Chapter 45: Cutting a Cloak

“What happened?” Xuan Yue’s face was filled with murderous intent as he glanced at the man on the ground whose arm he had twisted, then raised a brow at Yin Guanghong.

Xuan Yue had never sold goods at this market before, so he naturally didn’t know who Yin Guanghong was.

And Yin Guanghong, likewise, had never met Xuan Yue, who had moved to Yunzhong Mountain three years ago.

When he saw Wen Lan calling this tall man “big brother,” Yin Guanghong quickly walked over with a grin and asked, “You’re her brother?”

“……” Cold, disdainful, untamed.

“So you’re the hunter she mentioned?”

“……” A cold sneer.

Whether it was Xuan Yue’s imposing aura that intimidated him or he was still trying to pry into Wen Lan’s background, Yin Guanghong surprisingly kept up a polite smile and said, “May I ask which village you brothers are from? You both look unfamiliar.”

“What does that have to do with us selling goods here?” Xuan Yue’s tone was colder than his expression.

Yin Guanghong was bluntly rebuffed, and irritation began to creep in. But when his gaze returned to the beauty beside the hunter, Wen Lan’s lovely face quickly smoothed away his frustration.

“No problem, no problem.” He raised both hands and took two steps back, then said with a half-smile, “Take your time selling. I won’t disturb you further.”

With that, he turned to leave.

At that moment, the passerby whose arm had been twisted screamed and blocked Yin Guanghong’s path, wailing, “Lord Yin! That hunter broke my arm! You have to stand up for me!”

Yin Guanghong took one look and saw that the man’s arm really did seem broken. Looks like that beauty’s “brother” had real strength. No wonder she acted so arrogant—someone was backing her up!

Yin Guanghong silently thanked himself for not doing anything stupid. He turned back toward Wen Lan and tossed her a flirtatious wink—then immediately kicked the busybody to the ground.

“Damn you! They’re doing business here and you came to stir up trouble, now trying to extort them for breaking your arm? Do you even know whose territory this is?”

After scolding him, he yelled to his lackeys, “Drag this fool to the back alley.”

Wen Lan didn’t know—nor did she care—what they were planning to do in the alley. Seeing them leave, she crossed her arms and sighed, “Books always said, ‘Rugged mountains breed unruly people.’ I never believed it. Now I do. There’s a lot of weirdos in this damn place.”

She didn’t mean much by it, but Xuan Yue caught something important. Hearing her say the word books, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “You can read?”

Wen Lan instantly realized she had slipped and quickly changed the subject. “Hunter big brother, why are you here?”

“Why can’t I be?” Xuan Yue dodged the question in return.

Wen Lan smiled and shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I just meant if I’d known you were coming, I’d have waited for you. If you were here, those people wouldn’t have dared mess with me.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Look at you, then look at me—you’re tall and intimidating, I’m short and small and clearly easy to bully. They always pick the soft ones. But you? You’re all hard!”

That choice of words… Xuan Yue rubbed his forehead. This woman was so strange. The way she spoke was always fresh—and even amusing!

“What do we do now?” he asked.

“Sell, of course. I’m counting on this to make some money and buy things.”

“What things?”

“A big washbasin.” Wen Lan’s face suddenly turned red. She thought about yesterday, when he saw her in just her underclothes. Even though he didn’t say a word and left silently, she was sure he must’ve had some thoughts.

So shameful!

“After I sneaked into the hot spring yesterday and came back to my room, I did a lot of reflecting. I realized I’ve been too careless, always hoping for luck. Like yesterday—I assumed you’d eat and sleep without noticing anything. But I was wrong…”

Was she apologizing? Or trying to win him over?

Xuan Yue wasn’t sure. This village girl always confused him—sometimes suspicious, sometimes pitiful, sometimes… adorable.

She was nothing like the village girls he was used to.

“Hunter big brother,” Wen Lan continued, “I swear from now on, I’ll strictly control my words and actions and work hard to be a proper maid.”

“……” Xuan Yue didn’t respond. He was still wondering whether to believe her.

On the way to the market, he hadn’t trusted her at all.

“Hunter big brother, trust me, okay?” Wen Lan pressed her palms together, looking up at him earnestly, even blinking her big eyes like a child begging for forgiveness.

This girl! Xuan Yue rubbed his forehead again. He was most afraid of young girls making such cutesy faces at him. Every time his younger sister Xuan Zhen acted this way, he couldn’t resist her.

“I’ll trust you… for now,” he finally said, deciding not to dig deeper into who she really was.

Wen Lan was thrilled to regain some dignity in front of the hunter. With her worries gone, she energetically resumed promoting their goods to the villagers.

This time, she not only let people taste before buying, she also pushed Xuan Yue to the front of the stall as a model. She spoke passionately to the crowd:

“These delicacies were all hunted by my big brother in the mountains. The meat tastes completely different from farm-raised chicken or pork—tender and naturally fragrant. And these pine mushrooms? They grow in pine forests over a thousand meters above sea level, completely natural and pollution-free. You can stir-fry them, braise them, or use them in soup!”

“How much?” someone finally asked.

That stumped Wen Lan. Before coming, she thought 200 wen per jin for pine mushrooms was reasonable. But earlier, she saw meat selling for just ten or so wen per jin. A jin of pine mushrooms worth ten jin of meat—was that too steep?

So she tugged on Xuan Yue and whispered in his ear, “Big brother, how much should we sell this for?”

Xuan Yue, dragged to be a live model, had stayed quiet the whole time, just waiting to go home. But he didn’t expect this girl to suddenly lean close to whisper in his ear.

Her warm breath brushed his earlobe, making him uncomfortable.

He wanted to push her away but stopped himself. He held it in and let her finish speaking.

“If you came to sell, why didn’t you set a price beforehand?”

“It’s my first time selling. No experience,” she whispered again.

This time, Xuan Yue not only felt her breath but also smelled her light, sweet scent.

He closed his eyes and steadied himself.

Then replied calmly, “Thirty wen.”

“Thirty for the wild chicken?”

Xuan Yue glanced at her—his look seemed to say: Not the chicken, the mushrooms. Do you really think they’re worth that much?

Wen Lan instantly shrank back and dared not ask further. She turned and gave the quoted price.

Thirty wen for a wild chicken was cheap. The customer didn’t even haggle and handed over the money on the spot.

Wen Lan felt they were losing out. She thought, I shouldn’t have asked him. He clearly doesn’t care about money. He probably hasn’t sold things in town in three years. Thirty wen might be what he pays for noodles at a restaurant.

Next time, she wouldn’t sell so cheaply. She remembered how she and Qingfeng bought a bag of flour for thirty wen the other day.

Still, earning thirty wen made her beam with joy.

“Your first sale?”

“Yeah! My first time earning money—I’m so happy.” Wen Lan was genuinely delighted.

Xuan Yue couldn’t help but smile too.

With Wen Lan’s energetic sales pitch, all the smoked meat and pine mushrooms were soon sold out.

In total, they made 378 wen.

Wen Lan squatted down, counting the money over and over like a greedy landlady.

At that moment, Xuan Yue once again felt she was just a typical backwater village girl—completely inexperienced.

“Enough. Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!” Wen Lan put the coins into the pouch and hugged it tightly.

Next, they went to the general store. Wen Lan picked out a washbasin, some farming tools, and a small sewing kit.

“Big brother, we still have 353 wen left.” Wen Lan gave an honest report, then handed the pouch to Xuan Yue.

He didn’t take it.

She thought maybe it was too heavy.

“If it’s too heavy, I can carry it for now and give it to you when we get home,” she offered.

“Keep it.”

“What?”

“You manage it.”

“M-me? Manage the money?” Wen Lan was stunned. “Hunter big brother, are you promoting me to housekeeper?”

Xuan Yue looked at her and gave a slight nod—an acknowledgment.

Wen Lan was overjoyed. Hugging the money pouch, she laughed like a fool. “Haha! I get to manage the money! You’re too good to me. No, I can’t call you big brother anymore—I should call you Master. Master!”

With money in her pocket and a promotion in hand, Wen Lan was in the best mood ever. She let Xuan Yue walk ahead while she followed, carrying a large basin and basket.

The ten-plus li mountain road didn’t feel tiring at all. She was energized.

But she didn’t know—two people had been tailing her and Xuan Yue all the way up Yunzhong Mountain.

They were none other than two of Yin Guanghong’s lackeys.

Seeing them go up the mountain, the two began to whisper.

“Did you hear that shrill little guy call the hunter Master? Is he his servant? A hunter with a servant?”

“Maybe an apprentice,” the other said. “Anyway, Lord Yin wants us to find out who they are. But now that they’ve gone up the mountain, who are we supposed to ask?”

“What’s there to ask? There’s only one hunter on Yunzhong Mountain.”

“Oh, right, right.”

And with that, they scurried back to report to Yin Guanghong.

“Hunter from Yunzhong Mountain?” Yin Guanghong was shocked. Lately, he’d heard family members mention the hunter on Yunzhong Mountain frequently—especially his sister, who’d recently moved from the village to town.

They said the hunter married Lin Furong, the girl who once tried to seduce Meng Qiancheng.

Apparently, there had been quite the scandal in the village. The hunter supposedly offered a whole gold ingot as bride price.

Could that cross-dressing woman be Lin Furong?

Yin Guanghong racked his brain trying to recall her face—no luck.

He’d moved away from Yushou Village years ago. How could he remember some random girl?

If it was her, then she had truly blossomed with age. No wonder Meng Qiancheng ran away with her. With a face like that, any man would elope.

Let alone someone set to marry his sister.

And he knew his sister—chubby and ugly.

“You’re sure you saw them go up the mountain together?” Yin Guanghong pressed.

“Yes,” the lackey replied. “That feminine-looking guy carried a big basin and a basket, while the hunter walked tall and empty-handed. They looked like master and servant.”

“Master and servant?” Yin Guanghong scratched his chin thoughtfully.

If she really were Lin Furong and now the hunter’s wife, why was he letting her carry everything herself?

Only explanation: the hunter didn’t like her. Maybe he resented her past.

Yeah, that must be it.

Yin Guanghong felt pity for Meng Qiancheng. After being with such a beauty, how could he possibly sleep with his sister?

That would take a special kind of man.

Meanwhile, Wen Lan had no idea this hairy creep was interested in her.

After returning to the hunter’s home, she got busy cooking. After dinner, she picked up the dirty clothes from yesterday and went to the river to wash them.

Yushou River was outside the village, at the foot of the mountain. Dressed in her usual clothes, Wen Lan carried the laundry over. Across the river, several village women were already washing.

Wen Lan wasn’t used to handwashing—back home, it was all dry cleaning or machine-washed, even her underwear had its own little washer.

So this pounding and scrubbing method was unbearable.

After a few swings with the wash paddle, her hands were sore and she was sweating.

She put down the paddle, hands on hips, to rest.

Across the river, the women began to tease her.

“Oh, isn’t that Lin Furong? Washing clothes for your man now?”

“……” Why emphasize your man?

“Washing this late? Was your man keeping you busy all night—”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Wen Lan understood. These women were clearly implying her new husband had kept her up last night.

But weren’t they washing this late too? Why throw stones from glass houses?

Still, what could she say? Snark back? That wasn’t Lin Furong’s style.

Fine, pretend she didn’t hear.

She squatted down and kept washing.

“Hey, Lin Furong,” another woman called. “I heard the hunter came to your place last night and brought a wild boar. He treats you so well. What’s your secret?”

Wen Lan said nothing.

One woman nudged the other and whispered loudly enough for all to hear, “What secret? Lin Furong’s pretty and knows how to please a man. The hunter’s smitten.”

“Yeah, we can’t compete with that,” the others chimed in.

Wen Lan couldn’t take it anymore.

She knew why they were mocking Lin Furong. They thought she had lost her virginity to Meng Qiancheng, yet still managed to marry well and live well. That made them jealous.

Jealousy truly is the root of all evil.

No, Wen Lan told herself. If the hunter ever left, she had to leave too. Even if it meant begging on the street—she couldn’t stay here to be bullied to death.

And once the hunter was gone, he wouldn’t come back. She’d be seen as an abandoned woman. Not only would the women gossip—so would the men.

They say widows attract trouble. Even if she never left the house, someone would try to climb her wall.

Terrifying!

Wen Lan shook her head, sighing as she leaned over the water to look at her reflection.

Since arriving in this world, she’d never really looked at Lin Furong’s face. And with no mirrors at home, even Lin Furong had only a vague sense of her own appearance.

But now, staring at the water, Wen Lan realized—Lin Furong’s face looked quite a bit like her own. Especially the eyes and brows—nearly identical.

Could Lin Furong be one of my ancestors?! Wen Lan’s imagination ran wild.

She regretted not paying attention when her dad talked about family history. Maybe one of her grandmothers really was named Lin Furong.

As Wen Lan stared into the water, lost in thought, the women across the river kept talking.

“Look at her admiring herself—must be that hunter’s tender care. Her little face is glowing these days.”

“No kidding, haha…”

Wen Lan was about to snap—when she looked up and saw someone approaching from across the river.

The woman spotted her too.

“Furong!” she called excitedly, dropping her washbasin and running toward the wooden bridge.

Wen Lan also threw down her paddle.

A quick scan of Lin Furong’s memories told her who this was—Lin Furong’s close friend, the second daughter of Old He, He Jingtian.

“Jingtian!” Wen Lan waved and lifted her skirt to meet her.

“Furong!” He Jingtian rushed forward and hugged her tight, bursting into tears.