A woman emerged from a snow hut, staring in surprise at Gu Jianli and his companions. She raised her voice and shouted, “Daya, who are these people?”
The little girl, called Daya, replied, “We met them while my brother and I were catching rabbits!”
The woman shook her head, said nothing, and bent down to crawl back into the hut.
After walking for a while, they arrived at the siblings’ home.
Despite the cold weather, the children’s father was shirtless, wielding a large knife to chop pig bones. The small courtyard had some bloodstains, indicating that they had just slaughtered a pig.
The woman squatted on the other side, immersing a slaughtered hen in boiling water to make it easier to pluck its feathers.
“Ada, Ama! My sister and I met some strange people!” Ermao no longer hid behind his sister but ran to his mother’s side, looking at the chicken in the hot water and licking his lips.
Both the man and the woman stopped their work, looking in surprise at Gu Jianli and his group.
Gu Jianli spoke first, “We got lost in the snow mountains and thought we would be buried there. We unexpectedly met Daya and Ermao. We only came to ask for a cup of hot water to warm ourselves. We will leave soon and won’t trouble you. If it’s inconvenient…”
The man interrupted Gu Jianli, astonished, “Lost? How did you get so deep into these mountains?”
The accents of the two children were not very clear, but the man’s accent was distinctly different from that of a Central Plains person. Considering the tall and burly men they had encountered outside, it seemed that the people of this village were indeed not from the Central Plains, at least not their ancestors.
Gu Jianli became embarrassed and recited a prepared story, “I am from a wealthy family in Tongxiang. My husband and I are deeply in love, but our families have an old feud and forcibly separated us. In desperation, we fled and lived incognito. For five peaceful years, we were found by our families. They considered me a disgrace and sent servants to capture us. We naturally refused, and my husband was injured…”
Gu Jianli lowered his eyes, gently wiping away tears, looking pitiful and heart-wrenching.
The couple exchanged a glance, then their eyes swept over Changfeng, who was carrying Ji Wujing on his back.
The woman spoke, “You’ve suffered a lot along the way, haven’t you? Poor thing, come in and warm up first.”
From the outside, the snow hut looked buried in snow, but inside, it was surprisingly warm. A fire basin was placed in the middle of the room with some sweet potatoes inside. A twelve or thirteen-year-old boy squatted in front of the basin, roasting the sweet potatoes.
The aroma of roasted sweet potatoes was enticing.
Ji Xinglou, quietly lying in Gu Jianli’s arms, with trembling eyelashes, opened his eyes, and stared straight at the sweet potatoes in the fire basin.
Daya noticed and asked, “Do you want to eat?”
Ji Xinglou lowered his head again, burying his face in Gu Jianli’s arms, and did not respond.
The woman followed inside and instructed her eldest son, “Damao, let the guests warm themselves by the fire. You go to the kitchen, lift the pot lid, and add two more scoops of rice.”
It wasn’t long before it was mealtime.
This family’s surname was Chen, and the man was called Chen Wang. The Chen couple added some bowls and chopsticks and invited Gu Jianli and his group to eat with them. The snow house was not big, so everyone sat around, a bit crowded.
“It’s almost the New Year. Recently, every family in the village has been slaughtering pigs and chickens. You’re in luck. If you had come a few days earlier, you wouldn’t have had this chance,” Aunt Chen said.
The Chen couple were not stingy. Even though they had guests, they did not hide their meat dishes but generously brought them out.
However, Gu Jianli knew that peasant families lived frugally and did not touch their meat, only eating some roasted sweet potatoes.
Chen Wang then asked, “What are your plans?”
“I have an aunt who cares for me deeply. I intended to visit her this time. Once it’s daylight, we will leave and seek refuge with my aunt,” Gu Jianli said.
Chen Wang nodded and said nothing.
But Aunt Chen said, “Sister, as you can see, our place is small. We can only spare one room for you to make do for the night. Please don’t mind the squeeze.”
“Brother Chen and Sister-in-law have kind hearts to help us, not turning us away. We are already very grateful and would never mind the squeeze,” Gu Jianli lowered his head, took off a bracelet from his wrist, and handed it to Aunt Chen.
“What are you doing? I can’t accept this! Besides, in our small village, we have no use for gold and silver.”
“For Brother Chen and Sister-in-law, it may be a small gesture, but to us, it is truly a lifesaving favor. I have nothing else on me; this bracelet isn’t worth much, just pretty to look at. Let Daya wear it for fun.”
Daya stretched her neck to look, her eyes widening.
Even though Aunt Chen wasn’t knowledgeable about such things, she knew this bracelet was valuable. After hesitating for a moment, she accepted it and handed it to Daya.
Ji Xinglou glanced at Daya.
After dinner, Gu Jianli asked Aunt Chen for a piece of ginger and had Yuanshun personally cook a bowl of ginger soup to feed Ji Xinglou.
Ji Xinglou drank the ginger soup and said, “I want to play with Ermao.”
“Okay, but you can only play for a short while and then come right back,” Gu Jianli said.
Ji Xinglou agreed.
Yuanshun sat down next to Gu Jianli, tiredly massaging her legs, and whispered, “Madam, did you make me cook the ginger soup myself because you’re afraid the Chen family might poison it? They seem like honest folks, unlikely to do such a thing.”
Gu Jianli turned to look at Ji Wujing lying on the bed and said, “One must always be cautious.”
Yuanshun sat for a while longer and then went to the kitchen to fetch some hay. The four masters and a child squeezed into this small room, so she and Changfeng naturally had to sleep on the floor.
Gu Jianli whispered, “Just make a show of it; there’s no need to spread it out too carefully. We’ll leave during the night, not waiting for dawn.”
Yuanshun followed the instructions, though she wondered if her mistress was being overly cautious.
The light was extinguished, and Gu Jianli lay beside Ji Wujing, holding Ji Xinglou. Although she had her eyes closed as if asleep, she was very much awake. She reached out to feel Ji Xinglou’s forehead, noticing that his fever had subsided somewhat, which eased her mind. She leaned close to Ji Xinglou’s ear and whispered, “Xinglou, don’t sleep too deeply. Once this family falls asleep, we’ll leave.”
The sounds of Damao, Daya, and Ermao playing next door gradually quieted down, and Chen Wang and his wife also went to bed.
In the deep of night, Gu Jianli and her group quietly got up and left stealthily.
Just as they left, a few men from the village climbed over the wall and entered. Aunt Chen, who had been asleep, sat up abruptly.
“What are you doing? Go back to sleep and don’t cause trouble,” Chen Wang said impatiently.
Aunt Chen hesitated for a moment before lying back down. In the silence, she could hear the footsteps clearly. She turned restlessly, covering her head with the quilt. She felt a pang of regret for Gu Jianli, but she couldn’t intervene. There weren’t many good people in this village; most had blood on their hands.
Chen Wang tried to persuade his wife again, “Normally, everyone keeps to themselves. Don’t get involved in others’ business. In situations like this, we can only turn a blind eye. It’s already kind of us that we didn’t add to their troubles. Don’t meddle any further.”
Seven or eight men climbed over the wall, only to find the place empty. Gu Jianli and her group had already slipped away. The men, cursing in various accents, gave up all pretense and openly lit lanterns to give chase.
“They’re really coming after us! Madam, you were right to be cautious!” Yuanshun said angrily. “We were just passing through, without any deep enmity, so why harbor such malice against us? What kind of ‘lifesaving favor’? Pah! It’s more like adding insult to injury!”
When Gu Jianli entered the village, she noticed a man standing by the roadside with a tattoo behind his ear. This tattoo was only given to those condemned to death.
That was why she became vigilant.
The villagers soon caught up, and someone had to hold them off. In the chaos, Gu Jianli spotted a flat cart left casually by the roadside, likely used by the villagers for transporting vegetables.
Gu Jianli hurriedly instructed Changfeng to place Ji Wujing on the cart, along with Ji Xinglou. She and Yuanshun pushed the cart, while Changfeng freed his hands to intercept the pursuing villagers. He didn’t engage in full combat, only blocked them, ensuring the others could escape the village.
However, just as they fled the village, Changsheng’s expression changed suddenly. He heard the sound of swords being drawn; the Imperial Guards were in pursuit.
Compared to these refugee villagers, the Imperial Guards were the true threat.
“Madam, head west and don’t look back!” Changfeng’s wrist flicked, drawing out the soft sword coiled at his waist, which gleamed ominously in the dark night. As his sword pointed forward, the foremost villager fell.
The others halted, becoming cautious. They were all seasoned fighters, and Changfeng’s single strike revealed his extraordinary martial skills.
Changfeng protected Gu Jianli and the others as they fled the village but did not follow. He had to stay behind to eliminate the first wave of Imperial Guards who had discovered their location.
The villagers quickly noticed the presence of the Imperial Guards. They exchanged glances and, understanding the situation, ran off in another direction.
As Gu Jianli and Yuanshun pushed the cart around a rocky outcrop, they encountered seven or eight strong villagers waiting ahead. They did not know the terrain as well as the villagers did.
Yuanshun gritted her teeth and resolutely said, “Madam, you take Fifth Lord and the young master and go. I’ll hold them off!”
“How will you hold them off?” Gu Jianli refused without hesitation.
Gu Jianli released the cart’s handle, straightened up, and faced the men blocking their path. She shouted, “We are a group of defenseless people just passing through. We have no intention of causing you any trouble. Why must you pursue us so relentlessly?”
The leading man grinned and said, “We’re here laying low from our enemies, and you brought outsiders, disturbing our peace. And you have the nerve to say you’re not causing trouble? Hmph.”
Another man looked Gu Jianli and Yuanshun up and down and said, “In this place, women are a treasure. It takes several men to share one woman. Now, with heavenly beauties like you coming here, it’s a gift from above. Don’t even think about leaving. Your role is to stay here and bear children for us.”
Yuanshun, enraged to the point of tears, rolled up her sleeves and angrily said, “I’ll fight them to the death!”
Gu Jianli pulled Yuanshun back and, facing the men without any fear, loudly said, “Fine, we’ll go back to the village with you.”
She thought, ‘Delay them. Just one more day. No, perhaps even just half a day.’
“You think you can outsmart us, waiting for reinforcements? Hmph,” a man with a Beijing accent sneered. “No rush. Let us have our fun with you right here, and then we’ll go back. Hahaha…”
The other men joined in with loud, mocking laughter.