Chapter 16

The chill of her damp underclothes made Qin Qingman temporarily set aside her curiosity about Wei Ling’s strange behavior.

She closed the door behind her and took a quick look around the room.

Seeing that the small hut was relatively safe, she hastily unbuttoned her outer clothes, took off her sweat-soaked undergarment, and hung it over the firewood to dry.

In a place as bare as this, she could not afford to be picky. Wrapping herself in her outerwear, Qin Qingman not only dried her undergarment but also warmed herself, letting the heat dry the sweat on her body.

After half an hour, the underclothes were mostly dry, with only a slight dampness remaining. Qin Qingman hurriedly put them back on.

The warmth and dryness of her clothing finally allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

Although Wei Ling was a soldier, she still felt a touch of uneasiness being alone in this remote mountain with him.

Once she had tidied up her clothes and made sure everything was in order, Qin Qingman opened the door to the small hut.

As soon as the door swung open, she saw a tall figure standing a short distance away, facing away from her.

His posture was as straight and sturdy as a poplar tree, even more striking in its strength and uprightness.

“Com…Comrade, do you… do you want to come inside to warm up by the fire?” Qin Qingman’s voice wavered slightly as she extended the invitation, noticing as she spoke the wild boar near Wei Ling.

The boar, weighing nearly three hundred pounds, was being carried with surprising ease by the man, who moved it without effort. Qin Qingman gained a new respect for Wei Ling’s strength, and remembering how the boar had died, she began to speculate about Wei Ling’s combat skills.

Wei Ling didn’t turn around in response to her question. Instead, he glanced at the darkening sky and said, “Comrade, it’s getting late. We should head down the mountain.”

“Comrade, come inside and warm up. Let’s eat something before we go down. There’s no need to rush.” Unlike Wei Ling, who could stand in the snow for half an hour without complaint, Qin Qingman could not manage long without food.

She was hungry; the intense exertion of their earlier escape had drained all her energy. If she didn’t eat soon, she might faint.

Not wanting to cause more trouble for Wei Ling, she knew she needed to replenish her energy.

Wei Ling picked up on her reasoning and, calculating the time it would take to descend the mountain, agreed, “Alright.”

Seeing his agreement, Qin Qingman turned and went back into the hut.

At that moment, she felt incredibly fortunate. Despite running for her life, she hadn’t lost the shoulder bag she carried with her, and the two large buns she had packed from home were still there.

However, now that she had Wei Ling with her, Qin Qingman couldn’t think only of herself. She quickly lifted the lid of a clay jar near the firewood pile. Inside was not only a small pot but also a cloth bag containing a handful of corn kernels—enough to prepare a meal.

With the pot in hand, Qin Qingman went outside to gather some snow.

At this point in the mountain, the only accessible water was the snow, so she gathered some clean snow to melt in the pot.

“Let me do it.” Wei Ling, noticing her intentions, stepped forward to help.

“Thank you.” Qin Qingman responded, not bothering with pleasantries as she handed the pot over to Wei Ling.

Wei Ling, accustomed to self-sufficiency, handled things with a practiced efficiency. He first used some snow to scrub the pot clean several times.

Only after he was sure the long-unused pot was spotless did he gather snow from the treetops.

A minute later, he entered the hut, holding a pot full of fresh, clean snow.

Handing the pot to Qin Qingman, Wei Ling hesitated briefly, then turned and went back outside.

Qin Qingman didn’t concern herself with whatever Wei Ling was doing. She focused on rubbing the corn kernels clean with snow, then placed them over the fire to cook.

As the water in the pot gradually evaporated, the rich aroma of the corn filled the small hut, and she placed the two large, oily buns she’d saved into the pot as the finishing touch to their meal.

Just as the smell of cooked corn grew more fragrant, Wei Ling returned.

He was carrying a large bundle of dry branches, having evidently gone out to restock the hut’s firewood supply.

“Comrade, the food is ready. Let’s eat.” Qin Qingman said, handing a pair of newly whittled wooden chopsticks to Wei Ling. She felt a slight nervousness in Wei Ling’s commanding presence.

Anyone would feel a bit on edge in the company of a man with such formidable strength.

Wei Ling took the chopsticks after only a moment’s hesitation. Truthfully, he was hungry, and the delicious smell of the cornmeal Qin Qingman had cooked was a tempting lure to his senses.

“Comrade, my name is Qin Qingman. I’m a resident of Kaoshan Village, down the mountain.” Qin Qingman said, taking the initiative to introduce herself to her rescuer.

“My name is Wei Ling, a soldier.” Wei Ling replied simply.

After that, silence fell over the hut once more.

Qin Qingman’s silence was due to a slight tension in Wei Ling’s presence, while Wei Ling himself was at a loss for how to converse with her.

Before crossing into this world, he had been the heir of a noble family in an era bound by strict etiquette, where he had little experience in speaking with young women alone.

After crossing over, he spent nearly all his time in the military camp, without any opportunity for private interaction with women.

The ingrained codes of his upbringing left him without an idea of how to continue the conversation.

Finally, Qin Qingman broke the silence in the hut, saying, “Comrade Wei, let’s split the buns, one for each of us. Conditions here are rough, so we’ll just make do with this simple meal.”

“Alright, you go ahead and eat first.”

Wei Ling, after glancing at the single pot they had, nodded, then gently pushed the pot toward Qin Qingman.

Qin Qingman’s face instantly flushed red.

That’s not what she meant!

But explaining herself now seemed a bit out of place, so she lowered her head and ate from the pot, taking small bites and being especially careful.

She divided the meal in the pot into two portions, one larger, one smaller, and she ate only from the smaller portion, one-sixth of the total.

Her chopsticks lingered within her allotted sixth, careful not to cross the dividing line.

Qin Qingman chewed slowly, savoring each bite. After ten minutes, she finished her bun, but there was still some of her portion of the meal left in the pot. She had overestimated her appetite and found herself unable to finish.

“I’ll take care of it.” Wei Ling said.

He had been watching her closely and noticed her slowing pace and slightly uncomfortable expression, understanding immediately.

With a calm demeanor, he smoothly took the pot and began to eat.

Seeing Wei Ling eating her leftovers, Qin Qingman’s cheeks flushed an even deeper shade of red. Her mind raced in shock: Wei Ling is eating from where she just ate!

She had taken care to use her chopsticks to separate her portion from his, specifically to avoid this kind of awkward situation. But Wei Ling, after taking the pot, mixed everything together without a second thought, eating heartily. Did this count as an indirect kiss?

The more Qin Qingman thought about it, the hotter her face felt. She dared not look at Wei Ling and instead directed her gaze elsewhere, completely missing the faint blush on Wei Ling’s earlobes.

Sharing a single pot as a bowl embarrassed not only Qin Qingman but also Wei Ling, who felt an unusual combination of tension and bashfulness.

To him, such a casual breach of traditional etiquette was profound and even momentous. Because of this shared meal, he found himself making a quiet decision in his heart.

In his previous life, Wei Ling had been the heir to a noble family, raised with the finest foods and an especially discerning palate.

While he could tolerate the rough meals in the military camp, he still preferred well-prepared food.

Tasting Qin Qingman’s handmade buns and cornmeal, he was struck by a nostalgic feeling, as though he were transported back to the elegance of his former life.

The meal filled him with a deep sense of contentment.

In less than ten minutes, Wei Ling had polished off the remaining portion of the meal, leaving not a single grain behind.

It had been a long time since he had enjoyed such a satisfying meal, and even though it was simple fare, he felt deeply content.

“Comrade Wei, let’s pack up. It’s getting late; we should head down the mountain.” Watching Wei Ling finish most of the pot of food, Qin Qingman no longer felt as nervous.

After speaking, she naturally took the pot from Wei Ling, carried it outside the hut, and used snow to scrub it clean before bringing it back in.

While Qin Qingman was occupied, Wei Ling brought back a snowball about the size of a basketball from outside the hut. He placed it on the burning firewood, and in less than a minute, the fire was completely extinguished.

Qin Qingman checked the hut once more to ensure they hadn’t left anything behind and remarked, “There’s no corn left in the jar. Next time we come up the mountain, we’ll need to restock it.”

She had seen documentaries in her previous life about the shelters used by hunters in the northeastern mountains. It was customary for hunters to leave a few supplies behind when they departed, as a form of aid for anyone who might need it later—a gesture of mutual survival.

Those who benefited from these supplies would, once safe, naturally replenish them as a way of paying it forward. This tradition had been passed down for generations in the mountains. Having used the corn in the jar today, they would have to replace it next time they came up.

“I’ll make sure to restock it tomorrow.” Wei Ling said, approving of Qin Qingman’s plan.

“Let’s go.” Qin Qingman said, reaching out to close the door to the hut.

Preparing the meal had taken up quite a bit of time, and now the sun was dipping toward the west, with the temperature dropping rapidly.

Standing in the snow, Qin Qingman shivered, feeling the biting cold on her ears and neck, now exposed without a scarf to keep them warm.

Just as she was about to lift her hand to rub her cold ears, a hat was gently placed on her head.

The warm hat carried Wei Ling’s unique scent.

It was comforting, and very warm.

“Comrade…” Qin Qingman began to protest, feeling that she should decline, as there was only one hat between them.

“I’ll be carrying the boar and will work up a sweat—I won’t be cold.” Wei Ling replied calmly, his bright eyes meeting hers. He then led the horse over, adding, “Comrade Qin, you ride.”

Qin Qingman felt her heart soften completely.

Although Wei Ling was a man of few words, he was truly thoughtful and considerate.

As Qin Qingman and Wei Ling began their descent down the mountain, Kaoshan Village was in an uproar due to the return of Zhu Hongxia and the others.

Zhu Hongxia had sustained serious injuries—grave enough that she was carried back down the mountain unconscious.

Qin Xiang and two of her sisters-in-law had also suffered broken ribs from the wild boar’s attack.

Amidst cries and accusations, the injured women all claimed in unison that Qin Qingman had been the one responsible for their plight.

At that moment, Liu Hechang arrived to add to the commotion. Upon seeing the pitiful state of Qin Caiyun, he immediately demanded to call off the engagement.

Qin Lei and Qin Caiyun, however, were unwilling to accept this.

During the standoff, Liu Hechang threw out a single demand: “Then find me someone else!”