Chapter 13 – Big Brother Finally Doesn’t Have to Get Beaten Anymore

“Alright, alright, I got it, I got it…

It’s getting late, I need to hurry up the mountain!”

Chu Xiaoqi gently pulled her hand free from Ji Jingxuan’s, walked to the corner, and hoisted a basket onto her back. She also picked up another empty basket.

Ji Jingxuan walked over angrily, took the empty basket from her hands without a word, and carried it himself as he marched out of the courtyard.

“Tch… I was kindly offering to help him take a concubine, and he’s mad at me? What kind of person is that…”

Chu Xiaoqi grumbled under her breath as she followed him out the gate.

Everything that had happened in the yard had been seen by Ji Mother, who was sitting in the house. From the looks of it, things weren’t as Ji Jinglan had described. If anything, Ji Jingxuan seemed reluctant to take a concubine.

Ji Jingxuan and Chu Xiaoqi walked one behind the other through the village in silence. Chu Xiaoqi realized this awkward silence wasn’t helping anyone. She still had to live in this house for a while—better keep things civil with her “roommate.”

She broke the silence: “Ji Jingxuan, Wang Yuhe’s pretty good-looking. Why don’t you like her?”

Ji Jingxuan stopped walking, turned around, and looked down at her. “Do you need a reason not to like someone?”

Chu Xiaoqi saw his eyes turning red again and quickly shook her head.

“Chu Xiaoqi, let me say it again—I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Wang Yuhe. Not before, not now, and definitely not in the future.

I already have a wife!”

With that, Ji Jingxuan turned away and strode forward, clearly still angry.

Chu Xiaoqi clenched her teeth and made a fist at his back, as if punching him in the head.

What are you so mad about? If I wasn’t worried you’d get petty and try to kill me later, I’d have smacked you for real by now.

They arrived at the base of the mountain where Ji Jingze and Ji Jinglan were already waiting.

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, what took you so long? We were about to go back and look for you,” Ji Jingze said as he walked over and took the basket from Chu Xiaoqi’s back.

“There was a visitor at home. Held us up a bit,” Ji Jingxuan replied, his face still sour.

Ji Jingze was surprised. With how poor their family was, who would visit them? A debt collector?

“Who was it?”

“Wang Yuhe…”

“Oh, Sister Yuhe again? Did she come to bring you something?”

Ji Jingxuan froze and turned toward Ji Jingze. “She comes to bring things often?”

“Yeah, every five or six days she brings something—like a head of cabbage, a bunch of scallions, or a single radish.

Before you married Sister-in-law, the villagers all said you’d end up marrying Sister Yuhe. After you got married, they said you’d eventually divorce Sister-in-law and marry Sister Yuhe, or take her as a co-wife.”

Now Ji Jingxuan was the one looking guilty.

Chu Xiaoqi finally found her moment to strike back. She looked at Ji Jingxuan with a face full of disdain.

“Look at that—one hand can’t clap by itself. She’s bringing stuff to your house every few days, and you all just accept it without question.

And you still say your relationship is purely sibling-like?

Am I the only one who thinks there’s something going on?”

With that, she turned away, pretending to be angry as she stormed into the woods. But where no one could see her face, her lips were twitching with glee.

Finally, she got the upper hand on Ji Jingxuan. She felt amazing.

“Xiaoqi! Xiaoqi, wait—it’s not like that…”

Panicked, Ji Jingxuan chased after her and grabbed her arm. “I leave early and come home late every day—I really didn’t know Wang Yuhe was bringing things over.

I’ll pay her back tomorrow, and from now on, I’ll avoid her whenever I see her, okay? Please don’t be mad.”

Seeing Ji Jingxuan flustered like this, Chu Xiaoqi was delighted. She was struggling not to laugh, her face nearly cracking from the effort, but she kept her voice calm and steady…

“…from now on, whenever you see her, you must avoid her. And don’t even think about speaking to her again!”

Since she could no longer use Wang Yuhe as a scapegoat, Chu Xiaoqi decided to cut her out completely. That girl was a walking landmine—just one small move from her could bring a world of trouble.

Ji Jingxuan nodded eagerly. “Even if you didn’t tell me to, I was going to keep my distance from her. Besides, I barely saw her before, and I’ve never done anything inappropriate.”

“Alright, you’re forgiven this time. Don’t worry about settling things with her—I’ll take care of it.”

Ji Jingxuan grinned like a child. Meanwhile, walking behind them, Ji Jingze and Ji Jinglan exchanged confused glances at the strange shift in their usual dynamic.

Based on how their sister-in-law used to behave, she should have beaten up their brother by now. And big brother never used to explain himself, let alone beg her to calm down.

Still, this change seemed good. Their sister-in-law was still as unreasonable as ever, but at least big brother wouldn’t get beaten anymore—and by extension, they wouldn’t get dragged into it either.

Just as the group started up the mountain path, they were spotted by their aunt, who was doing laundry by the riverbank. She rushed home, carrying her washbasin like her life depended on it.

As soon as she reached her yard, she dumped the basin and barged into the house, her face lit up with excitement.

“Son! Son! Chu Xiaoqi and the rest just went up the mountain!

Come on, let’s go raid Second House for meat!”

Ji Yanyang rolled off the bed with a thud.

“They went up the mountain?”

“I saw those little brats with my own eyes.”

“Let’s go, quick—”

Ji Yanyang rushed to put on his shoes and bolted outside.

Meanwhile, Ji Father had just come home with a bundle of rabbit grass. He was inspecting the rabbit cage with suspicion—it didn’t feel safe to leave the rabbits in the front yard anymore. So, he carried the cage behind the house and tucked it under the eaves of Ji Jingxuan’s room.

As soon as he stepped back into the yard, the gate was kicked open with a loud bang, and Big Aunt and Ji Yanyang swaggered in like they owned the place.

“Ji Lao’er! We never settled accounts from yesterday! Because of you, I lost five taels of silver—we need to settle this properly today!”

Big Aunt stormed into the yard with her hands on her hips, shouting at Ji Father with full force.

Ji Yanyang, on the other hand, was darting his eyes around the courtyard like a rat, clearly searching for something.

“Sister-in-law, you agreed to the deal with Lord An and took his deposit. We didn’t get a single coin—what exactly are you blaming us for?” Ji Father replied in a shaky voice. Though his words made sense, his tone made him sound completely guilty.

“I don’t care if you got the money or not! I lost out, and you’re paying for it!” Big Aunt gestured wildly, practically hopping up and down with rage.

“Yeah! Yesterday that little tramp Chu Xiaoqi beat me up—I haven’t even asked you for compensation yet.

Three taels of silver—hand it over, or else!” Ji Yanyang threatened, trembling with rage (and from the weight of his own fat), waving his fist inches from Ji Father’s nose.

Just then, Ji Mother stumbled out of the house, clutching the twenty copper coins Ji Jinglan had given her. She held them out to Big Aunt, her voice trembling.

“Big Sister-in-law, this is all the money we have. Please… have mercy on our family.”

Big Aunt’s eyes gleamed as she snatched the money and counted it quickly. Then she sneered and spat on the ground.

“Pah! Just twenty copper coins? You trying to pay me off like I’m some beggar?”

“Big Sister-in-law, we really have nothing else…”

“Then pay with your belongings!

Son! Go look around and see if there’s anything valuable in this dump. We’ll take it as payment.”

Big Aunt waved her hand like a general commanding an army.

Ji Yanyang, drooling with greed, charged straight into the kitchen like a pig sniffing out truffles—

After rummaging through boxes and cabinets, he came running out with a small bag of rice and a basin of meat bones, grinning from ear to ear.

“Mother, there’s rice, and meat bones too…”

“You heartless bastard, Ji Lao’er! You’ve got good food and drink and don’t bring any to honor your elder brother and sister-in-law. Sneaking around at home enjoying delicacies, aren’t you afraid of being cursed by everyone?”

The eldest aunt pointed at Ji Father’s nose and started cursing him out.

Ji Father clenched his molars, fists tightly balled, and just stood there taking the scolding.

Ji Mother, on the other hand, tearfully tried to intervene. “Sister-in-law, this is all the food we have at home. You can’t just take it…”

The eldest aunt shoved Ji Mother aside with one hand. “Get out of the way, you jinx! Ever since you married Ji Lao’er, this whole family has been living in misery.

Always clinging to your medicine pots like your life depends on them. Even the noble ladies in the city aren’t as delicate as you.

Ji Lao’er didn’t marry a wife—he married an ancestor!”

She then turned to Ji Father and snapped viciously, “Ji Lao’er, if you don’t give me five taels of silver to make up for this, we’re not done with this matter regarding Master An.

Let’s go, son. Let’s head home and I’ll stew the bones for you.”

With that, the eldest aunt and her son proudly walked off with the bones and the grain.

Ji Father sat on the threshold with red-rimmed eyes, beating his head in frustration, blaming himself for being such a coward who couldn’t even protect his family’s food.

Ji Mother ran into the room crying and slammed the door shut.

Meanwhile, Chu Xiaoqi and the others had reached the outer edge of the mist at Yama Mountain. This time, she told everyone to chew the licorice and bracken fern together. The taste was still pungent, but the licorice made it a bit more tolerable.

The group, now familiar with the way, passed through the mist and followed the path Chu Xiaoqi had cleared yesterday.

When they reached the riverbank, Ji Jingze took off his shoes, ready to wade in and catch fish, but was pulled back by Chu Xiaoqi.

“Let’s go gather chestnuts first. Once we’ve packed them up, I’ll take you down to spear fish.”

Ji Jingze didn’t argue. He obediently followed Chu Xiaoqi and the others toward the chestnut trees.

They were chatting and laughing, but as they approached the trees, the laughter abruptly stopped.

Standing in the chestnut grove was a massive beast, staring at them warily as if trying to assess whether these two-legged creatures posed a threat.

“Big… big sis-in-law… w-what is that?” Ji Jinglan’s voice trembled as she spoke, her whole body shaking.

Chu Xiaoqi also turned pale as she looked at the creature before them. She had seen one at the zoo when she was little—but not nearly this large.

“A wild boar…”

“A wild boar? Will it eat people?” Ji Jinglan asked through tears.

“That depends on how hungry it is…”

Though Ji Jingxuan’s legs were shaking too, he still mustered the courage to step forward and shield everyone. “You guys run. I’ll hold it off.”

Chu Xiaoqi looked up at the tall figure trembling in front of her and suddenly tugged at the corner of her mouth in a crooked smile.

She smacked Ji Jingxuan aside with one slap. “A gust of wind could blow you away—who exactly are you going to protect? Step aside.”

Their noise had already alerted the wild boar, which now took an aggressive stance, ready to charge at any moment.

“Listen to me,” Chu Xiaoqi said quietly, “I’ll count to three. Everyone run toward the woods to the west. Climb the tallest tree you can find and stay put until it leaves.”

She waited but heard no response, so she repeated, “Did you all hear me?

If anyone runs too slow and holds the rest of us back, I won’t forgive them.”

“We heard!”

“Good. One, two, three—run!” Chu Xiaoqi gave the command, and everyone bolted into the forest to the south.

Once everyone had taken off, Chu Xiaoqi quickly picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it with precision and force—hitting the wild boar right in the eye.