A dark, sinister glint flashed in Gu Xiao's eyes. She had been wondering where to test her Yineng, and now someone had delivered themselves right to her doorstep.
"Wan'er, hide behind that tree over there, and don't look this way." Gu Wan looked at Gu Xiao with a worried expression.
Gu Xiao quickly added, "Be good, trust your brother."
Only then did Gu Wan suppress her fear and walk toward the tree. The only thing she could do now was trust her sister and not cause her any trouble.
The three men paid little attention to where Gu Wan hid—their minds were entirely focused on the basket strapped to Gu Xiao's back.
"Your little brother's already hiding. Hand over the food now, and we won't kill you."
Gu Xiao let out a scornful laugh. At a time like this, robbing someone of food was no different from killing them.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" She ignored their demand and asked instead.
"Of course I've killed before, so I suggest you be smart about this." Whether the man had actually killed anyone or was just trying to scare her, he bared his teeth and shouted loudly.
He thought he could intimidate Gu Xiao, but instead he saw her eyes narrow slightly, a cold gleam shining through as she said in a stern voice, "Good. Then let's break your legs."
Gu Xiao gathered her Jingshenli and issued a command to the three men. Without a moment's hesitation, they raised their machetes and swung them at their own legs.
"Ah…" In an instant, the men's miserable screams pierced the sky as they collapsed to the ground, unable to support themselves.
At sixty percent recovery, Gu Xiao had her answer. She picked up the little girl from behind the tree and walked deeper into the area, withdrawing her Jingshenli.
When the three men regained their senses, they had no idea what had just happened. All they felt was the excruciating pain in their legs as they howled, "My legs! Aah… my legs!"
Gradually, their voices grew softer and softer until they disappeared completely.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Gu Wan felt her sister's embrace and struggled to get down to walk on her own. Gu Xiao set her down.
She warily held Gu Xiao's hand, looking up at her sister and whispering, "Sister, those people just now…"
She had heard their screams. Had her sister killed them?
In the Moshi, Gu Xiao had spent every day fighting for survival—she had never even been in a relationship, let alone known how to raise a child. She could only steel herself and explain.
"Wan'er, those people were bad. They stole from others and killed people, so I killed them. If I hadn't, they would have taken our food, and then we might have starved to death."
A moment of silence fell. Gu Xiao couldn't help but wonder if she had scared the little girl.
Just then, Gu Wan spoke up: "I know you killed them to protect me, Sister. Can you teach me martial arts too? That way I can help you as well."
Gu Xiao was surprised. She hadn't expected that the little girl's silence was actually her thinking about how to protect her sister.
The heart that had been trembling with worry that the little girl might be afraid of her now melted into a pool of warm spring water.
"Alright…"
The two of them walked toward the place where Gu Xiao had sensed living creatures through her concentrated Jingshenli.
Besides controlling people's minds, Jingshen Yineng could also detect living beings, with the strength of the perception indicating the size of the creature.
Just as she had expected, they found a nest of rabbits halfway up the mountain and successfully caught them all in one sweep.
Finally, they could eat meat—and fresh meat at that!
Gu Wan watched her sister's fluid, practiced movements and seemed to see her father's figure. Her eyes gradually reddened, and her voice began to hitch with sobs.
Gu Xiao glanced at the rabbits, then at the little girl.
Was she feeling sorry for the bunnies? That shouldn't be it. Back when their father was still alive, he used to hunt rabbits for them often.
She must be missing her father. That's what Gu Xiao thought, and she asked directly: "Wan'er, are you missing your parents?"
Sensing Gu Xiao's gaze, the little girl's pent-up grievances surged forth, and tears began to fall.
"Don't cry, be good. Your sister is here now, and I won't let you go hungry ever again." Gu Xiao pulled the little girl into her arms and comforted her patiently.
Only after the little girl was comforted did she take her hand and search for a place to spend the night.
She had thought she'd be sleeping under the open sky on her first day here, but unexpectedly, they stumbled upon a cave. It wasn't very deep—the entrance was about two meters wide—and not very tall either, roughly two meters high. There was even quite a bit of weeds inside.
Gu Xiao tidied up the area, then took out a tent she had prepared in her Kongjian and set it up, claiming she had found it in the city.
After thinking it over, Gu Xiao decided to have roasted rabbit for dinner to save water. Two of the four rabbits were severely injured, while the other two had only leg wounds and could survive a while longer. Gu Xiao casually tied them up and tossed them aside.
She skinned the dying rabbits, swiftly drained their blood, and gutted them.
She deftly took out the seasoning from her Xitong, skewered the rabbits, and basted them while roasting until the surface turned golden brown and the aroma of meat wafted through the air.
Never mind the little girl—even she herself couldn't count how many times she had swallowed her saliva, itching to take a bite right away.
Since the fire was already lit, she also warmed up some flatbread and gave it to the little girl, and boiled a pot of water.
She took out her dagger, and with a swift chop, cut off a rabbit leg for the little girl and handed it to her: "Eat up. If you can't finish it, there's more."
Gu Wan took just one bite, and the joy in her eyes could no longer be hidden. She eagerly took another big bite, and her eyes lit up again.
"Sister, this is so good… You should eat too…"
She felt that life during the escape from famine was even better than at home. If she could eat her fill every day, she would rather have left home long ago.
Seeing the little girl's delighted expression, Gu Wan also ate with gusto. The two of them finished the entire rabbit in no time—though she ate the larger half.
In the end, she even let out an unladylike burp: "So satisfying. Are you full, Wan'er?"
"I'm full." Gu Wan also looked completely satiated, patting her round little belly.
Before going to sleep, Gu Xiao installed a Miwu Zhadan at the cave entrance and sprinkled some insect-repellent powder before the two of them squeezed into the tent.
The little girl was looking around the tent with fresh curiosity. Gu Xiao had her take off her shoes first—her feet were already swollen, with two blisters on the soles.
Seeing Gu Xiao take her foot to examine it, the little girl felt a bit embarrassed and pulled her foot back. "Sister, it doesn't hurt…"
"It doesn't hurt now because you're not walking, but if we don't pop them and they burst from walking tomorrow, that won't be good. Don't be afraid—I'll pop them for you. In a couple more days, once calluses form on your soles, you won't get blisters anymore."
Hearing this, Gu Wan stopped fidgeting, afraid of disturbing her sister.
Gu Xiao took out a needle and sterilized it over the candle flame, then popped the blisters on both of their feet, squeezing out the yellow fluid from each.
She then took out some ointment from the Xitong, claiming she had bought it at the pharmacy.
The little girl didn't think much of it, only assuming her sister had been foresighted.
The early autumn weather wasn't particularly cold, and fortunately, they had laid down a layer of straw and a thick cotton quilt underneath. Apart from the occasional wolf howls in the middle of the night, the two of them slept fairly soundly.