Chapter 34: Circling the Mountains

Lin Yuexi saw their eager faces and said with a smile, “You little gluttons, go wash your hands first. Dinner will be ready soon.” During dinner, the children ate with gusto. Lin Yuexi watched their satisfied faces and felt a sense of happiness in her heart. After dinner, Lin Yuexi helped the children wash up and told them a short story before putting them to bed.

Speaking of Liu Cuifang, she had followed Lin Yuexi all day and hadn’t discovered anything. In the evening, she had Lu Jian Guo watch in front of Lin Yuexi’s house. It was already November, and Lu Jian Guo had watched all night, but he hadn’t seen anyone entering or leaving Lin Yuexi’s house. Instead, he caught a cold. There was no way, so when dawn broke, it was Li Xiuyin’s turn to watch.

Lin Yuexi knew that her mother-in-law and the whole family were watching her, but she wasn’t in a hurry. She took out milk, braised pig’s trotters, steamed buns, and other things from her space to feed her two little ones. She also removed the firewood that was burning in the stove, leaving the burnt charcoal. She left some food for lunch, placed it in the pot on the firewood stove to heat up, and instructed the two children to close the door and play checkers in the house. To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, she opened a crack in the windows of each room in the house. Then, she carried her backpack and went to the back mountain behind the village.

Li Xiuyin followed closely behind Lin Yuexi, feeling both nervous and excited. She felt that she was about to uncover the secret of Lin Yuexi’s affair. Lin Yuexi, however, seemed oblivious, walking briskly towards the back mountain behind the village. The path on the back mountain was not easy to walk. It was winding and full of weeds. Lin Yuexi skillfully navigated the mountain paths, occasionally stopping as if she were searching for something. Li Xiuyin followed cautiously behind, afraid of making any noise that would startle Lin Yuexi.

After walking for a while, Lin Yuexi came to a relatively open meadow. Scattered across the meadow were some unknown wildflowers. She squatted down and began to pick the wildflowers, humming a tune. Li Xiuyin hid behind a large tree, feeling confused. Was Lin Yuexi just picking flowers? It seemed too ordinary.

After picking flowers for a while, Lin Yuexi got up and continued walking deeper into the forest. Li Xiuyin could only follow, gritting her teeth. Suddenly, Lin Yuexi stopped, her eyes fixed on a large tree in front of her. Li Xiuyin followed her gaze but saw nothing. She saw Lin Yuexi slowly walking towards the tree, circling it once, and then gently stroking the trunk with her hand. Li Xiuyin was getting impatient, but she didn’t dare to act rashly.

At this time, Lin Yuexi climbed towards a small hill. The slope was a bit steep, and Li Xiuyin was panting as she climbed, while Lin Yuexi walked as if on flat ground. At the top of the hill, Lin Yuexi stood there, facing the wind, her arms outstretched, as if embracing the entire forest.

Then, Lin Yuexi walked down the other side of the hill and came to a small stream. She squatted down and cupped her hands to scoop up the water, pretending to wash her face. Li Xiuyin hid behind a large rock, watching Lin Yuexi’s every move.

After washing her face, Lin Yuexi sat on a rock by the stream, took out a small cloth bag from her backpack, and took out a roasted goose from it, beginning to eat. The aroma of the roasted goose spread everywhere, and Li Xiuyin’s stomach began to rumble. She had left in a hurry that morning and hadn’t had time to eat anything. The smell of the roasted goose made her mouth water. But now she could only endure her hunger and continue watching Lin Yuexi.

After finishing the roasted goose, Lin Yuexi took out a water bottle from her backpack. Actually, she had taken it out from her space. It was a spiritual spring. She took a few large gulps. After drinking, she didn’t leave immediately but found some small pebbles by the stream and began to arrange them on the ground, as if playing a simple game. Li Xiuyin felt even more strange. She didn’t understand what Lin Yuexi was doing.

Just as she was lost in thought, Lin Yuexi suddenly stood up, carried her backpack, and walked towards another direction. Li Xiuyin quickly followed, afraid of losing her. Lin Yuexi led Li Xiuyin around the forest, sometimes walking on flat paths and sometimes diving into dense woods. Li Xiuyin felt that she had completely lost her sense of direction. She could only keep her eyes fixed on Lin Yuexi’s back. Lin Yuexi, however, seemed to know this forest like the back of her hand. Her steps never hesitated.

After walking for a long time, Lin Yuexi came to a cave. She stood in front of the cave, quietly looking inside. Li Xiuyin’s heart went to her throat. She didn’t know what was in the cave.

After standing in front of the cave for a while, Lin Yuexi turned and left. Li Xiuyin breathed a sigh of relief, but she continued to follow.

As time passed, the sun began to set, and the light in the forest became dim. Li Xiuyin began to feel afraid. She didn’t know how to go back. But she wasn’t willing to give up just like that, so she could only follow Lin Yuexi, gritting her teeth.

Lin Yuexi, however, didn’t seem to have any intention of going back. She continued to stroll through the forest, occasionally greeting the small animals by the roadside, as if she were the owner of this forest.

Li Xiuyin’s steps became heavier and heavier. As she followed, Lin Yuexi’s figure suddenly disappeared. Li Xiuyin walked around the area, panting and exhausted, but she still lost track of her! Her heart was now filled with regret. She knew she shouldn’t have followed Lin Yuexi. Now she was trapped in this forest, and she didn’t know what might happen.

But regret was regret, but she still had to get out. Li Xiuyin quickly searched for a way down the mountain, but she couldn’t find one after walking for a long time.

Lin Yuexi, seeing that she had played enough with Li Xiuyin, quickly went into her space. After Li Xiuyin searched for a while and couldn’t find a way down the mountain, Lin Yuexi came out of her space, took another path down the mountain, and returned home.

When it was completely dark, Lu Jian Guo saw that the light in Lin Yuexi’s house had turned on, but his wife hadn’t returned. He panicked and called for people to go up the mountain to search. Lu Jian Guo asked several young and strong villagers to go up the mountain with torches, calling out Li Xiuyin’s name loudly.

At this moment, Li Xiuyin was wandering around the mountain, unable to find a way down. Another villager, Wang Xiaoming, was hunting on the mountain. Wang Xiaoming was a kind-hearted man. When he saw Li Xiuyin, he quickly walked over and said, “Sister-in-law Xiuyin, what are you doing up here?” Li Xiuyin was in a difficult position. She had a lot of grievances but couldn’t say anything. She could only say, “I saw the weather was nice today, so I thought I would come up the mountain to pick some mushrooms to cook. I didn’t expect to get lost.”

Wang Xiaoming was a little strange. In November, there were no mushrooms on the mountain. Was Sister-in-law Xiuyin out of her mind? But as a fellow villager, he still kindly took her down the mountain.

Unexpectedly, as they were walking down the slope, Li Xiuyin, exhausted and hungry from a whole day, couldn’t walk steadily. She tripped and fell, twisting her ankle.