Chapter 26

A robust and muscular wild boar, covered in thick black-brown fur, charged down from the mountain towards them.

Its two glossy black eyes were wide open, and its long, pointed snout dripped with glistening saliva.  

“Mom!” Da Bao was terrified, clutching tightly onto his Mom’s clothes.  

Without hesitation, Shen Yiyi tried to send Da Bao into the space.  

However, no matter how many times she silently chanted the command, Da Bao remained standing in the same spot.  

He couldn’t enter the space!  

A sense of crisis surged through her, and her body tensed up. If she had been alone, it wouldn’t have mattered, but now she had Da Bao with her… There was no way she could hide in the space by herself!  

She regretted not letting Da Bao go with Er Bao to carry firewood back earlier. Her mind raced, searching for a solution.  

There was no better way to ensure Da Bao’s safety than for her to lure the wild boar away.  

A woman may be weak, but a Mom is strong.  

Shen Yiyi quickly retrieved a red cloth from her space while pushing Da Bao back and speaking rapidly to him.  

“Da Bao, run! Mom will distract the wild boar.”  

“Mom!” Da Bao burst into tears. The little boy understood that his Mom was putting herself in danger to protect him. He refused to leave, sobbing as he clung to her.  

Seeing the wild boar getting closer, Shen Yiyi had no time to comfort Da Bao. She shoved him away and ran in the opposite direction, unfurling the red cloth to draw the boar’s attention. At the same time, she shouted sternly: “Go back and call for help! Only then can you save me! Listen to me!”  

Wild boars went berserk when they saw the color red. As expected, upon spotting the red cloth in Shen Yiyi’s hand, the beast immediately changed direction and charged at her instead.  

Facing the massive and ferocious wild boar, Shen Yiyi was terrified, but she gritted her teeth and sprinted up the mountain with all her might. Even as she ran, she kept glancing back to check if Da Bao was following her.  

Fortunately, Da Bao had understood her words. With tears streaming down his face, he turned around and ran back, crying out as he ran: “Help! Someone, save my Mom! Please, help!”

Seeing that Da Bao was safe, Shen Yiyi let out a sigh of relief and stopped in her tracks. She quickly retrieved an electric stun baton from her space, gripping it tightly as she watched the charging wild boar with caution.  

The wild boar, seeing her pause, leaped forward with its front hooves, lunging straight at her.  

At the critical moment, Shen Yiyi swung the stun baton with all her strength.  

The wild boar trembled violently for a few seconds but didn’t faint. Instead, it became even more enraged and continued its charge toward her.  

Just as it was about to reach her, Shen Yiyi silently chanted the command to enter her space. In an instant, the wild boar was sucked into the space, trapped in a vacuum-like state. Its ferocious eyes remained wide open, frozen in its last moment of rage.  

As Shen Yiyi withdrew her consciousness from the space, the tension in her body finally eased. Her legs felt weak, and she collapsed onto a wooden stump, breathing heavily, still shaken from the experience.  

Thank goodness… she had a golden finger.  

She glanced around cautiously—no one was in sight. Only then did she exhale in relief.  

The situation had been so urgent that she hadn’t even checked if anyone had witnessed what had just happened. If someone had seen a wild boar suddenly disappear before their eyes, she might have been dragged off and burned as a witch.  

After sitting for a while to catch her breath, Shen Yiyi grabbed a thick wooden stick and entered her space. She strode over to the wild boar and gave its head a few solid whacks, ensuring that it was completely knocked out. Only then did she release the unconscious beast from the space.  

“Shen Yiyi!”  

“Da Bao’s Mom!”  

“Li Chen’s wife!”  

The sounds of frantic shouting grew closer.  

Hearing the approaching voices, Shen Yiyi immediately mustered all her strength to drag the wild boar under a large tree.  

A group of people, armed with sickles and iron shovels, rushed up the mountain. Leading the pack was Li Chen. His sun-darkened yet handsome face was filled with worry as he shouted at the top of his lungs: “Shen Yiyi!”

“Shen Yiyi!”  

“Brother Chen! I’m here!” Shen Yiyi instantly recognized Li Chen’s voice and shouted back loudly.  

Only then did the crowd spot her and rush toward her in a frenzy. Li Chen ran the fastest, grabbing her as soon as he reached her, his eyes scanning her anxiously. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?”  

He was so worried that his brows were tightly furrowed, and sweat covered his forehead and clothes. Although his face, hair, and outfit were smeared with dirt and straw, Shen Yiyi thought he looked as if he were glowing in that moment.  

She had been looking for an excuse to get closer to him, and now was the perfect chance. Without hesitation, she threw herself into his arms, her voice carrying a slight sob. “I’m fine… I was just so scared…”  

“It’s okay now, it’s okay.” Li Chen murmured as he held her tightly, comforting her over and over.  

“Li Chen! Li Chen’s wife!” The others finally caught up, panting. “Where’s the wild boar?”  

“Over there!” Shen Yiyi clung to Li Chen’s waist and pointed shakily toward the tree, making sure to tremble a little more for effect. Li Chen instinctively tightened his embrace around her.  

Everyone turned to look and saw the wild boar lying unconscious under the tree, still breathing faintly. Next to it lay a thick wooden stick. They gawked at Shen Yiyi in disbelief.  

“This… Li Chen’s wife, did you take down this wild boar?”  

Li Chen also stared at her, stunned.  

“No! It was chasing me and ran into the tree by itself. I was so scared it would wake up and go crazy again, so I forced myself to pick up a stick and hit it a few times just in case.” Shen Yiyi quickly explained. Then, with reddened eyes, she looked up at Li Chen and whispered: “I was so scared…”  

With her delicate, frightened appearance, no one doubted her words.

“Don’t be scared anymore, you’re safe now.” Li Chen reassured her before turning to the other men. In a deep voice, he said: “The wild boar is unconscious now. Let’s carry it down the mountain.”  

The group consisted of strong men, including Chen Qiang.

Hearing his big brother’s instructions, he swiftly took charge and directed the others to lift the wild boar.  

The men didn’t say much, but as they passed by Li Chen and Shen Yiyi—who were still holding each other—their smiles carried a teasing undertone.  

It was only then that Li Chen realized he was still embracing Shen Yiyi. His body tensed up instantly—  

She had actually let him hold her?  

Shen Yiyi, pretending not to notice his reaction, released him and wrinkled her nose. “Brother Chen, let’s go too?”  

“Mm!” Li Chen nodded. Seeing her let go, he felt an inexplicable sense of loss. He stepped back slightly, gesturing for her to walk ahead of him.  

But Shen Yiyi acted as if she hadn’t noticed his movement at all. Instead, she grabbed his arm and walked alongside him, as if she were still frightened.  

Li Chen glanced at her and hesitated for a moment before suddenly crouching down. “Do you want me to carry you?”  

He had already prepared himself for rejection. But in the next second, he felt a soft weight press onto his back—  

She had climbed onto him without hesitation.  

“…”  

He remained frozen in place for a long moment until Shen Yiyi nudged him. “Brother Chen, am I too heavy?”  

Li Chen snapped back to reality. His movements were slightly stiff as he adjusted his hold and stood up, carrying her forward. In a rough but firm voice, he said: “No… you’re very light.”  

Shen Yiyi’s lips curled into a triumphant smile.  

Mm, Brother Chen’s back was so broad and strong—it made her feel so safe~  

A few minutes ago, Da Bao had run down the mountain crying, frantically calling for help.  

At that time, Li Chen and Chen Qiang had been transporting harvested grain back to the drying field.

When they happened to hear Da Bao’s panicked cries, Li Chen immediately rushed up the mountain, with Chen Qiang calling a few other men to follow.  

The commotion naturally alarmed others as well. Some people were ordered back by the Brigade Leader to continue harvesting crops, while a few curious women remained at the entrance of the mountain path, craning their necks to watch the excitement unfold.