Tomorrow they would reach Yixian Gorge.
Perhaps because they would be traveling long hours tomorrow, the entire team rested a lot today. Everyone began to rest just after noon.
The Lao Mei Family acted as if nothing had happened. Grandma Mei continued to take her eldest daughter-in-law out to dig for wild vegetables.
Mei Shitou and Mei Erhu also left the camp to “gather firewood.”
Once again, only Mei Qian and Madam Jiang remained in the camp. The mother and daughter were not idle, however.
Because of the incident between the Mei and Han families a few days earlier, people still came by to inquire. Though Madam Jiang appeared gentle, her words were airtight.
Since they had no intention of dragging others into the matter, Madam Jiang’s responses naturally differed from those of the previous two days. Mei Qian had instructed her to be ambiguous—neither giving anyone a handle nor letting others know their family still intended to deal with the Han family.
While listening to Madam Jiang handle the inquiries, Mei Qian prepared that evening’s meal.
Tonight, Mei Qian planned to make stuffed pancakes using wild vegetables, mushrooms, and the Lulu Beast Jerky obtained from the exchange. She took out half a piece of the jerky and examined it closely. Compared to the horse jerky her family had prepared themselves, the Lulu Beast Jerky was lighter in color and much softer.
Though called jerky, only the surface was air-dried; the inside remained quite tender when poked. Surprised, Mei Qian cut off a small piece of meat and gently pinched it with her fingers, discovering that it could easily be mashed into a paste.
This jerky from another world was simply unbelievable—the meat was unbelievably tender!
She even sniffed it carefully but detected no unusual odor. Rubbing it between her fingers, she was delighted to find that while it looked like lean meat, it actually contained a surprisingly high amount of oil!
At first, Mei Qian didn’t think much of this discovery. But when the pancakes were fully cooked, she noticed that the edges of some pancakes, where the dough was thinner, were actually soaked through with oil!
Before Mei Qian could react, her grandmother exclaimed at the sight of the glossy, golden-brown pancakes:
“Heavens! Where did all this oil come from?”
Mei Qian hadn’t expected the pancakes to truly sizzle with oil. As she opened the pot, the aroma of flour and the fresh scent of wild vegetables and mushrooms infused with oil instantly drew the whole family over.
And then—
Oh dear!
Faced with her grandmother’s soul-searching question, Mei Qian also wanted to know where all that oil in the meat had come from!
Their family had no oil at all while fleeing!
“Ah, it was from a piece of fat in that Xirong soldier’s bundle…”
Mei Qian’s mind raced, deciding to pin all impossibilities on the Xirong soldiers.
She put on an embarrassed expression and said, “That day, I found a piece of fat and put it in my grain bag. I meant to save it for everyone to eat along the way.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Grandma Mei and added, “I meant to mention it, but there was so much going on during the journey. It was buried under the flour, and I didn’t see it, so I forgot. I only found it today…”
“How much oil was there? Did you use it all in this one meal?”
Grandma Mei didn’t press Mei Qian about hiding the fat, but looking at the pancakes—glossy, oily pancakes!—she wondered if the silly girl had thrown all the fat in at once?!
Because her grandmother’s expression was too vivid, Mei Qian could only silently accept the criticism.
“You wasteful thing…”
“Grandma, at this point, the only way not to waste this greasy goodness is to eat it all!”
As soon as Mei Qian finished speaking, Grandma Mei, who had been about to scold her, swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Seeing this clearly, Mei Qian immediately smiled with a hint of flattery. “Isn’t it because everyone has to work hard again tonight? I thought we should have a good meal.”
After saying this, Mei Qian glanced sideways at Han Shi.
Sure enough, her aunt immediately beamed with joy and said, “Yes, Mother, after a good meal, everyone will have more strength to work!”
The family, who had been tense since hearing Mei Qian’s plan last night, was now completely captivated by this exceptionally greasy and satisfying meal.
#Wheat-Scented Mushroom and Vegetable Oil Cake—One bite brings satisfaction, a mouthful of meaty aroma, without any greasiness~#
It was at this moment that Mei Qian secretly uploaded this cake into the System, leaving it at that.
The family began their pre-activity feast for the night. Tonight, Mei Qian’s cooking skills, enhanced by the Lulu Beast meat jerky, reached another level.
Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon. Mei Qian picked up a Xirong soldier’s curved blade and once again confirmed the details of their daytime “wood-cutting” with Mei Erhu and the others.
After confirming, Mei Shitou couldn’t help but feel worried. He looked at Mei Qian and asked, “Second Sister, are you sure you want to join the action tonight? With your small frame…”
The original body was only eleven years old, with thin arms and legs and a small stature. Seeing Mei Qian like this, Mei Shitou was genuinely concerned.
“You and Father can’t leave the sight of the Han family. This task is better left to me. Although I’m small, I’m agile and quick to dodge. Who knows, I might even escape more easily than you in the end.”
Mei Qian reassured Mei Shitou. Afterward, Madam Jiang also watched Mei Qian with a worried expression.
Mei Qian smiled at her and said, “After tonight, we can finally relax.”
After speaking, Mei Qian looked up again at the crescent moon hanging on the branch, hoping it would shine even brighter later that night.
···
When Mei Qian left, she deliberately took a detour, exiting from the rear of the Chen family’s camp to avoid being noticed by the Han family members who had been lurking and keeping watch near the Chen family’s camp at unknown times.
Mei Qian wrapped the Xirong curved blade in tree bark and carefully crept through the forest.
The sounds of cicadas and frogs constantly brushed past her ears. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, Mei Qian roughly identified the direction and headed toward the Junzhu’s camp.
At this moment, she firmly remembered what Mei Erhu had observed that evening:
“About half a li from the Junzhu’s camp, there are patrolling soldiers, likely near the edge of the outer forest. If any stranger approaches their patrol area and is spotted, they will be shouted at and driven away.”
“It’s unclear how many patrol teams there are, but they appear in the same areas every incense stick’s worth of time.”
“Most of the patrolling soldiers carry long spears.”
Mei Qian gradually stopped as she looked toward the area where faint firelight was now visible in the distance. In the darkness, she could clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat.
She turned her head, carefully identifying her current location.
At this moment, she was not positioned between the Chen family’s camp and the Junzhu’s camp.
Mei Qian looked up at the dense forest overhead and tried to change her direction of movement.
Next, she peeled the bark off the Xirong curved blade and headed toward the outermost edge of the woods.
She took one step, then paused for two.
Holding her breath, Mei Qian carefully listened to the sounds in the air. A heavy, powerful, and orderly set of footsteps approached from her left.
Soon after, faint shouts and curses could be heard from the distant right, indicating that Mei Erhu’s side had also begun.
Mei Qian looked up at the crescent moon. In the darkness, the light reflected off the curved blade was dazzling.
“Who’s there?”
A sharp shout came from behind and to her left as Mei Qian exposed the curved blade to the moonlight.
Gritting her teeth, Mei Qian shook the blade twice more, finally hearing what she had been waiting for: “It’s a curved blade! A Xirong curved blade!”
The next second, Mei Qian immediately clutched the blade and dashed deep into the dense forest, with footsteps and shouts chasing closely behind her.
“Halt!”
“After her!”
Mei Qian sprinted with long strides toward Mei Erhu’s direction until the sounds of battle ahead grew clearer. She opened her mouth and shouted in a gruff voice, using a phrase in the Xirong language that Mei Erhu had learned from others.
After shouting, Mei Qian threw the curved blade in her hand aside, made a sharp right turn, and rolled into a nearby thicket.
Although she had prepared herself for scrapes and bumps from small branches and stones, the sudden, sharp pain that struck her forced Mei Qian to tightly cover her mouth to keep from crying out.
“Ah! They have backup!”
“Run!”
“Who are you people?!”
“Why run? We outnumber them! Kill them!”
A chaotic mix of voices erupted from nearby. Hearing this, Mei Qian couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
It had really worked!
Just as Mei Qian was feeling thrilled, an inexplicable sense of danger suddenly came from behind her. Without looking back, she tried to flee, but a large hand reached out and grabbed her by the back of her neck…