Volume One, Chapter 151: The Mountain God Has Arrived

Su Haohao awkwardly withdrew the hand he had been holding in midair and pointed behind Lu Jinyuan. “Shall I show you to your room?”

At Lu Jinyuan’s nod, Su Haohao immediately led the way.

The room he had arranged for Lu Jinyuan was not very large, but it was clean and tidy.

Su Haohao scratched his head sheepishly. “Mr. Lu, it’s rather crude. I hope you won’t mind making do…”

With great care, Lu Jinyuan laid Qin Yu on the bed.

He lifted his forearm slightly, his expression calm and restrained. “It’s fine.”

Su Haohao scratched his head even more vigorously, embarrassment plain on his face. “Mr. Lu, this is the only guest room in my house…”

What he really wanted to say was: If you don’t mind, you could share a room with me.

But when he saw the obviously expensive suit Lu Jinyuan was wearing, he swallowed and abandoned the suggestion.

Lu Jinyuan’s expression tightened for a moment.

His gaze shifted slightly, candlelight flickering in his eyes.

“Do you have any spare bedding at home?”

Su Haohao nodded. “I do, but they’re only thin summer quilts.”

The nights were rather cold, and a thin quilt could easily leave someone chilled.

The slight furrow between Lu Jinyuan’s brows eased. “That will do. Then I’ll trouble you, Brother Su, to bring me two quilts. I’ll make a bedroll here on the floor.”

Su Haohao felt it was inappropriate to let such an honored guest sleep on the floor and hesitated. Then Lu Jinyuan continued, “My friend is timid around strangers. It would be best if I stayed here until she woke up.”

Though Lu Jinyuan spoke politely, Su Haohao sensed a pressure that made refusal impossible.

He obediently left the room, only to run into Su Xiuxiu at the corner.

“Xiuxiu, it’s so late. Why aren’t you asleep? What are you doing here?”

Su Xiuxiu kept stealing glances toward the room where Lu Jinyuan was staying, but said aloud, “I was worried about the young lady Mr. Lu brought back. Her whole body is covered in purple-red marks. It’s frightening.”

Su Haohao’s face changed drastically. “The Mountain God’s curse!”

Su Xiuxiu gave a delicate little nod. “I saw how much Mr. Lu cares about her, so I couldn’t bear to tell him. But…”

She left the sentence unfinished.

Su Haohao’s brows sank. He gave his sister a reassuring look. “Xiuxiu, don’t concern yourself with this. It’s late, so go to bed. I’ll explain everything to Mr. Lu. He’s a sensible and good man. He’ll know what to do.”

Su Xiuxiu nodded, still uneasy, and hinted, “Brother, Mr. Lu is a good person.”

“I know what I’m doing.”

Su Xiuxiu cast one last glance at Lu Jinyuan’s room, a trace of guilt passing through her heart.

Don’t blame me for driving you away. Once the Mountain God chooses you, you were doomed to die anyway.

Su Haohao watched until Su Xiuxiu entered her room, then returned to the guest room with the quilts.

“Mr. Lu, these quilts have all been freshly washed. They’re just a little old.”

Lu Jinyuan gave a quiet hum, then looked at him in a way that clearly meant: Put them down and leave.

Whether Su Haohao failed to understand or simply pretended not to, he edged closer and said eagerly, “Mr. Lu, Xiuxiu told me about your friend’s condition.”

Lu Jinyuan raised a brow, faintly surprised. “You know?”

Su Haohao’s expression turned solemn. “It’s the Mountain God’s curse.”

Lu Jinyuan frowned, signaling him to continue.

“Five years ago, there was a bride chosen by the Mountain God who tried to escape. She had marks like these on her body.”

“She ran all the way back, and her family took the opportunity to hide her.”

“But that very night, the Mountain God flew into a rage. The earth split and the mountains collapsed. The roof of that family’s house was torn away, and the bride was personally taken back by the Mountain God.”

Lu Jinyuan frowned. “Personally? You saw the Mountain God’s true form?”

Su Haohao shook his head and waved both hands in terror. “I was scared half to death. How would I have dared look up?”

“But I heard people say that the Mountain God arrived seated upon a cloud, with a mighty and imposing appearance. When he came to take the bride away, he was furious—every strand of his hair was standing on end.”

Su Haohao was still young. As he spoke, he animatedly acted out the scene, imitating it with remarkable accuracy.

Lu Jinyuan pressed his lips together and said nothing.

From Su Haohao’s description, he was even more certain that no one had actually seen what the Mountain God looked like.

“Brother Su, thank you for taking us in tonight. I’m leaving with her now.”

Su Haohao panicked. “At this hour? Where are you going, Mr. Lu?”

“If the Mountain God truly returns in the middle of the night, I can keep you and your sister safe by taking her away.”

As he spoke, Lu Jinyuan moved to pick Qin Yu up.

Su Haohao was so anxious he nearly fell to his knees. “Mr. Lu, you’ve misunderstood. That wasn’t what I meant.”

“Our family originally immigrated here from the neighboring village. The people of Jia Village are hostile toward outsiders and look down on the Su family. Our parents died early, leaving only my sister and me to depend on each other. There’s no question of whether we’ll be dragged into this or not.”

“I’m telling you all this so you can be prepared. Besides, I made up my mind long ago that if Xiuxiu were ever sent to become the Mountain God’s bride, I would never go on living alone. We’re not afraid of death!”

Though Su Haohao was young, he possessed the resolve of someone prepared to die.

Lu Jinyuan was puzzled. “If you aren’t from Jia Village, why not simply leave?”

Su Haohao sighed. “Jia Village is the wealthiest village in this region. Every year, it grants the surrounding villages a limited number of places for immigrants. People nearby don’t know the truth. They think moving here means they’ll live prosperous lives, so they fight desperately for the chance to come.”

At this, he clenched his fists angrily. “The brides chosen by the Mountain God in recent years have all come from families with different surnames like ours!”

Lu Jinyuan was not surprised in the least.

He thought of Third Jia, whom he had met earlier, and laughed coldly inwardly.

So he had been treating the surrounding villages as a supply route for his brides?

Su Haohao suffered in silence. His parents had died because they insisted on leaving.

Even now, he could not forget the sight of his father stabbing his mother to death before killing himself.

His eyes were bloodshot. When he looked at Lu Jinyuan, there was a trace of sympathy in them. “Mr. Lu, now that you know everything about Jia Village, they won’t let you leave either.”

Lu Jinyuan was not concerned about that. His gaze fell upon the sleeping Qin Yu, his eyes so gentle they seemed almost tangible.

“Is there any way to wake her?”

If the Mountain God truly came that night, Qin Yu was the only one who could deal with it.

Lu Jinyuan himself had not realized just how much he had come to trust Qin Yu, despite her current impaired state of mind.

Su Haohao racked his brain. “There’s still some mint in the house. Shall I bring it and try?”

“Yes.”

As soon as Su Haohao left, the cramped room fell silent.

Seeing the unnatural flush on Qin Yu’s face, Lu Jinyuan worriedly touched her forehead with the back of his hand.

As expected, she was somewhat feverish.

Qin Yu, you must not let anything happen to you.

Su Haohao returned soon afterward.

Lu Jinyuan steeped some dried mint in water and fed a little to Qin Yu. He then applied the remaining water behind her ears, where the skin was thin and absorbed things quickly. Perhaps this would help her wake sooner.

But it had no effect.

It was already very late. Lu Jinyuan sent Su Haohao away. Su Haohao was initially unwilling to leave, but after Lu Jinyuan cast him a stern look, he obediently went.

Lu Jinyuan fetched more cool water and used it to lower Qin Yu’s temperature.

He lost count of how many basins he had changed before her fever finally returned to normal.

The moon drifted westward. Moonlight shone through the dilapidated window, illuminating only a small patch of the floor.

The Su household had no electricity. Only a tiny, feeble candle continued to burn.

The night wind blew in, making the candle flame dance like a performer who had surrendered herself entirely to the music.

Lu Jinyuan stood beside Qin Yu’s bed, studying her picturesque brows and eyes. In a low murmur, he said, “If you were here, what would you do?”

—

Lu Jinyuan had only just lain down when the gentle breeze abruptly changed into something else entirely.

He sprang up from the floor.

Outside, fierce winds raged as lightning flashed and thunder boomed.

The lightning illuminated half the sky, brilliant enough to sting the eyes.

His first instinct was to shield Qin Yu with his body.

The disturbance outside drew many villagers from their homes.

Sound carried poorly in the little village, and Lu Jinyuan could hear the villagers’ screams without leaving the room.

He knew that what was coming could not be avoided.

He glanced at Qin Yu behind him, then straightened his spine even more.

He removed the bracelet from his wrist. In an instant, a terrifying aura of killing intent surged forth.

For the first time, he felt that this murderous aura was not entirely useless.

At a moment of crisis, he could at least rely on it to protect Qin Yu.

Perhaps sensing the fluctuation of that aura, the lightning and thunder outside abruptly ceased for several seconds.

Then, after a brief pause, the violent wind resumed.

The villagers’ cries of alarm continued without end, while Lu Jinyuan stood firmly before Qin Yu, as though declaring that anyone who wanted to take her would first have to step over his corpse.

“Where is my bride?”

“Where is my bride?”

“Where is she?”

Amid the howling wind came a series of roars, each more furious than the last.

Some of the villagers recognized the voice of the Mountain God and immediately dropped to their knees, kowtowing and begging forgiveness.

Once someone took the lead, a great many others soon knelt as well. But their actions did nothing to calm the Mountain God’s fury.

Third Jia came tumbling out of his house, having managed to put only one sleeve of his coat on. His face was dark with alarm.

“What’s going on? We haven’t sent a bride this year!”

“We don’t know either! Could that boy Jia Zhigang have done something behind our backs?”

“Go find him! Bring Jia Zhigang to me!”

Third Jia looked terrible. As he gave orders, he shouted at the villagers behind him, “If any of you are hiding the bride, hand her over at once! It’ll be too late once the Mountain God truly loses his temper!”

The villagers looked at one another, shaking their heads in bewilderment.

“Village Chief, we aren’t hiding any bride!”

“That’s right! How would we dare?”

“Village Chief! No one from the Su family has come out! Could they be the ones hiding the bride? I remember that Su Xiuxiu was the bride chosen this year. Could it be…?” someone shouted from within the crowd.