CH 20

Author: Yin Ya

Proofreader: xallisonjanex

The east side of Mount Feng Xia was too dangerous, so very few villagers would go there. They were not like Wang Cheng who lived in Mount Feng Xia since childhood and almost regarded this place as his own home.   

In Shiquan County, in addition to the old monk who had passed away, Wang Cheng could be regarded as the only person who knew Mount Feng Xia well.

Chu Yifeng asked him to lead the way. Wang Cheng chose the most suitable way to take, which was the most common path he used to walk. The trees were very dense, but there were landmarks that he had left behind.

It was broad daylight now. The weather was sunny and cloudless. The dazzling golden sun was shining brightly overhead, but the dense leaves blocked the sunlight, preventing any light from passing through. After the two entered the forest, the view suddenly became dark.

“Boss, please take my hand.” Wang Cheng was worried that the boss could not adapt to the darkness, so he took the initiative to lend his hand to the boss.

Chu Yifeng stared at the hand he had stretched out. The latter did not find anything unusual; Wang Cheng only thought that he had not adapted to the light here. It took only a few seconds for Chu Yifeng to extend his right hand out.

Wang Cheng’s hand was a bit rough, especially the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. That part was the most polished; it seemed as if he was holding something all year round. The calluses were very thick. To sum it all up, this was a pair of hands that were not eye-catching and ordinary. He judged Wang Cheng’s hand in his heart, but he did not know that the latter was also a little bit distracted.

The boss’s hand was very warm — but he always thought that the boss was a rich man who lived like a prince. He originally thought that Chu Yifeng’s hands would be fine and tender, Wang Cheng did not expect that he had guessed wrong. In Wang Cheng’s hand, the boss’s hand was really slender, but his palms were filled with calluses like his. Wang Cheng collected himself and restrained the urge to rub the other’s hand to see if he really did have calluses.

The two men held each other’s hands and finally walked into a place with flat terrain.

The leaves overhead were still dense, but they were much thinner than the places they had been before. The sunlight penetrated through the gaps between the leaves and the light was much brighter.

“This place was originally found by me. From here you can see some vegetation nearby. The vast majority of the trees here are more than a hundred years old. Some of them even have several hundreds of years worth of history. This part of the forest is still relatively well-preserved. The species of trees here are also quite cherished, such as Masson Pine, Chinese Sweet Gum, Trident Maple, Amboyna tree, and so on. It‘s a pity to dig them all up.”

Chu Yifeng did not comment on this. He walked over to the edge of the rock. The area in the slope below was not too open. Although it was still a little darker, he could indeed see a lot of tall trees, especially deeper into the forest, the woods became thicker.

“What did you just say?”

“I said this place was originally…”

“The last two sentences.”

Wang Cheng thought for a moment, “Masson Pine?”

“Carry on.”

“…Chinese Sweet Gum, Trident Maple, Amboyna tree, and so on. It‘s a pity to dig them all up.”

“It‘s quite a pity.”

“…” Wang Cheng thought this was an immoral behavior. If the boss really wanted to catch this sentence, then he should have caught it directly after Wang Cheng finished talking. He had to ask Wang Cheng to repeat it. He almost thought that the boss was testing his memory.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound heard from overhead in the treetops. The sound was actually very small, and could have been easily mistaken as rustling leaves, but the forest was quiet. The two men noticed it at once. They looked up, and saw a round pitch-black creature falling down toward them right before it slammed to the ground at their feet. The little creature had sprained its foot and crookedly stood up, staggering.  

“Silly pig.” Wang Cheng crouched down and funnily looked at the round creature.

“This is a pig?” Chu Yifeng watched Wang Cheng pick it up and found that it was indeed a pig, it was a head smaller than a normal pig, but otherwise looked no different.

“This is a mini pig — a wild one. I found it here half a year ago. It’s too wild and it likes to run around. It moves quickly so it’s hard to catch. I don’t know how old it is. There are many wild animals here. It’s lucky that it hasn’t been eaten.” Wang Cheng smacked his lips. He heard that this pig was also called a fragrant pig. It could even be roasted for consumption. Wild pork was always quite delicious. The mini pig struggled in Wang Cheng’s arms so he patted its butt. It was already injured yet it was still squirming.

“Do you want to raise it?” Chu Yifeng saw that Wang Cheng looked like he was clearly preparing to bring the pig back.

“It’s hurt. It won’t last long if I don’t take it back to dress the wound. The thing is, it’s really impossible to raise it since I’ll go to work in the city tomorrow, and I won’t be able to go home. I can’t take care of this little pig. My parents and younger sister are very busy… Oh, and it seems that it’ll also need a place where it could recover.” After Wang Cheng said that, he finally looked distressed. He hadn’t thought that much; now he realized that the problem was getting bigger. It would not have a place where it could recover, let alone raising it.

“Have you found a place to stay in?” Chu Yifeng said something that was totally irrelevant to the topic. 　　 Wang Cheng understood what he meant to say so he said, “My big brother has an apartment in the city. My parents are going to let me live with him, but he doesn’t like small animals, so I can’t bring this pig to the city with me.”

“Why not rent an apartment for yourself?”

“I shouldn’t be wasteful even if I have money. If I have a place to stay in, why should I rent an apartment?” Wang Cheng knew that Chu Yifeng was referring to the money from the sale. After selling Mount Feng Xia, his net worth would be so high that neither his eldest uncle or his second uncle could match him; but he did not want to use the money on unnecessary things. Regardless, until his brother had a girlfriend he would not rent an apartment of his own.  

With a little pig tagging along, the two did not go any further, but rather they directly returned to their original path.