Translated and given permission by MissQ to post on Puretl.com
Edited by Pure

Chapter 26: Cutting Wood

The next morning, Su Shuilian and Lin Si Yao left for the large plaza, leaving the two wolves behind to play with the innkeeper’s two kids at the inn.

After Su Shuilian offered to add meat soup to their dinner, the wolves obediently sat on the ground, allowing the kids to ride on their backs. When the mother of the children saw this, she decided to go back and tell her husband to perhaps give Su Shuilian and Lin Si Yao a discount since their dogs spent such quality time with their children. 

And as for the wolves who were lying on the ground, they would remind themselves from time to time, Owner better not forget about her promise! We want to eat meat tonight! 

Su Shuilian and Lin Si Yao went through multiple furniture stores. Although the furniture were all ready-made, the prices were not low. Just a two-meter long, well-carved bed paired with two small side drawers was thirty-two silvers. And to add a three drawer shoe cabinet was another two silver taels. 

Seeing this, Su Shuilian was stunned. The house with two acres of land had only been fifteen silver, but just a few pieces of large furniture here already surpassed that price. 

What Su Shuilian didn’t realize was that all of the furniture on display were of the best quality and workmanship. 

When the shop attendant finished with another customer and saw Su Shuilian’s expression, he was able to guess what she was thinking fairly accurately. 

“Is this Miss looking to buy some furniture?” asked the shop employee warmly. “Miss, the furniture out here are all our signature items. If you do not find these to your liking, we have more in the back.”

Hearing this, Su Shuilian no longer minded the expensive furniture in front of her as she called Lin Si Yao over to follow her to the back of the store. 

Sure enough, there were many pieces of simply-made furniture in the back. However, because these were already pre-made, the prices were still a bit high. Su Shuilian calculated that first to buy all of the necessary furniture would cost about eleven taels. That was way more than the five tales their hired carpenter had asked for to make every piece of furniture for their house. 

Five taels ah. Su Shuilian sighed internally. From these prices in Fan Lou City, it was enough to feed a family of three for a full year. So why were these items so expensive?

“Miss, you do not know this, but in this city, there are no more than twenty carpenters. Most of the trees in the nearby forest have already been cut down, and the next closest forest is that beast-filled forest next to the Dashi Mountain. No one dares go there. Therefore, this city has to buy wood from neighboring cities, causing the prices to be exceptionally high now. To tell you the truth, Miss, our prices have yet to rise. You can even check, the two stores across the street have even higher prices.” When the shop attendant saw Su Shuilain’s brows furrow, he thought that she was dissatisfied with the prices here, so he added a few more words trying to coax her into buying their furniture. 

Lin Si Yao pulled Su Shuilian closer and whispered in her ear, “Let’s go back and talk.” They made their way back to the inn.

---

“Wha...What? No!” Even before Lin Si Yao finished his words, Su Shuilian had already made up her mind about his idea. The shop attendant already said that no one dared to go into that dangerous forest, yet he wanted to go in, to chop a few trees?! That’s mad! 

“Listen to me.” Lin Si Yao sighed as he led Su Shuilian to a table to pour her a cup of hot tea. Since they had been out, they had yet to drink any water, and her soft lips were already dry. 

“When we stayed in the forest of Dashi Mountain for over a month, did you see any beasts then?” Lin Si Yao looked at her gently as he softly explained. 

“Eh? That forest was the one on Dashi Mountain?” Su Shuilian blinked in confusion, finding the news hard to believe. 

Lin Si Yao smiled. So she had been unaware, no wonder she had such a reaction. Nodding his head, he continued, “Yes, my guess is that the beasts of Dashi Mountain have long disappeared.”

“Why do you think they don’t exist? Just because we didn’t see any doesn’t mean they’re not out there.” Su Shuilian moistened her lips, thinking, Which book states such a thing? It is better to believe there was than to believe there wasn’t. 

Lin Si Yao pointed at the white tiger pelt in the baggage as he smiled and said, “I believe the beast should have been that.”

“.....” Su Shuilian was stunned. No...no way right?

Was her luck that good? When she had arrived in this world, she had escaped danger from this tiger? If the two wolves had not fought against it that day, would she have survived till now? 

Su Shuilian clenched her sweaty palms. She now understood that she was very fortunate. Even though the wolves had only done so to protect their cubs, it had also benefited her. Su Shuilian decided that she should treat the wolves better now. Oh yes, she must definitely remember to give them meat tonight. 

---

That night, Lin Si Yao traveled to Dashi Mountain. 

Although he did not tell her about his departure, he left a note for her. If nothing went wrong, then he should be back by tomorrow afternoon. He had awoken the two wolves having a sweet dream about meat in the backyard, and in front of their innocent eyes, made his way to Dashi Mountain with a leap. 

When Su Shuilian went to his room in the morning for breakfast, she found the note and realized that he had not told her about his departure to the mountains. Her heart filled with mixed feelings, the most prominent were that she was touched and angry. Touched by his thoughtfulness and angry at his boldness. 

So what if his martial arts were good?  So what if the beast no longer existed? Even if it's just to chop wood, how could he, a single person, carry all that wood?

---

When Lin Si Yao arrived at the entrance of the forest, he picked a rarely traveled route and entered the depths of the forest.

Considering the timber colors that Su Shuilian would most likely prefer, he picked seven fully grown trees that were dark purple and about two adults-wide in terms of thickness. That should be more than enough for making bedroom furniture. His other selections were common blood red beech trees. The deep, dark red should be festive, and the amount should be generous enough to make furniture.

At this line of thought, Lin Si Yao’s cold eyes warmed slightly with tenderness. However, his movements did not slow as he adjusted his internal force. Using just his hands, the several trees he had picked collapsed to the ground. 

Using rattan rope to tie the trees into seven bundles of five trees each, Lin Si Yao went back and forth seven times as he carried all thirty-five trees to the entrance of the forest before using his inner energy to dry the wood. He then sat crossed-legged for a while to recover his qi.

After circulating his internal energy a few times, his internal force had finally recovered sufficiently. 

The usually unperturbed Lin Si Yao could not help but be happy. This Jade Fairy's Essence was  not an ordinary item. With just two spoonfuls, not only had he survive from the brink of death, but he also recovered his lost internal force. If this were to be known to the martial world, it would most definitely become a bloody fight. 

With this thought, Lin Si Yao frowned. No matter what, he should quickly complete this task of completing the house, and move out of the inn. If they were to lose that gourd filled with the rest of the Jade Fairy’s Essence, it would easily cause the covetous wrath of the people of the martial world. 

In the past, Lin Si Yao would not have worried.  No matter how dangerous these people were, they were still no match for him. However, it was different now. He was about to start a new life with his own beloved woman, and in the future, he would have his own cute and smart children. 

If people were able to find a lead to the Jade Fairy’s Essence, the most likely victim would be Su Shuilian. 

Lin Si Yao clenched his fists. He would never allow such a thing to happen. 

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