Chapter 86: Chapter 86 A House Leak Meets Rainy Weather_1
Chapter 86: Chapter 86 A House Leak Meets Rainy Weather_1
Even though Zhao Erhu was seriously injured, fortunately he tended to it in time and had something to eat to replenish his strength. Zhao Erhu slept for a long time, and by the next morning he finally woke up, only to feel a dull pain inside his body. Erhu knew that his wounds were probably more severe than he initially thought. However, after a night’s rest and recovery, his spirit was somewhat better. Naturally, it was impossible to continue hunting in the mountains in such a condition, so Erhu packed up his things and set off for home, carrying a bundle in one hand and supporting the game on his shoulder with a stick in the other.
Because he lacked the strength to hunt and had to avoid wild beasts in the mountains, the journey back took much longer than it had coming in. Despite his caution, it wasn’t long before he encountered a wild wolf that was tracking the smell of blood. Under normal circumstances, Erhu wouldn’t have been bothered by a single wolf, but in his current state, it was a matter of life and death. To escape, Erhu painfully threw down the game he had caught, avoiding the catastrophe, but he felt terrible inside because those were the only rewards from his venture into the mountains this time.
Without the burden of the game, Erhu felt much lighter on his shoulders, but even so, he managed to cover only half the distance in one day. Seeing that it was getting dark, he had no choice but to find a suitable place to spend the night and continue his journey the next day. Fortunately, his young wife had prepared plenty of food for him before he went into the mountains. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have had any options. Even if he could endure the hunger, without food to replenish his strength, he feared that he wouldn’t make it home in his current state.
Exhausted, he leaned against a wooden post and took bites from a steamed bun. Now three days had passed, and he hadn’t been able to return as planned. He wondered how things were at home. Would his young wife worry about him? But at least he would be home tomorrow. Though this trip yielded no gains, at least he had saved his life, and his young wife would understand that.
Little did he know that man’s plans are not equal to heaven’s. Calculating by today’s pace, Erhu had hoped to reach home by tomorrow evening. However, his internal injuries made his strength decline further upon waking the next day. With frequent stops, he worried it might be midnight before he could reach home. Erhu wasn’t in a rush, but who could have expected that it would turn ominously dark that afternoon, and by evening, a torrential downpour began. It was just his luck that as if the roof was leaking, there came a nightlong rain, bad luck indeed.
Considering the persistence of the rain, Erhu feared it wouldn’t stop anytime soon. It was the season for thunderstorms in early spring, and he didn’t dare to shelter under a tree. If he were unfortunate enough to be struck by lightning, he wouldn’t need to worry about living anymore. He tore off a tree branch to use as a makeshift umbrella to shield himself and hastened on his way, eventually taking shelter in a thatched hut.
This thatch hut was used for rest by hunters when they went hunting in the mountains. Due to its dilapidated state, it sometimes let a few drops of rain through, but it provided a place to shelter from the wind and rain, much better than getting soaked outside.
After walking in the rain for so long, Erhu was completely drenched, with his clothes stained with traces of blood. He didn’t know which wound had reopened, but he didn’t care. He simply took off his clothes, wrung them out, put them back on, and then leaned against a stump and dozed off. After sleeping for who knows how long, Erhu felt a burning discomfort all over but couldn’t open his eyes.
The rain drizzled throughout the night. Lin Yue sat in front of the bed, unable to sleep and only thinking about Erhu’s current situation. She didn’t know if something had truly gone wrong, but even if it hadn’t, him spending such a rainy night in the mountains without rain gear must have been suffering enough. Lin Yue’s mind was filled with restless thoughts all night, and by the next morning, she couldn’t bear it any longer. As soon as it got light, she rushed to the Wu Family’s house and knocked on their door.