Jin Qianqian looked at Granny Zhu and suddenly smiled. "Please don’t worry, you two. My husband is a scholar himself. He wouldn’t force anyone to do sothing against their will.
We’re just hoping to stay for one night. We’ll leave early tomorrow morning and won’t cause you any trouble."
After speaking, Jin Qianqian held up the bundle in her hands. "We brought our own dry rations."
Zhu Da turned to look at Ancient Wen Heng. "You’re a scholar?"
Ancient Wen Heng pulled a docunt he always carried from within his robes. "This humble student is untalented, having only passed the examination to beco a child student."
Seeing the vermilion seal, Zhu Da waved his hands frantically. "I can’t read, but I recognize the seal of the governnt office. They often post notices on the city walls with a seal just like this one.
Since you’re a scholar, you can stay here with peace of mind. Just leave tomorrow morning."
’If they were just ordinary refugees, even if the old woman agreed, I wouldn’t have dared to let them stay.’
"Thank you, but we can’t just take advantage of your kindness," Jin Qianqian said, pulling a small cloth sack of white rice, about two jin, from her travel bag. "This is a small token of our appreciation, and paynt for our lodging."
Zhu Da imdiately looked at them with a serious expression. "We can’t accept this. Although we live in a remote place, we’re self-sufficient. You two still have a long journey ahead and need to settle down. You should keep these things for yourselves."
No matter how Jin Qianqian tried to persuade him, he refused to accept it.
While making small talk with the old lady, Jin Qianqian finally got a clear picture of the situation here.
The place they were in was near Dao City. This remote village was so small it had never been nad; outsiders simply called it Hunter Village.
Hunter Village, as the na implied, was ho to families who made a living by hunting. On market days, they would take their ga to the market to trade for daily necessities or Copper Coins.
Because the area was mountainous, the residents could only grow so vegetables and couldn’t cultivate other grains.
Of course, Jin Qianqian also appropriately revealed so of the hardships they had faced on their journey, especially the water shortage outside, which made the old lady look at the young couple with frequent sympathy.
"Sigh, we may be poor here, but with the mountain spring water, we can at least be self-sufficient. What are your plans now?"
Ancient Wen Heng pointed into the distance. "My parents are waiting for us on the other side of those mountains. We want to cross them. I was wondering if you, Elder, might have any good suggestions?"
He chose to be completely honest because he knew that if they wanted to get back outside the city by crossing the mountain behind them, they would need directions from the locals to avoid many unnecessary detours.
Zhu Da looked at Ancient Wen Heng in surprise. "That path is not easy to travel. Even for old hunters like us, the furthest we go is over two mountains. We don’t dare venture any further.
However, I do have so recollection of the place you ntioned. There’s a natural lake there, and you often see birds circling above it. Unfortunately, there’s also a natural chasm. I doubt it’s possible to cross it."
Ancient Wen Heng imdiately sat up straight. "Do you know how wide it is? Could we get across by laying a long log over it?"
Zhu Da frowned. "That chasm is bottomless. Most people wouldn’t have the courage to cross it."
Ancient Wen Heng glanced at Jin Qianqian. Jin Qianqian blinked gently, then quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, Mom, we’re back!" The two Zhu Family Brothers finally made it ho before nightfall. Listening to their cheerful voices, one could guess they had a good haul this ti.
"That’s my two boys," Granny Zhu said with a chuckle as she stood up to open the door. Living deep in the mountains, they were used to keeping their main gate shut tight.
"Mom, Big Brother and I got lucky today. We snared a few wild pheasants and found several nests of wild eggs." Zhu Lin cheerfully reported their haul as soon as he saw Granny Zhu.
"You’re a grown boy, yet you’re still so rowdy. We have guests today, so tone it down a bit," Granny Zhu scolded with a laugh. "This is perfect, though. We can add a couple of extra dishes. It’s been a long ti since we had visitors."
"Guests? We have guests from outside?" The word was foreign to the Zhu Family Brothers. Aside from neighbors dropping by, who would co all the way out here?
Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian had already stood up before they entered. Ancient Wen Heng gave them a slight nod. "Pardon the intrusion."
’There really are guests.’ The Zhu Family Brothers were a bit awkward. They gave stiff smiles and said, "You’re here. Please, sit."
Seeing the Zhu Family Brothers walk in so stiffly they were moving the arm and leg on the sa side, Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but purse her lips, a small dimple appearing at the corner of her mouth.
"Please excuse them. These two boys are just too simple. They’ve always been with us here in the mountains and have seen so few outsiders they don’t know how to interact," Zhu Da said. Looking at the three young n, who were all about the sa age, he thought his own two sons really ca up short.
"It’s a good thing. It shows they’re simple and reliable," Ancient Wen Heng said. It was his first ti eting people so guileless, and he tried his best to choose suitable words of praise.
***
Night had fallen, but at that mont, the city gates opened once again.
Everyone stared nervously at the gates. They saw a group of refugees in ragged clothes, covered in wounds, being thrown out like trash by the sword-wielding Governnt Officials.
"Xiaojun!" Liang Xiaojun’s father, Liang Mugen, recognized his son at first glance and scrambled over, trembling, to help him up.
Seeing Liang Xiaojun’s condition, everyone couldn’t help but gasp.
His head and face were covered in blood, and his right arm hung limp.
"Dad," he began, and as he spoke, everyone saw that several of his front teeth were missing. Blood was still trickling from his mouth.
"How did you end up like this?" Liang Mugen was so startled he almost dropped the son in his arms, his voice full of disgust.
"Those people... they’re horrible. They saw we were dressed in rags and just threw us all into a pile. If you didn’t do exactly what they said, they’d start hitting you. I just twisted my ankle while walking, and they beat into this state."
Seeing his own father, Liang Xiaojun couldn’t hold it in any longer. Snot and tears sared across his face, scaring away the people who had wanted to ask more questions.
"Xiaojun, did you see your brother Huanan?"
"Xiaojun, what about your Sister-in-law Tang? Did you run into her?"
"..."
"I don’t know! Stop asking !" Liang Xiaojun covered his mouth. "We all scattered as soon as we got inside. Who had ti to look out for anyone else?
A lot of people ran for the main road. So of them probably got far away. If they didn’t, they should have been brought back here."
"But they’re not back yet! They can’t just abandon us—the old and the young—out here, can they?" So of the elderly covered their faces and wept. Although their luggage was here, their real valuables were kept on their person.
Liang Xiaojun didn’t care about any of that right now. "Dad, my whole body is killing . I think my arm is broken. You have to find a doctor, quickly!"
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