Li Xing followed Lucy and Aniekra, and they finally entered a tall thicket ahead.
Then Li Xing led Little Jerry through the weeds by the river and around to the back of the thicket.
Beyond the thicket was a small area that had just been cleared. Lucy sat beside it, holding a billhook.
Noticing Li Xing's arrival, Lucy said, "The two of us will wash here. Li Xing, if anything happens, we'll call you over.
Remember, you can only come when we call you. Understand?"
Lucy turned and stared fiercely into his eyes. Li Xing helplessly raised both hands in surrender and said,
"Fine! I understand.
I swear on my honor that as long as you don't call out, I, Li Xing, won't set foot in here!
Surely that puts your mind at ease!"
Lucy looked at Li Xing with his hands raised and found him a little comical.
"Don't tell me that's how people in your homeland make an oath!"
Faced with Lucy's doubt, Li Xing could only lower one hand helplessly and repeat his oath with the other raised.
Seeing this, Lucy turned her gaze to Little Jerry.
"Jerry, make sure you keep an eye on your big brother Li Xing!
Your big sister Lucy and big sister Aniekra's safety is in your hands."
At Big Sister Lucy's instructions, Little Jerry straightened his back and assured Lucy and Aniekra as they got ready,
"Don't worry, big sisters! I'll keep a close eye on Big Brother Li Xing."
And so Li Xing and Little Jerry stood with their backs to the thicket, keeping watch as they chatted.
Summer had just begun, and the midday sun was already somewhat scorching.
Sheltered by the towering trees, the two figures, one big and one small, could feel a touch of coolness in the shade.
Li Xing and Little Jerry leaned against a large tree, taking in the scent of the forest soil and the breeze from the river.
"Now I finally understand why the men guarding women while they bathe in those storybooks can't resist sneaking a peek!"
Li Xing's remark immediately caught Little Jerry's attention.
"Big Brother Li Xing, do you want to look? That wouldn't be good. You already made an oath. You mustn't break it!"
Little Jerry's warning brought a smile to Li Xing's face.
"That's right! Your big brother Li Xing made an oath. How could I break it?"
As he spoke, he reached out and ruffled Little Jerry's fine blond hair.
Why did Li Xing himself understand why those characters in the stories peeped?
Li Xing's answer was that it was too boring!
There was no helping it. In an age when entertainment was so scarce, having a virile adult man stand guard while beautiful women bathed, a rather private affair, was no different from throwing a meat bun at a dog.
Leaving aside the man's character for the moment,
the job of standing guard alone was unbearably boring.
Staring at the unchanging woodland around them, even a female guard wouldn't be able to resist turning around for a peek.
Li Xing believed that this kind of peeping had nothing to do with lust. It was simply an immediate response to people's aversion to boredom and frustration, as well as their need to prove that they existed in social reality.
Coupled with a virile man's physical instinct to "long for" women, this led most men in stories to peek without realizing it.
Even if the man had no interest whatsoever in the woman behind him.
Leaning against the tree, Li Xing listened to the two women playing in the river, gradually drifting into a daze.
"Big Brother Li Xing, why are you carrying a stick too? Can you give me one?
It's so boring right now!!!"
Little Jerry's reminder made Li Xing aware of something unusual in his trouser pocket.
At a loss for words, he pulled out the collapsible baton he had made in his spare time.
Unfortunately, Li Xing's skill with the staff had yet to reach the point where he could consciously control a weapon like the collapsible baton at will.
So he picked up a branch nearby and trimmed it with his sword, then explained awkwardly to Little Jerry,
"This is a wooden sword I made for you. You're still too young to use a collapsible baton. When you grow up, I'll teach you how to use one, all right?"
Watching Little Jerry accept the wooden sword made from a branch with a puzzled look, Li Xing missed his phone for the first time.
"Little Jerry, I understand why your two sisters need a bath, but why did they decide to come to the river for one at this time?"
Having successfully changed the subject, Li Xing put his question to the bewildered Little Jerry.
Little Jerry looked at Li Xing, still puzzled.
"Isn't that normal? For me and Dad, the only time of year we can bathe whenever we like is during these summer days. Big Sister Lucy and Big Sister Aniekra came a little earlier than in previous years, but the river water is just right these days."
Remembering something, Little Jerry added,
"Oh, right. Dad told me this morning that you bathed under the bridge in front of our house, Big Brother Li Xing. He also said I should learn your skills, and once I've mastered them, I'll be able to jump into the river for a bath whenever I want, just like you."
Hearing Little Jerry repeat it, Li Xing couldn't shake the feeling that Old Turner had made him sound like there was something wrong with his head.
Without dwelling on it, Li Xing asked about something else he was curious about.
"Then, Little Jerry, do you and your father bathe much at other times?"
Little Jerry thought back to the times he had bathed recently and explained,
"It's usually hard to bathe.
When the weather's cool, Dad only gives me a proper wash. After I'm done, he just wipes himself down, and that's it."
"Why? Isn't there enough water?"
Little Jerry shook his head.
"No! It wastes too much firewood. Every bath uses up a lot of firewood at home. So, little by little, everyone stopped bathing much until it was nearly summer!"
Hearing this, Li Xing understood well enough.
After all, when he was little, before he transmigrated, his family hadn't been able to bathe whenever they wanted either.
Things had gotten better as he grew up. But when he remembered how his family had once had to budget carefully to buy piles of honeycomb coal briquettes, he couldn't help feeling a little emotional.
"Maybe I should just build a bathhouse!"
Once the idea appeared in his mind, Li Xing found it increasingly feasible.
"Jerry, if your big brother Li Xing built a place where you could bathe any day of the year, would you go?"
"Of course I would, Big Brother Li Xing!
If you can build it, I think you'll be the most respected person in Hunter Town!"
Little Jerry sat on the grass mat, imagining how wonderful it would be.
The thicket behind them, however, was nothing like the dull, tedious scene between the two of them.