297 Farewell

Chengfeng, covered in mud, charged straight into Yue Jiaojiao’s arms from afar like an arrow that had been released from a bow.

Yue Jiaojiao was knocked back by it and fell into Zhao Zhan’s protective embrace.

“Be careful,” he warned.

Chengfeng’s body was covered in mud.

Zhao Zhan helped her to stand up, then rubbed Chengfeng’s head. “Where did you come from?”

Chengfeng jumped to the entrance of the cave, turned back to look at them, and then walked out again.

“Zhao Zhan, is he going to take us somewhere?”

Zhao Zhan held Yue Jiaojiao’s hand. “Let’s go and take a look.”

Chengfeng stopped less than a hundred meters away from the entrance of the cave.

Zhao Zhan and Yue Jiaojiao walked over to take a look and were shocked by the piles of prey in front of them. “Chengfeng, did you just catch these?”

Did he just capture all the small animals that were still out there?

There were wild chickens, rabbits, and ducks in the pile, and there was even a fish and a small wild boar.

Chengfeng bit on the pile of prey and dragged it toward the basket Zhao Zhan had placed on the ground.

Yue Jiaojiao squatted down and walked over to hug Chengfeng’s head. “Is this what you just hunted for us to bring back?”

Chengfeng whimpered and rubbed his head against Yue Jiaojiao’s leg.

“The smell of blood here is too strong. I don’t want him to attract any big animals. Jiaojiao, I’ll have to clean up this place first.”

Zhao Zhan took out the shovel from his basket and dug into the ground to cover the bloodstains.

“You silly tiger, you’ve just arrived and you’ve already swept this place. Are you planning to starve yourself for the next few days?”

Yue Jiaojiao helped Chengfeng put the things into the basket.

When the bloodstains were almost completely covered by Zhao Zhan, she looked at him and said, “Zhao Zhan, let’s put half of the prey in Chengfeng’s cave as food for him to adapt to the new environment for a few days.”

“Well, I’ll pick a few that are still intact later.”

Ever since they started to feed Chengfeng with meat, they stopped feeding him well-cooked food, as they were worried that he would lose his wildness. Later on, Chengfeng grew older and learned to go up the mountain to find his own food. He was usually fed raw meat at home.

There was a pile of wild boars in the basket. Zhao Zhan carried them and placed the rest of the wild chickens and ducks near Chengfeng’s cave.

Chengfeng, who had been raised by Yue Jiaojiao, was as clean as she was, and knew that the place they lived in must not be filled with food.

“Chengfeng, I’m going back with Zhao Zhan soon.” Yue Jiaojiao’s dress was smeared with blood and dirt by Chengfeng. “If you see any humans, you must avoid them.”

“Don’t forget the traps Zhao Zhan taught you every day. Don’t fall into them like an id*ot one day.”

Chengfeng buried his head in Yue Jiaojiao’s arms. He was a beast, but he was crying like a child.

Yue Jiaojiao’s shoulders trembled as she cried.

“If we don’t go now, we won’t be able to see the road clearly.”

Zhao Zhan raised his head and looked at the sky.

The sun had already disappeared.

He was not very familiar with this path. If he was alone, it would be fine, but Jiaojiao was here too, so he had to ensure her safety.

Yue Jiaojiao cupped Chengfeng’s face in her hands. She was clearly crying, but she still had to smile and say, “Chengfeng, I’m going back with Zhao Zhan now, okay?”

Chengfeng stood at the entrance of the cave, no longer approaching.

Yue Jiaojiao walked to Zhao Zhan’s side, and the two of them walked down the mountain, turning their heads back with every step they took. They only looked away when they couldn’t even see the tiger’s shadow at the entrance of the cave.

Chengfeng’s roars echoed in the dense forest for a long time.

Yue Jiaojiao stopped in her tracks. Her shoulders trembled and she cried so hard that she was almost out of breath. “Zhao Zhan, Chengfeng… He…”

Zhao Zhan held her tightly in his arms and stroked the woman’s back to calm her breathing. “Chengfeng is smart. He’ll definitely be fine on the mountain. From now on, this will be its territory. If you really miss him, I’ll build a treehouse on the tree here and take you inside to check up on him.”

Yue Jiaojiao was so amused by his words that her tears turned into laughter. “How can you even be thinking of such a thing? We’ve already sent him up the mountain, we shouldn’t be taking care of him any longer.”

Zhao Zhan saw that the woman’s mood had finally improved a little, and the weight that was in his heart finally relaxed a little. “Your calf will hurt when we go down the mountain. I’ll carry you.”

Only after he said that did Yue Jiaojiao realize that her lower leg was throbbing in pain.

The distance she had walked up the mountain today was more than the distance she had walked in the past six months.

Zhao Zhan removed the basket backpack and held it in his hand. Then, he squatted down and asked Yue Jiaojiao to lie on his back.

After the two of them arrived home in the dark, Madam Qin, who was guarding the door, stood up but sat back down again after her legs went numb. “You’re finally back.”

Doctor Sun stood up and walked into the house with his hands behind his back. “If you didn’t come back any sooner, I would have gone up the mountain with the medicine box to see if you were waiting for me to save you.”

“What’s wrong?” After Madam Qin recovered, she held an oil lamp and walked up to the two of them. When she saw how dirty Yue Jiaojiao was, she cried out in surprise, “Did you encounter any danger on the mountain?”

Yue Jiaojiao patted Zhao Zhan’s shoulder to get him to put her down.

“Madam Qin, I’m fine. This was caused by Chengfeng rubbing against me when I was playing with him on the mountain.” Yue Jiaojiao’s legs were still a little sore, and she had to rely on Zhao Zhan’s arm to stand steadily. “Madam Qin, take these pieces of meat to the kitchen, please clean them up, and hang them under the eaves to freeze them.”

“We’ll start opening up the land and building a workshop tomorrow. At that time, the strong laborers in the village will go over to help. The meat can be added with the vegetables, so there’s no need to waste money.”

“I hunted them with Chengfeng.”

“Chengfeng has grown into a capable tiger.”

Yue Jiaojiao didn’t specifically tell Madam Qin that she had released Chengfeng back into the forest. She only smiled and nodded. “Yes, Chengfeng is very powerful.”

“You’re both probably famished.” Madam Qin called Doctor Sun out to carry the prey in with her. “I left dinner for you in the kitchen. Go wash up first. I’ll heat up the food and send it to the bedroom later.”

“Alright,” he said.

Zhao Zhan’s hands were empty as he carried Yue Jiaojiao into the bedroom. “I’ve already warmed the hot water on the stove before we left. I’ll go bring it in.”

Yue Jiaojiao’s body was exhausted. She nodded her head lazily and lay on the table, unwilling to move.

When Zhao Zhan returned, he saw that the woman was so sleepy that she was in a daze. Her eyes were red and swollen.

“Jiaojiao, I’ll carry you over for a bath, okay?”

Yue Jiaojiao mumbled as she sprawled on the table. She was so tired that she didn’t even want to lift a finger.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhan moved the charcoal basin in the room near her, went out, and brought back a new basin.

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