Ger, So Proud

Chapter 40

“Why are you asking about that?” He Ze frowned, as if pondering.

Lin Yu didn’t answer, just silently looked at him. The sun shone down on them, highlighting the oily sheen and the red marks on Lin Yu’s dark face.

He Ze suddenly reached out his hand.

“Hiss—what are you doing?”

As his fingertips touched the red marks on Lin Yu’s face, the latter frowned and stepped back.

“Does it hurt?”

“Of course!”

“That’s right, then. That bear was aiming for your face. What if it had disfigured you? You’re a ‘ger’ after all.”

“…”

“Besides, you came up the mountain specifically to find me. How could I let you go back injured?” He Ze glanced at Lin Yu, then looked around before walking away. After a while, he returned holding half of the broken longbow. “It’s a pity about your bow…”

“It’s okay,” Lin Yu came to his senses, reached out and took the broken longbow, placing it against his chest. “I’ll go back and see if it can still be repaired. If not, I’ll get a new one.”

This bow, he made it himself, and it had been with him for six years.

Lin Yu’s words sounded light-hearted, his head hanging low.

He Ze watched him and the two pieces of the bow in his arms, remaining silent for a while. It wasn’t until Lin Yu put the bow and the scattered arrows into the quiver and turned his head that he spoke again, “What now? When do we go back?”

“Of course, the sooner the better. As for this bear…”

He Ze squatted beside the bear’s corpse, forcefully pulling out the harpoon from its back. Blood splattered everywhere, staining half of He Ze’s face and his clothes, which looked quite shocking.

“Are you alright?” Lin Yu frowned, striding over to him. “Can’t you be more careful?”

“I’m fine.”

He Ze shook his head, rolled up his sleeve to wipe his face, then wiped the harpoon on the bear skin until the bloodstains on its tip were no longer visible. “How about it? Can we drag this bear back?”

The black bear on the ground was about five or six feet long and weighed at least three hundred pounds.

“We can carry it back.”

Lin Yu looked up at He Ze, a hint of pride in his expression.

He flipped the bear’s body over, pulled out the arrow from its eye, and finally fixed his gaze on the two small holes on its back. He suddenly felt a little regretful. “You shouldn’t have given me the harpoon just now. My fists are more effective than the harpoon. But in the heat of the moment… If I had used my fists, its fur wouldn’t have been damaged.”

“…It’s okay, it’s just a little damage, nothing major,” He Ze stood up. “You take it back first, I’ll come down later.”

“Me? Alone? Where do you want me to take it?” Lin Yu also stood up. This was a bear, wasn’t He Ze afraid he would renege on his word?

“Back to the village, of course. We have to keep our stories straight. Otherwise… I might have to marry you.” He Ze smirked, suddenly leaning closer to Lin Yu and patting his shoulder.

Marry? Lin Yu stiffened, his face slightly flushed, but still dark enough that no one could see anything unusual.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Seeing Lin Yu still not responding, He Ze waved his hand in front of his eyes.

“It’s nothing… Who said I want you to marry me?” Lin Yu suddenly glared at He Ze, pushing him away. “I don’t care about those rumors. You don’t need to be so careful. Anyway… the more lice, the less they bite.”

“…Is this a case of ‘the emperor is not anxious, but the eunuch is anxious to death’? Wait… let’s forget about that saying.” He Ze shook his head. “But still, you have to help. If I go back with you, we won’t be able to hide this. Do you want to see me get whipped by my old man?”

“He wouldn’t, right? Uncle He…”

“He would, he’s really like that.” He Ze nodded heavily.

He wasn’t lying. The house always kept a cane handy, but every time Old Master He made a move Dad Li had to firmly stop him. Otherwise, his butt would have been bruised long ago.

“Then…”

“Alright, it’s settled. You go back first and tell Xiao An not to worry about me. Tomorrow, we’ll go to town together to deal with this blind bear,” with Uncle Zhao around, no one else could say anything. “I need to wash my face, otherwise, going back with a face covered in blood, someone might report it to the authorities. Be careful going down the mountain.”

“Mm.”

After He Ze finished his grumbling, Lin Yu looked up at him and finally nodded.

He Ze chuckled lightly, picked up Lin Yu’s backpack from the ground, and handed it to him. “Let’s go.”

Watching Lin Yu dragging the blind bear further away, He Ze stood still for a long time before turning around. As he picked up his own longbow and arrows from the ground, he paused for a moment.

Somehow, scenes of Lin Yu lifting the longbow and smashing the blind bear’s head flashed through his mind, along with… his fierce punches, the sweat on his forehead, and his amber-like eyes, so bright, even with a dirty face, not diminishing his unique charm.

That kind of charm that made people… involuntarily focus on him.

“If he were a girl…”

This thought flashed through He Ze’s mind, and the next moment he frowned.

No, Lin Yu was Lin Yu, and he should be like this.

This way, it’s good.

Putting the bow and arrows into the quiver, He Ze breathed a sigh of relief and followed the morning’s footsteps towards the mountain stream. By the time he washed his face thoroughly and took off his blood-stained outer shirt and threw it away, he slowly made his way down the mountain.

It was already past noon, and He Ze’s pace was slow. By the time he reached the entrance of the village, the sun was already slanting westward, and it would soon set.

Whether it was his imagination or not, as soon as he entered the village, he encountered several groups of villagers coming and going, all in lively discussions, as if something earth-shattering had happened. What’s going on?

He Ze raised his eyebrows in confusion, but then he saw two people coming towards him, people he seemed to recognize.

His steps subconsciously slowed down, and two voices gradually entered his ears.

“Big Brother He, did you see that blind bear? Oh my, it’s even fatter than our pig we’ve been raising for over two years! Tsk tsk, this Lin family ger is really something!”

“No way? Is it that big? Liu San, you’re just bragging!”

“I’m not kidding! Many people in the village specially went to see it this afternoon, and… I even touched it! The fur is so smooth! And those fangs and claws, extraordinary. I’m afraid even five or six of our village’s strong men wouldn’t be able to hunt it down!”

“Are you serious? Let’s go, take me to see it too!”

“Alright! Let’s go… I just remembered I haven’t had a good look at its paw yet. That’s a valuable item. You know, this Lin family ger… if he can’t marry a person, I’ll have to marry him!”

“Tsk, you too, aren’t you embarrassed?”

“What’s wrong with me? Have you forgotten about the rumors last time about Lin Yu and He Ze? I refuse to believe that He Ze can just sit there and do nothing with such a handsome ger… You say even that weakling He Ze has this kind of good fortune, I figure I’m not far behind, don’t you think so?”

“…”

“What’s wrong with you? Speak up!”

Seeing He Dalang not responding, Liu San nudged him with his elbow, but seeing the other party staring blankly, he also raised his head and widened his eyes.

“He… He Ze, it’s you… Long time no see, long time no see,” Liu San’s expression stiffened, then he chuckled awkwardly, “I… heard your injury has healed? I was just thinking of going to see you at your house! It’s such a coincidence that we ran into each other, why don’t you come to find us, your brothers…”

“Are you finished?” He Ze’s hand clenched into a fist under his sleeve, his deep black eyes like a cold pond, piercingly painful.

Liu San took a glance at him, suddenly shrank back two steps.

The last time he saw He Ze was several months ago when He Bao’er was going to marry into town, and it was him and He Dalang who told He Ze about it.

Afterwards, He Ze inexplicably got into trouble, and they were worried all day long, afraid of implicating themselves. It wasn’t until later when they heard that He Ze was okay that they dared to tidy up and bring things to see him at home, only then did they relax.

Just a few months had passed, why did He Ze… seem so different?

Not only taller and stronger, but his gaze was more terrifying than when his old man was about to beat him up, like ice blades!

Did he go to the gates of hell and get a makeover by the king of hell?

For a moment, Liu San’s mind was in turmoil, his lips trembling a few times, but suddenly he slapped He Dalang’s shoulder next to him, “I… He Dalang! Haven’t we seen He Ze for a long time? Why don’t you say something when you see him!”

“Ah?” Betrayed by his teammate too quickly, He Dalang could only say with a stiff smile, “He Ze, it’s really… really a coincidence, um… you know Liu San, he’s always like this, you shouldn’t mind.”

“Yes, I am… Hold on, He Dalang, what nonsense are you talking about! He Ze, I didn’t say anything just now, I…”

“Bang!”

Listening to these two chattering endlessly, He Ze lost his patience and raised his fist, smashing it into Liu San’s face with a loud bang, before the latter could react, he had already fallen to the ground.

“He Ze! What are you doing!” He Dalang, beside him, hadn’t expected He Ze to actually hit someone, and hurried over to help Liu San up, “He Ze, you’re too much! We grew up together, just because I said a few words to you, do you need to…”

“Listen, Liu San, it’s okay if you talk about me, but if I hear any more derogatory remarks about Lin Yu from your mouth, I’ll hit you every time I see you!”

“He Ze, you brat! I, ah—” Mid-sentence, Liu San suddenly covered his mouth, the large chunk of purple bruise still oozing blood particularly eye-catching.

He Dalang frowned, “He Ze, can’t you talk nicely? This is too heavy-handed.”

Even just looking at it made him feel so painful.

“Is that considered harsh?” He Ze’s voice paused, suddenly seeming to recall something, his expression darkening a bit more, “Our affair with Lin Yu wasn’t spread by you two, was it?”

“Ah? No, no!” Before He Ze finished speaking, He Dalang shook his head vigorously like a drum, “Absolutely not! We heard it from the villagers, they were quite detailed, so…”

While He Dalang was speaking, Liu San, supporting himself with his arm, staggered to stand up, “If we spread it, wouldn’t you be the first to beat us up? I say, He Ze, can you endure it? We’ve grown up together, haven’t seen each other for so long, and you come up and punch me? You…”

“What’s wrong with me? Go on, didn’t you two lie to me countless times before? Can I still believe what comes out of your mouths?” He Ze crossed his arms and took two steps closer to the two men.

Liu San and He Dalang exchanged glances, and Liu San suddenly smirked, meeting He Ze’s gaze, stretching his neck out, “Well… if you don’t believe it, you don’t believe it, anyway, we didn’t do it! Although I can’t control my mouth, I know the seriousness of this matter, I’m not that reckless. Just now I went too far, you punched me, let’s just let it go, okay?”

“…The sentence I just said…”

“Alright, we promise not to talk about Lin Yu anymore in the future, but He Ze… you and him…” Liu San grinned again, covering his mouth, with an indescribable… lewdness.

He Ze averted his gaze, “If you want to get punched again, keep going.”

“Stop, stop, stop! Brother, I won’t say anymore, okay?” Liu San chuckled twice, paused, and then continued, “I must say, you’re pretty good, when did your punches get so hard? You nearly knocked my teeth out, otherwise I would have to fight you to the end!”

“Just you?”

“I…”

“Alright, since it wasn’t you guys, just watch yourselves in the future. But if I find out you’re lying to me…”

“That’s absolutely impossible! Don’t worry, in the future, if we hear anyone gossiping about you and Lin’s ger, we’ll definitely help you beat them up!” Liu San grabbed He Dalang’s shoulder, crossing his legs and leaning against him.

“Heh—” He Ze smirked, “Thanks, but I’m in a hurry, I’ll be going.”

“Hey! We’ll come to your house another day to find you!”

Seeing He Ze’s figure getting further away, Liu San shouted, then covered his mouth, his face excited, “See, He Ze and Lin’s ger, uh… really have something going on!”

“…Give it a rest, are you that sure?”

“He Dalang, let me tell you, I may not be sure about other things, but this… did you see how nervous He Ze was just now? If there’s nothing going on, I’ll eat my hat!”

“Alright, that’s enough from you! How did you promise He Ze just now?”

“Oh, I’m just chatting with you, aren’t I? Before, it was just rumors, but now it’s confirmed. Who would have thought, that slut He Bao’er got married and moved to town, this kid He Ze might be the first among us three to get a wife, sigh… we’ll have a brother-in-law in the future, hahaha… Ow… that hurts!”

“You deserve it!” He Dalang glared at Liu San, “Who told you to speak like that just now!”

“Okay, okay, my bad, my bad, isn’t that enough? I’m at fault, you can’t play with a friend’s wife, let alone a brother’s wife. I deeply repent, okay? But when I think about He Ze’s wife being Lin’s ger, I… hahaha… That’s the guy who’s unbeatable for miles around, He Ze in the future… hehe…”

Liu San clutched his stomach, laughing and collapsing onto He Dalang, but the laughter immediately caused pain to his wound, so he could only half-cover his mouth, sounding like he had a tic.

“Stop it, Liu San, that’s enough!” He Dala, seeing the strange looks from others, gradually relaxed his fists and pushed Liu San away, “You bastard! Don’t ever say you know me from now on!”

“Hey, He Dalang, what are you saying… My uncle is your uncle too, right?!”

This village belonged to the He family, most of whom were surnamed He. Although Liu San’s surname was Liu, his ancestors had been here for several generations, so if you really looked into it, he was probably related to half the people in the village. Liu San’s uncle… was indeed his uncle!

What a mess!

He Dalang looked at Liu San with extra disdain, then walked ahead.

“Hey, where are you going!”

Liu San finally restrained his laughter, taking big strides to catch up.

“Going home!”

“Home? Aren’t we going to check on the bear later?”

“It’s getting late, let’s go tomorrow…”

As the two figures gradually disappeared into the distance, their voices also faded away. As the sun set, another day in the He family village came to a close.

…

When He Ze returned home, he didn’t see his father or dad in the yard. Only He An was sitting on the stone steps. As soon as he saw him, he rushed over, his voice tinged with a sob, “Brother, you’re back!”

This time, He Ze didn’t avoid him, just holding him with both hands, rubbing his head for a long time before saying, “I’m back, I’m back, it’s okay, didn’t I tell you not to worry?”

“I… who told you to be so daring! Hunting anything else is fine, but you had to go hunt a bear, how could I not worry?” He An’s tears flowed as he spoke, his crying becoming louder and louder, crying for a while, then sniffing, glaring at He Ze.

“Don’t cry… Brother is fine, really fine…”

He Ze hurriedly took the bow and arrows off his back, but he felt awkward and stood there at a loss.

In the apocalypse, he almost saw people crying every day, crying heartbreakingly, their voices hoarse, but at that time he didn’t feel anything. But now…

It was just a black bear, not even as dangerous as a Level 2 zombie. He used to escape from tens or hundreds of zombies every day, then chop off their heads. Hunting a bear seemed… just a trivial matter, even when Lin Yu mentioned it last night on the mountain, he didn’t take it seriously.

However, hearing He An’s crying now… He Ze suddenly felt a bit choked up.

He forgot, he was He Ze now, He An’s brother, He Youcai and Dad Li’s son, Lin Yu’s friend, otherwise he wouldn’t have risked his life to come find him late at night…

In this world, he wasn’t alone, someone… was worried about him.

“Alright, stop crying, did Brother apologize to you?”

He Ze opened his palm, carefully wiping away He An’s tears, but hesitated to wipe away the glistening… snot from He An’s lips.

“Brother…” He An pouted again, tears filling his eyes once more.

Forget it! It’s still not as bad as a zombie…

He Ze squinted, wiped it off determinedly, feeling the sticky, smooth…

“Hahaha, Brother, you’re so dirty!”

His palm had just left, and He An suddenly stepped back two steps, laughing crisply.

“…”

“Brother, you’re so dirty, why… can’t you wipe it with a cloth or bring a basin of water?”

“…”

“Brother, what should we do? If you’re like this, I won’t dare to eat the chestnut cake you bring back in the future…”

“Then don’t eat it!” He Ze replied irritably, “I won’t buy it for you next time. Keep going!”

“Don’t… don’t, Brother, can’t I be wrong? I’m really sorry, can’t we just forget about it?”

He An approached He Ze, hooking his pinky, and seeing his appearance, He Ze couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to hook it, but just touched empty air.

“Brother, you… go wash your hands first…”

“…Okay, Brother will wash his hands first, but,” He Ze suddenly raised his other hand and poked He An’s forehead, “your face is much dirtier than Brother’s hands!”

“Brother!”

He An watched He Ze’s back and stomped his foot. But seeing He Ze bring out two basins of water, he smiled and greeted him, “Brother, you’re so nice~”

“Wash your face, Dad and Father will be back soon!” He Ze handed him a basin of water, “They don’t know about this, right?”

“No, I didn’t dare to tell them,” He An buried his head in the damp cloth, his voice getting lower, “They went out early this morning, they still haven’t finished repairing the furniture for that family last time, probably have to go for two more days. Brother…”

He An suddenly looked up at He Ze, his eyes red.

“Alright, Brother promises you, won’t do such dangerous things again in the future, okay?” He Ze pinched He An’s cheek, changed the subject, “Did you see the black bear Lin Yu brought back?”

“I saw it!”

As soon as He Ze mentioned it, He An’s voice immediately became excited, “That bear… it’s huge! Brother Lin told me that the arrow in its eye was shot by you, Brother, you’re so amazing!”

“Now you know Brother is amazing? So, in the future, you have to trust Brother, okay?”

“Yeah!” He An showed a mouthful of white teeth, nodding vigorously, then suddenly added, “But, you just promised me, you can’t go back on your word!”

“Of course not! If Brother doesn’t keep his promise, you can have whatever you want for the rest of your life, okay?” He Ze raised an eyebrow, standing up.

“Promise?”

“Promise!”

A smile finally appeared on He An’s face, and He Ze softened a lot when he looked at him. Then he walked to the courtyard wall and poured out the two basins of water.

Today, He Youcai and Dad Li returned home near dusk. He An saw that they hadn’t returned yet and prepared dinner in advance.

During dinner, He Ze was questioned by the two elders, but He An laughed even more happily on the side.

It wasn’t until after dinner, back in his own bedroom, that He Ze carefully untied the cotton cloth on his arm.

Perhaps because he punched Liu San too hard this afternoon, a few wounds on his arm had opened again. Fortunately, he had put on an outer shirt when he got home earlier, covering them up.

Looking at his wounds, He Ze waited until late at night, when the oil lamp in He Youcai and He An’s room went out, before he went out of the courtyard.

He didn’t return until the next day, when the sky was beginning to lighten.

The family had breakfast together, and He Ze didn’t forget to make plans with Lin Yu to go to town today. After informing Li, he headed towards the village entrance.

Because Uncle Zhao, who usually delivered vegetables, was said to be visiting relatives, his ox cart hadn’t been used to deliver vegetables these days, so there was no rush.

When He Ze arrived, the ox cart was already parked at the intersection, and Zhao Fugui was sitting on a nearby stone stump. As soon as he saw He Ze coming, Zhao Fugui stood up, and the ox mooed.

“You see, Blackie recognizes you!” Blackie was the nickname Zhao Fugui gave to the ox.

“Thank you, Uncle Zhao. Lin Yu…”

“You also know that Yu-ge is coming over?” Zhao Fugui asked, a bit surprised, but before He Ze could respond, he immediately realized, “Oh, right, such a big bear… he told me yesterday, but he hasn’t arrived yet! Since the cart is empty, I figured I’d help him transport the bear to town. He Ze, you wait a bit longer.”

“It’s okay, I’m not in a hurry.”

He Ze shook his head and waited with Zhao Fugui at the intersection. But as they waited, almost until midday, Lin Yu still hadn’t appeared.

The sun was getting hot, and He Ze wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a bit uneasy for some reason, unable to help but stand up.

Zhao Fugui also felt puzzled. He had never seen Yu-ge make such a mistake before! Seeing him move, he couldn’t help but speak, “He Ze, why don’t we…”

“Yeah, I’ll go to Lin’s house.”

Before the words were finished, He Ze had already taken a few steps forward. However, before he could go far, a figure ran towards them from afar, panting heavily, and shouted before reaching them, “He Ze, something’s wrong! Your… your wife, there’s trouble at his family’s house!”