly; had he tried to catch it alive, the pheasant might have fluttered or cried out, which would have exposed him.

The men searched the entire area without success. Some looked upward, but Chen Jie's tree was indeed so dense that one could not see anything without a very close inspection.

At that moment, someone asked, "Could it have flown into a tree?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the other servants chimed in, "Then let's climb up and check!"

"Right!"

Upon hearing this, several servants prepared to climb, and one even arrived directly beneath Chen Jie's tree.

Cold sweat poured down Chen Jie's face. *Holy crap.*

Just as they were about to climb the tree to search, the cry of a wild pheasant suddenly rang out from a nearby ravine, and a very beautiful wild pheasant took flight.

Unaware that the golden pheasant was in Chen Jie's hands, the servants assumed the wild pheasant was the prize. They immediately shouted, "There it is! Quick, chase it! Chase it!"

The group brandished their sticks and ran after it. Watching the servants disappear into the distance, Chen Jie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He had come incredibly close to being caught. After waiting in the tree for a while longer, he climbed down and hurried down the mountain, doing his best to avoid people along the way.

***

In the early morning, Su Yunjin habitually got up to cook. Checking the time, it was nearly the third quarter of the Yin hour (4:45 AM).

She got out of bed, and taking yesterday's lesson to heart, she dressed neatly, fastening every button tightly before stepping out of the inner room.

Upon reaching the outer room, she instinctively glanced at the bed, but it was empty.

*Hmm? Did he go to the latrine?*

Su Yunjin didn't think much of it and went out. Looking down, she saw the firewood by the stove was arranged neatly. She was startled—had someone entered the house?

No, could it be her husband?

Su Yunjin was surprised. It was only the Yin hour; for him to have split and arranged the wood, how early had he woken up?

She looked toward the latrine, thinking he must be there.

She scooped a bowl of sorghum and took a gourd ladle to the water vat to fetch water. She had been thinking that the water was nearly gone yesterday and that she would need to fetch more later, though the buckets were heavy...

As she was thinking, she opened the water vat only to find it was full. Su Yunjin immediately covered her mouth, a warm current flowing through her heart. She was deeply moved.

Had this man fetched water for her before dawn?

How could he be so kind?

Thinking this, she glanced toward the latrine again and continued washing the rice and cooking. However, after waiting for a long time without seeing Chen Jie emerge, she went to the latrine to check.

"Husband? Husband?"

Standing outside the pit, Su Yunjin called out twice, but there was no response.

"Husband, if you don't come out, I'm coming in!"

Still no response. Blushing, Su Yunjin entered the latrine, but it was not the scene she had imagined. It was empty!

Where was he?

Su Yunjin ran out in a panic. How could he have vanished? Recalling the incident with Ma Liu yesterday, her heart grew even more anxious. She thought about asking Uncle Erba for help, but she retreated just as she reached the door.

She decided to go back and wake Rui Rui to watch the house.

Returning to the room, her eyes inadvertently fell upon a piece of paper on the table.

She picked it up and read: *I'm going out for a bit. I've brought back water and firewood for you. Just stay home and wait for me to return. Don't worry!*

Su Yunjin frowned and set the note down, her face filled with worry. Where could he be going at this hour?

And how could he tell her not to worry when she was so worried?