Chapter 27

Besides plenty of water, they'd also brought dry rations—corn, the only thing Chen Jue had to offer.

Today Chen Jue's main job was digging astragalus. The weather was nice, so he could climb a bit higher.

Astragalus is picky about where it grows.

The mountain to the north was about 1,000 meters up. Chen Jue could climb it, but he couldn't be going up and down all day.

Luckily, his body was pretty solid—probably from years of gathering herbs—so even seven months pregnant, he could still handle the climb.

It was a long walk, and they talked off and on. Huo Lin really was a man of few words—even his questions were short and to the point. Luckily, none of them stumped Chen Jue—mostly they were about herbs.

Those he could handle.

Finally Huo Lin said, "You've gotten pretty familiar with herbs lately."

The way he said it, with that tone, rubbed Chen Jue the wrong way—like a boss telling an employee, "Your PPT today was passable."

Chen Jue knew that in this ancient world, men—husbands—sat at the top of the food chain, but he just couldn't get used to it.

This Huo Lin really knew how to get under someone's skin.

Chen Jue figured the original owner probably hadn't cared much for him either—otherwise why would Huo Lin question the pregnancy? If they'd had a good relationship, he wouldn't be imagining himself getting cuckolded.

None of the men he knew—Zhou Qingshan, or Zhang Yan's husband Zhou Dajiang—acted like that.

Not wanting to hear more, Chen Jue brushed it off with a flat "It's fine."

He wasn't polite about it either—no way was he falling for that boss-style manipulation.

That shut Huo Lin up, and after that they barely talked.

The only sound was Xiao Hua bleating now and then.

Chen Jue stuck to the nearby mountains, which were relatively safe, and since it was daytime, Xiao Hua was mostly relaxed.

When he heard it bleating at a tree, Chen Jue pulled down some locust flowers for it.

If he was too slow, Xiao Hua would tug at his clothes—hemp, which sheep loved to eat.

Chen Jue found Xiao Hua annoying, but he had to admit the goat had brought some life to his days since it started following him. Especially on the mountain—even if Xiao Hua often got spooked by pheasants or snakes and jumped a foot in the air, at least it was company.

Just like now—when the two of them had run out of things to say and walked in silence, Xiao Hua was the buffer.

Luckily, the scenery was gorgeous. It was autumn, and up north the skies were clear and crisp. The mountain forests were layered, with different trees at different heights, so this season they were a cascade of colors.

It was as beautiful as a painter's carelessly splashed palette.

They strolled along and finally made it. Chen Jue was soaked in sweat, and Huo Lin told him to sit and rest while he did the digging.

Wild astragalus didn't grow in patches—it was scattered around, and its leaves weren't as distinctive as notoginseng's. By this time of year, they'd already turned yellow and withered.

But one swing of his hoe, and Huo Lin dug up astragalus.

He knew the herb. Chen Jue's eyes flickered, remembering what Huo Lin had said earlier—no wonder he'd talked so big. He really did know his herbs.

At least he was better at this than hunting.

Chen Jue sat on a rock and watched him for a while. Huo Lin's aim was spot-on—he dug only astragalus and ignored everything else.

After resting a bit, Chen Jue followed behind and picked up the extras. Even though Huo Lin only dug astragalus, he also pulled up the white fuzz around the roots.

Astragalus grew in rich soil, and other plants thrived around it.

Chen Jue gathered a good amount following behind. By the time they'd cleared most of the astragalus and angelica in the area, the sun was high overhead—must've been past noon.

The two of them sat under a tree eating their rations.

Cold corn was still fine to eat. Chen Jue had his usual three ears, and Huo Lin had four—breakfast had been so bad he hadn't gotten his fill.

And he'd said he wasn't hungry earlier.

Whatever. At least he hadn't told Chen Jue to his face that the food was awful.

After eating, Chen Jue started to get drowsy. His body's routine was as regular as clockwork these days.

He leaned against the tree, watching squirrels gather pinecones and stuff their cheeks, but soon his eyelids drooped shut.

When he woke up, there was a piece of clothing over him—Huo Lin's.

Chen Jue slowly moved his head off Huo Lin's shoulder. The man must have sat down next to him at some point, probably worried he'd fall over.

Chen Jue noticed the hand on his waist and, after a pause, moved it away. Whether or not Huo Lin was ready to accept the baby, Chen Jue wasn't his wife.

Chen Jue thought about how to break the news in a way that would be easier for him to take.

Huo Lin woke up too—probably startled by Chen Jue's movements. His eyes snapped open, and in that instant there was no drowsiness, just sharp alertness. His hand instinctively grabbed Chen Jue's wrist, and only when he saw it was Chen Jue did he slowly let go.

The wariness in his eyes faded too.

That was like someone ready to fight the second they opened their eyes. Probably some kind of war trauma?

Chen Jue didn't ask, and Huo Lin didn't say anything either. He sat for a bit, picking beggar's ticks off his legs, then got up.

He reached out a hand to Chen Jue. Chen Jue had been about to push himself up against the tree, but seeing the offered hand, he took it instead.

In the afternoon, they kept digging on the same mountain. Besides the astragalus Chen Jue had already found, there were plenty of other herbs scattered around. Since it was getting late, it wasn't worth hiking to another mountain for dense patches, so they just picked here and there.

Chen Jue gathered a good amount of arborvitae seeds and two pouches of pinecones, tying them into Xiao Hua's basket. Xiao Hua loved them, and Chen Jue ate them too—they were a pain to crack open, but they were a rare source of nuts, and he needed the nutrition.

Besides nuts, Chen Jue also picked some mushrooms.

This was the North China region, where coniferous and broadleaf trees grew intermingled. The forest floor had accumulated a thick layer of pine needles over who knows how many centuries, nurturing a rich variety of mushrooms.

Though not as abundant as in the south, Chen Jue only picked ones he recognized as edible.

Like termite mushrooms—those were excellent stewed with chicken.

Too bad he hadn't caught any chicken. Earlier, Huo Lin had practiced his archery here again, turning an oak tree into a pincushion, which naturally scared off all the animals.

Chen Jue sat on a rock sorting mushrooms, watching Huo Lin pull the arrows out of the tree one by one. They were bamboo arrows, and his draw strength seemed decent—though many broke when pulled out. He discarded those directly.

When Huo Lin returned, Chen Jue quickly looked away, afraid he couldn't hide the mocking look in his eyes.

Huo Lin sat down beside him and, after a moment of silence, said, "You've worked hard these past few days, digging up quite a lot of herbs. Rest at home tomorrow. I'll go check out the mountains over there."

He pointed toward the deep mountains across from them—apparently, he was feeling motivated enough to venture into the wilderness.

Chen Jue said to him, "That place is dangerous."

They were still on the front side of the mountain; Chen Jue had never ventured into the deep mountains.

Chen Jue never went anywhere Xiao Hua refused to go.

There might be century-old ginseng or thousand-year-old lingzhi in the deep mountains, but Chen Jue knew what he was capable of.

He only picked herbs within his reach.

Now Chen Jue also didn't think Huo Lin should go.

The villagers all said he was a skilled hunter who had once killed a tiger, and he'd killed even more wolves and deer.

Chen Jue had seen some wolf pelts and such at his home, which confirmed what people said wasn't far from the truth.

But this man's skills weren't what they used to be. He was currently retraining, and with his current skill level, it was better not to go.

Huo Lin looked at him, his gaze complex—surprise, followed by an accusing look that gave his eyes a sharp, aggressive edge.

Chen Jue understood exactly what he meant.

Why care about him now? Why not before? Why, after so many days back, only now a word that sounded like concern?

Chen Jue avoided his gaze; he had no words.

In the past, he truly had never cared about him.

By all rights, he should have asked—given how badly he'd been wounded, even if four months had passed, even if he looked fine on the surface, there were bound to be issues.

As a doctor, he should have asked.

Zhou Qingshan, a complete stranger at first, broke his leg, and Chen Jue had wanted to check on his condition right away—it was a professional habit.

But with Huo Lin, he'd simply never asked—knowing full well he'd been seriously injured—because he looked too much like Huo Jilin.

Chen Jue's lips twitched slightly.

For this reason, he'd gone against his medical principles.

He'd betrayed his original purpose as a doctor because of one person.

Chen Jue gazed at the layered, multicolored mountains in the distance, wondering how he'd become this kind of person.

Once he'd had his fill of the mountains, he turned back to him: "Let me look at your injury."

Huo Lin paused for a moment, then quickly stripped off his upper garment and turned around.

Chen Jue saw the long scar across his back.

Five months had passed since Zhou Qingshan said he'd been injured, and the wound was still so hideous it was hard to look at.

The shoulder was the worst—due to the way human muscles are built, that area bears the most weight. The weapon was likely a sharp curved blade, swung down hard from above. The force increased at the waist, curving the cut, so the scar ran across his waist—almost cutting him in half.

Even though Chen Jue had seen many severely injured people, accident scenes covered in blood, it still made him wince.

It was sheer grit that this man had survived.

The back wasn't the heart, but it housed the spine and solar plexus, and the waist and abdomen could easily have damaged internal organs. More importantly, with such a large wound, excessive blood loss could have caused shock.

That slash had miraculously missed the spine and solar plexus—his survival was truly a miracle.

But even surviving didn't mean the other injuries weren't serious.

The wound on his shoulder had cut deep into the bone; no wonder he'd lost his former hunting skills—a hair's breadth can make all the difference.

Chen Jue had him sit down, then pressed on his shoulder, starting from the pale edge of the wound and pressing down to check for ligament damage.

But the moment his hand made contact, Huo Lin's shoulder muscle twitched. Chen Jue asked, "Still hurts?"

If it still hurt, then the injury was serious. It might plague him for life, and his hunting days would be over.

Huo Lin hesitated, then said, "Your hands are cold."

Chen Jue looked at his tense body, then at his eyes, and understood. He thought Chen Jue was coming on to him.

Chen Jue also took a good look at his physique. The man was built—he'd been so shocked by the scar on his back earlier that he hadn't noticed his build.

Now he could take a proper look.

He'd likely spent years hunting, traversing mountains, building a lean, solid body—muscles completely different from gym-built ones, clearly defined. If you ate it, it would probably taste good—chewy, too.

Chen Jue took a deep breath. He could think of eating no matter what he saw now—he couldn't help it.

Chen Jue kept his hand where it was; he was a doctor.

Though the scene was indeed a bit odd—him touching a bare-chested man in the wilderness. If Liu Cuier and Zhou Hehua saw it, they'd spread it all over the village in no time—shameless daytime hanky-panky.

Luckily, they'd climbed high enough today. This high up, villagers rarely came.

Chen Jue took another deep breath, cast aside the stray thoughts in his head, and focused on treating Huo Jilin.

Taking Huo Jilin's arm, he pressed from top to bottom.

"Does it hurt here?"

"How about this? A little? Does it ache when it rains or on cloudy days?"

"Your waist... don't tense up too much..." When Chen Jue pressed on his waist, Huo Lin caught his hand.

It seemed his waist was a weak spot.

Chen Jue pulled his hand back and said to him, "Put your clothes on. The wound has healed, but the shoulder ligament is damaged. Don't lift heavy things for a while, and ease back into drawing the bow and shooting arrows."

Chen Jue glanced at his waist: "As for the waist, I'll take a look when you're less jumpy."

Huo Lin slowly tied his sash and said, "There's nothing wrong with my waist."

He said it as if Chen Jue had questioned his manhood.

He was a doctor, not his husband.

But men hate being told their waist is weak, so Chen Jue said no more—as long as he'd confirmed there were no major issues, that was enough.

"Apply some tiger-skin herb ointment on your shoulder from now on. Winter's coming—apply more hot compresses."

Both their baskets were nearly full, and the sun was dipping west. It was time to head down. They'd climbed high today, and walking back would take a good half hour.

The northern slope was mostly covered with pine trees, and the ground beneath them was thick with fallen needles. There were a few mountain paths, but Chen Jue walked more slowly, and with his slow pace, he'd dig up whatever caught his eye.

Chen Jue spotted several clumps of cordyceps again and couldn't help stopping.

Huo Lin beside him glanced at him, probably wondering why he was looking at these strange grasses—nobody in the world knew what these medicinal herbs were.

Chen Jue finally pointed at them: "Dig them up, roots and all."

Huo Lin's reticence had its advantages—he never asked questions, just dug them right out. He bent down, picked them up from the ground, and fiddled with them before saying, "They look like worms. Are these medicinal herbs too?"

Chen Jue nodded vaguely: "Perhaps."

Besides these cordyceps, they picked up a few other things on the way back. Because Chen Jue walked slowly and dug things up along the entire path, by the time they reached the foot of the mountain, the sun had already set. Darkness crept in faster among the trees, and some of the denser woods were already hard to see through.

A pheasant with worse eyesight than theirs was heading back to its nest.

So the two of them, like a blind cat stumbling on a dead mouse, managed to grab a pheasant.