No Longer Escaping (ABO) - Chapter 6

It had been nearly a week since Yang Lulong arrived here, and she seemed to be gradually getting used to a life without electricity or any modern comforts. She slept when the sun set and woke up when it rose. She didn’t have to worry about work performance, buying a house, or maintaining effective social relationships.

Although she wasn’t very familiar with the people in the village, everyone was very warm and friendly to her. Even Zhang Long, who was initially so hostile toward her, now greeted her proactively. It seemed his attitude toward her had changed since the day she went to help with the work.

Yang Lulong took a small stool and sat in the courtyard. The little chicks always liked to gather around her, since she was sure to come and feed them whenever she was there. After a week, the chicks had grown quite a bit. Soon, there would be chicken to eat, and she thought about how it had been so many days since she had eaten any meat.

Wan Niang woke up earlier than Yang Lulong. She had a lot to take care of, and just organizing the herbs took her a whole morning.

She was now sitting at a small table in the courtyard, with paper, a brush, and an inkstone, listing the herbs she needed to buy in town. As she wrote, she would look up at Yang Lulong playing with the chicks.

After all these days, the number of words they had spoken to each other was few and far between. Wan Niang was not an outgoing person, and aside from daily matters, she rarely initiated a conversation with Yang Lulong.

“Yang Lulong…” Unlike others who called her “Xiao Yang,” Wan Niang called her by her full name. She found it awkward to call her “Xiao Yang,” feeling it was too intimate, so she just used her given name.

“Take this to Xiao Wen. She’s probably at Sister Fang’s house right now, the second house on the east side of the village entrance.” She called Yang Lulong over and handed her the list she had just written.

“Okay.” Yang Lulong took the list and looked at it. It seemed to be a list of herbs. Although she didn’t know what they were, she could read the characters.

Seeing her seriously examining the list, Wan Niang asked, “You can read?”

“I can understand it.”

This made Wan Niang even more curious about Yang Lulong’s identity.

Her father was originally a pharmacist in the capital. He prescribed the wrong medicine, which caused a serious illness for the child of a high-ranking official. Her father was sent to prison and died there shortly after. Her mother then brought her to the countryside when she was just twelve years old. Having been influenced by her father, she knew a lot about medicine. In the entire village, only she and Xiao Wen could read, and she was the one who had taught Xiao Wen. Yang Lulong could also read, and thinking back to the clothes she was wearing when they first met, she must also be from a wealthy or official family.

Thinking of this, a sense of loss washed over Wan Niang. If one day she remembered who she was, would she leave…?

“Is something else wrong?” Yang Lulong asked, seeing that Wan Niang was frowning, as if she had something on her mind.

Wan Niang snapped out of it and forced a smile. “Nothing. You should hurry. If you miss her, you won’t know where to find her.”

“Okay.”

Yang Lulong followed Wan Niang’s directions and found Sister Fang’s house.

As soon as she got to the door, even before she entered, she smelled an intense scent of ancient sandalwood. Yang Lulong frowned. The smell was so strong that it was overpowering. She didn’t think about it in terms of Qian Yuan and Kun Ze, or perhaps she just hadn’t made the connection yet, and assumed the family had burned too much incense.

Yang Lulong entered the room and froze. A bony woman was lying on the bed.

It was only then that Yang Lulong realized this was a Kun Ze in her estrus period. Frightened, she turned to leave.

“Please… help me…” Sister Fang said pitifully, her voice hoarse.

Yang Lulong hesitated. The woman looked to be in a lot of pain. It wasn’t the Kun Ze scent that was attracting her; to her, it was just a faint scent of sandalwood.

Sister Fang’s pale face and the flush from her estrus period didn’t match at all, making her look sickly. Yang Lulong felt terrible seeing her like this, with sweat pouring down her pale, flushed face. Was this what a Kun Ze’s estrus period was like?

Out of pity, Yang Lulong went to her bedside and sat down in a chair.

As soon as she smelled Yang Lulong’s faint scent of tea, Sister Fang’s fever seemed to subside, and the discomfort lessened. A Qian Yuan’s scent has a soothing effect on a Kun Ze during their estrus period. Usually, the higher the rank of the Qian Yuan, the more effective the soothing is.

Just having Yang Lulong nearby made her fever recede significantly. This Qian Yuan’s rank must be very high.

“I feel much better… thank you…” Sister Fang said, now much calmer.

“Where’s Xiao Wen?” Yang Lulong hadn’t forgotten why she was there.

“She and Xiao Hua went out. They’ll be back soon.” Sister Fang hadn’t expected her fever to return so quickly.

“If you’re feeling better, please give this to Xiao Wen when she gets back,” Yang Lulong said, taking out the list. She knew it was not a good idea for a Qian Yuan to be with a Kun Ze during their estrus period and that it was best to leave as soon as possible.

“Xiao Wen mentioned you. You’re staying at Wan Niang’s house now?” Sister Fang, however, didn’t want her to leave so soon. It was a deep-seated instinct in her as a Kun Ze; she craved the scent.

“Yes,” Yang Lulong’s answers were always short.

“You’re a good person, and so is Wan Niang.”

Yang Lulong, who was about to leave, became interested when Sister Fang mentioned Wan Niang. She knew next to nothing about Wan Niang, not even her age. She wanted to know more about her but was too shy to ask her directly.

“How did Wan Niang… end up here?” She could tell that Wan Niang wasn’t from this village.

“Many years ago, Wan Niang and her mother came here from the city. She was just a little girl who had recently presented as a Kun Ze. At first… everyone in the village was quite hostile to her and her mother. Only Xiao Wen was willing to play with Wan Niang and be her friend. After that, Zhang Long also joined them, so it was just the three of them. Xiao Wen also started running errands for everyone around that time. It was through her help that everyone’s impression of Wan Niang’s family changed. Wan Niang’s family also started helping people in the village by using their medical knowledge. But… when Wan Niang was fifteen, her mother contracted a lung illness and was bedridden. Wan Niang took care of her mother and studied medicine at the same time, hoping to cure her. During that period, Wan Niang was even thinner than I am now. She worked so hard that she got sick herself, but her mother’s illness couldn’t be cured. She held on for a year and passed away during the Lunar New Year… Wan Niang was left all alone. Seeing how pitiful she was, everyone in the village tried not to trouble her and would bring her food and other things. Wan Niang continued to help everyone with their illnesses, and that’s how things have been until now.”

Yang Lulong listened silently to Sister Fang’s story about Wan Niang, and her eyes became sad. So that was Wan Niang’s past. She had kept all of that to herself.

After hearing Wan Niang’s story, Yang Lulong got up to say goodbye to Sister Fang, but Sister Fang grabbed her hand, trying to get her to stay. Just then, Xiao Wen returned and saw this. Without even considering that Xiao Hua was with her, her anger flared up, and her eyes instantly turned red. She rushed forward and grabbed Yang Lulong.

“You animal!” She punched her in the face, not giving her a chance to speak, and pulled her out of the room.

Yang Lulong was so caught off guard that she was pulled out of the house.

Sister Fang screamed for her to stop, but Xiao Wen seemed to not hear her. She continued to furiously punch Yang Lulong in the face.

Sister Fang, worried, forced herself up. Her legs were too weak to hold her up, and she fell off the bed. Xiao Hua, not knowing what was happening, suddenly started crying and went to her mother’s side.

Yang Lulong didn’t fight back. She just used her hands to protect her head, taking the punches from Xiao Wen.

The two of them fought their way out of the house. Xiao Wen pinned Yang Lulong down and kept punching her arms, which were shielding her head.

As if releasing her anger, Xiao Wen’s rage grew, and she began to mutter to herself.

“Why! Why!…” Why was Sister Fang a Kun Ze? Why did Sister Fang have to marry Wu Yu? Why did Wu Yu have to abandon Sister Fang? Why did Sister Fang have to endure all this?! Why wasn’t she a Qian Yuan herself?!!

As she fought, tears streamed down her face. In her eyes, Yang Lulong had become Wu Yu.

Zhang Long saw what was happening and rushed over, pulling Xiao Wen off Yang Lulong.

“What’s going on! Calm down!” He lifted Xiao Wen off Yang Lulong. But Xiao Wen didn’t stop punching, her fists still flying at the air.

“Wu Yu, you scumbag!” Xiao Wen roared in anger.

“Xiao Wen, look! This is Xiao Yang, not Wu Yu! What’s happening?” Zhang Long was completely confused. He had just arrived to deliver firewood to Sister Fang’s house when he saw Xiao Wen beating Yang Lulong.

“…” Xiao Wen seemed to come to her senses, but she just knelt on the ground, sobbing.

Yang Lulong finally felt safe enough to lower her hands. She saw Xiao Wen kneeling on the ground, sobbing sadly. Her own right eye was swollen shut, and her vision was blurry. She looked at the confused Zhang Long. How did this happen…?