Chapter 24

Through countless calls of “Come home and eat,” Yunxiu had developed a clear, ringing voice. Despite some interference from the autumn wind, the two in the vegetable garden could still precisely capture her voice.

Yan Baiyu and Zhao Penglai exchanged a glance. Joy instantly bloomed at the corners of their eyes and brows. They didn’t even bother with the hoes in their hands—they just tossed them aside and walked toward the front of the house. Their impatient feet broke into a run after just a couple of quick steps.

Yu Muyang, upon seeing the two rushing over, instantly cast the matter of the two strangers in the house out of his mind. The long days of longing for these few adobe houses, the loneliness and desolation, like being separated from home and torn away from his own flesh and blood, had accumulated day after day. Now, finally arriving safely at the doorstep, his joy left his limbs unable to settle, his entire body screaming for a hug. Yet, not wanting to be improper with the opposite sex, the moment he saw Zhao Penglai, he pounced like a tiger. “Brother Zhao!”

Zhao Penglai’s chest bone hurt from the impact. A cloud of dust shook off Yu Muyang, making him cough and his eyes tear up so badly he couldn’t open them. He cursed, “Are you trying to kill me, you idiot?” His words were fierce, but his expression was light-hearted.

Yan Baiyu, too, was immersed in the joy of their return home. But in an instant, her face changed color—clear skies suddenly overcast. The light in her eyes trembled with anxiety as she urgently asked, “Where are Cunxin and the others?!”

Yunxiu and Zhao Penglai snapped to attention and looked toward the direction Yu Muyang had come from. Not a single other person was in sight. That sweet, fiery heart had only just begun to beat when it plunged into an ice hole.

Their three faces turned pale, searching the road ahead with terrified eyes. Yu Muyang said, “I ran the last stretch. The Village Chief and the others are behind me. They should be here soon. Don’t worry, they’re fine. No one’s missing.”

Not long after he finished speaking, the three spotted the figures of Li Cunxin and the other three. The four were also eager to get home, invigorated and quickening their pace. Soon they arrived at the front of the house.

Yan Baiyu and the others rushed to greet them. The two strangers inside the house, though not fully grasping the situation, felt it wasn’t right to just stay seated. They came out and stood quietly behind Yan Baiyu’s group of three.

The returning party looked like they had been fished out of a sand pit—exhausted and disheveled. That flicker of excited spirit they’d mustered upon arrival rapidly dissipated. Each was like an office worker who’d pulled an all-nighter and come home at dawn, their minds numb with fatigue.

Li Cunxin didn’t notice the two extra people. She simply directed everyone to unload the cargo and told Yunxiu to start a fire and prepare some food.

Xia Qing carried down the jar of salt and followed Yunxiu back to the kitchen. She set the salt on the floor and opened the jar. Yunxiu saw it was brimming with salt. This coarse salt would need to be dissolved and purified again, but the quantity was enough to last them over a year.

Nestled on top of the salt were a few greenish-yellow, pear-like fruits. Yunxiu asked curiously, “What are these?”

Xia Qing handed the three fruits to Yunxiu, looking aggrieved. “There was a walnut tree near where we were mining. We wanted to bring more back for you, but there was just no room left. We could only squeeze three in for you to see something new.”

Yunxiu held the greenish-yellow fruit in her hand. “This is a walnut?” Why didn’t it match her memory of them?

Xia Qing said, “Once you peel off the green husk, it’s the kind of walnut sold in stores.”

“Seeing you all come back is enough to make us happy,” Yunxiu said, touching Xia Qing’s cheek. Her hand came away covered in dust. “I’ll heat some water for you to bathe first. You look like you just escaped a refugee camp.”

“No need to heat water. The weather’s still hot; we can just wash with cold water. Cook first. On the way back, our rations were low, and we had to ration carefully. It wasn’t as good as what you make. We’re craving your cooking.”

“Alright. Tonight I’ll make you a grand feast.” Yunxiu held the three walnuts preciously. “Let me take these to Penglai and the others. Since there are only three, they’re even more precious.”

Zhao Penglai and Yu Muyang each carried a bundle wrapped in clothing, coated in dust. Liu Cuo Jin held a jar in her arms while carrying a banana-leaf-wrapped package. The three of them went into the small adobe house next to the main house where Zhao Penglai lived. They unwrapped the bundles and dumped out the contents of the jar—all of it was ore soil.

Zhao Penglai asked, “Is this iron ore? Weren’t you supposed to smelt it into iron there and bring that back?”

With a show-off grin, Yu Muyang took the banana-leaf package Liu Cuo Jin was holding and opened it, revealing ten blocks of pig iron tied with rope.

Zhao Penglai’s eyes went wide. He picked up two of the pig iron blocks, touching them. Although the pig iron had a regular shape, its surface was uneven. Fresh from the furnace, the iron had been a spongy solid, hammered repeatedly by Xu Yin into a portable shape. Zhao Penglai clanked two pieces together—they rang with a metallic sound.

Grinning from ear to ear, Zhao Penglai exclaimed, “Now we can make tools.”

Liu Cuo Jin said, “This is pig iron. It’s hard, but brittle and prone to breakage. If we want higher-quality tools like the saws, files, and planes Xia Qing wants, we’ll have to refine it, reheating it to turn it into wrought iron.” If the refinement was controlled well, that could become steel, but she didn’t say this directly. After all, she hadn’t yet started working with it and didn’t know the exact circumstances—whether resources could support it, or to what extent her talent could carry out. She didn’t want to boast and give them excessively high expectations.

“Good, good. When the time comes, we’ll follow your lead. Whatever you say, we’ll do.” Zhao Penglai was beside himself with joy.

Yunxiu came over with the walnuts, peering into the room from outside and smiling. “What are you chatting about, so happy?”

Yu Muyang said, “Is the food ready?”

“How could it be that fast?” Yunxiu handed one walnut to Zhao Penglai with a grin. “Here, a walnut—a local specialty they brought back for us.”

Yu Muyang and Liu Cuo Jin exchanged a glance, a knowing smile shared between comrades who had endured hardship together. Yu Muyang said, “We used up all our containers carrying ore soil. The Village Chief, Xia Qing, and Little Liu all contributed their outer jackets. There really wasn’t any room left, so we just stuffed three in the salt jar.”

Zhao Penglai held the walnut and laughed. “Good. One is good. Rarity makes it precious. I’m going to keep this and treasure it until I’m old and gray.”

Liu Cuo Jin asked, “Where’s the Village Chief?”

Yunxiu said, “I just saw her and Uncle Xu taking the water buffalo and donkey to drink.”

Li Cunxin and Xu Yin had led the animals to drink their fill of water, then fed them plenty of forage. Those two had shouldered the heaviest burdens during this long journey.

Li Cunxin led the black donkey into the thatched shed, stroking its forehead. The donkey lifted its head, snorting hot air from its nose—clearly disdainful of her dust-covered hand.

“Cunxin.”

Li Cunxin turned around and saw Yan Baiyu standing behind her. Next to her stood two strangers.

She had retained a faint impression of these two people in her mind. She had noticed them the moment they returned, but her exhausted brain only allowed her to handle things one at a time.

Yan Baiyu introduced the two. They were a man and a woman. The man was called Wang Ran, in his late thirties, with a sturdy, fit build and a handsome, upright face. His summer clothes were worn and covered in stains and tears, and his exposed arms and legs bore many wounds. His hair had grown past his earlobes, and a beard had sprouted. The woman was named Jiang Beibei, about thirty years old, with a small face and a gentle, graceful air. She had clearly suffered during her time in this world, for her attire was a dress—now so filthy it was impossible to see the original white. The jacket draped over her shoulders seemed to belong to Wang Ran.

Jiang Beibei leaned on Wang Ran in her movements. The two were probably like Yunxiu and Xia Qing, having met soon after arriving in this other world and cooperating to survive.

Yan Baiyu’s words confirmed Li Cunxin’s guess. Yan Baiyu had encountered the two earlier that day while setting hunting traps in the pine forest. They were traveling on a bamboo raft, drifting with the current. The gray wolves had discovered them first and signaled Yan Baiyu.

The two in the woods were naturally closely watching the forest’s movements, startled by the wolf howls from within. When Yan Baiyu emerged at the water’s edge with her wolves, Jiang Beibei had collapsed limp on the raft, while Wang Ran was wild with joy, his throat catching.

They both had the weary feeling of survivors of a catastrophe, excited to encounter fellow countrymen again. While the raft was still in the middle of the stream, Wang Ran had jumped into the water and pulled the raft ashore.

Yan Baiyu brought the two back to the adobe houses, which already had the air of a small settlement. When the two saw these man-made structures, they felt a sense of familiarity and awe. Upon learning that quite a few people were already living here, their unease grew.

Yan Baiyu then introduced Li Cunxin to the two.

Li Cunxin, with a wooden expression, nodded to them. “Hello.”

Her cold demeanor made the two feel very constrained, like guests in a host’s home, unsure where to put their hands and feet.

Yan Baiyu said, “She’s not usually like this. She’s just exhausted from a long journey.”

Li Cunxin was indeed too tired. Inwardly, she was happy—very happy and pleasantly surprised—but her nerves couldn’t summon excitement, and her face couldn’t form an expression.

“Let her rest for the night. We can talk tomorrow,” Yan Baiyu said.

Wang Ran rubbed his hands together, nodding nervously like a job applicant at an interview with a desired company. “Alright.”

Xu Yin and Yu Muyang bathed by the pond with just a basin of water. Yu Muyang borrowed Zhao Penglai’s work jacket, and Xu Yin wrapped himself in his own animal hide. For Li Cunxin, Xia Qing, and Liu Cuo Jin, it was far more troublesome—they had to bring water inside to wash, and dealing with their long hair was an added hassle. Li Cunxin wore Yan Baiyu’s outdoor jacket, with an animal hide wrapped around her lower body like a towel. Xia Qing and Liu Cuo Jin wrapped themselves in the large animal hides that had been pieced together as bed sheets, draped over their shoulders, in a style reminiscent of ancient Rome.

Zhao Penglai went to wash Xu Yin’s and Yu Muyang’s dirty clothes. Yan Baiyu and Yunxiu took care of Li Cunxin, Xia Qing, and Liu Cuo Jin’s. Wringing them out and hanging them up, they would be dry by morning after a night of wind.

Once they’d finished, Yunxiu’s meal was ready: braised rabbit with pickled vegetables, braised crucian carp, dry-fried salted fish, blanched green vegetables, boiled radish, and a dish of shepherd’s purse that Yunxiu had discovered outside two days earlier, simply steamed.

Though these dishes lacked some flavor due to missing condiments, everyone still ate like starving ghosts. Wang Ran and Jiang Beibei, crowded at the edges of the table, were even more astonished—they hadn’t imagined they’d get to eat the foods of their homeland in this alternate world.

Well-fed and clean, Li Cunxin and her group were now unbearably sleepy.

Night had fallen. Yu Muyang and Xu Yin went straight to the bamboo house to sleep. Zhao Penglai also thought it improper to stay longer. Yunxiu and Yan Baiyu cleared the bowls and took them to the kitchen to wash. Xia Qing felt her way back to the small bamboo room attached to the main house and fell into a dead sleep the moment she lay down.

Liu Cuo Jin could still muster a bit of energy. She looked at the newly arrived couple and knew that tonight, the sleeping arrangements would have to be adjusted, with a room emptied out for them.

Seeing the two looking lost, Liu Cuo Jin asked Li Cunxin, “Village Chief, where will the two of them sleep tonight?”

Li Cunxin, propping up her forehead, was nodding off. She lifted her head in a daze, her mind foggy. She recalled that earlier, while Yan Baiyu was introducing her to these two, Jiang Beibei had constantly been holding Wang Ran’s arm. She had no idea why the thought popped into her head that they were a couple. She just opened her mouth and said, “You… mm… empty out the bamboo room for them to stay. You go sleep in the storehouse. I’ll sleep in the main house and squeeze in with Baiyu.”

“I’ll take you over. Let me find a candle first…” Li Cunxin stood up, tottering like a drunk. She thought for ages but couldn’t remember where the candles were.

Liu Cuo Jin went into the bamboo room where Xia Qing was sleeping and fetched a candle. “Village Chief, you go rest first. I’ll take them.”

“Alright.”

After Liu Cuo Jin led the two away, only Li Cunxin remained in the room. She lay down on the bed, very conscientiously settling at the foot, leaving the inner side empty.

Yet she felt as if she’d forgotten something. Her brain churned slowly, pondering. Even when Yan Baiyu returned, blew out the candle, and crept lightly into the inner side to lie down, Li Cunxin still couldn’t fall asleep.

The room was very dark. There were few insects chirping in autumn. The faint sound of Xia Qing’s light snoring drifted over from next door.

Li Cunxin yawned—a rush of air shot straight to the crown of her head, and her mind sharpened.

Li Cunxin abruptly sat up. From the other end, Yan Baiyu asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Li Cunxin didn’t know if she had woken Yan Baiyu or if Yan Baiyu hadn’t fallen asleep yet. She didn’t care too much. She shifted from sitting to kneeling, then flopped down, scooting up next to Yan Baiyu.

She draped an arm over Yan Baiyu’s shoulder and propped herself up, speaking close to her ear. “What do we do? I arranged for Wang Ran to share a room with Jiang Beibei. I was too sleepy earlier, my brain just wouldn’t turn—I somehow thought they were a couple. Should we go wake them up and change rooms?”

Yan Baiyu caught the scent of soap pod behind her. Li Cunxin’s voice was very low, but the sound waves tickled her eardrum. She shrank her neck a little. “Did either of them refuse?”

“No.”

“Did Jiang Beibei’s face show any sign of resistance?”

Li Cunxin thought back. “No.”

Yan Baiyu said, “If there really is something between the two, whatever was going to happen already has. Even if you wanted to stop it, it’s too late. If Wang Ran truly intended to do something, he’d have countless better opportunities and atmospheres than this—in a strange place, among strangers. He wouldn’t lay a hand on Jiang Beibei here.”

Li Cunxin hummed in acknowledgment.

“I know what you’re worried about. But compared to us, whom they’ve only known for a day, those two are clearly more intimate and trusting of each other. What you might consider good for them might not seem so to them. They’ve been inseparable all day. Being next to each other gives them more security than being next to us. Otherwise, at the very least, as a woman, Jiang Beibei would have shown discomfort the moment you made that sleeping assignment. Even if she didn’t say it, her expression would have betrayed reluctance. Since neither objected, as outsiders, we shouldn’t interfere too much.” Yan Baiyu spoke softly. “Besides, it’s their first day here. They’re nervous and cautious. They’re probably a bit daunted seeing so many of us, maybe even a little afraid. It’s possible that, compared to us, they’re more on guard against each other. If you run over now to split them up, it’ll be very hard for them not to overthink.”

“Mmmfraid of us?” Li Cunxin mumbled.

“Afraid we aren’t good people.”

“Not good people who give them food?”

“The Last Supper.”

Li Cunxin gave a weak, amused laugh with her eyes closed.

Yan Baiyu added, “Don’t worry. I saw Wang Ran carrying some straw earlier. I didn’t pay it much mind then, but now I think he probably intended to make a bed on the floor. Still, tomorrow, we should talk to them. If they really are in that kind of relationship, we do need to warn them to be careful. In this world, with no doctors, pregnancy could be something that costs a life.”

The voice behind her was silent for a while. Only the sound of steady breathing came.

This person had fallen asleep leaning against Yan Baiyu. It was their first time sleeping side by side.

Yan Baiyu let out a barely perceptible sigh. She gently tried to shift, to move a little away, but suddenly realized both her body and head were pinned by a force.

Li Cunxin wasn’t just pressing down on her blanket—she was also lying on her hair.

Yan Baiyu: “…”