Su Qingyu felt as if all the blood in his body was boiling.
But after the surge of heat, he calmed down.
“Little sister, you can say these things to your second brother, but don’t mention them to anyone else from now on.
Let’s go find eldest brother and third brother first.”
Su Yanxi wasn’t discouraged by Su Qingyu’s words.
After all, some things took a lifetime to understand.
So she didn’t expect to convince Su Qingyu with just a few sentences.
She agreed and continued following Su Qingyu to find Su Qinghe and Su Qinghuai.
But at this moment, Su Qingyu was clearly distracted.
Seizing the opportunity while Su Qingyu wasn’t paying attention, Su Yanxi quickly retrieved a bag of food from her Space and placed it in a withered, yellowed bush by the roadside.
“Hey, second brother, there’s a bag here,” Su Yanxi exclaimed, pretending to reach for it.
Su Qingyu immediately pulled her back cautiously. “Xi Xi, stay still. Let second brother handle it.”
“Xi Xi!”
The next moment, Su Qingyu’s voice, filled with surprise and excitement, reached her ears. “It’s food! And it’s all cooked—white rice, braised pork knuckle, roast chicken, and even a bag of pears.
Xi Xi, we have food now!”
Su Yanxi played along, cheering happily, “That’s wonderful! Let’s hurry and find eldest brother and third brother, then head back.”
Just as they finished speaking, Su Qinghe and Su Qinghuai returned.
Though not disheartened, their expressions were inevitably grave.
The journey of exile had only just begun, yet they were already short on food and water, let alone medicine.
Thinking of their father’s festering, pus-filled wound,
Su Qinghe and Su Qinghuai wished they could take his place.
“Second brother, little sister, we didn’t find any food…” Su Qinghe said apologetically, looking at Su Qingyu and Su Yanxi.
Su Qingyu directly lifted the bag and Waterskin, waving them in front of Su Qinghe and Su Qinghuai. “Eldest brother, we found some!”
“Little sister dug up water and discovered this bag full of food.
She’s truly the lucky star of our family!” Su Qingyu grinned, speaking with immense joy.
“Whoosh—”
At that moment, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
Su Yanxi instinctively dodged aside.
But then, countless arrows rained down from all directions.
“Little sister, eldest brother, third brother—get behind me!”
Su Qingyu shouted loudly, already stepping forward to confront the threat.
Without a weapon, he grabbed a nearby tree branch, wielding it with fierce momentum, creating an impenetrable defense.
Arrow after arrow aimed at the Su Family was knocked to the ground.
But no matter how skilled Su Qingyu was, he was only one person with two hands, and inevitably, some arrows slipped through.
Su Qinghe, Su Qinghuai, and Su Yanxi also picked up branches, knocking down the arrows that Su Qingyu missed.
At first, the four siblings coordinated flawlessly, leaving no gaps.
But the three Su brothers had been starving for days, and their stamina quickly waned.
Yet the arrows from their attackers continued to pour in relentlessly.
Gritting his teeth, Su Qingyu said, “Eldest brother, defending like this won’t work.
You and third brother protect little sister. I’ll go take them out!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Qingyu prepared to charge forward.
With their lives at stake, Su Yanxi could no longer hold back.
With a thought, a bow appeared in her hand.
She immediately tossed it to Su Qingyu. “Second brother, catch!”
Su Qingyu instinctively caught it, and upon seeing the bow, he froze for a moment.
But in an instant, he grabbed a handful of arrows from the ground, nocked one, and let it fly.
With the arrow’s flight, a figure tumbled down from a tree about thirty zhang away.
Then a second, a third…
The arrows shot at them gradually decreased.
But by this time, Su Qinghe and Su Qinghuai’s stamina was nearly depleted.
Su Qinghe had always focused more on literary studies, and his physical strength was lacking. Two stray arrows shot straight toward Su Yanxi’s back…
“Little sister!”
Su Qinghe reacted instantly, but it was too late to intercept the arrows.
He shouted a warning to Su Yanxi and threw himself forward, using his own body to block the arrow.
“Thud!”
The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh echoed in their ears.
“Big brother!”
Both Su Qingyu and Su Qinghuai’s eyes turned red with rage.
Su Yanxi turned to see Su Qinghe pierced by the arrow, her mind buzzing and her heart feeling as if gripped by a giant hand.
Although she had come to know during this time that the Su Family was good to her and protective of her, she didn’t have deep feelings for them after all.
Even when she had given the bow to Su Qingyu earlier, it was only because they were all in the same boat—she wanted to survive.
She had never considered risking her life to protect the Su Family, nor had she expected them to risk their lives for her!
“You scum! Die!” Su Qingyu roared furiously.
He directly took three arrows and nocked them on the bow.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
Three arrows shot out.
Then, three figures fell from the trees.
Immediately after, another three…
The black-clad figures hidden in the forest cast a gloomy glance at the Su Family and said in a low voice, “Retreat!”
Soon, the opposite forest fell silent.
Su Qingyu, Su Qinghuai, and Su Yanxi rushed toward Su Qinghe at the same time, “Big brother…”
Su Qinghe was already slender, and after starving for several days, he had grown even thinner.
The arrow had pierced straight through his frail body.
At this moment, his face was pale, his lips were dark, and the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth was black.
Clearly, the arrow was poisoned.
Su Qinghe’s consciousness was already blurry.
But he struggled to open his eyes and looked at Su Yanxi, “Little sister, as long as you’re alright…”
After saying this, he turned to Su Qingyu, “Second brother, if I’m gone… take care of Father, Mother, and little sister…”
Su Qingyu and Su Qinghuai, both grown men, had red-rimmed eyes, tears nearly spilling uncontrollably.
“Big brother—”
Su Yanxi’s eyes also grew moist involuntarily. She closed them for a moment.
Soon, she composed herself, “Big brother, don’t speak anymore.
I’ll treat your injury. Don’t worry, you won’t die. We all still need you.”
“Third brother, assist me.” Su Yanxi took out her tools, preparing to treat Su Qinghe’s wound, while instructing, “Second brother, go investigate who those people were.”