The cruel little princess

Shen Zijin pondered for a moment, "Then let's wait a little longer. Uncle, please keep an eye on them. If they leave, please report it to me as soon as possible! I'll be very grateful!"

"Of course it is! Benefactor, please don't be polite with us." Erni's father handed over another tinderbox, "Benefactor, try not to come out of this cave unless it is necessary. We will go back first. Please see if you still need anything. We will try to come again in the next few days to bring you things." After Erni's father said this, he took the bamboo tube from the stream, filled it with water and placed it under the spider web. He watched Shen Zijin take it in with his left hand before turning around and leaving with relief.

On the way back, Erni's father took her to the place where he often set traps. Inside was a plump rabbit, quietly impaled on a sharp wooden thorn, already dead. The father and daughter took the rabbit out and disguised the trap. Erni's father asked her, "Erni, have you learned it?"

"Dad, what should I learn?" Erni looked confused.

"Next time you catch a rabbit, you have to set this trap right again so it can get back in. Otherwise, you won't be able to catch any more rabbits!" Erni's father said seriously, "You have to learn how to do this. Bring it to your benefactor next time as a treat. Dry food won't heal quickly, so you have to give your benefactor something oily!"

"I understand, Dad!" Erni responded repeatedly.

Erni's father put the rabbit in the backpack and pulled out a full basket of pig grass, pressing it tightly. "Erni, I will teach you how to skin a rabbit when we get back." The father and daughter said as they walked down the mountain to go home. On the way, they met some villagers, "Erni's father, are you going up the mountain again?"

"Hey, Erni, this kid. I asked her to go pick grass for pigs, but she didn't come home after picking for a long time. So I was worried about her, so I came out to check on her. She also wanted to climb a tree to pick bird eggs to eat. But she couldn't get down!" Erni's father said while laughing and explained to the villagers.

"The child is still young and a little naughty. He will be fine when he grows up!" said the villager as a person with experience.

"Are you still young? You're about to get married at this age, but you still think about playing every day! Let's go back first!" Erni's father said as he took out the key to open the door of his house.

Erni's father first chopped up the pig grass and mixed it with some bran to feed the pigs and cows. Erni's lunch was also ready, porridge with side dishes, and heated dry food cakes. The father and daughter ate first, and after cleaning up the dishes, Erni's father brought the rabbit over and taught her how to skin the rabbit, where to start cutting, what to pay attention to, and how much force to use. While skinning the rabbit, Erni said, "Dad, don't keep saying that I want to get married."

"What? You are already 15, so you can get married, right?" Erni's father was puzzled.

"I won't get married!" Erni said casually. "I have to stay at home and take care of Dad! If I get married, who will cook and wash clothes for Dad?"

...Erni's father smiled, "Dad won't let you marry far away. Dad will find you a son-in-law who lives with the family! When the time comes, you two can live your own lives, and Dad can even take care of your children! How great is that!" He looked forward to a bright future.

"Then I won't marry. There's nothing good about a live-in son-in-law. I have to marry a powerful man! Preferably one who knows martial arts!" Erni casually peeled the skin off the rabbit's leg.

"Erni," her father said with a serious expression, "don't you think you are my benefactor?"

"Dad, you...don't talk nonsense!" Erni blushed insincerely.

"Er Ni, I tell you, you'd better not have this idea! It is definitely impossible for us to be your benefactor! What is the identity of your benefactor? What is our identity?" Er Ni's father persuaded her earnestly.

"Dad!" Erni was a little anxious, "I know it's absolutely impossible for my benefactor and I to be together. I just think it's too early for you to say this now. If I get married, my life won't be as comfortable as at home. Anyway, I don't want to get married now! Please don't say anymore!" Erni walked into the kitchen with the skinned rabbit and put it on the chopping board, "Besides, my benefactor is a general who defends our country. I can't even think about him and me. Please don't say such nonsense anymore, Dad." Erni took the knife and chopped the rabbit neatly in a few strokes, "We'll stew the rabbit in the evening with well water. Tomorrow morning I'll go to collect pig grass and send some to my benefactor." As Erni spoke, she skillfully lit a fire and boiled the pot to stew the rabbit.

In the cave, Shen Zijin, though holding a tinder, was afraid to light a fire, fearing the smoke would drift out and reveal his hiding place to the enemy. So, he could only hold the liquor in his mouth and carefully spray it on his right arm. Then, he quickly poured some hemostatic powder and used the tinder to barely heat the plaster before applying it to the injured area.

The bleeding finally stopped, but his legs remained unresponsive. Since his legs were broken, it was impossible to straighten or set the bones with just one hand. Helplessly, he could only do this for the time being. Then, with difficulty, he reached for the bamboo tube containing the medicine, opened the lid, and, holding it with his left hand, drank the liquid in one gulp.

After completing this series of movements, he felt completely exhausted, as if all his strength had been drained away. He could only lie weakly at the cave entrance, gasping for breath. After a short rest, he closed his eyes and quietly recuperated. It took a long time before he regained some strength. He struggled to sit up again, pulled out a piece of cake that had long since hardened to stone, and slowly put it into his mouth to chew. The cake was extremely dry and difficult to swallow, but to regain his strength and stay alive, he could only drink water while struggling to swallow it down his throat.

After his life was no longer in danger, Shen Zijin began to feel the urge to explore the cave. After all, he didn't know how long he would have to wait for rescue. The more he knew about the cave, the better his chances of success and the more ways to escape it would be when the enemy arrived.

He slowly dragged his legs into the cave. The cave was winding and rugged, not straight. He speculated that this cave was not artificially carved, but natural. After walking and stopping for about a cup of tea, he came to a wide area. He groped around here and there, roughly estimating that it was about five meters long and three meters wide. He only touched some thick, slightly soft and dry things, probably hay. Because there was no light at all, he couldn't see what was inside. Moreover, this place was quite far from the cave entrance. Even if there was a little light, it would not let out and reveal his whereabouts. So he opened the tinder without worry. He looked at it with the flickering light and was shocked! He saw thick hay everywhere in the cave, and the skeleton of a large insect! The insect must have been dead for some years. Only the white skeleton was left, emitting a cold and eerie light. The insect's skin and flesh were probably eaten by snakes, insects, rats and ants. How could we tell it was a large insect? A pile of its hair remained on the ground. It was dry and dull, but the yellow, white, and black hairs still revealed the strength of the insect in its prime. Besides the complete skeleton of the insect, there were also some smaller animal skeletons on the hay, likely prey. It's unclear whether the insect died in this cave due to old age or some other accident.

Shen Zijin was frightened. Fortunately, the big beast was already dead. Otherwise, with the smell of blood on him, he would have been pounced on and eaten clean by the big beast the moment he entered the cave before the enemy could find him! He couldn't help but sigh. Although he was seriously injured now, his luck was incredible: he was seriously injured but not dead. He panicked and crawled into the big beast's cave, but the big beast had already died. During this period, other animals did not dare to occupy its cave due to the big beast's power. Later, he saved a girl, and the girl was grateful. Her father was also very knowledgeable and knew how to use medicine to treat his wounds. Although he was trapped in the cave now, once the uncle could get away and deliver a message to the military camp, his rescue would be just around the corner! Thinking of this, Shen Zijin couldn't help but be full of hope for the future. This belief also supported him through the next ten days!