If we talk about danger, the most dangerous situation Wen Qian had encountered over the years was the fugitives she met in Xia Province before.
As she walked, she wondered how she and her neighbors would respond if this time it was a gang of fugitives.
Especially the Big Jin Family, which had members of all ages.
People with families have ties that make them think twice before acting, but fugitives would not.
From the south to the north, no one knew how many bad things these people had done along the way for the news to reach such a remote place.
Wen Qian sighed and stopped to observe the environment in the distance through a telescope.
The more dangerous the situation, the more cautious she had to be. Even when traveling, she had to pay close attention to her surroundings, lest she carelessly run into bad people face-to-face.
Of course, she didn't think that would happen. After observing carefully, she continued on her way.
Nearly two hours later, Wen Qian finally arrived at Ni Sha's place. They also lived near the river, but there was a mountain stream beside their house, which made it convenient to fetch water.
It was already afternoon by then, and the two of them happened to be home. They were surprised to see Wen Qian come over.
Wen Qian had never come to visit them before, and her sudden urgent visit seemed to indicate that something was up.
Wen Qian briefly informed them of what Big Jin had told her, warning them to be on guard.
Upon hearing that it was a gang of villains, Ni Sha's face showed great concern. She felt that even though they lived in a remote place, they still had to worry about such things.
Li Anming, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised. He thought that the gang wouldn't dare go to crowded places, so robbing isolated households was most likely.
In these times, everyone had guns. Although they were fugitives, they wouldn't just walk into people's homes and let themselves be captured.
Rather than sharing his wife's concern, he lamented that no matter where you went, as long as people could reach it, there would be conflict.
Since they were fugitives, would they really settle down and hunt or farm properly? He estimated that robbing and killing were the only ways they could live up to their name.
After Wen Qian finished speaking, she prepared to head home, but Ni Sha asked her to stay the night and leave the next day.
Ni Sha was worried that it would be too far for Wen Qian to return home before sunset, and the surroundings would be difficult to see, making it dangerous.
Wen Qian wasn't keen on staying overnight since she wasn't used to it, and she also had a lamp and night vision equipment, so she wasn't afraid of going back alone.
The main issue was that she had walked for two hours to get there, so going back would be very tiring and her feet would be sore.
If she took a wooden raft or the rubber boat she had bought, she might be able to travel faster by water. But then she realized that even with night vision equipment, traveling by water at night would be inconvenient.
In the end, she agreed to stay. Ni Sha then asked her husband to prepare dinner while she happily prepared the bedding for their guest's overnight stay.
Their house mainly had two rooms, with other sheds and small huts around. They lived in one of the main rooms, which had a stove, and their bed was not on the ground but in the loft above.
Ni Sha arranged for Wen Qian to stay in the other room, where they stored things. It had hanging meat, some jars, and some wood, which looked like it was being saved to build a house.
Ni Sha made a temporary bed for her using two racks with planks on top, then covered it with animal skins. After that, she went back to their room and took out her own bedding from a chest to put on top.
Wen Qian took over the bedding work, and as she and Ni Sha made the bed, they chatted.
It was then that Ni Sha told Wen Qian the reason why they had initially come here. Originally, there were more than just the two of them living in the place where they used to live.
There was one particularly bad household that wanted Ni Sha to marry their son. That entire family, young and old, had bad tempers and poor character. Moreover, Ni Sha already had someone she loved.
They had thought that after Ni Sha and Li Anming got married, everyone would give up on the idea. Little did they know, those people still saw the couple as weak and lacking support compared to their own larger clan.
So they demanded to "share" Ni Sha, thinking it was only natural to bully the couple since they had no family.
They planned to take advantage of the situation when the hunters were out hunting. Ni Sha sensed the danger and fled.
She and Li Anming met in the mountains, and he found a place for her to hide.
Eventually, when Li Anming returned and confronted the others, he angrily left the place where he had grown up.
The people there thought the girl had perished in the mountains and that Li Anming had stormed off in a fit of anger. But in reality, the couple felt that staying there would only lead to more trouble, so they decided to pack up and leave.
The husband and wife migrated south, eventually ending up here.
Wen Qian listened to their story with mixed feelings. When the law lost its power and morality became ineffective, everything could only be resolved through force.
But for those who were outnumbered and weak, there was no better solution than to stay away from those unpleasant people.
No matter how good a hunter's marksmanship was, there was no way to eliminate all those disliked people at once, so they had to leave.
However, the couple had not been settled here for long before news of bandits surfaced again, this time as a group.
In fact, by the time the fugitive criminals from the north reached the northern region, their numbers had already dwindled.
Some had been shot dead while robbing others, while others had tried to live peacefully but were killed by their own gang members for being seen as traitors.
Internal conflicts within the gang were also common, so the initial group of bandits was reduced to only six or seven people by the time they reached this area.
The news that reached Big Jin's village initially mentioned more than a dozen people, but without any updates, they still believed there was a large group.
However, even if there were only three people left, they would still be very dangerous! The mountain folk were skilled at hunting, farming, and fishing, but killing was rare.
That night, Li Anming cooked the meal. After Wen Qian and Ni Sha came out of the storage room, they entered the couple's room to eat.
Wen Qian asked them why they didn't have a bed on the ground but slept in the loft instead. They explained that in the past, during heavy snowfalls, the snow would seal the doors and windows, trapping people inside the house with no way out.
Therefore, they slept in the loft so they could escape upwards if needed.
Even though the snowfall wasn't as heavy in the northern forests after they moved here, they still continued this practice out of habit, just to be prepared.
The hunter stewed a pot of food, scooping some into his own plate with a long ladle, along with bread from the side of the pot to eat together.
Inside the stew were wild chicken and potatoes and radishes, with a side of washed tender greens that could be added and blanched to eat directly.
These greens had just sprouted in the spring, growing as they ate, saving the need to thin them out.
The food tasted pretty good, and this was the first time Wen Qian had eaten at someone else's home in many years. Ni Sha noticed her seeming a bit uneasy, so she often scooped food into Wen Qian's bowl with her spoon.
Night had already fallen, and after the meal, the three chatted inside the house. Li Anming was processing furs and pelts, while Ni Sha sewed clothes and conversed with Wen Qian at the same time.
Wen Qian was interested in the fur clothes they made, inquiring if they could exchange one for something.
Ni Sha agreed; they trapped and hunted in the autumn and winter, especially for weasels, so they currently had extra pelts beyond what they needed for their own family, allowing them to exchange one with Wen Qian.
As for what to exchange, they thought grain would be best, so both parties reached an agreement.
Behind the door of the house hung guns and axes, including Wen Qian's own gun.
Later when she returned to her room to rest, she would take it down and hang it in her sleeping quarters.
At any time, their guns had to remain within their line of sight.
