Chapter 27 (1/2)

27. The Mrs. Long San Who Is As Strong As A Cow

Translated by Ju Hua | Edited by Pu Er

No matter how worried Feng Ning was or how much she didn’t want it to happen, Long San still lost consciousness and couldn’t reply to her words. In the darkness, where five fingers couldn’t even be seen with outstretched hands (basically pitch-black), Feng Ning tightly held onto him, and her heart was erratically “bam bam bam” beating. She was really afraid he wouldn’t wake up again, really afraid that he wouldn’t be able to stare at her, sigh, and wisecrack with her again. She tightly hugged him, and being so close, she finally heard his heartbeat and breathing. These barely audible sounds consoled her.

Feng Ning withdrew to Long San’s side, quietly, and remained motionless. Not knowing how long it’d been, she heard the sounds of numerous and disorderly horse hooves, and her heart jumped. Those people really turned back.

She could hear a person far, far away loudly cursing. “Mother, in this kind of place, where could they have gone?” Another person said, “This side has a slope, let’s go down to look.” And then, there were only the sounds of heavy stomping on the ground. A few people most likely jumped down from the top of the slope, and were frantically circling around the surrounding area.

The night was still, and the sounds traveled far. Even though they were separated by a distance, Feng Ning could still hear, those people were searching everywhere. After a while they actually turned towards the direction that Feng Ning was hiding in. Feng Ning lightly felt about, and found the sword. She gripped it in her hand, and leaned her body to block in front of Long San, ready for combat.

Two people approached nearby, and they raised their torches. The torch light was dazzlingly bright as it s.h.i.+ned towards the entrance of the cave Feng Ning was hiding in. Feng Ning held her breath, and every nerve in her body tensed. Those two people went back and forth twice, and finally shouted, “There’s nothing.” Then they all got on the horses and left.

Feng Ning waited for a good while, and hearing no movement outside, she let out a sigh. She relaxed, and turned around to resume holding Long San. In the dark, there wasn’t a good place to grasp onto so when she hugged him, face touched face, and head faced head. Feng Ning was surprised, and couldn’t say for certain what the feeling in her own heart and mind was. She slowly tightened her hug, and rested her head on his shoulder.

After hugging for awhile, she felt his body start to heat up. Feng Ning was alarmed, and didn’t dare have any charming thoughts. She knew he was just as she expected; he was starting to get sick. At the moment she also didn’t know what the situation was like outside, whether or not that group of people would return and cause trouble. Feng Ning had no grasp on any of it, but leaving Long San alone, was not an option.

Feng Ning deliberated, and finally decided to leave Long San there. She would first scout out the road by herself. She carefully stuck her head out and attentively observed. Confirming it was safe, she crawled out, and turned around to tidy up the cave entrance. In her heart she said to Long San, “Wait for me, I’ll be back soon.”

Feng Ning fully utilized qinggong[1], urgently rus.h.i.+ng the entire way. In one breath she ran close to ten li (roughly 3.11 miles), and finally saw a small peasant’s farm. Feng Ning had to restrain from getting too excited, and quietly walked over to the window to investigate the family inside. There was a humble middle-aged couple who were tidying up and getting ready to sleep. They were talking about some trivial matters and family gossip. Listening in, they seemed to be good people. Feng Ning circled around once more and confirmed that there was no danger nearby, then she turned around and rushed back to where Long San was hidden, spending a great deal of energy to carry him back here.

This time Feng Ning’s physical strength wasn’t as optimal as before, and after enduring about half the night, she had ran about 20 li (roughly 6.21 miles) back and forth. But most importantly, she hadn’t even eaten dinner, so when she carried Long San, Feng Ning felt like there was a huge rock weighing her down and nearly fell to her knees.

She gritted her teeth, took a few deep breaths, raised her energy to the highest capacity, and used everything she had to quickly stride over to the farmer’s house. This place was a remote area in the countryside with no one around, and there were even the sounds of some animals, bugs, and birds in the forest. Accompanied by the serene moonlight, it couldn’t be said that the atmosphere was great.

Feng Ning didn’t dare to brazenly walk on the main road. She was afraid those people would come back to find them, and instead chose smaller, hidden paths to climb through. However the more she walked, the slower her speed became, and the more she walked, the more she panted. Her two legs were so tired that it felt like they were glued to the muddy earth, and lifting her feet was really hard.

Feng Ning was panting on one side and on the other she was encouraging herself. Look, the farmhouse that was left earlier is one step closer. Once there, there will be a place to stay at. There would be a furnace, a bed, and blankets, and maybe there would also be something to eat. Another two steps, and it’s closer.

She was only counting the steps, and suddenly stepped onto a rock. She barely had any more energy, so she couldn’t maintain her balance, and fell down. This fall didn’t only cut Feng Ning’s palms and sc.r.a.pe her knees, it also dropped Long San awake. He groaned, and opened his eyes.

Feng Ning saw this, didn’t bother attending to herself, and furiously went to shake him. “Long San, Long San, you’re awake, how are you feeling?”

Long San looked at Feng Ning, slightly narrowed his eyes and took a moment to react to his current situation, then replied, “Falling down really hurts.”

Feng Ning patted his arm, and said, “It’s great that you’re awake.”

Her cow head not matching horse’s mouth[2] choice of words made Long San want to laugh, but he felt like he was cold and hot, his entire body was in pain, and in reality he couldn’t laugh. Feng Ning helped him sit up. “You’re sick, you can’t stay at the cave. I’ve found a farm, so we should be able to get some help. Right now we only need to get you over there.”

Long San tried to stand up, but his legs felt weak, and he actually couldn’t muster any strength at all. Feng Ning crouched in front of him, showing her back to him. “Come, you can only rely on me.”

Long San blinked, and words of grat.i.tude were in the end unspoken. On one hand he muttered, “I’m very heavy,” and on the other he climbed onto Feng Ning’s back. Feng Ning clenched her teeth and strenuously stood up. Sometime along the journey she nearly stumbled over again. She stopped to stabilize, breathing heavily, and while hooking onto Long San’s two legs she pushed him up. His body was long and his legs were long, and they dragged on the floor. Feng Ning complained, “You’re not only heavy, but you’re also tall. Carrying you is very inconvenient.”

The tone she used while complaining caused Long San to be amused. “I’m really sorry, I didn’t grow well.”

“Nevermind, I’m a very generous person, I forgive you.” With Long San awake, Feng Ning suddenly felt her own strength increase about 100 times. Having someone to bicker with was a good feeling.

She walked for a while, almost fell again, and had to pause to draw breath. Long San couldn’t bear it anymore, and proposed, “Why don’t you leave me here, go find a helper and then come back for me.”

“Not good, not good.” Feng Ning continued going forward. “It’s not much further, we’re almost there. If I left you here, what will I do if you get lost? I’ve already lost your family’s treasure, but in any case protecting that small box can be counted as paying it off. But if I were to lose you, what am I going to pay for it with?”

Long San didn’t speak. He leaned his head against her head, with his arms holding her shoulders, and his two legs half dragging on the floor. It was hard on her to carry him, and him being carried was also hard on him, but in this dark night, under such a situation his heart felt like it was at peace.

Feng Ning said, “Long San, say something ah. You don’t have to answer me, but saying anything is fine. Once you talk, I will have strength.”

Long San couldn’t help but laugh, he said, “I really don’t have any energy, don’t make me laugh.”