Chapter 9: Candied Hawthorn

The past few days, Cao Xi and Qin Zhao have been picking wild hawthorn. They discovered the wild hawthorn by chance.

At first, they couldn’t resist tasting it. After Qin Zhao took a bite, his face puckered from the sourness, and he spat out, saying he wouldn’t take another bite, no matter what.

Today, they picked a lot and also gathered a bunch of twigs and wild grass.

After finishing all that, they were both exhausted and nearly collapsed. The wild hawthorn, twigs, and weeds were carelessly piled up in the corner.

Living a wandering life had already made them filthy, and after a whole day of work, their condition could only be described as tragically unbearable.

Cao Xi finally couldn’t stand it any longer and decided to go wash up in the small river behind the land temple.

She grabbed a change of clothes and led Qin Zhao to a small hollow by the river.

She had discovered this spot by chance—it was hidden on three sides and the water was shallow, perfect for washing up.

Cao Xi: “You keep watch for me, I’ll wash.”

“Do you really have to wash here?” Qin Zhao tightly grabbed the hem of Cao Xi’s clothes, not willing to let go. He could hardly accept bathing outdoors.

“There’s no choice. We’re both covered in mud.” She didn’t want to either, but there was no other way.

Qin Zhao’s grip tightened, and he looked conflicted. “This is inappropriate.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to watch,” Cao Xi said, starting to take off her clothes. Qin Zhao quickly covered his eyes, horrified. “No shame.”

All that could be heard around them was the sound of flowing water and Cao Xi’s clothes hitting the ground.

Qin Zhao kept his eyes tightly shut, afraid he might catch a glimpse of something he shouldn’t.

Cao Xi: “I’m done. When I move away, you can let go of your hands and look.”

As her footsteps grew distant, Qin Zhao cautiously loosened one finger to check his surroundings. When he saw no one was near, he relaxed his grip completely.

He quickly picked up the clothes on the ground, staying alert, like a frightened bird watching for any danger.

Cao Xi quickly cleaned herself in the water hole. The water felt cool against her skin, and fortunately, it was around noon. If it had been in the evening, she would have caught a cold. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she came out of the water hole, wearing only an undergarment.

Qin Zhao saw her hair dripping wet, and she was wearing only her underwear with the hem of her pants above her knees. He hurriedly shut his eyes, not daring to look.

Cao Xi walked up to him, took the clothes from his hand, and dressed. “You should wash too.”

“I won’t,” Qin Zhao replied firmly.

“You have to, you’re filthy.”

Qin Zhao instinctively lowered his head to smell his clothes and realized they did have a bit of a smell.

He didn’t want to admit it, so he tried to argue, “It’s just my clothes that smell. A wash will fix it.”

Cao Xi: “The clothes need washing, and so do you. Go quickly.” With that, she started unbuttoning his clothes.

Qin Zhao panicked, shouting in distress, clutching his belt tightly, his voice tinged with tears. “Pervert, hooligan, shameless!” He shouted every insult he could think of, but nothing could stop Cao Xi’s actions.

Qin Zhao, still holding his pants, cried out, “I knew it! You have desire on me!”

His innocence was lost, and this pervert wasn’t planning to let him go today.

“Go on, be quick. Be careful not to fall.” Cao Xi let go of Qin Zhao and urged him to get into the water hole.

Qin Zhao had no choice but to do as Cao Xi asked. Nervously, he walked towards the water hole. Once inside, he noticed how hidden the area was.

Now that he was here, he had to bathe outdoors. Feeling frustrated, Qin Zhao hesitated, splashing water onto himself bit by bit. The water was cold, making him shiver.

As he continued washing, the coolness began to make him relax, but as soon as he let his guard down, he lost his footing and fell into the water with a splash.

Panicking, Qin Zhao flailed around in the water, swallowing several mouthfuls of it. He couldn’t stand up again.

In his panic, he was suddenly lifted off the ground by an unknown force. Overcome by a sudden, inexplicable fear, Qin Zhao instinctively grabbed onto the person who lifted him.

Wiping the water from his face, he looked up to see Cao Xi’s smiling face.

“Are you alright?” Cao Xi asked, glancing at Qin Zhao, who was in her arms.

“Ahhh!” A loud cry echoed through the entire water hole.

Qin Zhao realized he was completely naked, and Cao Xi was holding him in her arms.

That was the situation. At this point, Qin Zhao could no longer care about her.

Cao Xi: “I didn’t see anything, really.”

Qin Zhao, a mixture of shame and anger, snapped, “How shameless! Who told you to come in?”

He had no secrets left—she had seen everything.

Cao Xi: “I just saw you fall into the river, that’s all. What’s there to see about a little kid like you?”

“I was almost standing up already.”

Qin Zhao glared at Cao Xi fiercely. He didn’t want her to see him in such a shameful state.

The two of them remained in a standoff, and by the time it was time for bed, Qin Zhao was still facing away from Cao Xi.

Cao Xi almost facepalmed—this little kid had a strong sense of self-preservation.

Feeling helpless, Cao Xi suddenly had an idea. “How about I tell you a story?”

She poked Qin Zhao’s back with her finger. Qin Zhao squirmed but still didn’t turn around.

When the others at the land temple heard Cao Xi was going to tell a story, they got very excited, especially the Li Feng. “Cao Xi, quick, tell us a story! Tell him, tell us too!”

There were even some who tried to eavesdrop. Cao Xi’s interest was piqued, but she didn’t forget her goal. She deliberately chose some of the scariest stories to tell everyone.

Hearing the Li Feng’s words, Qin Zhao became even more furious. His little fists clenched tightly. He thought to himself that if Cao Xi dared to tell him a story, he’d never speak to her again.

Unfortunately for him, things didn’t go as planned. Cao Xi’s voice slowly began telling the story.

At first, Qin Zhao was still annoyed, but as the story unfolded, he gradually became more captivated by it.

Cao Xi was telling the story of an embroidered shoe, and she chose the scariest version of it to tell.

Qin Zhao listened intently, at first still angry, but as he continued to listen, he became absorbed.

Before he knew it, he had unconsciously inched closer to Cao Xi.

Seeing that Qin Zhao was almost in her arms, Cao Xi made her storytelling even more vivid and intense.

Qin Zhao didn’t dare to listen further, but he still wanted to know the ending. He focused all his energy to endure the fear, determined to wait for the conclusion.

Seeing how absorbed he was, Cao Xi’s mischievous side kicked in. When the story reached the part where the ghost comes back to collect its debt, her hands quietly stretched to Qin Zhao’s back, and she suddenly let out a sharp scream.

Startled, Qin Zhao let out a yelp, turning and diving straight into Cao Xi’s arms, clinging to her waist and refusing to let go.

The land temple was filled with startled cries, as everyone listening to the story had been terrified by Cao Xi’s shriek.

Cao Xi tightened her embrace around Qin Zhao, her hand gently stroking his back. “You’re angry now? How about I tell you the story of the lion king?”

The shock only lasted a moment. Once Qin Zhao regained his senses, he realized that Cao Xi had purposely told a ghost story to scare him.

Furious, he leaped up and pounced on Cao Xi, pinning her beneath him and giving her a good tickling.

Cao Xi, with her hair messed up from the struggle, laughed out loud and then pulled him down, hugging him tightly as she continued the story.

Li Feng, watching their interaction, felt a little envious. He had noticed the little tricks Cao Xi had played earlier, so he hadn’t been frightened by her scream.

The next day, Cao Xi took the relatively better clothes and brought them to the riverbank to wash them clean, so that they wouldn’t have to go out and sell food in their dirty clothes.

They also cleaned the hawthorn, and Cao Xi shaved the branches into skewers for later use.

The two of them worked together to make a small grass target, the kind that was easy to carry. They couldn’t manage a bigger one. After a whole day of work, Qin Zhao was so tired that his body was bent over.

After washing up, he quickly climbed into bed. Once he was lying down, he kept calling Cao Xi to come up.

Qin Zhao: “Cao Xi, what are you still doing? Hurry up and sleep!”

Cao Xi: “I’m just turning over the hawthorns that I’ve been drying.”

Qin Zhao: “Cao Xi, do you think anyone at the temple fair will buy our things? It’s really sour. Is it even tasty?”

Qin Zhao sounded a bit anxious. He was worried about wasting the sugar. The sugar was expensive, and he didn’t want to eat it himself but had to use it for making candied hawthorns.

“When we’re done, you’ll be the first to try it,” Cao Xi smiled as she walked over to the bed and pinched Qin Zhao’s nose.

Qin Zhao shook his head, not letting Cao Xi continue pinching him. “Hurry up and come to bed. Aren’t you tired?”

“I am tired, my back and waist are sore,” Cao Xi admitted. She was just a kid, and with all the work they had done, she was definitely exhausted.

Qin Zhao: “Then hurry up, I’ll massage your back.”

Qin Zhao used his little fists to softly pat on Cao Xi’s back. His tiny fists didn’t have much strength, but they were warm.

Cao Xi could tell Qin Zhao was exhausted as well. After a few pats, she stopped him and turned to hold his little body. “Sleep.”

Qin Zhao nestled in Cao Xi’s arms, looking up at her. “Is it comfortable?”

“Yes, Qin Zhao’s little fists feel very nice,” Cao Xi, feeling sleepy, murmured, and soon dozed off.

Qin Zhao: “Then I’ll massage you often from now on.”

But by then, Cao Xi was already asleep. Qin Zhao snuggled a little closer into her arms and fell asleep as well.