The Fortunate Lady and Her Mountain Man

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: Wait for Me

Song Jing was completely stunned.

Ji Huan, however, grimaced from the biting cold. ’He’s basically a human popsicle!’ she complained to herself.

But she had no choice. In the spirit of humanitarianism, she couldn’t just watch him freeze to death.

She lowered her head, blew a puff of warm air onto each of his tightly clenched fists, then covered them with her hands and began rubbing them back and forth.

Song Jing’s hands were huge, and Ji Huan couldn’t get a proper grip on them. It was a laborious effort, so she asked him to cooperate.

Song Jing was in a daze, his body feeling disconnected from his mind, and he did exactly as Ji Huan instructed.

As she rubbed his hands, she explained, "When your body gets this stiff from the cold, your circulation slows down, which can be very serious. Rubbing your hands like this helps get the blood flowing again. Don’t read too much into it or feel awkward. A gentleman shouldn’t be concerned with trivialities, and desperate times call for desperate measures... Let’s just focus on making it through the night."

To put it bluntly: When you’re about to freeze to death, who cares about the rule that men and women shouldn’t touch?

By now, Song Jing had recovered his wits. Hearing her explanation, he simply pressed his lips together and said nothing.

He wasn’t sure if it was the blanket or Ji Huan’s massage, but his body warmed up quickly. He even felt a faint risk of overheating.

Just then, Ji Huan’s wrists began to ache. Noticing that his skin was warmer to the touch, she started to let go.

But the moment she let go, Song Jing reversed the grip and held both of her hands.

"...I-I’m still a little cold." His voice was quiet, and, for some reason, sounded a little pathetic.

Before, Ji Huan had been focused on helping and hadn’t felt shy in the least. But now, with her hands suddenly held in his, she couldn’t quite handle it.

’In two lifetimes, this is the first time I’ve truly held hands with a boy...’

It was a little embarrassing, but thankfully, the darkness served as a protective cloak.

She tried to force her mind out of the gutter, clearing her throat and saying, "But I’m getting tired..."

Song Jing was quite understanding. "Don’t worry. Just holding them like this is enough to warm me."

What else could Ji Huan say? After all, it was because of her that he was frozen like this.

Direct physical contact certainly transferred heat quickly. ’Or are men just naturally warmer?’ Bit by bit, Ji Huan could no longer tell if she was warming Song Jing’s hands or if he was warming hers.

They sat side by side under the same blanket, hands intertwined. A long time passed without either of them speaking.

The atmosphere was somewhat intimate, but Ji Huan was past the point of any romantic thoughts. She was simply too tired and began to nod off again, her head bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at rice.

In the haze of sleep, she heard Song Jing call her name.

Ji Huan hummed in response.

Then she heard him ask, "Tell me, is it the end of the year, or the beginning of a new one?"

’End of the year? Start of the year? What is he buzzing about...’

Song Jing chuckled and murmured to himself, "Does this mean we’ve crossed over an entire year together?"

It seemed he said something else after that, but she couldn’t hear it clearly.

Finding his chatter disruptive, Ji Huan frowned, muttered something, and shifted her body to find a more comfortable position.

Finally, the world went quiet.

The next time she opened her eyes, a faint glimmer of daylight was visible at the mouth of the cave.

"Is it morning?"

Only after asking the question did she realize that her current situation was difficult to put into words.

’I’m actually leaning against Song Jing, with my head pillowed on his shoulder?’

’Have we been like this the entire night?!’

She was instantly horrified.

Holding her breath, she inched her body away. Song Jing, his eyes still closed, was leaning against the stone wall and didn’t stir.

Ji Huan breathed a sigh of relief. She subconsciously moved to pat her chest, but then realized her hand was still clasped in Song Jing’s.

Song Jing’s grip was very tight. After a few failed attempts to pull free, she grew anxious and gave a sharp tug.

Her hand slipped free, but Song Jing woke up in the process.

He looked at Ji Huan, his eyes still hazy with sleep. His early-morning voice was husky and intimate. "Ngh... you’re awake?"

Ji Huan mumbled a response. ’He seems to be acting normally,’ she thought. ’He probably doesn’t know I took advantage of him all night, does he?’

Seeing her guilty expression, as if she were a thief caught in the act, Song Jing opened his mouth to say something but ultimately held back.

He rubbed his face, got up, and walked to the mouth of the cave, returning only a moment later.

"It’s almost dawn. Wake Dabao up. We need to get out of here as soon as we can."

If they waited too long to start climbing and ran into someone from the village, the news that an unmarried man and woman had spent a night alone together would spread. Then, no amount of explaining could clear their names.

It wouldn’t matter much to him, but for a young woman like Ji Huan, that kind of reputation would make her life incredibly difficult.

Ji Huan had naturally considered what Song Jing was thinking, but she had other concerns.

"Are we really going back? What if..."

What if she had misjudged the situation, and the army really was conscripting? Dabao might be spared, but Song Jing was exactly the right age.

"If it has truly come to that, it means the Northern Pass is in peril. When the skin is gone, where can the hair attach itself? A man is born into this world, and even if he cannot achieve great merit, he should not be a coward who clings to life and fears death while his homeland is falling."

Song Jing paused here, then smiled. "Don’t worry. Who says a scholar can only hold a brush? On a battlefield, I wouldn’t necessarily be any worse than the next man."

This last sentence was clearly meant to ease the tension.

Ji Huan looked at him.

It was only at this moment that she truly began to appreciate the force of Song Jing’s character.

He was a scholar of true integrity and moral backbone, not one of those decadent academics who were full of empty talk and knew only to advocate for surrender in the face of battle.

Ji Huan suppressed the complex emotions stirring in her heart, woke Dabao, and then she and Song Jing quickly packed their belongings.

Song Jing carried both bedrolls and slung Ji Huan’s bundle over his back as well.

It had snowed all night, and the mouth of the cave was now more than half-blocked. Song Jing went first, pushing aside the wall of snow.

A fierce, cold wind rushed in, sharp as a knife scraping across their faces. It stole their breath and left them speechless.

Song Jing stood in front of Ji Huan and the boy, shielding them from the brunt of the wind.

The snow outside was much deeper than the day before, and it would be difficult for a small child to walk through. He squatted down, intending to carry Dabao, but the boy turned his head and dodged behind Ji Huan.

"He’s shy around strangers. Let me do it."

Ji Huan put Dabao on her back and, with Song Jing supporting her, made her way to the spot where they had tumbled down yesterday.

A look around confirmed this was the only spot with a slope gentle enough to climb.

Ji Huan and Dabao went first, while Song Jing brought up the rear.

The snow was slippery, and this was no flat path. It was a case of taking three steps forward only to slide five steps back.

Moreover, Ji Huan had to keep a hold on Dabao, so whenever he fell, she would tumble down with him.

Even with Song Jing behind them to provide support, it was no use.

They had only managed to climb a short distance with great effort when a single careless slip sent them tumbling back to the very bottom. To protect them, Song Jing had thrown himself underneath to cushion their fall.

"This isn’t working," Ji Huan panted. "At this rate, we might not even make it up in a whole day. Why don’t you go up alone first, then return to the village and get Aunt Xie and the others..."

Song Jing agreed this was no solution and nodded. "Alright."

He set down the bedrolls and his pack, but he untied the two ropes binding the rolls and took them with him.

Ji Huan and Dabao collapsed unceremoniously onto the ground. She gave him a listless wave and added a final instruction, as if in jest.

"We’ve shared a cave, after all. Once you get up there, don’t you forget to send someone to rescue us."

The words might have slightly undermined the bond they’d just forged, but in a struggle for survival, who had time for niceties?

Song Jing gave her a long, deep look. "Wait for me."

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