Chapter 342: Natural Hiding Place
The young girl looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old.
She heard the noise too and looked over, alert and a little afraid. "Who's there!"
'There was something wrong with her leg. If a wild animal appeared now, she'd be finished!'
When she saw Xiao Ye, the girl's expression froze.
'I didn't expect it to be a man—and a tall, handsome one at that! He's even better-looking than the most handsome young man in our village! And judging by his clothes, he must be an outsider. An outsider who could make it this far must be formidable. She had only seen two her entire life. And one of them had been a corpse...'
The young girl was suddenly at a loss for words.
Xiao Ye walked over. "Are you... a medicine gatherer?"
He knew that there were some Medicine Gatherers on Cyan Dragon Mountain.
These Medicine Gatherers were mainly people from the villages at the foot of the mountains who lived off what the mountains provided. If they could find something valuable up here, they'd be set for the next few years.
However, most medicine gatherers wouldn't venture this far in; it was simply too dangerous.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about, but I am here to gather herbs." The young girl had never interacted with an outsider before.
Besides, Xiao Ye was so handsome that a single glance made her blush. "My leg is injured," she said.
As a member of the Taoist School, he couldn't very well see someone in peril and refuse to help.
Furthermore, judging by her features, the girl was a person of rare purity and kindness. In other words, she was uncorrupted by the secular world; there was no trace of greed in her expression.
Generally, people who grew up in the outside world, regardless of gender, would begin to show signs of avarice by their teens—the age they began to understand the ways of the world.
Not that such avarice was necessarily bad; it was only human nature. Everyone has things they desire.
Some people stay on the right path, using their own abilities to earn money and obtain the things they want.
Others go astray and will resort to any means necessary.
The person before him showed none of that, which suggested she had very little contact with the outside world.
Given the girl's age, Xiao Ye saw her as little more than a junior and went to examine her leg.
"It's alright. You just sprained it. It's already a bit swollen, let me help you."
"O-Okay... Thank you."
Without a second thought, Xiao Ye rolled up her pant leg. He found some nearby herbs known to improve circulation and reduce swelling, crushed them in his hand, and applied them to the injury.
"You should feel much better in about half an hour. When you do, I'll see you home."
In the outside world, such a gesture wouldn't even be considered forward, let alone offensive. It was nothing.
But to the young girl, it was something else entirely.
'He saw my leg...'
The girl's face flushed crimson. She quickly lowered her head, only daring to steal occasional glances.
Xiao Ye paid her no mind, pulling out his satellite phone to check for messages.
「About half an hour later.」
Just as he'd said, the girl's ankle wasn't hurting as much. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. These mountains are full of wild animals; you shouldn't come this deep the next time you're gathering herbs. I'll walk you to the path."
"Okay." The girl wasn't sure what path he was referring to, but she agreed in a low voice.
She walked ahead, and Xiao Ye took point as her escort.
After walking for just half an hour, they had arrived.
Xiao Ye looked up and was astonished to find a village hidden deep within the forest!
The village was situated behind a cliff face, much like the legendary Peach Blossom Spring. One had to take a narrow path that passed through an opening in the rock to see what lay within.
No wonder no one had discovered this place.
It was a perfect natural hiding spot!
The young girl invited him in a low voice, "Mister, please come with me. You saved me, so come to my house for a cup of water."
Xiao Ye was quite curious about the village himself, so he didn't refuse.
He nodded and followed the girl into the village.
The village wasn't large, with only about two hundred people. It was afternoon, yet no one was resting.
Seeing an outsider, they all came out of their homes.
However, Xiao Ye noticed their unfriendly expressions and the wariness in their eyes.
Xiao Ye remained silent. 'The people here clearly don't welcome me,' he thought, 'but they probably won't try anything.'
The girl's home was a two-room house at the back of the village. She lived there with her mother, grandmother, and an older sister.
The four of them lived together.
But Xiao Ye noticed something very strange—the household consisted only of women; there were no men.
He kept this observation to himself and entered the earthen-walled house at the girl's invitation.
"You must be the one who saved our Nannan. Thank you so much."
Nannan's mother, a plain, honest-looking woman, thanked him as she brought him a cup of water.
She also brought some wild fruits.
There was some dried meat hanging up to dry, but no rice or flour. A large jar held something that looked like a mix of corn and millet.
Those could be grown on the mountain terrain, but rice and wheat would be much more difficult.
"Think nothing of it. I just happened to come across her."
The woman gave a small smile. "If our Nannan hadn't run into you, she could have been in real danger today. An accident during medicine gathering is what we fear most."
"She's a mischievous one, going out on her own like that. Around here, we always go to gather herbs in groups of several people."
Beside them, Nannan looked embarrassed. She glanced at Xiao Ye, then quickly turned her head away.
The woman seemed to notice something, but her expression remained unchanged as she continued to size up Xiao Ye. "Judging by your appearance, you're from the outside, aren't you?"
Xiao Ye had noticed that as well. The people here all wore clothes made of coarse, homespun cloth in rather old-fashioned styles.
"Yes. This is the first I've known of a village like this on Cyan Dragon Mountain."
"We are rather isolated from the world here; very few outsiders know we exist. It's already afternoon, and evening falls quickly in the mountains. Why don't you stay here for the night?"
Xiao Ye was still curious about the village, and it was indeed getting too late to be on the move.
After this delay, he might not reach the Cyan Dragon Mountain outpost even by midnight.
"Alright. Thank you for your hospitality."
The woman prepared a room for Xiao Ye, then pulled Nannan away to treat her ankle injury properly.
"Nannan, I don't care what you're thinking. I'm going to find the village chief. Until I get back, you are to stay in this room and be quiet. Do you hear me?"
"I know, Mother."
The woman nodded and hurried out the door.
She quickly found the village chief. "There's an outsider at our house, and Nannan's the one who brought him back. Village Chief, what are we going to do?"
The village chief's face was etched with worry. He took a few puffs from his long-stemmed pipe. "This is... if we don't want the village to come to harm, we have two options."