The Comments Section Said She Was My Wife - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

◎ Her fingertips trembled, and she recoiled as if burned ◎

Xia Shi paid the money promptly. Seeing this, Chu Tang finally accepted that Xia Shi would pay for her medical treatment, and the heavy burden on her heart finally lightened a little.

“How are you? Can you still stand?” Xia Shi walked back to Chu Tang and bent down to ask.

Chu Tang looked up to meet her eyes, gritted her teeth, and said, “I can.”

As the words left her lips, Chu Tang leaned on her knees and slowly stood up. She looked relatively steady, but in reality, she was so weak she was on the verge of collapse. Only after she stood straight did Xia Shi truly see her condition: the woman was more than half a head shorter than her, her frame so thin she looked like a sheet of paper, as if a gust of autumn wind could blow her over. Yet, even in this frail state, she tried to maintain some composure, taking a step forward before Xia Shi could even offer support.

As expected, before her foot even landed firmly, Chu Tang’s legs gave out, and she pitched forward.

Fortunately, Xia Shi had anticipated this and reached out in time to catch her. However, instead of the soft, fragrant embrace of a young woman, what she felt was a skeletal, frail body. She couldn’t even imagine how much suffering this person had endured.

Thinking that this woman would be her wife, Xia Shi couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache: “If you can’t walk, then don’t! Why are you trying to be so stubborn?!”

As she spoke, she bent down and skillfully hoisted Chu Tang onto her shoulder. Chu Tang felt the world spin, followed by intense discomfort from Xia Shi’s shoulder digging into her. Her vision went black, and she didn’t even have the strength to protest.

Fortunately, after taking two steps, Xia Shi realized something was wrong, she was carrying the woman who would be her wife, not just some random prey she could toss around. What if she broke her?!

She hurriedly set her down, and upon lowering her head, she saw that Chu Tang’s complexion had worsened.

The little hunter, who rarely dealt with people, panicked. She hunched over, hanging her head, and asked in a flurry: “I’m sorry, I was just acting out of habit. How are you? Are you okay? Are you feeling very uncomfortable? There’s a clinic just ahead. If you’re suffering, I’ll take you there right now.” Before Chu Tang could answer, Xia Shi finally learned her lesson. She tucked one arm under her back and the other under her knees, lifting her horizontally into her arms.

She ran quickly, not feeling the weight of Chu Tang’s dozens of pounds at all, jogging all the way to the clinic.

When Chu Tang finally caught her breath and opened her eyes, she was nestled in Xia Shi’s arms. The little hunter’s body heat radiated through her thin autumn shirt, and the sound of her strong, steady heartbeat was right by her ear. For some reason, Chu Tang felt a sense of peace she hadn’t known in a long time.

Xia Shi was right; the clinic was nearby. With her swift pace, they arrived in no time.

Xia Shi was quite familiar with this clinic. Her foster father used to take her here to buy medicine, and after he passed, she would often stop by to pick up bandages and ointments while preparing for her mountain hunts. As soon as she entered, she headed straight for the attending physician, not even putting Chu Tang down as she shouted: “Dr. Xia, please, take a look. How is she?”

The doctor also happened to be named Xia, so he was quite fond of the young hunter with the same surname. Seeing her rush in cradling a woman, he didn’t even have time to ask questions before checking Chu Tang’s pulse.

After a moment of silence, the doctor’s expression softened. When he opened his eyes, he was met with Xia Shi’s anxious face.

Knowing that Xia Shi was practically illiterate, Dr. Xia didn’t use complicated medical jargon about “pathogenic winds.” He said bluntly: “It’s nothing major. She’s just severely exhausted, starved, and suffering from a cold without anyone to care for her, all while worrying too much. Take the medicine, keep her mind at ease, and she’ll recover once she rests and nourishes herself.”

He scanned down and added: “Do you have any wound medicine at home? If not, take two bottles back with you.”

Hearing this, Xia Shi followed the doctor’s gaze and saw that the shoes on Chu Tang’s feet were worn through, stained with spots of blood. She couldn’t imagine how much the woman had walked…Had the traffickers made her walk the entire way?

A nameless fire suddenly ignited in her heart. Xia Shi clenched her fists, wanting nothing more than to go back and settle the score with those human traffickers.

But the next moment, her hand was covered by another, slightly cool palm. Chu Tang seemed to see through her thoughts and soothed her in a soft voice: “I’m fine. It has nothing to do with them.”

Xia Shi didn’t fully believe her, but she could see that Chu Tang didn’t want her to go looking for trouble, so she had no choice but to suppress her anger.

As they spoke, Dr. Xia finished preparing the medicine. The cold medicine wasn’t expensive, but the tonics to nourish Chu Tang’s body were not cheap. Xia Shi’s remaining twenty-five taels were indeed completely spent, and this was only for the first round of treatment; they would likely need more once the medicine ran out.

Chu Tang watched as she pulled out the silver and took the medicine, her long eyelashes drooping slightly. Twenty-five taels of silver would have meant nothing to her in the past, but she knew how difficult it was for common folk to earn such a sum. She hadn’t expected Xia Shi to spend so much money on her supplements. Seeing the hunter hand over the money without the slightest hesitation made the woman surprisingly reliable.

A former high-born young lady, reduced to this state, perhaps her luck wasn’t as abysmal as she had thought?

Xia Shi had originally planned to buy a couple of sets of ready-made clothes on her way to the West Market, but now that all her money had been spent on Chu Tang, she gave up on the cloth shop. She tucked the medicine packets into Chu Tang’s arms and carried both the woman and the medicine out of the clinic.

After they had walked a long way, Xia Shi remembered to tell Chu Tang: “Oh, right. I haven’t told you about my situation yet. My name is Xia Shi. I live on Yunwu Mountain, next to Shitian Village outside the county town. I’m a hunter. There’s no one else in my house besides me. Once you recover, we’ll live together from now on.” After thinking for a moment, she added: “I don’t have fields or land, but I promise I won’t let you go hungry.”

She was still thinking about what the doctor said regarding her being “severely starved,” but in truth, given Chu Tang’s background, the first time she had ever experienced hunger in her life was on the road to exile. She hadn’t even been on the road long before she fell ill under the weight of hunger, fatigue, and the resentment of her own kin.

Therefore, for Chu Tang, her emotional trauma wasn’t about hunger, but the cataclysmic change that had upended her life a month ago.

Even now, she hadn’t recovered from that shock, but she could certainly feel Xia Shi’s concern. It was the only act of kindness she had received in a long time. So, even though she was so weak she desperately wanted to close her eyes and sleep, she forced herself to stay awake and reply: “Mm, my name is Chu Tang. ‘Chu’ as in clear, ‘Tang’ as in crabapple.”

Xia Shi waited a bit longer, but didn’t hear her mention her family’s background; judging by her accent, she guessed she was from out of town. But since the woman had ended up in the hands of traffickers, she must have had a miserable past, so Xia Shi considerately stopped asking.

They walked for a while longer until the city gates were visible in the distance. Xia Shi spoke up again: “Yunwu Mountain is still quite far from the county town. Let’s take an ox cart back.”

Chu Tang naturally didn’t object. She had been carried by the little hunter the entire way and could feel that her arms were still steady and strong; she figured her own weight was nothing to the hunter. But she had no idea how far Yunwu Mountain actually was, and she didn’t want to be a burden forever.

When they reached the city gate, they happened to see an ox cart parked outside. The driver was leaning against the cart, dozing off.

Xia Shi walked over and gave the wheel a kick. The driver didn’t even open his eyes as he scooted to the side, clearing a space on the cart bed: “It’s still early, not everyone is here yet. Just sit and wait a while.”

Ox carts charged by the head, one copper coin per person. The driver naturally wanted to wait until the cart was full before leaving, and if he could squeeze more people on, he would. Since it was just past noon, most villagers who had come into town to buy things hadn’t come out yet, so the driver wasn’t in a hurry. Usually, he would have to wait until late afternoon to gather enough people to head back.

Xia Shi, however, didn’t want to wait. She wanted to go home early to boil the medicine for her wife, so she tilted her head to signal Chu Tang: “Help me find the money pouch.”

Chu Tang paused. Following Xia Shi’s signal, she realized the pouch was tucked into her shirt. With both of the hunter’s hands occupied holding her, she clearly had no free hand to reach for it, which meant she…

Without realizing it, Chu Tang’s earlobes turned a shade of crimson. Urged on once more, she reached out.

Her movements were very careful, but as she reached into Xia Shi’s collar, she inevitably touched places she shouldn’t have. Her fingertips trembled, and she recoiled as if burned, quickly finding the pouch and pulling it out.

Xia Shi, however, seemed entirely oblivious to the impropriety and instructed naturally: “Take out ten copper coins.”

Chu Tang, ears burning red, obediently took out ten coins. Then, she heard Xia Shi shout to the driver: “Ten copper coins to charter your ox cart, just to Shitian Village. Can we go now?”

An ox cart could hold at most ten people, as most villagers wanting to ride home were laden with bags. Now that Xia Shi was offering ten coins directly to carry only two people, avoiding any strain on the ox, the driver was naturally willing. He instantly sat up, reaching for the money while saying repeatedly: “Going, going! Why wouldn’t we go? Let’s leave right now!”

Chu Tang handed over the money, and Xia Shi took a long stride, carrying her directly onto the cart.