Chapter 36: The Village’s Farewell and a Fiery Fishing Expedition

Su Qinghan waved her hand, a gesture of farewell.

“Alright, let’s go. We’ll meet again sometime.”

She turned her wheelchair, preparing to depart from the village she had called home for so long.

However, after only two rotations, the wheel emitted a ‘clunk’ and jammed, refusing to move another inch.

‘What in the world is happening?’

Su Qinghan looked back, her anger nearly making her nose contort.

Behind her metal wheelchair, a flatbed cart had been firmly tied on at some unknown point.

The cart was piled high with fruits and vegetables, forming a small mountain, while nearby, villagers, baskets in hand, were grunting and puffing as they added freshly boiled eggs and cured meat to the load.

Su Qinghan’s face drained of color.

She turned to the Village Chief, who was beaming with a guileless smile.

“Old geezer… no, Village Chief, what exactly are you doing?”

“Do I look like a mule or a horse? How am I supposed to pull this thing?”

The Village Chief chuckled, waving his hand and revealing the gaps where several teeth were missing.

“Doctor Su, this is just a small token of appreciation from the villagers for your journey.”

“It’s not easy for you out there alone, so take more things with you; don’t go hungry.”

Su Qinghan was utterly speechless.

She appreciated their kind gesture, but this was simply too much!

“I don’t want it! Take it away, take it away!”

She reached out to untie the rope, but the Village Chief firmly held her hand.

“Oh, Doctor Su, you’re being too polite!”

“Take it! You must take it!”

The two became locked in a tug-of-war.

Su Qinghan, a sickly person confined to a wheelchair, was no match for the hale and hearty Village Chief.

She gasped for breath in frustration, and turning her head, she saw Lu Hongzhuang standing a few steps away, sword cradled in her arms, watching the farce unfold with keen interest, as if utterly detached from the commotion.

“Are you watching a show?” Su Qinghan fumed. “Come help me! Why are you just standing there?”

Lu Hongzhuang let out an “Ah?” before finally reacting, slowly making her way over.

She glanced at the thick hemp rope, then at Su Qinghan’s troubled expression.

The next second.

“Clang—”

The longsword flashed from its scabbard, a gleam of cold light.

The ropes securing the cart snapped instantly.

Su Qinghan hadn’t even seen her strike.

“Go!”

Lu Hongzhuang exclaimed, grabbing the wheelchair’s handles and pushing her forward at a furious pace.

“Hey, hey, hey…”

Before the Village Chief and the villagers could react, the two had already sped more than a dozen yards away.

The cobblestone path was uneven, and the wheelchair was pushed so fast that Su Qinghan was jolted violently, feeling as though her internal organs were about to shift.

“Slow~~er~~, slow~~er~~…”

Her voice, amidst the fierce bumping, was too shaky to be coherent.

Noon.

Beside a clear streaming.

Lu Hongzhuang broke off a branch, tied a thread to it, fashioned a simple fishing rod, and sat by the stream, concentrating intently on fishing.

Not far away, Su Qinghan had already built a crackling fire.

“Where are we going next?” Lu Hongzhuang asked, without turning her head.

Su Qinghan poked the fire, making the flames burn brighter.

“We’ll go to the capital.”

“There are many talented individuals and extraordinary people there; perhaps they’ll have a way to cure my legs,” she sighed. “I’m out of ideas.”

In her mind, a delicate voice chimed in.

‘So hungry, so hungry… haven’t caught a fish yet?’

It was Jiu Li.

Su Qinghan rolled her eyes internally: ‘You can’t even eat it, why are you hungry?’

“Hmph!” Jiu Li huffed indignantly. “We are two in one now! Your eating is my eating! If I can’t eat, smelling it is fine too!”

Su Qinghan ignored her, calling out to the figure by the stream.

“Hey! Lu Hongzhuang! It’s been an hour! Where are the fish?”

“My firewood is almost completely burned up!”

Su Qinghan leaned back in her wheelchair, lazily observing her.

“You’re not completely empty-handed, are you? Not a single one caught?”

Lu Hongzhuang’s grip on the fishing rod suddenly tightened.

Her face flushed, then paled.

To have her abilities questioned by a sickly person with no strength to bind a chicken—this was an utter disgrace!

She abruptly stood up, tossed the crude fishing rod to the ground, and shed her red outer robe.

Then, under Su Qinghan’s astonished gaze, she plunged into the water with a ‘splash,’ sword in hand.

Su Qinghan didn’t even have time to cry out.

Only a thunderous ‘boom’ echoed!

In the middle of the stream, a powerful burst of sword qi suddenly erupted!

A massive pillar of water shot skyward, as if a water dragon had emerged!

Splash, splash, splash—

A dozen fish of varying sizes, accompanied by a spray of water, were blasted out of the stream, flopping onto the grassy bank, struggling helplessly.

Su Qinghan watched the scene, utterly dumbfounded.

She instinctively clapped her hands.

“Bravo! Heroine Lu’s divine prowess is unmatched! Amazing!”

No sooner had the words left her lips than she looked up at the sky.

The towering pillar of water was now transforming into a torrential downpour, crashing down over her head.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake…”

Splash—

Su Qinghan was drenched to the bone; not a single part of her remained dry.

The freshly built bonfire beside her hissed, emitted a puff of black smoke, and was thoroughly extinguished.

“Plop.”

Lu Hongzhuang surfaced from the water, her left hand gripping the gills of two still-floundering fat fish, and walked dripping onto the bank.

She casually tossed the fish at Su Qinghan’s feet, her tone a mix of triumph and urgency.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry! Grill them quickly!”

Su Qinghan sat in her wheelchair, her soaked hair plastered to her face, water droplets trickling from her chin.

She silently clenched her fists.

“I’ll roast your grandpa!!!”

It was only then that Lu Hongzhuang finally noticed her disheveled appearance.

She first froze, then burst into a giggle.

“You… how did you get so messy?”

Su Qinghan: “…”

Evening.

By the stream, the rekindled bonfire crackled and burned.

On a branch, Su Qinghan’s changed outer jacket and… undergarments were drying, faintly visible in the firelight.

Su Qinghan, wrapped in Lu Hongzhuang’s large red outer robe, huddled by the fire, still shivering from the cold.

The clothes were too big, hanging loosely on her, the collar open, revealing her fair neck and delicate collarbones, and even a hint of her shoulders.

Lu Hongzhuang sat cross-legged on the other side of the fire, pretending to concentrate on grilling the fish.

The fish sizzled with oil, its aroma wafting through the air.

Yet, her heart refused to settle.

The corner of her eye kept straying, uncontrollably, to the opposite side.

The firelight danced, illuminating Su Qinghan’s face, casting a warm hue upon her sickly pallor. Her damp, long hair cascaded over her shoulders, steam rising, enveloping her in a hazy glow.

The oversized red garment, paradoxically, made her appear even more petite.

Thump, thump-thump.

Lu Hongzhuang felt her heart rate inexplicably quicken, pounding against her chest.

Her mouth felt dry, her throat tight.

‘Why…’

She didn’t know what was happening to her.

“Sizzle—”

A burnt smell pulled her thoughts back.

Looking down, one side of the fish in her hand was already charred black.

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