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There were no old clothes or blankets in the space, so Su Niannian had no choice but to sacrifice a mattress, laying it on the ground for the little dog to rest on.
Then, she filled a bowl with some water and left two meat buns for the puppy.
Time inside this space was independent; even if Su Niannian wasn’t inside, time still flowed at its normal pace. That was why she had prepared food and water for the little dog, fearing it would get hungry or thirsty.
“You have to lie here and heal properly. Don’t go destroying the things I planted,” Su Niannian said, pointing to the crops she had grown nearby.
The little dog whimpered twice, as if it understood Su Niannian’s words, and even nodded in an almost human-like manner.
But… that whimpering sound didn’t quite seem like something a dog should make, did it?
Su Niannian didn’t dwell on it. As long as the little dog didn’t cause trouble in her space, that was all that mattered.
There was still a wild boar outside… Su Niannian gripped an iron shovel in her hand, thinking that she might have another tough battle ahead when she went out.
Earlier, she had thought it was great that time paused outside whenever she entered the space. But now, she realized that because of this, the moment she stepped out, she would still be facing the exact same situation as before.
If she didn’t handle things properly now, then even if she re-entered the space and came out again later, the situation would only get worse.
The wild boar would only get closer and closer…
Mentally preparing herself, Su Niannian unconsciously tightened her grip on the iron shovel.
Gritting her teeth, she stepped out of the space.
Time resumed its normal flow outside.
The wild boar was now less than twenty meters away from Su Niannian.
Without hesitation, she leaped forward, skillfully jumping over the spot where she had placed the animal trap.
The wild boar let out a loud “humph!” and charged straight toward the trap she had set.
“It must have been the scent of the little dog’s blood that attracted the boar,” Su Niannian thought.
Wild boars in the mountains were omnivorous, and they especially liked to prey on small animals.
The moment the wild boar caught a whiff of the thick scent of blood, it became as agitated as if it had been injected with adrenaline.
“Snort!”
“Snap!”
“Aargh! Snort!”
In an instant, the wild boar’s front leg was caught in the trap on the ground.
The trap was originally secured with an iron chain, one end fastened to a tree.
The little dog hadn’t been strong enough to break free, but the moment the wild boar’s leg was caught, it lunged forward with all its might—
And in an instant, it tore the iron chain loose.
If Su Niannian hadn’t maintained her running momentum, the moment the wild boar broke free from the chain, it would have collided with her and sent her flying.
The wild boar could actually run fast, but with its front leg caught in the trap, it lost its balance.
It was as if it couldn’t stop in time, veering sideways and crashing off course.
Then, it slid sideways, crashing for several meters before finally slamming into a large tree, coming to a stop just in time.
The tree took a solid blow; even though it was thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around, it shook violently. There was also a deafening rumble…
Hearing the sound, the people at the foot of the mountain couldn’t help but look toward the source of the noise.
Many birds and small animals in the area were startled by the loud noise and began to scatter, flying and running in all directions.
It was still easy to pinpoint the location, though.
“Su Niannian…” Song Zhaodi thought to herself. Su Niannian had just said she was heading into the mountains. Could it be that she had run into some danger?
Song Zhaodi casually tossed the pigweed into the basket, gripping the sickle in her hand as she hurried toward the direction Su Niannian had gone.
Not far from Song Zhaodi, a tall, upright figure moved with even greater speed toward the source of the loud noise.
Earlier in the morning, when Li Ergou mentioned that something seemed off about Li Jinbao’s situation, and that he appeared to be interested in the young girl, Gu Nan had a feeling that the girl might be in trouble.
After a whole morning of work, Gu Nan finished everything in just an hour and a half.
He had come to the foot of the mountain to take a look, thinking that if Li Jinbao dared to have any improper thoughts toward the young girl, Gu Nan wouldn’t hesitate to teach him a lesson.
But when he arrived at the foot of the mountain, he saw that Li Jinbao was already dozing off, leaning against a tree stump.
Nearby, a few children were still cutting pigweed.
His gaze swept over the area, but he couldn’t spot the young girl anywhere.
Gu Nan wondered to himself—could she have gone into the mountains?
Spring had just begun, and the animals inside the mountain hadn’t had enough food yet, so they occasionally came down to the foot of the mountain in search of food…
The thought of such a beautiful and fragile young girl possibly encountering wild animals or other dangers made Gu Nan immediately set off into the mountains.
Just as his eyes scanned the area, searching for the girl’s figure, there was suddenly a loud crash.
Gu Nan cursed inwardly, quickly heading toward the source of the sound.
If he remembered correctly, that area had traps set by the villagers…
If someone didn’t know the location, it could be extremely dangerous.
The more he thought about it, the faster Gu Nan moved.
His body moved so quickly that it almost left afterimages.
When Gu Nan was nearing the source of the sound, a wave of bloodstink suddenly hit his nose.
For some reason, in that instant, Gu Nan felt an unexpected sense of panic in his heart.
His steps grew even faster.
Then, he stopped in his tracks.
In front of Gu Nan, a wild boar weighing almost two hundred jin lay sideways under a large tree.
One of its front legs was caught in a trap, blood oozing out from the wound.
The boar was not dead, but it seemed to have suffered a severe blow. At that moment, it was breathing more heavily than usual, with each breath coming out in ragged gasps.
When Su Niannian saw someone running toward her, she quickly put the iron shovel back into the space.
The little dog, seeing the shovel almost thrown at it, crouched down, alert for quite some time.
At this moment, with the basket on her back, Su Niannian looked at Gu Nan, who was sprinting toward her, and felt an overwhelming sense of joy in her heart.
“You…”
“You…”
Both of them spoke at the same time.
Gu Nan, relieved to see she was unharmed, exhaled in relief. However, upon hearing that she had something to say, his words were suddenly cut off.
Su Niannian, upon seeing Gu Nan, felt her heart racing uncontrollably.
Could it be that he came looking for me because he was worried?
The moment this thought appeared in Su Niannian’s mind, she immediately dismissed it.
It must be that Gu Nan finished his work from the morning and came into the mountains to hunt.
Last time, when Gu Nan and Su Niannian were together, he had mentioned how he often went hunting in the mountains, and he was quite skilled at it.
Gu Nan noticed the excitement and joy on the young girl’s face fade, replaced by a calm smile, though he wasn’t sure why.
Seeing that Su Niannian remained silent, he too didn’t know what to say.
Instead, his gaze shifted to the wild boar lying beneath the tree.
Su Niannian felt incredibly happy just seeing Gu Nan, and she quickly brushed away any extra thoughts in her mind.
“I… it… that wild boar stepped on the trap itself and then ran into the tree,” Su Niannian
explained after thinking for a moment, feeling the need to clarify the situation.
When Gu Nan heard her words and then glanced at her small frame, he naturally understood that this young girl couldn’t possibly have dealt with the wild boar alone. He nodded and prepared to step forward to send the wild boar on its way.