Ger, So Proud

Chapter 58

“Sound?” Lin Yu listened carefully for a moment, then said in confusion, “No, it must be the wind.”

Although the sun was shining brightly, the mountain occasionally had gusts of wind, perhaps causing the sound of snow falling from branches.

“No,” He Ze shook his head decisively. He bent down quickly, allowing Lin Yu to get off his back. Lin Yu also removed the bow and arrows from He Ze’s back. “What exactly did you hear?”

Given that his feet were not in the best condition, it would be troublesome if He Ze encountered something dangerous alone.

“Don’t worry,” He Ze said, noticing Lin Yu’s furrowed brows, “It was just a few faint whimpers. It shouldn’t be any large predator.”

As he spoke, He Ze closed his eyes for a moment, then fixed his gaze in the direction to the right. “Wait here for me, I’m going to check it out.”

“Hey, you—”

Before Lin Yu could finish speaking, He Ze had already pushed through the snow-laden bushes, each step causing more snow to fall on him, quickly obscuring him from view.

Lin Yu hesitated, then quickly followed, using the surrounding trees for support.

They walked about a hundred steps and circled several towering trees before He Ze finally stopped beside a dense thicket.

Before he could start digging through the snow, Lin Yu’s voice came from behind, “I hear it now. It sounds like animal cubs, but I can’t tell what kind…”

“I told you to wait back there,” He Ze said, glancing at him, though his tone lacked any real reprimand.

He had heard Lin Yu following but didn’t stop him, knowing there was no danger.

“…I was worried about your safety and brought you the bow and arrows,” Lin Yu squatted down beside He Ze, helping him dig through the snow. “But how did you hear it from so far away?”

Having hunted for many years, Lin Yu prided himself on noticing any movement. Yet now, it seemed He Ze’s hearing was sharper. No, wait! With the distance and the faintness of the sound, plus the mountain’s other noises, it was strange that He Ze had heard it at all.

“Of course, it’s because…”

He Ze’s movements paused. He had initially intended to say, of course, he heard it with his ears. But then he realized that he hadn’t heard it; he had felt it.

He clenched his fist, finally recognizing the surge of power within his body.

His abilities had upgraded after exhausting them the previous day.

“I told you, your man is a god; you should believe it,” He Ze said, looking at Lin Yu as he came to his senses.

The upgrade of his abilities was a good thing.

This world was not entirely safe. Although there were no zombies, there were other dangers. For a modern person, the rights to life and freedom were crucial. However, in this world where imperial power was supreme and lives were controlled, he adhered to the rules but wasn’t willing to bow down completely.

Having more cards up his sleeve was always advantageous.

Even though this place was not the post-apocalyptic world anymore, the desire for strength, ingrained in him for ten years, still existed. Thinking about this, He Ze chuckled, not even sure what he found amusing.

But his laughter was full of mockery.

Lin Yu looked up at him, meeting He Ze’s eyes filled with loneliness and… sorrow, as if isolated from the world.

A strange bitterness spread through Lin Yu’s heart—a sense of pity.

Just as he was about to say something, his hand suddenly struck an empty space. Reflexively turning his head, he saw a large gap in the center of the thicket. There, he found several palm-sized, multi-colored… puppies.

“Whimper… squeak…”

The unfamiliar scent of He Ze and Lin Yu seemed to unsettle the puppies. A gray-black one, with bright black eyes, stared at Lin Yu before crawling backward with its legs. Another yellow-and-white one blinked its eyes and continued to lie down weakly.

They looked very frail.

As for the others, Lin Yu touched them, his face turning somber. “Dead. This was a litter. They were born not long ago. There’s no sign of the parents. They must have encountered some accident.”

The heavy snow had come suddenly. If they encountered a predator, likely wouldn’t make it back.

“Well… why don’t we take them home?” He Ze suggested. The strange mood from earlier seemed to have vanished, and Lin Yu could no longer see any signs of it. “Dogs are loyal and have a keen sense of smell. You can take them with you when you hunt. It’ll be much easier to track down prey that tries to escape.”

Lin Yu pondered for a moment and then nodded.

Seeing his agreement, He Ze bent down and picked up the two surviving puppies, gently stroking their backs. The yellow-and-white one suddenly opened its eyes and started burrowing into He Ze’s arms, occasionally lifting its head to lick He Ze’s chin. The gray-black one wasn’t to be outdone either, using its paws to push open He Ze’s outer garment.

Gone was their previous lethargy.

“They… they won’t think you’re their…” Lin Yu’s expression was complex.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” He Ze raised an eyebrow. These two were just hungry. He had given them a bit of vitality; he couldn’t let them die right after being brought back.

He put the two little ones into the backpack, and then carried Lin Yu again, while someone’s stomach continued to rumble. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the sun was already setting.

“Let me down here. Dad is probably waiting for me at the village entrance,” Lin Yu patted He Ze’s shoulder and then added, “And so are others.”

“You’re always so particular!”

He Ze coldly retorted, but Lin Yu wasn’t afraid of him. After getting down, he carefully supported himself on He Ze’s arm as he started walking.

He wasn’t wrong. Almost as soon as they emerged from the forest, they saw a group of people gathered at the roadside. Several village elders, many villagers, and Dad Li standing beside Dad Zhang, with Xu Qingsheng next to them.

“They’re back, they’re back! Look, Yu-ge is back!”

No one knew who shouted first, but the scene instantly turned chaotic. Zhang Su stood still for a moment before bursting into tears and laughter, rushing to embrace Lin Yu, tears streaming down his face.

“It’s okay, Dad, I’m okay. It’s just a minor injury,” Lin Yu said obediently, allowing Dad Zhang to hold him and gently patting his back. “It’s all right now, everything is okay.”

“As long as you’re okay. The whole village was worried sick about you. Your Uncle He and Uncle Zhao took people up the mountain and haven’t returned yet!” An elder, around fifty years old, stroked his beard, his face breaking into a smile. Remembering something, he quickly called out to two others nearby, “Go, go, call them back. It’s too cold out!”

The two responded and left.

Surrounded by them, Lin Yu felt warmth well up in his eyes. He exchanged pleasantries for a while, thanked everyone repeatedly, and then finally said goodbye.

As he left, he looked back again and again but couldn’t find He Ze. Eventually, Dad Zhang pulled him away, with Xu Qingsheng walking slowly behind them.

Outside the crowd, He Bao’er stood under an eave dripping with melting snow, his face a mix of emotions. Only after Lin Yu was out of sight did he clutch his clothes and walk off in the opposite direction.

In another direction, Li Shanfeng rubbed his frostbitten hands, spat on the ground, then paused and smirked coldly before disappearing.

…

In the Lin family’s main room, Xu Qingsheng examined Lin Yu and instructed Zhang Su on how to apply medicine. He then sternly warned, “Don’t worry. The swelling has gone down; it’s just a minor injury. But Yu-ge, you must take care of yourself this time. If not for the lingering effects of your last injury, you wouldn’t have sprained your ankle so easily again. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with a permanent limp!”

“Uncle Xu, I understand. I’ll take good care of myself,” Lin Yu promised. Xu Qingsheng’s stern warning had genuinely frightened him.

A limp? Would He Ze still want him if he were limping? Lin Yu tilted his head, a smile playing on his lips, not even noticing Zhang Su coming in with food.

“What are you thinking about? You’ve been absent-minded since we got home. Did something scare you up on the mountain?” Zhang Su placed the bowl of stewed meat porridge on the table and felt Lin Yu’s forehead.

“Dad, there’s nothing on the mountain that can scare me!” Lin Yu snapped out of his reverie, carefully putting on a smile. Seeing Xu Qingsheng still standing by, he suddenly remembered something. “Dad, Uncle Xu said you fainted earlier. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Your Uncle Xu gave me some medicine. It’s just you being so worrisome…” Zhang Su poked Lin Yu’s forehead, his eyes reddening again.

“Dad, I’m really okay. I’ll be careful from now on. I won’t let this happen again.”

“You only listen after suffering a bit, don’t you? Don’t you know how worried I was… And the villagers, they were all troubled because of you. Once you’re better, we need to thank everyone personally…” Zhang Su choked up, wiping his eyes, then turned to Xu Qingsheng. “Your Uncle Xu has been worried about you and hasn’t gone back to town. He’s been waiting for news…”

“Yu-ge is like a son to me. It’s no trouble at all,” Xu Qingsheng interjected, having spent the past two nights in a spare room in the village out of concern for Lin Yu.

“Just…” Zhang Su lowered his eyes, then looked up again, saying, “Doctor Xu, you didn’t go back yesterday, and now it’s late again…”

“Yes, Dad, it’s quite late. Uncle Xu must be hungry…” Lin Yu mumbled as he took a spoonful of the hot meat porridge.

“Indeed, we’ve all been hungry for a day now. Oh, my stomach!” Xu Qingsheng immediately played along, rubbing his belly.

“…”

With both of them acting in concert, Zhang Su swallowed his words, his gaze shifting between the two of them. Finally, he conceded, “There’s more in the pot. I’ll get you some.”

“No need, no need. I can get it myself,” Xu Qingsheng said cheerfully, waving his hand. “No need to be so formal. Yu-ge just got back; you two should chat.”

Before Zhang Su could respond, Xu Qingsheng had already stepped out of the room.

Lin Yu watched him leave and then turned to Zhang Su, “Dad, Uncle Xu is a really good person, you…”

“What do you know, child! Let me ask you,” Zhang Su said seriously, pulling up a chair to sit in front of Lin Yu. “Did you come down the mountain with that He family boy?”

“Yes, He Ze went up the mountain to find me,” Lin Yu said, his spoon pausing mid-air. After a moment, he added, “He went yesterday. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it back.”

Before he finished speaking, his eyes had already turned red.

Zhang Su remained silent for a while, holding back his tears as well. “Such deep feelings, that child is foolish too!”

“Dad, I want to get engaged to He Ze.” Lin Yu suddenly raised his eyes, his tone firm and unyielding.

No matter what happens, he would endure it with him. If he dies, he will take care of his Dad and Uncle He and Dad He, then join him.

He didn’t want to give this person to anyone else, even if he knew He Ze deserved better.

“Have you thought it through?”

“Yes.”

“It’s good that you’ve thought it through. As long as the two of you are united, there’s no obstacle you can’t overcome, right?” Zhang Su’s face softened with a smile, but he sighed. “I’ve hoped for this for so many years, and now that you’re about to marry, I feel anxious… He Ze is a good kid, and you’re older than him. You should give way to him in the future. Men, no matter how old, are still children at heart and need to be coaxed. You—”

“Dad! Please stop!” Seeing Zhang Su getting more enthusiastic, Lin Yu interrupted him, blushing, and quickly took another bite of porridge. “By the way, Dad, those two puppies in my basket…”

“Oh… I completely forgot,” Zhang Su suddenly slapped his thigh and stood up. “Those poor little things, I’ll scoop some porridge to feed them. After all, you two brought them back from the snowy mountain!”

With that, Zhang Su quickly left the room, and Lin Yu continued eating his porridge, the smile on his face lingering.

Sweet.

…

Meanwhile, with a crowd around Lin Yu, Dad Li meticulously checked He Ze from head to toe. Seeing he was uninjured, he finally tugged his ear and led him away.

He scolded him all the way to the house, and He Ze displayed a very good attitude in admitting his mistake.

However… “Dad, we’re almost home. Can you let go of my ear?”

If Xiao An saw this, he’d probably laugh for a year.

“What’s the big deal? You really have guts! Going up the mountain on your own without telling your father and me. Do you know how dangerous it is? I know you’re worried about Yu-ge, but…”

“Dad, I know I was wrong. Could you please…” Due to having to cooperate with Dad Li’s movements, He Ze bent slightly. Suddenly, his eyes shifted and he stopped, his smile fading. “Dad, we have a guest.”

Ahead, a man in his thirties was pacing back and forth outside the He family’s courtyard gate. He looked quite young, wearing a red jacket with fur trim, holding two full bags, exuding an air of wealth.

As soon as Dad Li saw him, he let go of He Ze’s ear immediately, his face turning serious.