Song Wei laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. “Go ahead and look! It’s your future wife—might as well take advantage while you can.”
Lin Zhen’s face flushed an even deeper shade of red—though his naturally dark complexion made it look more like a dark blush.
But his attention soon shifted to the objects in Song Wei’s hand.
At a glance, he was astonished. “These things…”
“Pretty, aren’t they? The craftsmanship alone suggests they’re antiques.”
Even without Song Wei pointing it out, he could tell.
“Where did you get them?”
Song Wei recounted her experience at the cave.
Lin Zhen frowned. “The place you described might be exactly what Widow Hu and the people behind her are searching for.”
“The comrades surveilling them have uncovered some information. Those people are here to find the tomb of a prince. Rumor has it the prince was incredibly wealthy during his lifetime, and during that era, lavish burials were customary. It’s said that almost the entirety of his fortune was buried with him. But no one knows where he was laid to rest—even the pallbearers and craftsmen involved were buried alive as sacrificial offerings.”
Under ancient feudal systems, ordinary people had no means of resistance.
“That prince’s tomb likely holds numerous rare treasures, and there’s probably plenty of gold too. Those spies somehow got wind that it’s hidden deep within the mountains here. They’ve ventured in multiple times, but the terrain is too complex and filled with wild beasts. So far, they haven’t found a single clue.”
Song Wei nibbled on a pear—one that Lin Zhen had bought.
“Even if they found it, they wouldn’t be able to get in.”
She described the situation inside the cave to Lin Zhen: “There are countless snakes in there, many of them venomous. And I could sense something massive lurking deeper inside. Those people would be walking to their deaths even if they did find the place.”
Lin Zhen warned, “Don’t underestimate human greed.”
“No matter how many snakes there are, if they want the treasure badly enough, they’ll find a way to clear them out. If once doesn’t work, they’ll try twice. If twice fails, they’ll try a third time.”
Song Wei nodded. “Should we report the cave then?”
Lin Zhen stood up to prepare dinner. “Let’s wait a bit. I need to think about how to broach the subject.”
If they could use the tomb to lure out and capture all the spies in one go, that would be ideal.
Moreover, he recalled what Song Wei had told him earlier—the conversation between Widow Hu and the spy. Why were they asking the elderly indigenous people in the village?
Could there be a connection between the local indigenous community and the prince’s tomb?
Venison was tender and highly nourishing. Lin Zhen set up a small brazier with a flat stone placed on top.
Once the stone was heated, he brushed on some oil and laid out the thinly sliced, marinated venison. With a sizzle, the rich aroma of the meat filled the air.
At that moment, Song Wei pushed all thoughts of treasure and prince’s tombs to the back of her mind. Her focus was entirely on the food.
It smelled incredible.
Hei Dan clearly thought so too.
The three of them gathered around the stone grill, chopsticks in hand, flipping the meat slices as they pleased.
The slices were cut thin, so they cooked in about ten minutes.
As soon as they finished one batch, they added more.
This way of eating was pure bliss.
When they grew tired of meat, there were vegetables too—mushrooms and other greens could be grilled the same way.
By the time they were full, they had polished off a third of the entire deer.
Both Lin Zhen and Song Wei had hearty appetites, and the delicious meal had them eating until they were stuffed to the brim.
Song Wei stood up and began pacing slowly to aid digestion, with Hei Dan following closely beside her.
Later, she helped Lin Zhen tidy up and wash the dishes.
Life was truly wonderful.
“Oh, by the way, I also found a wild boar in the mountains, but it looked a bit strange. You should come with me to check it out later.”
Lin Zhen agreed.
After washing the dishes, they laid Song Wei’s wet clothes over the back of a chair to dry by the warmth of the small brazier.
“Lin Zhen, fetch some water. We need to clean these guys up!”
The rural roads were all dirt paths, and after the rain, they were muddy and messy.
She had changed her clothes and shoes, but the wolves and fox couldn’t change their fur.
And their fur really trapped the mud—the hair on their bellies and legs was filthy and matted.
Hei Dan also cheerfully rolled up his sleeves, ready to help bathe the wolves.
Lin Zhen brought over a large basin of water.
The two larger wolves obediently stood by the basin, letting Song Wei wet them down and lather their fur with soap.
Once washed, Song Wei pointed into the distance. “Shake off the water over there.”
The drenched wolves obediently trotted a short distance away and began shaking vigorously, sending water flying everywhere—it was practically like another rain shower.
The younger wolves weren’t quite used to it yet and tried to escape while being bathed.
But Song Wei mercilessly held them down, scrubbing them thoroughly.
She only let them go once they were clean.
The wolf pups weren’t as well-behaved—they started shaking off water right where they were.
Everyone got splashed.
Lin Zhen picked one up, carried it farther away, and set it down. “Shake.”
The pup looked at him with innocent eyes.
Lin Zhen: “……”
For the remaining pups, Lin Zhen carried each one farther away after bathing them, only bringing them back once they’d finished shaking dry.
It had to be said—this method worked quite well.
The fox had run away. If there was one animal among them that disliked baths the most, it was definitely him.
After all, Wolf One and the others had been raised since childhood and were bathed once every month or two.
But the fox had grown up in the wild and never adapted to baths, so he hated them.
But his dislike was useless. In the end, Song Wei found the fox hiding in a pile of straw in the corner of the deer pen and dragged him out.
“Time for a bath. If you don’t wash up, don’t even think about staying in this house. Look how dirty you are! You’re supposed to be a fox spirit that bewitched King Zhou of Shang? Who could you possibly charm looking like this? You’ve really let yourself go after getting plenty to eat, huh? You’re practically a gas canister now.”
She couldn’t understand it—Wolf One and Wolf Two were clever enough to lead a pack of dogs, so why did they indulge this chubby fox so much?
The plump fox struggled, yipping pitifully with droopy, watery eyes.
But it was no use against Song Wei!
What a joke—she was a woman who had seen baby snow leopards and Pallas’s cats!
Did this charm-deficient chubby fox really think he could bewitch anyone?!
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