So, the Eighth Old Zhou took back the big knife from He Zhiran and cut several pieces of fresh bear meat, then learned from her and tied them up with vine sticks, preparing to take them up the mountain together.
Seeing that there was still so much meat left, the Eighth Old Zhou was really reluctant. He made a slightly embarrassed suggestion:
"I went down the mountain before dawn to look for you all, and I haven't eaten anything until now. Why don't we roast some of the bear meat here and eat our fill before leaving the valley?"
His words were not at all false. After reaching an agreement with Peng Wang in the middle of the night to look for Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran, the Eighth Old Zhou did not wait a moment. Holding a torch, he went alone, first following the direction they had disappeared in to look for them.
Soon afterwards, he discovered countless corpses of people dressed in black. By the time he searched to the cliff, he carefully noticed that there were many footprints of people who had walked there.
The cliff was almost the end of this mountain. He guessed that it was possible the two had fallen down from here.
Therefore, he had rushed down the mountain overnight and entered this valley.
Without the Eighth Old Zhou having to say much, He Zhiran also knew that being able to find this valley must have taken quite some time. Having walked for so long, it would be strange if he wasn't hungry.
"Okay, let's roast the bear meat here and eat our fill before heading out together."
In order to take care of the two injured grown men, He Zhiran took the initiative to set up a rack.
As always, she skewered the bear meat on branches and grilled it over the fire.
Mo Jiuye now fully understood He Zhiran's space. He knew that when she was roasting meat, she might take out some seasonings from her space.
In order not to let the Eighth Old Zhou notice anything amiss, he deliberately pulled him aside to ask about his family's situation.
He Zhiran seized this opportunity to take out a few seasonings that weren't too strong in flavor from her space and sprinkle them on the bear meat.
Soon, the grilled bear meat was ready. The three of them sat around the campfire and ate their fill before setting off together.
The Eighth Old Zhou led the way in front, while He Zhiran supported Mo Jiuye behind.
Due to their slow pace of walking, it took until the afternoon for the three to make it out of the valley.
The scene before them was not unfamiliar at all - it was precisely where they had climbed Mount Oxtail.
The Eighth Old Zhou looked at the skies and pointed in one direction, saying: "If you keep going this way, you should reach Pingyang County after about two hours."
He Zhiran knew that this was where they would part ways. In order to put the Eighth Old Zhou's mind at ease, she promised again:
"Old Zhou, rest assured. I guarantee we won't fall too far behind. I'll have to trouble you to help explain things to Elder Brother Peng, as well as our families - please let them know that my husband and I are perfectly safe and will see them in a few days."
The Eighth Old Zhou nodded. "Don't worry, I will definitely pass on your message. Take care on the road."
And so the three parted ways. They walked until the Eighth Old Zhou's figure disappeared from sight before He Zhiran brought Mo Jiuye to a secluded place to flash into her space.
If the Eighth Old Zhou had not been present just now, there was no way He Zhiran would have allowed Mo Jiuye to walk such a long distance.
She estimated that by now, it was likely his wounds had reopened.
The first thing she had to do was help Mo Jiuye examine his injuries again.
He Zhiran placed the few large bear paws and single bear gallbladder she was carrying somewhere random - anyway, there was preservation functionality within the space, so she wasn't worried the bear meat would go bad.
By now, Mo Jiuye could indeed feel some discomfort from his wounds, and obediently allowed He Zhiran to examine him.
After the examination, He Zhiran heaved a deep sigh.
Mo Jiuye's condition was better than she had imagined. Other than the most serious wound on his lower abdomen, there were basically no issues with the stab wounds on the rest of his body.
Fortunately, the stitches had no signs of tearing open. It was likely due to him moving around too much, which caused friction on the wound.
He Zhiran helped Mo Jiuye redress and bandage the wound properly, and earnestly said:
"You stay in the space for now. I can travel faster by myself, so I'll do my best to enter Pingyang County before night falls."
Mo Jiuye understood clearly that in his current state, wanting to accompany her would only slow her down, so he did not refuse.
"Alright, take care on the road."
"Mm." He Zhiran acknowledged before flashing out of the space.
The journey went smoothly. She managed to reach Pingyang County before sunset.
Unlike entering those other county towns previously, there was a fee just to enter the city here...
By the city gates stood a small square table, on top of which sat a very conspicuous wooden chest.
All the commoners entering the city would throw some copper coins into that chest.
In He Zhiran's understanding, such occurrences were mostly due to greedy officials finding baseless excuses to exploit the common people.
In order to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble, He Zhiran also learned from those commoners by throwing five copper coins into the chest.
She then observed that the commoners who had paid to enter the city all wore expressions as though they had grievances to air but could not speak of them.
Evidently, they were dissatisfied at having to pay just to enter the city.
Just as she was thinking of finding someone to inquire in detail about what was happening, suddenly a loud commotion rang out.
"Make way, make way! My horse got spooked. Anyone who doesn't want to die, get out of the way!"
He Zhiran moved to stand by the roadside. Squinting towards the source of the voice, she saw a foppishly-dressed young master recklessly charging down the streets on a tall horse.
After crashing into several roadside stalls and finally calming down, the horse came to a stop right next to He Zhiran.
The young master dismounted with a stream of curses, landing right beside He Zhiran.
"Scram! Do you want to die, daring to block this young master's path?"
As he spoke, the young master lifted his leg, preparing to kick He Zhiran away.
But the moment he raised his leg, his eyes landed on He Zhiran's appearance.
Even concealed under the tattered coarse linen clothes, her beauty still could not be obscured.
The young master was instantly stunned. His raised leg lowered back down unknowingly.
"Which family's young miss are you? Why not come with this young master to have some fun?"
Seeing this kind of person made He Zhiran feel a wave of disgust.
"Get lost. Take a good look at your own lacking virtues."
Having said thus, He Zhiran turned to leave.
If it wasn't to avoid trouble, when facing such a person, she would surely have beaten him up.
That foppish young master was a rogue through-and-through. How could he allow her to just leave like this?
He Zhiran had just taken a step away when the young master blocked her path.
"Oh? This young miss has quite the fiery temper; I like it!"
As he spoke, the young master reached out to put his arm around her shoulder.
He Zhiran was incensed by this shameless person. She grabbed his arm in a flash and executed a perfect over-the-shoulder throw.
"Ahhhhh!"
Accompanied by the young master's miserable shriek, his entire body slammed heavily onto the hard ground. The pain caused his face to contort extremely.
Gritting his teeth to endure the pain, he pointed at He Zhiran and cursed loudly, "You cheap whore! Do you know who this young master is? If I say the word, I can make you disappear from this world! And your whole family too - not a single one will remain!"
