Gu Xiao turned at the sound of her name, and the little girl was running toward her.
She quickly gathered the five taels of silver, a few flatbreads, three water skins, a fire starter, and both of their household registrations that she had found on the two men, then moved to the girl's side.
"Big Sister, are you okay? Please don't leave Wan'er, Big Sister. Wan'er only has you now. Please don't leave Wan'er!" Gu Wan's eyes were red and swollen, tears pooling in them as she threw herself into Gu Xiao's arms. Her soft, sticky voice was filled with both fear and worry, tugging painfully at Gu Xiao's heart.
"It's okay. Those two bad people have been knocked… I mean, knocked out by Big Sister. They won't bully us anymore."
"Then Big Sister, are you hurt?" Hearing that her sister had knocked the two men out, Gu Wan's voice trembled as she hurriedly checked Gu Xiao's body for any injuries.
The unguarded concern warmed Gu Xiao's heart. "I'm fine. Father taught me martial arts before, so they couldn't hurt me…"
She said this to give a plausible explanation for her fighting skills. The original owner's father had been a hunter, which made for a perfect cover story.
"It's all Wan'er's fault. If it weren't for Wan'er, Big Sister wouldn't have been beaten." Gu Wan was referring to their earlier escape attempt. She was too young to run fast, which was why the two of them had been caught and brought back.
When they were being beaten, the original owner had shielded her tightly beneath her body.
Worried that the little girl would keep drowning in self-blame, Gu Xiao handed her one of the flatbreads she'd scavenged. "It's not Wan'er's fault. Look, these are all the food Big Sister found. You must be hungry—eat up. Big Sister will take you away from here!"
She needed to sell the act. This place wasn't safe to linger in, so Gu Xiao led the girl over to the ox cart.
The moment Gu Wan saw the flatbread, her attention was instantly diverted. Her eyes were filled with intense longing, but she didn't eat first. Instead, she dutifully tore the flatbread in half and handed one piece back to Gu Xiao. "Big Sister, I'm still little, so I can't eat that much. You eat too."
Seeing how sensible she was, Gu Xiao's heart ached again. At such a young age, how much did a child have to go through to become this mature?
"There's more where that came from. You eat first—I already had some earlier." Gu Xiao patted her head affectionately.
Only after hearing this did Gu Wan begin to eat in big bites. Gu Xiao used the machete to cut away half of the reinforced wooden boards on the ox cart, then stripped off the clothes from the two human traffickers and tied them over the remaining boards to create a bit of shade. As for the boards she'd cut off, she piled them onto the cart to use for firewood later.
As the sun set in the west, the two rode the cart bathed in the afterglow. The distant mountain peaks were gilded in gold, with no trace of green to be seen.
Gu Xiao also ate half a flatbread and felt some of her strength return. She handed the mineral water bottle, which she'd wrapped in rags beforehand, to Gu Wan.
The two shared the entire bottle of water, finally moistening their parched mouths.
"Big Sister, are we still going to find Grandma and the others?" Gu Wan sat on the ox cart, her eyes shifting thoughtfully. Young as she was, she knew that Grandma and Second Uncle's family had never liked her or Big Sister.
She didn't want to go back. If they returned, Big Sister would have to work from dawn till dusk again and get beaten. But she also couldn't think of where else the two of them could go.
"We're not going back. From now on, Big Sister will take care of you. I promise you won't go hungry again!" Gu Xiao answered without a moment's hesitation.
Going back to that pack of animals that was the original owner's family? That would just be asking for trouble. Even killing them felt like a waste of her time.
Since she'd decided to take good care of the little girl, her first priority now was to solve the problem of food, clothing, shelter, and daily necessities for the two of them.
There wasn't much food in the Kongjian—just instant foods—but it could sustain them for about two months. The other issue was money. They only had five taels of silver on them in total, and she had no idea what the purchasing power was like.
Gu Xiao was lost in thought when the little girl's sudden voice interrupted her: "But Big Sister, where are we going?"
Where to go?!
Right—where to go?!
The farthest place the original owner had ever been was Qingpingzhen, west of Gujia Cun. Beyond that, she only knew the name of one place—Jingdu—but had no idea where it actually was.
Gu Wan watched her sister's brows furrow in worry, then saw her take a deep breath and say, "Let's head to Qingpingzhen first."
Communication in ancient times was underdeveloped. Based on the original owner's memories, the villagers had only learned about the war after seeing refugees in town.
Qingpingzhen was still safe for now. They could go there first to gather information and see if they could get their hands on a map of this era.
Hearing this, Gu Wan's face broke into a smile, her eyes curving into crescents as she nodded. "Mm, I'll listen to Big Sister…"
She could sense that her sister seemed different somehow. Ever since Grandma sold them, Big Sister had run away with her once—something the old Big Sister would never have done.
If she'd asked this question before, Big Sister would have said that the two of them were just children, that it would be too dangerous to go off on their own, and then taken her back to find Grandma and Second Uncle.
The current Big Sister must have been utterly heartbroken by Grandma and Second Uncle's family. But no matter what, as long as she could stay with Big Sister, that was enough—whether they lived or died together.
Gu Xiao naturally had no idea that her six-year-old little sister was already prepared to face death alongside her. She looked at the little girl's smiling, sparkling eyes—so adorable it was almost unbearable—and couldn't help but pinch Gu Wan's chubby little cheeks.
…
Because of the war, there were few peddlers in town. Many shops had already shut their doors tight, the owners having fled.
Gu Xiao took the five taels of silver they'd scavenged and bought six steamed buns. She also took the opportunity to ask the shopkeeper for information.
Upon learning that the Manyiren had already breached Guyu Pass, with Qingpingzhen as their next stop, heading north would lead straight to Jingdu.
Since her parents' death, Gu Wan hadn't tasted white flour, let alone meat. Just the smell of the steamed buns made her mouth water.
Gu Xiao, on the other hand, had been eating instant food for so long that upon seeing hot, freshly cooked meals, she devoured them without a care for her image.
So satisfying!
Afterward, the two went to a clothing shop and spent two taels of silver to buy two sets of clothes and shoes for each of them, along with a secondhand quilt.
The clothes they bought were men's attire. Though Gu Wan was puzzled, she said nothing. Having new clothes to wear was already something she'd never dared to dream of before.
Whether they were men's or women's clothes didn't matter much anymore. She held the garments carefully, afraid of soiling them.
Everything felt too surreal, like a dream.
Gu Xiao had originally planned to find a stable to trade their ox cart for a donkey cart, pocketing the price difference along the way.
But the pawnshops and stables in town closed early. Since the original owner wasn't familiar with the town, she could only wander aimlessly street by street. Suddenly, she spotted a grain shop's back door open around a corner.
Three ox carts and two donkey carts were parked at the entrance, and the people inside the grain shop were frantically packing up grain.
Without a second thought, Gu Xiao hurried over and asked, "Uncle, are you selling grain now?"
"No, not selling." The man glanced at the two of them, dressed like beggars, and immediately scoffed in refusal.
In truth, she didn't have much money to buy grain anyway, but something felt off. Such a conspicuous operation of transporting grain was unusual, which was why she'd asked.
Could something have gone wrong?
No, she needed to gather some information.
Seeing the donkey carts gave her an idea. She bowed respectfully and appealed with both reason and emotion.
"Uncle, please take pity on us two sisters and sell us just a little. I'll trade our ox cart for your donkey cart—that way, you can haul more grain."
Hearing the offer to trade an ox cart for a donkey cart, the man's attitude softened a bit. After all, it was a good deal, and the shopkeeper had been worrying about not having an ox cart to sell.
He hurried back inside to fetch the shopkeeper. Soon, a potbellied man emerged. Gu Xiao pressed her advantage and played on the shopkeeper's sympathy.
The shopkeeper had been fretting over where to buy an ox cart. Seeing the two, he was inwardly delighted, though his face remained impassive: "Wouldn't trading a donkey cart for an ox cart be taking advantage of you? How about this—sell me your ox cart, and I'll give you some grain in return?"
Gu Xiao hadn't expected the shopkeeper to offer grain. Given the current situation, grain could be said to be priceless—selling it casually would rake in a fortune. Why would he willingly trade precious grain for an ox cart?
Even if he couldn't buy an ox cart, he could just make two more trips to transport the grain. There was no need to rush—unless her guess was right.