Chapter 555 - 570: To Ask

’Me, tired? Is that even possible?’

An Ning’s question made Master Tang give a strained, awkward smile for a moment.

Finally, he simply put down the stool in his hands, sidled up to An Ning with short, quick steps, and glanced behind him. Looking like a thief, he asked, "So... uh... who’s Tangtang?"

An Ning was about to turn around but was stopped by an extra-long "HMMMM—" from Master Tang.

"Don’t look, just talk."

An Ning didn’t dare to move. She whispered, "Why do I feel like we’re clandestine agents making a secret drop, and the most unprofessional ones at that?"

"Quit fooling around! You still want to eat or not? Want to drink your soup? Eat your pastries?"

An Ning glared, her eyes full of indignation. ’I can’t believe you’re this kind of person, Master Tang.’

The two stopped their antics. An Ning asked, a little more seriously, "Are you really asking about Tangtang, or Tangtang’s mother?"

"Well, now—I see you’ve finally caught on, kid."

Master Tang hadn’t expected An Ning to react so quickly.

"Is that really the point? Besides, we’re at someone else’s wedding, a place filled with love. You, a single man well into your golden years, asking about her... I’m not an idiot."

An Ning shot Master Tang a disdainful look. He rubbed his nose with a finger and said, "It was a bit obvious, huh? Like you said, I’m in my twilight years. If I dilly-dally any longer, I’ll be in my coffin."

Master Tang’s self-deprecating comment earned him a glare from An Ning.

"Oh, give me a break. Following your dietary plans, I think you’ll still be alive long after I’m dead."

An Ning was completely serious. Master Tang was a Herbalist, after all.

The two of them whispered back and forth for a long time. In the end, Lin Cuihua hurried An Ning back to work. An Ning told Master Tang that she would investigate first. What if Liu Yiyi already liked someone, or was seeing someone?

As soon as she said it, half of Master Tang’s heart turned to ash, but he knew it was the only way.

They separated and went back to their respective tasks.

That evening, the An family hosted a meal for everyone who had helped out. This was the final banquet.

With this meal over, the wedding was well and truly finished.

As for the leftovers, the villagers took them all home. The An family even provided containers for everyone to take everything away.

In the middle of summer, food just wouldn’t keep.

That night, the family once again sat behind the house to cool off. They had the same well-chilled watermelon, but with one extra person: Yin Xuemei.

But Yin Xuemei was already so familiar to the An family that there was no sense of awkwardness between them.

Yin Xuemei even sat right next to An Ning, and the two of them chattered away endlessly, making An Guoming’s eyes ache with envy.

’What do you do when your wife likes your little sister more than you?’ At that moment, An Guoming even recalled something he had once said to An Ning.

He had said that once he got a wife, the things he did might be different.

Looking at it now, if he ever tried to do anything to harm An Ning, his wife would be the first to object—she might even chop him up with a kitchen knife.

Lost in his own imagination, An Guoming was pulled back to reality by Yin Xuemei’s voice.

"What are you thinking about? Have some watermelon."

"Heh, thinking about you."

Yin Xuemei shot An Guoming a warning glare, but all he saw were her beautiful eyes. He completely ignored the rest.

The watermelon was eaten especially quickly today. Afterward, everyone found an excuse to leave.

"We’re old, we should get to bed early."

"I have to go back and study. My hospital internship starts in a few days."

"I have to go up the mountain tomorrow morning. Early to bed, early to bed."

"I’m going to feed the pigs!"

Everyone had a perfectly good reason, and the watermelon chat session dissolved just like that.

Hei Dan’er hadn’t even finished his watermelon before a look from his sister-in-law sent him scrambling away, still clutching his slice.

That night, everyone tacitly stayed in their own rooms, barely making a sound. Even the moon seemed to shyly hide behind the clouds.

「The next day」

An Ning was the first to wake up. When she came out, she soothed the household animals, hushing them so they wouldn’t make any noise.

Dressed in long sleeves and pants with a machete tucked into her belt, An Ning grabbed a basket and headed up the mountain.

The mountains in summer were rich with resources, but also at their most dangerous.

Unless you were bold due to great skill or had strength in numbers, you really didn’t dare venture in.

Not to mention anything else, the swarms of insects buzzing in your face were enough to make anyone suffer.

Aided by her spiritual power, An Ning quickly and accurately bagged a roe deer and two pheasants.

"Better eat them now. We won’t have the chance later."

An Ning knew how things were trending. She had a rough idea that these animals would soon become protected species.

With enough game to eat, An Ning prepared to head back down the mountain.

But the roar of a tiger stopped her in her tracks. She looked in the direction of the sound.

Her spiritual power spread out in an instant. A sturdy Siberian tiger was roaring at a tree, its gaze directed upward. And up in that tree was a familiar face.

’What’s going on?!’

An Ning, still carrying her basket, ran and leaped through the forest.

Finally, she swung across the treetops like a monkey.

Perching on a branch, An Ning fixed her gaze on the Siberian tiger and dropped from the sky.

A small figure suddenly appeared before the tiger. A hand, not even as big as the tiger’s mouth, pushed forcefully against its forehead.

"Back—"

That single word, imbued with spiritual power and backed by immense force, made the Siberian tiger stumble back several steps. It adopted an attack stance but didn’t press forward yet. However, the force of its roar blasted An Ning’s hair backward.

"I know you’re loud, stop shouting!"

The roar stopped abruptly, making the person in the tree burst out laughing.

"That move of yours... it’s really not something an ordinary person could learn."

"Hurry up and get down."

An Ning didn’t turn around. The person in the tree moved like an ape, landing lightly on the ground and saying to An Ning, "Thanks."

"Don’t mention it. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt anyway. At worst, you’d have spent the night in the tree."

Staring at the snarling tiger, An Ning asked, "You’ve been hunting for so many years. Don’t you know not to provoke it?"

"I know, but I need the money."

Behind An Ning stood Hei Niu, the expert hunter who had once toyed with Hua Cheng. She had a tall figure, a resolute gaze, and an innocent tone.

"What did you take?"

"A ginseng root! Tell me, why does a carnivore like it have to fight me over this!"

As Hei Niu spoke, she grew more indignant and started laying into the tiger.

"Look, we’ve been neighbors for how many years now!"

"When have we ever met that I didn’t leave some tasty treats for you?!"

"And now, you’re throwing such a huge tantrum and trying to bite me over a root you don’t even eat! Hmph!"

Hei Niu’s "hmph" actually made An Ning laugh. The Siberian tiger opposite them, as if it understood, plopped its backside on the ground, turned its back to them, and stopped roaring. Its very posture screamed ’I’ve been wronged.’

Seeing the tiger and the woman like this, An Ning withdrew her spiritual pressure and took two steps back. "Alright, my mistake. I guess I was just reading too much into the situation."

Hei Niu turned to An Ning with a grin. "Not at all, not at all. Our relationship is just for show."

"You... why are you short on money? I remember you’ve earned quite a bit from your good finds."

"That’s true."

Hei Niu said frankly, "All the wealth in the world can’t stand against one person’s illness."

"My dad’s sick. He needs treatment."