Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 241: Time Flies – How Can I Wait?
Mountains in front, mountains behind, snow falls at the foot of the mountain.
On the snow-covered mountain path, the bloodstains on the ground had already frozen into ice. Zhu Ping’an used all his strength to pull the spear that had pierced the wild wolf out. A deep pit appeared on the stone-paved, snow-covered mountain road.
“Brother Wang, your spear skills are impressive.”
Zhu Ping’an handed the spear to Wang Xiao’er, who was standing nearby, and looked at the deep pit on the ground, sighing in admiration.
“Young Master-in-law, you flatter me. Xiao’er only has brute strength, nothing more.”
Wang Xiao’er took the spear, slightly twisted it with his hands, and shortened the long spear by retracting part of its shaft. The spear turned into a short spear, which he then slung over his back. If it weren’t for the long spear on his back, no one would associate him with the extraordinary shot that had pierced the wild wolf just moments ago.
Whinny, whinny – while the two were talking, a loud, ugly neigh echoed down the road. Zhu Ping’an looked up and saw the idiotic Shamate black horse carrying a burly man toward them at a bumpy trot.
This fool actually came back!
Zhu Ping’an wanted to stew the idiotic Shamate black horse into a pot of horse-meat soup on the spot. If not for this fool, how would he have ended up in such danger?
“This must be your horse, right? Oh, I see, you ran into wolves. No wonder the horse bit my belt and dragged me here. I was chopping wood when it came to me—this is indeed a horse with spirit,” the burly man said as he stretched out his hand and nimbly jumped down from the black horse, addressing Zhu Ping’an and Wang Xiao’er.
So the idiotic Shamate black horse actually knew how to fetch help. What use was that? If Brother Wang hadn’t been here, by the time it returned with someone they might have been picking pieces of Zhu Ping’an out of the wolf’s mouth. Still, since the fool at least knew to seek help, he would give it another chance.
As for the big man saying the horse is “spirited”?
Forget it. This is clearly just a foolish, dim-witted horse. I’ll have to train this dumb horse well in the future to prevent it from being so foolish.
“Yes, thank you, this brother, for coming to our aid,” Zhu Ping’an cupped his hands in thanks.
“Why thank me? I didn’t do much. It’s freezing in this snowstorm. If you don’t mind, you can come to my house and have some hot food,” the burly man waved his hand nonchalantly, glancing at the snow on Zhu Ping’an and Wang Xiao’er’s clothes before inviting them.
“Young Master-in-law, why not rest at this brother’s home for a day? I’ll return and report in, then come back and accompany you to the capital for the metropolitan examination. I can also run errands for you along the road,” Wang Xiao’er suggested. Zhu Ping’an had just survived a wolf attack and needed time to recover, and Wang Xiao’er also had to return to report to the young lady, who was especially concerned about Zhu Ping’an’s reaction to the engagement.
“No need, Brother Wang. I’m not made of paper or clay. As the saying goes, reading thousands of books is not as useful as traveling thousands of miles. This journey is just the right opportunity for me to reflect. And don’t mention today’s events to my family, especially my mother, so they won’t worry,” Zhu Ping’an shook his head, asking Wang Xiao’er not to tell his family about the wolf encounter, fearing his mother would be particularly concerned.
“This…” Wang Xiao’er hesitated.
“Please,” Zhu Ping’an gently bowed and cupped his hands in a pleading gesture.
“All right, Young Master-in-law, but you might as well rest at this brother’s home for a few days before continuing to the examination. It still won’t be too late.” Wang Xiao’er stepped aside to avoid Zhu Ping’an’s bow. He agreed not to tell Zhu Ping’an’s parents about the wolf attack, though he still intended to report it truthfully to the young lady.
“Time flies, how can I waste it?” Zhu Ping’an smiled faintly, casually brushing the snow off his clothes. He shook his head and then turned to the burly man, asking, “May I ask, brother, how far is it to the next part of this mountain path?”
“This is Yingchou Gorge. Three li farther on is our Laoya Village. Once you pass our village, another eight li or so will bring you to Xiaoshi Town,” the burly man said, pointing down the mountain road.
“Great, we can rest once we reach Xiaoshi Town,” Zhu Ping’an said, cupping his hands in gratitude before getting back on his horse.
“Brother Wang, thank you for today. Ping’an will never forget it. Please give my regards to Landlord Li,” Zhu Ping’an said from horseback, clasping his hands in farewell.
After saying his goodbyes to Wang Xiao’er, Zhu Ping’an turned to the other burly man standing nearby and said, “Thank you for your kindness, but Ping’an must press on. Hmm, you can leave the wolf to this brother here.”
With that, Zhu Ping’an spurred his horse into the snowstorm and continued his journey.
Wang Xiao’er watched Zhu Ping’an disappear into the snowstorm with admiration. The young master-in-law had only just walked past the gates of death, yet he brushed off the snow and continued on his way as though it were nothing.
Such a person was certainly not ordinary.
The young lady truly had a good eye.
Wang Xiao’er couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
As for the burly man, he was grinning with joy as he looked at the stiff wolf in the snow. If he sold it at the town, it would fetch quite a sum, and his family could finally have a meal.
“Uh, this wolf… you…” the burly man felt the need to ask again.
“Take it home. I have matters to attend to. Farewell,” Wang Xiao’er shook his head and turned to leave.
The mountain path was left behind, with the burly man happily throwing the wolf over his shoulder, taking a shortcut through the small path and heading home.
As he pressed on through the snow, Zhu Ping’an did not forget to drill one idea into the Shamate black horse’s thick skull: “Damn it, you’re just a horse.” It needed to understand reality and stop imagining itself a tiger or some other mighty beast – and, at the very least, not drag him along the next time it charged down the road to disaster.
In just three miles, the mountain road ended. At the end of the road was a village, which seemed even more dilapidated than Xiahe Village. The village had only a few households, but at the end of the village, there were two split paths, and Zhu Ping’an wasn’t sure which one to take. At the entrance of the village, a skinny, ragged child was squatting in the snow, eating snow, likely from hunger.
“Little one, can you tell me which direction Xiaoshi Town is?” Zhu Ping’an asked gently from his horse.
“That way,” the child, still eating snow, lifted his head and pointed in a direction.
Zhu Ping’an dismounted and handed the child a small pouch containing about two jin of beef jerky as thanks for showing him the way.
The child stared at the tall horse beside Zhu Ping’an, unsure of what to do.
“Take it, this is from your brother as thanks for showing me the way. It’s really tasty. Go home and let your mother heat it for you. Don’t eat any more snow. Be careful or you’ll upset your stomach and it’ll hurt,” Zhu Ping’an said with a smile, ruffling the child’s hair. He then placed the bag in the child’s hands, got back on his horse, and rode off along the path the child had pointed toward Xiaoshi Town.