Chapter 51: Off to Chop Wood

Meanwhile, after Huan'ya left the house with her things on her back, she sensed someone following her.

She took a cautious look behind her and, realizing it was Mother Song, felt a warmth spread through her chest. She didn't stop, but merely slowed her pace. When she ran into a fellow villager, she secretly glanced back and saw Mother Song turning around to go home. This made her heart soften even further, stirring a nameless, poignant ache.

"Why is Auntie so good to me?" Huan'ya rubbed her nose and muttered to herself softly.

"Huan'ya, Auntie is treating you so well—you must, absolutely must find a way to repay her in the future!"

"Huan'ya?"

"Huh?" Huan'ya looked up and saw a stranger standing before her. The expression on her face instantly grew distant.

The middle-aged woman, however, simply smiled. "I couldn't quite place you from afar, but I guessed it might be you. I didn't expect it really was."

Huan'ya pressed her lips together and asked, "Is there something you need, Auntie?"

"Oh, nothing much, nothing much! But since we're all going to be living in the same village from now on, we should get to know each other, shouldn't we?" The woman smiled amiably, her eyes fixing straight on the basket strapped to Huan'ya's back as she asked, "Where are you headed, Huan'ya?"

Hearing this, Huan'ya took a step back. She found this woman's gaze somewhat peculiar, yet strangely familiar.

She replied, "We've run out of firewood at home, so I'm going to gather some."

"Oh, oh! Well, let's go together then! I happen to be heading toward the back mountain myself."

Huan'ya wanted to refuse, but she felt that this woman's sudden approach was entirely too suspicious. If she didn't figure out what was going on, she wouldn't feel at ease.

After a moment of thought, she said, "Then I'll have to trouble you to lead the way, Auntie."

"What trouble could there possibly be? Come on, let's go."

The woman led Huan'ya forward, chattering as they walked. "Huan'ya, just call me Auntie Xu. My house is the third one right at the entrance of the village. If you have any free time, come over and sit for a while!"

Huan'ya simply addressed her as Auntie Xu, but made no promise regarding her invitation.

The two of them walked all the way toward the foot of the mountain. Just as they reached the base, they encountered several other women.

Each of them carried a basket on her back and held a sickle in her hand, standing about and gossiping amongst themselves.

When they saw Huan'ya and Auntie Xu approaching, their expressions shifted slightly. Their gazes all locked onto Huan'ya, and upon confirming that it truly was her, they hurried over.

"Oh, Huan'ya, you're heading up the mountain today too?"

"What a coincidence! We're heading up as well. Let's go together!"

"Exactly, exactly! It's autumn now, and wild beasts will be coming down the mountain to look for food. Walking together will give us all a way to look out for one another, Huan'ya."

Huan'ya took a step back and said, "Aunties, I'm only planning to pick up some firewood near the edge. I won't be joining you all."

Auntie Xu chimed in as well, "What wild beasts? Stop trying to scare Huan'ya! When has our village ever seen a wild beast!"

With that, she grabbed Huan'ya's sleeve and said, "Don't pay them any mind, Huan'ya. Come with Auntie; I know the best places to find firewood."

"Thank you, Auntie."

Huan'ya turned to leave, but before she could take a step, her other hand was seized by someone else.

"Come with us instead, Huan'ya! What does she know about gathering firewood? She's just trying to fish information out of you!"

"What do you mean, *fish information*? Aren't you all just trying to ask Huan'ya where to find the treasure? Don't treat me like a fool! You haven't bothered going up the mountain in all these years, yet here you are scurrying over today. Don't act so high and mighty!"

"You're no different! You only came because you got lucky enough to catch Huan'ya, otherwise you wouldn't have had a share either!"

Huan'ya's wrists ached from being pulled from both sides, but it didn't take her long to figure out what was happening: these women had all deliberately been waiting here for her.

As for the "treasure" they kept talking about, it only took Huan'ya a brief moment of thought to understand.

She decisively wrenched her hands free from their grips, smiled, and said, "So you Aunties came here for this matter all along! You should have just said so sooner!"