That day, Jiang Xue pushed aside a bush and found herself face-to-face in a ’staring contest’ with two large wild boars and a nest of piglets.

Because everyone was acting separately, each person was responsible for one area to search for usable plants and animals, since so many people’s food and drink needs had to be stocked up. There were also medicinal materials to gather; we couldn’t waste this opportunity to scour the mountain.

In the area Jiang Xue was responsible for, she collected any wild greens and medicinal materials she came across. Who would’ve thought that when she pushed aside the bushes, she’d end up in a staring contest with wild boars?

She swallowed hard, instinctively reaching for the poison in her space. As she was about to sprinkle it, she realized that a nest of wild boars could feed them for two or three days.

Right, no sprinkling it; it would be poisonous — how could we eat it then? Even if we took antidotes, we’d waste materials. So, what to do?

Jiang Xue’s eyes flashed, then she abruptly turned and ran away screaming: "Help! Wild boars, wild boars!"

The wild boars didn’t really want to deal with her, but Jiang Xue was scared they wouldn’t follow her, so she splashed a pot of Spiritual Spring water. All plants and animals loved this water, so she didn’t believe they wouldn’t follow. Sure enough, they did chase after her. On rough mountain paths, Jiang Xue had to use every trick she knew to escape.

Luckily, she had roamed the hills since she was young; otherwise, she couldn’t guarantee she’d outrun the wild boars.

"Ah... help! Someone, wild boars, wild boars!"

Jiang Xue really used all her energies to sprint, flailing wildly, hopping, looking back at the charging wild pigs, and glancing around for escape routes. The bamboo basket on her back was cumbersome; she put it in her space. Running without anything was easier, but she was unable to observe the surroundings properly because she ran too fast. Suddenly, she found herself trapped dead-ended and was flung off a cliff.

"Ah... I’m done for!"

As Jiang Xue closed her eyes thinking farewell to this life, she was abruptly pulled into a warm embrace, the faint scent of herbs made her eyes snap open. Shui Yixuan looked down at her without a word, stepping gently onto a nearby tree trunk as if floating, Jiang Xue blinked at the warmth against her skin, realizing it wasn’t a dream, she quickly looked down: "Where are my pigs? Pigs?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"At a time like this, you’re still worried about your pigs? You nearly fell off; those pigs ran too fast, all six of them dived off!"

Jiang Xue felt a pang: "Ah, that’s a thousand pounds of wild boar meat, wild boar meat! I didn’t even use poison for the meat — no way, this hill isn’t too tall, let’s hurry down and look; maybe we can still find them!"

Shui Yixuan, stunned by her odd logic, felt a bit overwhelmed: "You’d risk your life for meat? I never knew you were so greedy."

"That’s not it— it’s an emergency! We’re lacking grains and vegetables; it’s meat, however you look at it! Everyone’s working so hard, it’s only proper I get some wild boar meat! Ugh, I’m dizzy; you know Qinggong, quickly check if the pigs are still down there!"

Shui Yixuan’s mouth twitched as he spun around, grabbing a vine, wrapping one arm around her waist, safely landing.

Though standing on solid ground felt good, the six boars were gone, Jiang Xue felt a pang of heartache. She lay down at the cliff’s edge, looking down seeing only greenery, nothing else, she turned to Shui Yixuan for help: "We’re really not going down? That’s walking pork belly!"

"Wild boar meat’s not tasty, it’s dry and tough, their skin is thick. Down there, so many plants, they’ve probably run off already; stop with your nonsense. If you crave meat, I’ll catch you some wild chickens or rabbits to sate your appetite, how about it?"

Jiang Xue sensed the teasing and laughter hidden in the eyes of the handsome Shui Family man, feeling humiliated.

"I’m not eating it for myself; it’s for everyone else."

"Yes, yes, you’re selfless, you’re great, all for everyone’s good. Now, get up, how could someone your age still not know how to take care of yourself; look, your face got scratched!"

As Shui Yixuan helped her up, patting away the dirt on her knees and clothes, higher he went, plucking leaves from her hair, touching her face. His cold fingertips made her flinch, then it seemed both thought of something. He awkwardly raised his hand, uncomfortable lowering it, and Jiang Xue’s face uncontrollably flushed red.