Chapter 27 I Hate the Feeling of Being Restricted

Ye Wuyou wandered around in the mountains for quite a while. When she saw it was already around four or five o’clock, she knew she couldn’t linger there any longer. Since it was getting late, she decided to head down the mountain and go home.

On her way back, she got lucky and came across two rabbits. She casually picked up two stones from the ground and tossed them over. In no time, each rabbit had a hole in its head and collapsed unconscious.

“As expected, my aim is still this good…” Ye Wuyou thought smugly.

She walked over, picked up the rabbits, and weighed them in her hands—about five or six jin in total, just enough to make a nice dinner tonight.

By the time she got back, Youyou had already gathered up all the chestnuts into the space, and had even gone around searching for more chestnut trees nearby. Now, inside the space, chestnuts were piled up in a big heap—enough to make countless batches of candied chestnuts.

When Ye Wuyou finally returned home, it was around five or six o’clock, right when Ling Yu and the others would be finishing work. She skinned, cleaned, and chopped up the rabbits, then stewed them together with some mushrooms Ling Yu and the others had foraged the day before.

As for the eggs, since there wasn’t much oil left in Ling Yu’s oil jar, she decided not to fry them. Instead, she just boiled them in water as hard-boiled eggs.

And since no meal is complete without rice, she found the rice bin, scooped out more than half of the brown rice, and cooked a big pot of it. Ye Wuyou knew that rice was supposed to last them for the next half month, but she figured it didn’t matter—tonight, she was planning to make a move, get that money back from Old Lady Wang, and return it to Ling Yu’s family. With money in hand, they could buy more grain, so it wasn’t like they’d have to starve.

Besides, now that she’d recovered, she had no intention of staying here forever. Sooner or later, she’d have to leave.

By dusk, Ling Yu hurried back home after work. He wanted to check if Ye Wuyou had caused any trouble today. But before he even reached the house, he smelled the fragrance of rabbit meat wafting through the air.

Ling Yu frowned. The only home on this hillside was theirs. And he knew he couldn’t be mistaken—after all, as a frequent hunter, he was very familiar with the smell of rabbit meat. But where on earth would his family get rabbit meat? There was no way that troublesome girl had gotten it, right?

“Brother, why does it smell like rabbit meat at home? Could it be that Sister-in-law caught some rabbits?” Ling Zixiao, walking behind him, also smelled it and asked curiously.

“I don’t know. We’ll find out once we get home.” Ling Yu quickened his pace as he replied.

Meanwhile, Ye Wuyou had been busy for quite some time, finally finishing up the dinner. Tonight, not only had she steamed rice, but she had also made candied chestnuts for herself.

Looking at the golden, glistening chestnut flesh peeking out of the shells, Ye Wuyou couldn’t resist. She fished one out from the pot despite it being scalding hot, peeled it, and popped it into her mouth. The sweet, soft, and fragrant taste spread instantly across her tongue. Cooked chestnuts really were the best.

When Ling Yu stepped into the kitchen, the first thing he saw was Ye Wuyou eating chestnuts. His eyes fell on the pot full of them, and his brows furrowed.

“You went into the mountains? And into the deep mountains at that?”

Ling Yu was so sure because he knew that the chestnuts near the outer mountain had long been picked clean. Chestnuts this big and plentiful could only be found deep in the forest.

“Yeah, I went into the deep mountains. So what? Anyway, since you’re back, hurry up and wash your hands for dinner. The food’s ready.”

Ye Wuyou curled her lips at his perpetually sour face—as if someone owed him eight million—then urged them to wash up quickly. She’d been drooling over the smell of the food for long enough already.

Seeing her so nonchalant after going deep into the mountains, Ling Yu’s face darkened.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous the deep mountains are? And you dared to go in?”

“I know. But look—I’m fine, aren’t I? Why are you making such a fuss? I’m starving, can’t you save your lecture until after dinner?”

At this moment, Ye Wuyou’s mind was filled only with food. She had no interest in wasting words on Ling Yu.

“You knew, and you still went? Do you realize how dangerous it is in the deep mountains? One misstep and something could happen. If that happens—”

“If what happens? I already told you I’m fine. Why do you keep harping on about this? You’re so annoying, don’t you know that?”

Ye Wuyou was truly impatient. So what if she had gone into the mountains today? It wasn’t like she didn’t know how to protect herself. Plus, she had brought back so many good things from the forest. And yet Ling Yu was stuck obsessing over this nonsense.

In her eyes, her relationship with Ling Yu was only slightly better than that of strangers. They weren’t close. So why was he acting like he cared about her so much? She had grown up without anyone looking after her, so she hated this kind of restriction.

Ling Yu was furious at her attitude. He was trying to warn her about the dangers of the deep mountains, but all she cared about was food—eat, eat, eat, like she’d never be satisfied until she stuffed herself to death. Fine. If she didn’t care about her own life, then why should he waste his breath?

With that, he stormed off angrily, fetched himself some wash water, and went outside to clean up.

“Sister-in-law, actually, Brother is just worried about you. That’s why he doesn’t want you going into the deep mountains. They really are too dangerous,” Ling Zixiao explained softly after watching his brother leave in a huff.

“Alright, alright, I get it. Look at me, I’m fine, aren’t I? You go wash up too, let’s eat.” As Ye Wuyou spoke, she grabbed a basin and ladled out some of the stewed rabbit meat from the clay pot. Since she had already decided she was leaving, she had no interest in listening to their nagging anymore.

Seeing that Ye Wuyou didn’t want to hear him talk, Ling Zixiao decided to keep his mouth shut. Anyway, he knew his big brother would make things clear to her sooner or later.

Ye Wuyou served everyone a bowl of rice, though Ling Yu’s portion was still in a tea mug. She had also boiled six wild chicken eggs—two each—served together in a basin.

Soon, Ling Yu and Ling Zixiao had washed their hands and sat down at the table.

At the dinner table, the fragrance of the rabbit meat made Ye Wuyou’s mouth water. She was the first to pick up a piece for herself, then said to Ling Yu and his younger brother:

“Hurry up and eat. I’m not holding back. I almost couldn’t resist eating it all while it was stewing