An Jing didn’t speak, she simply held Xiao Changyi’s hand tighter, her heart aching even more for her beloved husband.
She clearly knew that when Old Hunter Liu died, Liu Sizi was only two months old, and Mrs. Hongxia had no means to raise four children on her own. The likelihood of Liu Sizi’s premature death was very high, and moved by the great kindness of Old Hunter Liu, not wanting his lineage to end, her husband braved the mountains every day to hunt, sharing his game with Mrs. Hongxia.
At that time, her husband was only thirteen years old.
How many times he must have prepared himself for the worst, facing deadly perils in the deep forest, just like going into battle, with no intention of returning alive.
Yet now, Liu Sizi turned out not to be Old Hunter Liu’s son; did that not make her husband’s dangerous ventures all the more ironic?
With this thought, An Jing held onto Xiao Changyi’s hand even tighter.
Feeling the pressure on his body, Xiao Changyi finally came back to his senses, and gently rubbed An Jing’s forehead before saying, "There’s no need to feel sorry for me, Liu Sanya and her two sisters probably are Uncle Liu’s children. Uncle Liu was kind to me; even if I had known back then that Liu Sizi wasn’t Uncle Liu’s son, I would still have hunted to help Liu Sanya and her two sisters."
This showed that he had no regrets or complaints about his decision to risk his life hunting in the mountains back then.
"I just feel it’s unfair for Uncle Liu," Xiao Changyi continued softly. "I was there when he passed away, and he was muttering Liu Sizi’s name, saying he didn’t come to this world in vain, that he finally left behind a legacy."
At this moment, An Jing didn’t bother to argue about the gender equality of her own era because, indeed, in this time, having a boy meant having a successor, while having only girls meant ending the family line.
However, being reassured by Xiao Changyi’s words, An Jing indeed felt much better.
Mrs. Hongxia had loudly said she would find someone else to go into the mountains to look for Liu Sizi, but in truth, she had already asked the people of Jiuping Village, and nobody dared to venture into the deep forest.
Moreover, she had also sought out Liu Yingen, but he too was afraid of dying and wouldn’t dare to enter the forest; thus, out of options, she turned to Xiao Changyi, not knowing that he would realize that Liu Sizi was actually Liu Yingen’s son.
As soon as she left An Jing and Xiao Changyi, Mrs. Hongxia returned home. She didn’t dare to search for Liu Sizi in the mountains herself, so all she could do was sit at home, worrying about Liu Sizi who hadn’t come back from the mountains yet, and fearing that An Jing and Xiao Changyi would reveal that Liu Sizi was not Old Hunter Liu’s son.
Mrs. Hongxia was tormented by dual anxieties, each second unbearably agonizing.
And that evening, Liu Sizi returned, having lost an arm.
Liu Sizi and Niu Er, along with two other villagers who were also hunters, had gone hunting in the mountains, but only Liu Sizi and Niu Er came back; the two other hunters had perished in the wilderness.
Here’s what happened: the four of them had gone deep into the mountains to hunt and had caught nothing for three straight days. Unwilling to return empty-handed and assuming that nothing would go wrong after three days passed safely, they ventured further into the mountains, hoping their luck would improve. But on the fifth day, which was today, they encountered a pack of wolves.
Liu Sizi and Niu Er were novice hunters; thus, the two more experienced hunters took the lead.