Chapter 286: Inexplicable

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: Inexplicable

"When... are you planning to leave?"

The question clearly took the wanderer by surprise.

Afraid he might misunderstand, Ji Huan quickly explained:

"I’m not trying to kick you out. It’s just that you seemed so anxious to leave before, so I assumed... I remember telling you that while it takes six months to walk normally and a full year to recover completely, the tendon is actually mostly healed three months after the surgery. Walking, at least, shouldn’t be an issue. And even though your left foot was in worse shape, you’re young and strong, so you’re healing much faster than the average person. That means in another week, you should be able to..."

When she finished, a heavy silence fell over the room.

Outside, the sky had grown completely dark. The flickering candlelight danced across the wanderer’s scarred face, casting it in shifting, inscrutable shadows.

Ji Huan sensed something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

The wanderer had asked her more than once when he would be fully healed. Her intuition told her that he must have something very important to do, or someone he was worried about.

But on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, he had told her he had no home and no family...

Ji Huan couldn’t read his expression or guess his thoughts, and she no longer wanted to waste her energy trying. ’He’s a stranger to me, and he’s leaving soon anyway. There’s no point in trying to figure him out.’

She simply fulfilled her duty as a healer and reminded him:

"If you want to leave, you can set out in a week. As long as you don’t travel for days on end without rest and pay close attention to your leg, there shouldn’t be any major issues. Of course, to be on the safe side, you could wait until the middle or the end of the month to depart. It’s up to you. Just let me know a day or two in advance once you’ve decided on a date."

Having said her piece, Ji Huan still received no reply from the wanderer.

He seemed lost in thought. Though he was looking at her, his gaze seemed to pass right through her.

"Well, you think it over. I’m going to head back."

"Wait..."

The wanderer spoke just as Ji Huan had one foot out the door.

Ji Huan turned back, surprised. "Decided so quickly? What day will it be?"

The wanderer ignored her question. "Didn’t you say before that I could only leave after I’ve repaid my debt to you?"

"Oh, that..."

To be honest, Ji Huan herself couldn’t quite remember how much she had spent on the wanderer.

Xin Ziqi’s visits had been pro bono, and the cost of the medicine was on credit.

After they became partners, Xin Ziqi had offered to waive all the wanderer’s medical fees, since he had, in a way, used the man’s case to test his anesthetic and absorbable sutures.

Ji Huan, however, felt that since they had explicitly agreed to deduct the cost of medicine from her share of the hand cream profits, they should stick to the arrangement.

Whether Xin Ziqi had taken her words to heart or not, he never gave her the bill.

But regardless of whether the fees were waived or would be deducted later, it wasn’t money she had to pay out of her own pocket at the moment.

Most of what she’d spent on the wanderer had been for food and clothing.

The clothing hadn’t cost much—just a few sets of clothes, shoes, and socks, all made from coarse cloth.

The biggest expense by far was food.

During his time as a wanderer, he likely hadn’t eaten or slept well, not to mention his injuries, so his body had been severely depleted.

To build his strength back up and promote healing, she had kept him on a steady diet of chicken, duck, fish, meat, and bone broth—anything high in protein that would help his tendon repair.

While she and Dabao never went without such things before he arrived, they certainly hadn’t been able to afford the luxury of eating like this every single day.

It had been almost three months since the surgery, and they had maintained this standard of living the entire time. The grocery bill was nothing to sneeze at.

Of course, compared to the medical fees, the cost of food paled in comparison.

But setting all that aside, there was the time and energy Ji Huan had invested in him. That was the most significant cost of all, something money couldn’t measure.

During the recent spice harvest, she’d had to look after both the fields and him, leaving her completely overwhelmed. One day, in a particularly bad mood, she had snapped at him to get better quickly so he could start working. He would have to work for her as a hired hand for at least half a year, she’d said, to pay off his debt before he could be free to leave.

’What was his reaction then?’

’I think he nodded, or maybe he just grunted...’

Ji Huan couldn’t recall exactly, but thinking about it now just made her feel awkward.

"That... that was just a joke. Don’t take it seriously. I treated you because you saved Dabao. It’s only right that my brother and I repay you for your kindness; it makes no sense for you to have to pay us back. Even though—ahem—you have been a lot of work, it’s nothing compared to Dabao’s life. Besides, this business of repaying debts back and forth... when would it end? We can’t keep it up for a lifetime, can we? It’s better to just wipe the slate clean."

The wanderer’s eyes flickered. He asked, "Are you sure?"

’What kind of reaction is that?’

Ji Huan thought she was being incredibly generous. Not only was she not forcing him to work for her, she was even planning to give him some money for his travels. The least the wanderer could do was express a little gratitude.

But he didn’t show a hint of gratitude. In fact, he looked... displeased.

’Forget it. Dabao is my priceless treasure, so the man who saved him gets to be a big deal. Let him be arrogant if he wants. He’s leaving soon anyway.’

"I am absolutely, positively certain. From now on, there are no debts between us. You are a free man. You can leave whenever you wish."

She couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but it seemed the wanderer grew even more displeased after hearing her words.

"In that case, I will inform you on the day I decide to leave," the wanderer said stiffly, as if suppressing some emotion.

Having spent so much time with him, Ji Huan had come to understand him a little. His tone was clearly laced with anger.

’How ridiculous!’

"It’s only a full three months after the eighth of September! The day you choose has to be after that!"

After snapping at him, Ji Huan turned on her heel and stormed off.

She stopped halfway down the path, feeling that she was being ridiculous herself.

’I’m about to get rid of this huge hassle. Think of all the trouble I’ll save in the future! Shouldn’t I be happy? Shouldn’t I be celebrating?’

’So what am I so angry about?’

’It’s the wanderer’s fault,’ she decided after some thought. ’He’s always so moody and unpredictable. He’s rubbing off on me, and I didn’t even notice.’

Having successfully talked herself down, she turned back, snorted in the direction of the mud hut, then called for Ding and strode away.

The wanderer walked to the doorway of the main room and stood there, watching Ji Huan’s silhouette as she ran and played with Ding in the darkness. His expression seemed to absorb the night, gradually darkening.

For the next several days, Ji Huan stayed home, spreading her spices out to dry. She only went to the wanderer’s hut to deliver his meals at the appointed times, and otherwise kept out of sight.

She was, however, still keeping a close eye on his rehabilitation progress.

By the end of the first week of September, his leg’s range of motion had surpassed ninety-five degrees, his left foot could touch the wall during his exercises, and the length of time he could stand on one foot kept increasing. His powers of recovery were, frankly, astonishing.

And yet, the wanderer never mentioned a specific departure date.

Ji Huan couldn’t be bothered to ask, either, afraid she would just get herself worked up into a fury all over again.