Chang Le went ahead and scouted the path before returning, his breathing still slightly unsteady. He said urgently, "There are officials guarding the path fifteen li away."
"We'll go over the mountain," Old Gu Six surveyed the surroundings. The mountain wasn't tall, the trees weren't too dense, and there weren't many thorns and weeds as far as the eye could see, though there were quite a few stones on the mountain.
But it was better than traversing through thickets of thorns.
"Bind your sleeves and pant legs with cloth strips to avoid getting tangled in branches and weeds."
Chang'an took out an old bedsheet from a wooden box. "Dad, cut it into cloth strips."
"Okay," Old Gu Six took the bedsheet and, together with Chang Le, used a short sword to cut it into strips four fingers wide.
Mu also came to help, and Yang Poxiao brothers assisted in distributing the cloth strips.
Of course, there were only eleven of them, and Older Tong's family was preparing on their own.
After everyone had bound their sleeves and pant legs, half an hour had passed. Old Gu Six led the mule in front, clearing the path, with Chang Le carrying the backpack and Chang'an walking behind him.
The order behind them remained unchanged: Mu followed by Yang Poxiao brothers, and finally Older Tong's family.
Chang'an was not familiar with these people, and she rarely talked to anyone, even during breaks.
Even with Chang Le, she rarely communicated. Chang'an felt that she was someone who was not good at interacting with others. She couldn't find topics to chat with people, and she could end any conversation with just one sentence.
Chang'an felt that finding topics was too much effort, so it was better not to talk.
There were too many stones on the mountain, causing her soles to ache. Chang'an gritted her teeth and persevered. Everyone was walking like this, and even younger children were able to walk on their own. Why should she act spoiled?
The officials stationed fifteen li away looked dejected. They had been squatting for seven or eight days already, catching nothing but mosquitoes.
"Boss, did the higher-ups make a mistake? Maybe those commoners didn't even plan to escape?" A slim, tall young man wearing a regular constable uniform with a large sword hanging from his waist couldn't help but voice his doubts.
The middle-aged official called "Boss" slapped the back of the young man's head with a fan. "What are you saying? Whether they're escaping or not has nothing to do with us."
Then he whispered, "The higher-ups didn't stipulate that we must catch people. Being stationed here means we don't have to do those despicable deeds. Do you want to go to the villages and catch people instead?"
The young man quickly shook his head, almost shaking it off. "No, no, I don't want to do those despicable deeds. I'm afraid of retribution."
"Ji You, go ahead and scout. If you see anyone, give us a warning."
Ji You nodded vaguely and intentionally raised his voice, "Boss, I'll go ahead and scout. Maybe we can catch a few strays."
He said this for certain despicable people to hear, lest they make unfounded accusations against him.
Brothers working together had already become unrecognizable for the sake of money.
The boss, of course, understood his intention and also raised his voice in response, "Go ahead," even patting Ji You's shoulder.
Chang'an and her group trudged over two mountains before stopping to rest.
Except for the formidable Old Gu Six and Chang Le, everyone was exhausted like a dog, sitting down without wanting to move even a finger.
But they had to move, as everyone struggled to get up and prepare food due to their growling stomachs.
Chang'an didn't have this worry. As soon as they stopped, Chang Le went to gather firewood while Old Gu Six set up the pot and washed the rice.
Apparently, they had run out of meat and vegetables, so they could only have plain porridge. Chang'an had secretly brought a small bag of meat floss, just enough for three people.
Well, Chang Le didn't know what was in the wooden box, so she might as well try to bluff her way through.
Mu was the most pitiful. His rations had run out two days ago. Considering his unwavering determination to follow Old Gu Six, Chang'an lent him thirty stale mantou that could kill a dog and ten jin of aged rice, which he would have to return once they settled down.
Of course, it was Mu himself who said he would return them. Chang'an didn't refuse.
A peck of rice can lead to gratitude, a peck of rice can lead to resentment - the people in Xiao Ya Dad's group were the best examples.
The fact that she had rations was her own business. She was not a savior who must help others unconditionally.
The space she had didn't come to her by chance; she had asked for it from that person. That person didn't require her to save the world either. From the beginning to the end, the only one she wanted to save was Old Gu Six.
The notion of those with great abilities saving the world was nonsense. If you want to be a saint, then go ahead.
Chang Le put down the firewood, glanced at the gloomy Chang'an, and left again.
He wanted to hunt a wild chicken or rabbit for Chang'an to eat, but he was unlucky. Or perhaps the mountain range was barren, as he walked a long distance without spotting any prey, not even a small sparrow.
When Chang'an saw him return, his entire being exuded a sense of defeat. She asked, not understanding, "What's wrong?"
He sat down beside Chang'an, slightly dejected. "I wanted to hunt a wild chicken for you to eat, but I couldn't even catch a sparrow. Am I just really unlucky?"
"It's just that you didn't catch a wild chicken. Why does it have to do with luck? Coming back empty-handed is normal. Even my dad can't catch prey every time he goes hunting."
They weren't destined heirs who would have prey voluntarily come to their doorstep.
"No, Uncle Gu never came back empty-handed whenever he went hunting."
He argued seriously, then pondered and continued, "That's right, so it must mean my luck is just too bad. Whenever I go hunting alone, I come back empty-handed nine out of ten times."
Chang'an didn't know how to console him. This unlucky child's luck was indeed a bit mystifying. If Old Gu Six wasn't with him, he probably couldn't catch any prey.
A silence fell as she couldn't find the right words to comfort him. She was afraid that if she tried to console him, Chang Le would burst into tears.
Old Gu Six chuckled. After accompanying them for so long, he had somewhat understood this child.
A person going into the mountains alone couldn't catch any prey, couldn't find any wild vegetables, would always drop their bowl at every meal, and would inevitably choke while drinking water.
So he suddenly understood why this child, despite being skilled in martial arts, could still be disfigured by others. It was quite possibly due to the misfortune he brought upon himself.
Seeing Old Gu Six laughing heartily, Chang Le became emo.
Today's rice porridge had meat floss added, so it didn't taste too bland. Perhaps they were truly exhausted, as Chang'an even drank an extra bowl of porridge.
Although it was already the end of the chen hour, no one thought of resting on the spot. After eating and resting for two quarters of an hour, they set off again.
They hoped to find a relatively spacious place to spend the night as soon as possible and to quickly pass through this mountain range.
The mountains stretched endlessly one after another, or so it seemed from the vantage point atop them. Of course, there must be villages below, but how much farther did they have to go?
Ji You, who had gone ahead to scout the path, stopped where Chang'an and the others had discarded their belongings and looked around. He noticed signs that someone had climbed up the mountain.
He silently erased the trail, and disposed of the items left behind, knowing there was a mountain gully ahead where he could discard everything.
As he finished cleaning up, he encountered six refugees – five adults and one child.
