Although the Mountain God had entered seclusion, under someone's glare, he ultimately didn't seal off Blackstone Ridge.
That night.
Just as Ethan was about to fall asleep, Damian suddenly said, "I need to go up the mountain tomorrow."
"Really?" Now you've got my attention, Ethan was instantly wide awake. "That's great!" Realizing his mistake, Ethan quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.
"Hm?" Damian turned his head towards him. Why did Ethan seem so excited? "You're not allowed to follow!" he warned Ethan sternly.
"Won't follow, won't follow." Ethan shook his head repeatedly. He had plenty to do tomorrow; he had no desire to tag along up the mountain.
"Then swear it." It wasn't that Damian didn't trust him, but Ethan had too much of a track record.
"I swear, if I follow Damian up the mountain tomorrow, may Caleb choke on water and get diarrhea when he eats." Ethan stuck his hand out from under the covers, raised three fingers, and swore solemnly.
"..." For a moment, Damian felt a strange pang of sympathy for his brother-in-law. "Fine. I'll trust you this once. Sleep."
"Okay."
Ethan pulled the blanket up higher. Perhaps because of yesterday's experience sharing the bed, or because his memories had returned, plus Damian showed no intention of touching him, Ethan slept particularly soundly that night.
The next day, he woke up exceptionally early, which was unheard of for him.
"What's this?" Damian asked with a smile, taking the plain cloth bag Ethan handed him.
"Just something to eat. You haven't had breakfast yet. Remember to eat it later." If it weren't for the system task, he never would have dragged himself out of bed this early. Ethan yawned. He'd been woken up by the system's alarm clock at 4 AM. The reason? To prepare provisions for her husband who was going out. Damn it! He hadn't even woken up that early for his college entrance exams! He was really pushing himself just to avoid starving. Now that the provisions were made and Damian was about to leave, he could finally go back to catch up on sleep.
Food? Damian weighed the slightly heavy bag, a warmth spreading in his chest. But he remembered they only had wild greens at home, right? What exactly was in the bag? Damian clutched the bag tightly. Whatever Ethan gave him, even if it were rocks, he'd accept it.
Just then, the companions he had arranged to go up the mountain with arrived. "Damian! Let's go!" they called out. Seeing Ethan standing by the door to see him off, they all grinned and greeted him, "Morning, sister-in-law!" When they looked back at Damian, their eyes were full of teasing. Look at the newlyweds, so lovey-dovey~ Not like their own wives, who wouldn't even glance at them when they left.
"I'm leaving. Rest well at home. If you need anything, just ask Finn and Maeve to do it. Don't tire yourself out." Before Ethan could react, Damian stepped forward, hugged him, and placed a kiss on his forehead. As he left, Damian didn't forget to turn back and instruct the two children, who weren't even ten years old combined. "Finn, Maeve, take good care of your Papa. Don't let him bump into anything or get hurt. And don't let him wander off."
Who's taking care of whom? He was an adult, after all. Ethan rolled his eyes at him.
"Got it, Dad."
"Don't worry, Dad, we'll take good care of Papa." The two children patted their chests, promising.
"..." Ethan rolled his eyes again, speechless. "There's breakfast in the pot. Eat it yourselves." With that, Ethan went straight back to his room. He needed to sleep!!!
Finn and Maeve stood watching Ethan until he disappeared behind the door. Certain he had gone back to sleep and wouldn't come out again, they exchanged a look and ran quickly to the kitchen.
"Wow! It's noodles!"
"Smells so good~" The two children's eyes lit up as they stared at the food in the pot. Apart from their birthdays, this was the first time they'd ever eaten noodles. For as long as they could remember, Damian's family had been this poor. Apparently, they had incurred huge debts paying for their grandparents' medical treatments, though neither grandparent had survived in the end. Plus, their own biological parents had also cost their current Dad a lot of money. So, ever since they could remember, their meals mostly consisted of wild greens or vegetables grown in their own small plot. Any money earned from hunting usually went towards paying off debts. Seeing the fragrant noodles now, the brothers didn't care if they were hot, grabbing bowls and gobbling them down...
...
Blackstone Ridge Side Peak...
After hiking for half the day, the six men collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
"Talk about bad luck today. Walked for so long and haven't seen a single small animal." It was late autumn, the crops were all harvested, so the men had decided to try their luck hunting on the mountain together to supplement their household income. After all, once winter set in, they wouldn't dare come up here.
"Speaking of which, have you guys noticed? There seem to be fewer and fewer small animals in Blackstone Ridge these past few years."
"Yeah, noticed that too. A few years ago, Blackstone Ridge was full of wild pheasants and rabbits, but now they're hard to find."
"Not only that, but large predators like bears seem to be increasing. If it weren't for our numbers, I wouldn't dare come up the mountain."
One of the middle-aged men sighed, his voice full of worry, "Life is getting harder and harder for us."
"Isn't that the truth. The harvests have been bad these past few years. If we can't find food on the mountain either, this winter will be tough to get through." The others also looked worriedly towards the deep forest, their faces etched with concern...
"Alright, let's eat something and keep moving," Damian spoke up. No matter how hard life got, they had to keep going.
"Damian, here~" Bill Gable tore off a small piece of flatbread and offered it to Damian. Their families lived close by; he knew Damian's situation. The little food and money the family had left were all spent on the siblings' weddings and Ethan's medical bills. Now they were surviving on wild greens every day. He felt sorry for the two children. In his opinion, just wearing clean clothes for a wedding was enough; there was no need to spend money on red suits – a pure waste.
"No need, I brought provisions." Damian refused, pushing the bread back, and took out the cloth bag Ethan had given him. This was the first time they'd seen Damian bring food up the mountain, and they couldn't help but look over curiously.
Damian opened the bag and froze. The men around him also stared wide-eyed, forgetting the food in their own hands.
Actually, the food in Damian's bag wasn't anything extraordinary – just three vegetable pancakes and two plump, white steamed buns. But they were made with white flour! Compared to the hard, coarse cornbread buns in their own hands, these looked infinitely better. Especially the two soft, large steamed buns, which made several of them swallow hard. The climate had been poor these past few years, harvests dwindling year by year. Even though their families were better off than Damian's, they rarely ate white flour more than a few times a year, mostly subsisting on coarse grains and wild greens.
"That Ethan really is a spendthrift!" They didn't dare say it aloud, only muttering it inwardly. Assuming Ethan had borrowed the flour to make these provisions, the men's envy faded. They hadn't caught anything yet on this trip, and who knew how much debt Ethan was racking up back home today. The five men's envy instantly turned to pity. Marrying such a wastrel, Damian probably wouldn't even earn enough on this trip to pay off the new debts!