Chapter 17.2

Gu Sui was deep in thought. Guan Yue’s alertness was high, and also, had the color of the leaves on her wrist changed again?

Guan Yue had exhausted a lot of her energy, but there was no lasting damage. It seemed that because she had overdrawn her powers, she felt her abilities had leveled up. When she stimulated plant growth, it happened faster and more efficiently than before.

Gu Sui spent several days chopping the large tree he had felled earlier into sections, leaving the pieces at the site. Once Guan Yue’s health had mostly recovered, she turned all the wood into firewood, neatly stacking it into small hills.

A lot of large trees had suddenly disappeared from the yard, and from the opposite Xiaoqing Mountain, one could faintly see the wooden house. Guan Yue didn’t like this, so she grew more trees, encircling the yard.

The next morning, Gu Sui came up the mountain and saw the clusters of large trees. He reached out and tapped one, noticing the dewy moisture still on the bark.

He almost wanted to knock on Guan Yue’s head to see what was inside—how could she have no defenses whatsoever?

Gu Sui tried to pretend he hadn’t seen it, but there was no way he could be blind to those enormous trees.

And what was with the large pile of firewood stacked like a small mountain? And it was all neatly split? Could it be that only he slept last night, and the people from Qingxi Village had come up to help her chop firewood?

Guan Yue didn’t see the inner turmoil in Gu Sui. She sat cross-legged on a lounge chair, hugging Gou Sheng and rubbing him affectionately.

Guan Yue said, “Hurry up and cook, I’m hungry!”

Gou Sheng’er responded with a playful howl.

Gu Sui shook his head helplessly. “Coming!”

Apart from the large pile of firewood, everything else on the mountain remained unchanged.

During the small New Year, Guan Yue had gone to the county town, primarily to visit Uncle Cai and, on the side, to give him acupuncture.

Aunt Cai was delighted when she saw Guan Yue. “Guan Yue is here? If you’re here, don’t rush to leave. Stay a few more days. Let your sister-in-law take you to see a movie or something. You young people like that. Stay until after the New Year and then go back.”

When Aunt Cai referred to “sister-in-law,” she was talking about her son’s wife.

Guan Yue smiled brightly and said, “Thank you, Aunt Cai. The village is killing the New Year’s pig tomorrow, so I need to go back and have the pig’s blood soup. I’ll leave in the afternoon. I came today to check on Uncle Cai and give him some acupuncture.”

“Hahaha, killing the New Year’s pig sounds great. Speaking of which, you must really care about your Uncle Cai. After the last time you gave him acupuncture, he’s been taking medicine to adjust, and his legs have improved a lot. He hasn’t complained of pain much this winter.”

Guan Yue nodded. “Today I’ll reinforce it, and after that, it’ll be completely cured.”

Aunt Cai was overjoyed. “He’ll be so happy, he might just fly!”

Guan Yue said seriously, “My skills are limited; I can’t make Uncle Cai fly.”

Aunt Cai burst out laughing.

When Cai Guofu came home from work to have dinner and saw Guan Yue, he called her into the house. “You’re just in time. I need to talk to you about something.”

Cai Guofu’s expression was serious. Guan Yue asked, “What’s wrong?”

He sighed. “It’s about your teacher. Your teacher has sent a letter through many people. Take a look.”

A letter was handed to Guan Yue, and when she opened it, the first line read, “Yueyue, I am your teacher…”

Guan Yue smiled faintly and continued reading.

After her teacher had returned last year, things had quickly become chaotic. His entire family left Shanghai and went to Hong Kong. Her teacher hadn’t wanted to go, but her teacher’s older brother had gotten into a conflict with intruders in their house, suffering serious injuries to his heart and lungs. He needed long-term care and couldn’t be far from doctors, so her teacher decided to go with him.

At the end of the letter, her teacher urged her to eat well. If she didn’t know how to cook, she should either hire someone or go to Cai’s house in the town to eat. Once the situation improved over there, he would return to bring her back. He also reminded her to study well and not waste her talents. Most importantly, she shouldn’t take anyone else as a teacher, or he would be very upset!

Upon reading this, Guan Yue smiled.

She then asked Cai Guofu, “Uncle Cai, could you help me send a letter to my teacher?”

Cai Guofu nodded. “I can deliver it. We’ll use the secret passage.”

“Can we really send things now?”

“Small items can be sent, but large ones can’t. And it has to be quick, as the person delivering the letter will rest for a day or two before leaving.”

Guan Yue nodded. “Please let me know, and I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Alright.”

Guan Yue said, “I had planned to do acupuncture for you today, but it looks like it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“That’s fine, I can do it anytime. No rush.”

After having lunch at the Cai family’s house, Guan Yue headed home.

Since the injury to the heart and lungs was likely caused by an external wound, she recalled a few remedies for nourishing the heart and lungs. However, many of the ingredients in those remedies weren’t commonly used, so she needed to go home and find some seeds.

Gu Sui had gotten used to spending his time on the mountain, sitting by the fire, reading, and doing nothing in particular. He thought Guan Yue would return later in the evening, but to his surprise, she came back much earlier.

Guan Yue said, “I’m missing an ingredient, so I came back to get it. I’ll go into town tomorrow.”

Gu Sui replied, “Then you won’t get to have the pig’s blood soup tomorrow.”

Two days ago, Li Tao, along with his newlywed wife Lin Haiyin, had gone up the mountain to invite Guan Yue on behalf of Qingxi Village to join them for the pig’s blood soup. Also, Li Da and Lin Haiyin had just gotten their marriage certificate, and the pig-killing ceremony tomorrow was a great opportunity to celebrate with a meal.

Guan Yue was curious about what marriage was like in this era, and she had agreed to join them.

Guan Yue said, “I can’t go. I have something more important to take care of.”

Since it was still early, Guan Yue put on her backpack and headed into the deep mountains. She found a valley and scattered seeds, quickly coaxing the growth of medicinal herbs.

When she returned, her backpack was filled with freshly dug medicinal plants. Each one was perfectly grown and plump. How had she found such high-quality herbs?

The tension in Gu Sui’s mind only grew. “I’m going for a walk up ahead.”

Guan Yue was surprised. “Isn’t there enough space for you to walk around right here on the mountain?”

When Guan Yue saw Gu Sui stop at the entrance of the mountain path and not continue further, she couldn’t help but laugh.

He was such a strange person. He knew her secret but never asked anything about it. Yet, his actions often showed that he cared. He never stopped to think that, given her abilities, she would certainly know if someone were coming up from the mountain below, especially from such a close distance.

Guan Yue didn’t pay attention to Gu Sui and focused on processing the medicinal herbs. By the time the sun began to set, the table was covered with a pile of herb residues on one side, and six bottles of medicine on the other.

Guan Yue labeled the bottles: three labeled *Qing Fei Pill* (for lung health) and three labeled *Yang Xin Pill* (for heart health).

Gu Sui walked over, picked up a bottle, and said, “This bottle is different from the others at home.”

Guan Yue responded briefly, then packed the six bottles away.

This bottle was specially made by her, with her personal markings on it. The markings blended with the grain of the bottle, making them one with the wood, something only her teacher would recognize.

It was a precaution. What if someone tried to switch it out? The pills weren’t ordinary, so it was safer to be careful.

The next morning, Guan Yue headed into town.

Li Tao was a bit disappointed when he found out that Guan Yue had something to take care of in town.

Gu Sui handed him a red cloth. “This is a gift from Guan Yue for your brother and sister-in-law.”

The cloth was from a former patient and had been of no use to Guan Yue, so she had decided to pass it on to them.

Zhang Cuihua happily stroked the red cloth. “Oh, this is good fabric!”

She unfolded the cloth and measured it. “Such a wide piece of cloth, it could make a whole outfit.”

“Who wears red pants?”

“Then make two outfits.”

Aside from the wedding day, Lin Haiyin would never wear red clothing. She directly said, “Mom, I already have red clothes, I don’t need more. You can keep it for Taotao.”

“This won’t do. It’s meant to be for you,” Zhang Cuihua said, understanding that gifts should go to their intended recipient to avoid any family misunderstandings.

Lin Haiyin firmly rejected, using all her strength. “Mom, I really don’t need it. I have two trunks full of clothes already, I’m not lacking anything.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure!”

“Alright, I’ll keep it for Taotao then.”

Li Tao blushed and turned away. Lin Haiyin linked arms with Zhang Cuihua, and the two women started discussing how to cut and style the fabric.

Li Tao stamped his foot in frustration. “Sister-in-law, today is your wedding with Big Brother!”

“I know, I know.” Lin Haiyin waved her hand nonchalantly.

Zhang Cuihua was protective of her own, and with her similar temperament to Lin Haiyin, their relationship was as close as mother and daughter. Furthermore, Li Da was a man who took good care of his wife, and Li Tao, the little sister, wasn’t causing trouble. Lin Haiyin was enjoying her life here.

She had already become familiar with the Li family, so even though today was the wedding banquet, she wasn’t feeling any of the usual nervousness that a new bride might. She and Li Da had long lost the shyness of newlyweds.

Gu Sui smiled and greeted Li Da before leaving.