frightfiction Chapter 101 Crossing the Yalu River with High Spirits
Chapter 101 Crossing the Yalu River with High Spirits
Tian Xiufen's voice cheered Shu Yun up a bit. She patted the mud off her knees, wiped her eyes, and composed herself before opening the courtyard gate. "Sister-in-law, I'm fine. It's just that a rat got into the house, and I was scared."
Tian Xiufen breathed a sigh of relief. She thought something serious had happened, but it turned out to be just rats. "Hey, it's normal for rats to be in this kind of small earthen courtyard we live in. Let me tell you, when we lived in an earthen house in the countryside, if we went to the kitchen at night, the dark room would be full of pairs of red eyes. There were so many that it was creepy. And there were more."
As Tian Xiufen was speaking enthusiastically, Battalion Commander Gao, who had come with her, tugged at her arm. "What are you doing?"
Tian Xiufen then noticed that Shu Yun looked rather disheveled, with red eyes, and looked quite pitiful. Her protective instincts immediately surged up. "Xiao Yun, don't be afraid. Lao Gao, go back and get a pair of fire tongs. I'll catch the rat."
Shu Yun gratefully grasped Tian Xiufen's arm, "Thank you so much, sister-in-law."
Tian Xiufen waved her hand, "You live in the city and don't see many rats. There are a lot of rats in the countryside, but don't worry, I'm a rat-catching expert in the surrounding area. I'll make sure you catch them all."
Tian Xiufen began to recount her past glorious deeds, "With just a pair of fire tongs, I could catch them one by one. I could pick out an entire nest of rats with quick, accurate and ruthless tongs."
Shu Yun's adoring gaze inflated Tian Xiufen's confidence to the extreme. She was about to say something more when Battalion Commander Gao handed her the fire tongs at the right moment, saying, "Here you go."
Tian Xiufen rolled her eyes when she was interrupted.
Battalion Commander Gao wiped his face. Tian Xiufen, his wife, would recount her glorious deeds every year, and he was tired of hearing it. Besides, he knew how much of what she said was exaggerated, and he felt ashamed listening to it.
Originally, Battalion Commander Gao also thought that Tian Xiufen was good at catching mice. However, one year during the Spring Festival, when he heard Tian Xiufen boasting at her mother-in-law's house, her mother-in-law, fearing that her son-in-law would think that her daughter was too fierce, secretly told him the truth.
There was indeed a nest of rats in the house back then, and then another nest was born. The rat army was exceptionally large. They got up in the middle of the night to look for food. Tian Xiufen accidentally caught one with fire tongs, while the rest scattered. Tian Xiufen only managed to catch one.
The remaining rats were found by her father-in-law, who threw in some smoking charcoal to block the entrance, killing all the rats. Tian Xiufen then picked them out one by one.
However, Tian Xiufen gave a different version of the story.
Under Shu Yun's bright gaze, Tian Xiufen rolled up her sleeves, took the fire tongs, and went inside, her posture conveying a sense of heroic grandeur, as if she were crossing the Yalu River.
After Tian Xiufen went inside, she closed the door. Shu Yun waited outside for about half an hour. When Tian Xiufen came out, Shu Yun quickly stood up and asked, "How did it go?"
Tian Xiufen awkwardly wiped her hair. "Well, this mouse was a bit too agile. I didn't catch it. It darted off somewhere in a flash."
Shu Yun's bright eyes dimmed, and Tian Xiufen, unable to bear it, suggested, "Let me go take another look."
Shu Yun couldn't trouble her any further, so he quickly stopped her, "Sister-in-law, no need to. It's too late today. You and Battalion Commander Gao should go back and rest. Besides, the rats must have been frightened and hidden away. It will be hard to find them even if we look for them again."
Tian Xiufen held Shu Yun's hand and said, "If you're scared, why don't you stay at my place tonight?"
Shu Yun shook her head, "No need, sister-in-law, go back. Gu Jun will definitely be back soon. I'll wait for him."
Seeing that she insisted, Tian Xiufen did not force her, but simply told Shuyun, "If you want to come to my place, just knock on the door anytime."
Shu Yun sat on the steps waiting for Gu Jun to return. Fortunately, Ah Xi was with her, so it wasn't too boring. However, there were so many mosquitoes at night that Shu Yun's hands and feet were covered in bites in no time.
Fortunately, it didn't take long before Shu Yun heard footsteps. When she looked up and saw a familiar figure, she felt inexplicably at ease.
"Gu Jun," Shu Yun called out, but little did she know that it sounded soft and coquettish, as if she were pleading.
Gu Jun looked up, and the next second a soft, warm body crashed into his arms. He reached out and hugged Shu Yun, his voice gentle, "What's wrong?"
"Gu Jun, at home."
"Cough cough cough cough." The sudden, violent coughing sound from the side made Shu Yun immediately jump out of Gu Jun's arms, her face burning red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at the person who came.
"Commander Gu, I'll be going now."
After everyone left, only Gu Jun and Shu Yun remained. Shu Yun complained softly, "Why didn't you say you had someone with you? It was so awkward."
Gu Jun: If he rushes too fast, he needs to have time to say something, but even if he does, he won't stop him.
He took Shu Yun's hand, noticing the dirt on her clothes. He reached out and wiped her red eyes with his fingertips. "What happened?"
Shu Yun: "A rat got into the house, so I'm afraid to go in."
Having no other choice, Gu Jun moved a chair outside for Shu Yun and went inside with a broom to look for the mice.
Shu Yun: "Look at the corner of the kitchen wall, there's a hole there. See if it's hidden back in."
Gu Jun went to the kitchen and sure enough, he saw a small hole. Because it was in a corner and there were chairs around it, he hadn't noticed it before. A lot of old corn had fallen out of the hole, which seemed to be the grain from the rat village.
He poked the hole with a stick but it didn't move, so he found a strip of cloth and blocked the entrance. Coincidentally, as soon as he turned around, he saw a dark shadow dart past his feet. Gu Jun quickly grabbed a broom and smashed it at the rat. There was a "squeak squeak squeak" sound as the rat was pinned down by the broom strip and couldn't move. Gu Jun grabbed a pair of fire tongs, grabbed its head, and pulled hard. The rat stopped moving.
Shu Yun: "How is it?"
Gu Jun replied, "Got it."
Gu Jun came out, and Shu Yun shuddered after only glancing at what was being held in the fire tongs. She turned around and urged, "Quick, throw it away."
After Gu Jun finished dealing with the situation, Shu Yun followed him home. Gu Jun washed his hands and pulled her under the light. There was a tear in his pants, and he frowned, rolling up his pants. The knee was already scraped, and her fair skin made the redness and swelling look even worse.
Gu Jun: "Wait here, I'll go get the medicine kit."
Shu Yun immediately stood up. "I'll go with you."
Before Gu Jun could even utter the word "goodbye," Shu Yun had already grabbed his sleeve, looking pitiful. Gu Jun sighed and pulled her along.
Fortunately, the wound did not damage the bone. It looked a bit scary, but it will heal after a few days of medication.
Gu Jun gently blew on the wound twice, then carefully pulled down his trouser leg: "You go back to your room and sleep first. I'll take a shower, it'll be quick."