"What are you doing, you old useless man? Let go of me now, or I will divorce you as soon as I get back."
"Hey… hey, you old useless man, quickly let me go, or I will divorce you right now."
"How dare you lay hands on me? You must have the courage of a bear and leopard. You are useless in bed, but now you want to act tough in front of me?"
"What kind of skill do you have, huh? You still dare not let me find a younger man. Useless thing…"
"Driver, stop the cart," Alaric Yun said calmly but firmly.
The driver looked at Alaric Yun. "Do you want to get off?"
Alaric Yun nodded. The driver then looked at Pearl Su. "That will be six coins total."
Pearl Su paid the fare and got off with Alaric Yun. The ox cart continued forward. From the cart came a woman's voice shouting, "Young man, what is your name? I will come find you later."
"Hey, young man, where in the village do you live? Hurry and tell me. I want to prepare a generous betrothal gift."
"Hey, young man, tell me quickly, or I will be heartbroken and die. Oh young man…"
Watching the ox cart go farther away, Pearl Su couldn't hold back her laughter and burst out laughing.
She had been worried about encountering such a situation on this trip, so she had changed her outfit.
Unexpectedly, this foolish man really made her laugh to death. Look at his face; it was turning dark with anger.
While Pearl Su laughed happily, Alaric Yun walked past her with a cold snort and continued forward.
Pearl Su ignored him, the smile still on her lips, unable to hide it.
Seeing him walk away, she hurried to follow, watching his back and smiling. If not for some restraint, she would have burst out laughing loud.
She thought carefully on the way, even choosing a quiet path with fewer people.
She didn't dare ride the ox cart earlier, fearing this kind of trouble. But now, she had been tricked by him!
She also had been worried about being followed on the way back. Now, since they got off midway, she did not have to worry anymore.
Walking further was a small path turning home. By the time they returned to the house, it was almost dark.
The two quickly worked together to organize the things.
Pearl Su felt that even though Alaric Yun was angry, he was serious about work and not throwing a tantrum. He really had a good temper.
After finishing their tasks, they skipped cooking dinner and ate the food bought from town: some buns and a roasted duck.
When she saw the roasted duck, she salivated. She hadn't eaten this in a long time and bought it without hesitation because she missed the taste.
They finished a simple dinner. Alaric Yun cleaned up while Pearl Su went to her room, then came out to fetch water and bathe. After the bath, tired from the whole day, she quickly fell asleep.
The next day, after a good rest, Pearl Su opened the door and saw Alaric Yun practicing martial arts, his figure agile and powerful, like a dragon flying and phoenix dancing.
Looking at the man in the gray shirt, Pearl Su's eyes darkened with unclear feelings. His injury looked almost healed.
If he wanted to kill her, why hadn't he acted? Not even a sign of it. Maybe he planned to use some other way to torture her?
These days, besides working hard without complaint, he seemed like a different person. She had been trying to torment him, so what was he thinking?
"Miss Su, good morning," a pleasant voice woke Pearl Su from staring at him.
She felt embarrassed and replied, "Good morning, sir."
She said casually, "You are very skilled in martial arts. You must have learned from a famous teacher."
Alaric Yun smiled slightly. "Since I was young, I apprenticed under the master of the top mountain sect in our Eastern Ling Kingdom, Fengyuan Sect. Only recently have I completed my training."
Pearl Su was not interested in knowing more about him. She quickly said, "Oh, I'm going to make breakfast first."
Turning toward the kitchen, Pearl Su cooked rice porridge, boiled a few eggs bought yesterday, and served some pickled papaya strips made two days ago. This was their breakfast.
After eating, while Alaric Yun was preparing medicine by heating firewood, Pearl Su checked his pulse again. The pulse showed his internal injuries were improving.
She glanced secretly at his hand that had been pricked by thorns. It was still a little red, which made her happy inside.
After checking the pulse, Pearl Su went back to other chores. Alaric Yun finished drinking the medicine and saw Pearl Su carrying a wicker basket, ready to go out. He called out, "Miss Su, if you are going out, I will go with you."
Being called stopped Pearl Su. She felt like he was always watching her. "Why do you always see me whenever I go out?"
"I'm going to cut some grass to feed the rabbits. I'll be back soon."
"No problem. I was just going out for a walk," Alaric Yun said with a gentle smile.
"Okay," Pearl Su replied. She went back to the storage room once, then they headed toward the grass slope.
The grass slope was quite large. Pearl Su had cut grass and picked wild vegetables there a few days ago but only walked halfway. They stopped at a spot where the grass was very lush and thick.
Pearl Su took out two sickles from the basket, handing the rusty one to Alaric Yun. "Let's cut together. It will be faster."
Alaric Yun smiled kindly, took the sickle, and they started cutting grass. After a while, Pearl Su stopped and said, "I want to eat rabbit meat for lunch. We raise them at home. You kill one."
She had wanted to eat them for a while since she had to cut grass every day for the rabbits.
"Okay. How do you want it cooked?" Alaric Yun asked softly, his eyes shining with a hidden fondness.
"Which do you think is better, roasted or braised?" Pearl Su asked, glancing at him.
"Both are good," Alaric Yun's smile deepened.
"Then let's cook one braised and one roasted," Pearl Su said, cutting the grass harder in frustration. She did not like cutting grass every day.
Alaric Yun watched her, puzzled, but then smiled softly and kept cutting.
After they cut enough grass, Pearl Su led him to dig for wild vegetables. They found a bunch of chives. She quickly told Alaric Yun to start cutting.
"Sir, this is the vegetable for today. Cut it close to the ground."
Alaric Yun looked at the chives and asked, "Is this the wild vegetable we ate the other day?"
"Yes. It's called chives. It has a warming effect, helps digestion, and is good for your internal injuries."
Alaric Yun was pleased to hear this and crouched down to cut.
"Wait," Pearl Su called him, swapping his sickle with hers.
"Okay, now you cut," she said.
Alaric Yun smiled and cut the chives. Pearl Su went ahead, her eyes quickly scanning for the next bunch.
Alaric Yun pointed and said with a smile, "Miss Su, there are two bunches of chives over there."
Pearl Su's eyes narrowed with a little frustration. How could his eyesight be so good? She said lightly, "Okay, let's go cut them."
They went to cut the chives together.