The next day Shen Ling decides to look for the herbs needed to make soap according to Mrs. Mu’s instructions. The other ingredients she can have Liu Bing buy in town since she can’t go for another five days according to the rule set by the Marquis.
She puts on a simple close fitting blue dress with narrow sleeves she had Liu Bing alter her last trek into the forest her flowing dress and wide sleeves hindered her as she walked and thorny bushes tore her clothes. She had her also make more practical shoes similar to a man’s boot because she slipped several times. She made sure she had put on a sachet to repel insects and brought a small sickle she got from the storage shed.
Each time she goes into the forest she marks the path with ribbons wrapped around trees. so she won’t get lost. Feeling less afraid everyday she ventures further than the last time. She feels this is a practical method and eventually she will go as far as the mountain to find the hermit.
Feeling properly prepared she wants to go even further into the forest today to find the Mountain Moss root she needs. Eager to start making soap and earn money she is determined to find the necessary plants.
The forest beyond the Shen manor stretches far deeper than it first appears, unfolding in layered shades of green and drifting shadow. Deeper in, the sunlight filters weakly through the dense canopy above and the air grows cooler with every step.
Shen Ling takes a deep breath as she stops to rest on a large rock. She wipes her forehead with a handkerchief and sighs, “I am too weak, I need to strengthen my body.”
After she sips some water, she moves carefully along a narrow, barely visible path. With a small woven basket on her back, her steps are quiet and deliberate. Her attention remains fixed not on where she is going, but on the subtle variations in the undergrowth around her.
“…This should be the right area,” Shen Ling murmurs softly to herself, her voice nearly swallowed by the stillness.
Her fingers brush lightly over a cluster of leaves, pausing as she studies their shape and color with practiced care, then she withdraws her hand.
Not this one…She continues forward, unhurried but intent. She looks at the notes she brought. It has six leaves with pointed ends, the texture is mosslike where it gets its name.
The deeper she walks into the forest, the more the Marquis mansion, and everything it represents, seems to fade. Here there are no walls, no watchful eyes, no expectations pressing in from all sides. Only the quiet rhythm of the forest, the scent of earth and greenery, and the instinct she is slowly learning to trust.
Peaceful.
Until it isn’t.
A sudden rustle breaks the fragile stillness, heavy, forceful, far too loud to belong to anything small.
Shen Ling freezes mid-step.Slowly, almost reluctantly, she turns and sees it.
A wild boar emerges from the dense brush, massive and bristling, its coarse fur standing on end and its sharp eyes already locked onto her. Its body is tense, angled forward in a way that leaves no doubt of its intent.
Her heartbeat races and her amber eyes dart around for an escape route…a place to hide.
Too close….Far too close. I might die before I even get a chance to live.
Shen Ling’s breath catches in her throat as her mind instinctively calculates distance, direction, escape…
None of the options are good. Ahhh…I don’t want to die!
The boar snorts harshly, scraping its hoof against the ground.
Then it charges.
Shen Ling stumbles backward, her heart slamming violently against her ribs as panic threatens to break through her carefully held composure.
There is a loud clanging sound from behind which momentarily disrupts the tense situation
The noise distracts the boar and it jerks its head back, its attention snapping sideways for the briefest instant.
And in that single moment, an arrow flies.
It strikes cleanly, precisely, embedding itself into the boar’s shoulder with enough force to stagger it, though not enough to stop it completely.
Shen Ling does not hesitate.
She moves backward first, then sharply to the side, forcing distance between herself and the animal as it wheels around again, now fully enraged.
Another arrow follows, this one sinks deeper into its head..
The boar lets out a harsh, furious cry, then collapses heavily to the ground.
Silence crashes back into place.
Shen Ling stands motionless, her breathing uneven, her pulse still racing as the tension slowly begins to loosen its grip.
A few seconds pass and she clutches her chest in disbelief staring at the fallen beast. I’m not dead…who?
Then the sound of footsteps, measured and controlled. A hunter? Yes…must be.
Jiang Ye steps out from between the trees, a bow still held loosely in his hand, his gaze shifting first to the fallen boar before settling on the quivering girl.
His eyes show reproach and his voice is harsh,“You’re too far in,”
There is no greeting. No… are you hurt anywhere? Annoyed with a hint of ridicule is how she takes his words. Shen Ling suddenly feels she might have been overthinking his kindness at the banquet.
She exhales softly, only then realizing she has been holding her breath.
“I didn’t notce” she replies, her voice quieter than usual, her composure not yet fully returned.
His eyes linger on her briefly then his sanity returns.Don’t frighten her. Soften your tone…ask how she is. When he first saw it was her he felt his heart tighten, thinking if he hadn’t arrived in time the foolish little girl would have been torn apart by that beast.
He softens his voice and steps closer.“Are you hurt?”
She lowers her head in embarrassment and nods faintly. “I’m fine.”
He clenches his hands at his side, she is hiding the tears forming in her beautiful amber eyes. But she doesn’t know the crystal drops on her fluttering black eyelashes show how upset she is. He knows…it’s not the boar…it’s me…I frightened her.
She takes a step back.Then another.
Her foot lands unevenly.Pain shoots sharply through her ankle, sudden and immediate.
“Ahhh…””
The sound escapes her before she can stop it, small but unmistakable.She stills at once. He is going to think I am useless…troublesome... She silently waits for him to voice his disdain.
Jiang Ye knits his sword like eyebrows together, “You’re injured.”
She quickly waves her small hands in the air, though her weight has already shifted off the foot. “It’s nothing. I can still…”
She tries to step again and her ankle can’t bear her weight.
Shen Ling catches herself against the trunk of a nearby tree, her breath tightening as the pain flares stronger than before.
Jiang Ye stops directly in front of her and his voice doesn’t show his concern. His style of dealing with soldiers is ingrained in him and he doesn’t realize how terse his voice sounds to the young girl.“You can’t walk on that.”
She lowers her gaze again, a faint flush of embarrassment rising tinting her cheeks red.
“…I can try,” she shyly responds. “You…you go to what you were doing. I will sit for a while and be fine.”
“No.”
The word is calm…Final….doesn’t leave room for an argument
Before she can respond, he steps forward and lifts her effortlessly.
“Wh…what are you doing?!”Shen Ling’s eyes widen in surprise, her hands instinctively gripping lightly at his sleeve for balance rather than resistance.
“I will be fine really!” she says quickly, her voice softer now, tinged with quiet embarrassment.
“I don’t want to trouble you.”
“No trouble,” he replies evenly, although inhaling her sweet scent and feeling her soft body pressed against his chest is unnerving. He has never held a girl in his arms and she is someone he should never have ideas about…but he has to admit there is something about her that makes him want to get close.
She hesitates. “…But you’re carrying me.”
Shen Ling could never imagine what thoughts are causing chaos in his mind because his voice remains emotionless and his words short and to the point. “That’s faster.”
A small pause follows.Shen Ling lowers her gaze, her cheeks faintly warm.
Her soft voice scratches at his heart as she looks up at him and says,“Umm..Thank you.”
