Song Wei was startled when she finally tracked down the wild boar.
It was a small valley, inhabited by an unusually large pig.
Yes, large—not robust like a typical wild boar.
This boar also lacked the wildness of its kind.
It looked to weigh around five or six hundred pounds.
As Song Wei approached, the boar merely glanced at her a few times before grunting and continuing to forage for food on the ground.
The valley had two types of fruit trees—apple and pear—and many of the fallen fruits on the ground were gnawed and pitted. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who’d been eating them.
Besides the fruits, the ground also held yams, wild radishes, and other similar plants.
No wonder the boar had grown so fat.
Song Wei didn’t kill it immediately. Instead, she memorized the location, planning to return later with Lin Zhen.
After concealing the valley entrance with some shrubs, Song Wei left with her pack of wolves.
She eventually found a herd of deer deep in the forest and hunted a spotted deer before deciding to head back.
But things didn’t go as planned. After a while, it suddenly began to rain, forcing them to take shelter in a cave.
The rain had come out of nowhere, and Song Wei’s clothes were soaked.
“Tsk, this looks like it’s going to last a while.”
She and the animals sat at the cave entrance, watching the rain for a bit. Song Wei tossed a rabbit to the animals to eat while she slowly chewed on some dried meat.
“Yip, yip—”
The sound of a fox came through, and then Song Wei felt something tug at her pants.
She looked down and saw the red fox holding something in its mouth, offering it to her.
She took it and found a lump covered in mud, but a corner of it revealed a white jade texture.
She peeled off the muddy shell, uncovering a carved jade pendant.
It was still covered in mud and looked quite dirty.
Song Wei rinsed the pendant with rainwater from outside. Once cleaned, she took a closer look and gasped.
It was a double-fish pendant—two fish connected head to tail, one black and one white, intertwined in a yin-yang pattern.
Aside from the symbolic significance of the yin-yang fish in Taoism, finding a jade piece with both black and white colors was exceptionally rare.
Even more remarkable was the jade’s texture—smooth and refined, white as gourmet fat, black as obsidian.
The carving of the two fish was also exquisite, so lifelike it seemed real.
Even someone like Song Wei, who knew little about antique jade, could tell that this double-fish pendant was likely worth a fortune.
She tucked the pendant away and pinched the fox’s chin.
“Good girl, where did you find this?”
She’d underestimated this fox—it seemed it had a knack for bringing her treasure.
“Yip—”
The plump fox seemed to understand Song Wei’s words and led her to where it had found the pendant.
It was deep inside the cave.
Song Wei had only taken shelter from the rain and hadn’t been interested in exploring the cave, but she never expected to find such a valuable treasure inside.
As she ventured deeper, she noticed the well-fed wolf pups playing around.
Further in, there was an underground river—dark, cold, and gloomy.
Song Wei’s eyes could see in the dark, though not as clearly as in daylight.
But gold has a way of catching attention no matter where it is.
Yes, there was gold in the underground river.
Song Wei rolled up her sleeves and prepared to wade in to retrieve it.
But as soon as her feet touched the water, she sensed something wrong.
The wolves also grew alert, arching their backs and baring their teeth toward the ceiling of the cave.
Song Wei bent down, picked up a handful of small stones, and, in one swift motion, hurled them with all her strength.
Several snakes fell from the cave ceiling, lifeless.
Snakes—and not just a few.
She could hear the rustling of more reptiles moving around, both above and in the water.
Song Wei clicked her tongue, quickly snatched the golden object from the water, and dashed toward the bank.
“Let’s go!”
As she ran, she scooped up the five wolf pups into her arms.
Deeper inside that cave, there must have been
something big lurking.
She could hear it—the sound of its movement was different from the other snakes.
It was downright eerie. How could there be a nest of snakes here?
She braved the rain and ran out of the cave. Fortunately, the rain had lightened up by then.
She glanced back and, in that single look, spotted numerous snakes—both venomous and non-venomous.
But none of them left the cave. Once they saw her and the wolves fleeing, they retreated back inside.
“How strange.”
After putting some distance between them and the cave, Song Wei set the wolf pups down and examined the object in her hand.
It was a gold bracelet—a gold bracelet inlaid with rubies.
The bracelet was intricately patterned and beautiful, and more importantly, it was solid gold.
She smiled. “Let’s go back.”
That cave was anything but ordinary.
But she wasn’t foolish enough to venture back alone to investigate.
Though she was strong and agile, there was no telling how many snakes were in there. The thought of being surrounded by a horde of snakes made her scalp prickle—one bite could be fatal.
Better to make a quick escape.
Thanks to the rain, she didn’t run into anyone on the way back.
By the time she arrived at Lin Zhen’s place to unload the game, she was drenched.
“Why are you back only now?”
Lin Zhen had returned earlier than Song Wei. When it started raining, he hadn’t worried too much, assuming she’d find shelter.
But reality had clearly diverged from his expectations.
Lin Zhen, wearing an apron, took one look at Song Wei’s soaked appearance and his eyes widened.
“Go change your clothes,” he urged, steering her toward his room and handing her a set of clean clothes.
“Wear these for now. Don’t catch a cold.”
It was a plain white undershirt. On Lin Zhen, it looked quite appealing—accentuating his well-built muscles. But on Song Wei…
The shirt was far too large for her, hanging down like a dress.
After Lin Zhen left, Song Wei swiftly stripped off her wet clothes and changed.
The hem of the shirt reached her knees, revealing a pair of slender, well-proportioned legs—straight and fair-skinned.
She couldn’t help but admire them herself.
She glanced at Lin Zhen’s pants. Given his height, they would likely reach up to her chest.
Tsk… no thanks.
So, when Lin Zhen saw her again, the bold young woman was wearing nothing but the undershirt, her arms and legs starkly pale against the fabric.
His face instantly flushed.
“You… why are you dressed like that?”
“Your pants are too long. They’re awkward to wear,” Song Wei replied, her eyes darting playfully as she sidled up to him.
“What are you worried about? I’m your wife—just not officially married yet, but it’s only a matter of time. It’s for your eyes only, not anyone else’s.”
Lin Zhen, red-faced, stayed silent and hurried to close the main gate.
“Let your hair down and dry it properly. I’ll make you some ginger tea.”
Song Wei hummed in agreement, undid her two braids, and let her hair cascade freely. She sat on a stool in the room, admiring the two treasures she’d found.
They were so beautiful—she almost couldn’t bear to part with them.
Lin Zhen returned with the ginger tea. Try as he might to avoid looking, his cheeks flushed again, and he nearly marched stiffly across the room.
He walked straight to Song Wei, eyes fixed ahead.
“Here, drink this.”
Song Wei waved the two items in her hand. “Where are those big eyes of yours looking? Didn’t you see what I’m holding?”
Lin Zhen blurted out, “I wasn’t looking at you!”
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