Gu Jin took little An by the hand and arrived at the foot of Mount Blackbird. As she breathed in the fresh air, her whole body felt refreshed and relaxed.
The comfortable feeling allowed a look of decadent enjoyment to appear on her beautiful face.
In the morning light, Gu Jin looked extremely beautiful right then.
An Mingji raised his head and looked at her, and for a moment, he was in a daze. Everyone liked beautiful things, whether they were children or adults.
A person with a beautiful face was destined to leave a good first impression.
Gu Jin glanced at the trees in the forest and smelled the fragrance of budding trees in spring.
She looked sideways at An Mingji and smiled softly at him. "Let's go. We'll go for a stroll on the mountainside."
"Okay."
An Mingji clenched her hand tightly and answered obediently.
The two walked toward the side of Blackbird Mountain. Taking a leisurely stroll like that was very relaxing.
When someone else walked down from the mountain path, Gu Jin stopped to have a look at the person.
He was a rough-looking man with rope and tools on his body. He was holding a rabbit and two pheasants in his hand. By their bloodied looks, they were most likely dead.
The man who was coming down the mountain was also a villager of Blackmount Village, named Du Aiqing. When he saw Gu Jin and An Mingji, he was dumbfounded for a moment, especially An Mingji.
He was familiar with the child, as the latter had often wandered around the village.
At that moment, he was no longer the usual, dirty-looking child, and he was wearing clean clothes.
He then looked at the girl who was standing beside him. From a distance, he could not make out a face and could only see that she was a beautiful young girl.
As he approached the girl, he saw what she was wearing. He did not know why but for some reason, even though the girl was dressed in a simple manner, he felt that something was different about her.
This girl possessed something that did not belong to the villagers of Blackmount Village. It was an alienating, even self-deprecating temperament.
Despite the girl's friendly smile, the difference she exuded could not be hidden.
As for what was different, Du Aiqing could not put his fingers on it.
"Big Bro Du—"
Gu Jin looked at the approaching Du Aiqing and called out to him.
She recognized the person because only one family in the village dared to go up the mountain, and it was the Du Family.
The Du Family were good hunters, and they often went up the mountain to hunt for hares, pheasants, birds, and other meats to improve the spread of food at home.
Yesterday, she heard from an aunt that one of the Dus had gone up to the mountain. He was surrounded and attacked by wild boars. However, he died a few days after he was brought back home.
She knew of it, but as it was so long ago. If her auntie had not mentioned it, she would not have thought of it.
The Du Family had two sons, and the one who passed away was the youngest son, and the one with the hare and pheasants was the Du Family's eldest son.
Even after more than twenty years, the man's face still appeared familiar, and she would recognize him.
When he heard Gu Jin call out to him, Du Aiqing recognized her as well.
"So it's you, Ah Jin. Why are you here? The animals are very irritable during this season. Go home."
Spring was a time when animals mated, hence they were extremely restless and aggressive.
Gu Jin squinted and broke into a beautiful smile as she walked up to Du Aiqing. "Yeah, we're not going into the mountains, just strolling around the mountainside."
Looking at the girl's attractive face, Du Aiqing felt a fondness for her too.
He was a married man and would naturally not have any ideas about crossing the line with Gu Jin. It was the kind of fondness one had toward something nice.
Du Aiqing picked up one of the dead pheasants in his hand and handed it to Gu Jin. "Here, take this home and cook it."
"No, no, how could I take something from you, Big Brother Gu." Gu Jin waved her hand and declined.