The horizon began to lighten with the first glow of dawn, while shouts and killing sounds from the city occasionally reached them, frightening Xu Yue’s family so much that they dared not stop for even a moment. They followed the mountain path for two full hours.
By the time the intermittent sounds of fighting behind them faded away, the sky had fully brightened.
The sun rose, and the surrounding temperature rapidly increased. Even though it wasn’t yet 8 AM, the sunlight was already dazzling enough to make people dizzy.
Xu Dalan seemed impervious to fatigue, mechanically putting one foot in front of the other. However, Xu Yue in his arms was flushed red from the heat radiating from his body, covered in sweat.
Looking at eight-year-old Xu Erniang, she struggled along on her short legs, carrying the marching backpack with one hand holding onto Wang Shi’s waistband for support, barely able to move her legs forward.
She panted heavily, drenched in sweat, her body seemingly pushed to its limits. Gritting her teeth with a strained expression, she looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Yet Wang Shi wouldn’t let her stop. Lifting Xu Erniang partially while taking the marching backpack and throwing it to Xu Da, whose expression grew increasingly grim, she turned to everyone and said:
“Hold on a little longer. The sun is too strong—we can’t stop in this exposed area. Just one more hour—” Realizing her wording was inaccurate, Wang Shi immediately corrected herself: “Another half-hour.”
She continued: “The southern side of this mountain is near villages, where residents from several nearby villages gather firewood, so the trees are sparse.”
“But the northern side remains in its primitive state since it’s too deep inside. Except for hunters, almost no one goes there. Once we reach that area, we can rest.”
After speaking, she had Xu Da take out the bamboo tube filled with salt water. Everyone took a sip to replenish their energy before continuing the journey.
Wang Shi had previously hunted game in this forest multiple times and was quite familiar with the terrain. She tried to lead her family along the easier paths.
Half an hour later, the dense jungle Wang Shi had described finally appeared before them.
The moment they stepped into the cool forest, Xu Erniang collapsed onto the grass, completely exhausted.
But Xu Dalan, who carried Xu Yue, wanted to keep moving forward. Despite sweating profusely, panting heavily, and showing clear physical exhaustion, his spirit remained unusually excited.
At first, Xu Yue didn’t notice anything unusual, but now she realized something was wrong with Xu Dalan.
If Xu Dalan continued like this, his body might collapse at any moment without him even realizing it.
Xu Yue urgently called for him to stop. Only then did the advancing Xu Dalan suddenly halt, looking down at her in his arms with a slight head tilt. His eyes held anxiety and confusion as he made “ah ah” sounds, seemingly saying:
Danger! We must escape quickly! Can’t stop!
“Brother, you need to rest,” Xu Yue said while sliding down from his embrace.
Looking down, she saw that her front clothing was completely soaked through by Xu Dalan’s sweat.
Looking up at Xu Dalan, his clothes were thoroughly drenched, breathing heavily with pale, dry, cracked lips.
The two adults were in much better condition. Xu Da seemed to have a unique breathing technique—aside from his increasingly grim expression due to their terrible situation, he showed no signs of fatigue.
Wang Shi was doing fine after all. As an SSS-level martial arts expert, although her current body wasn’t her original one and her physical abilities had diminished, this level of activity was nothing to her.
Xu Da watched as Wang Shi gathered the children together, preventing them from sitting down to rest immediately. Instead, she made them perform some strange stretching movements before distributing food and water to them.
This was yet another thing he couldn’t understand. Couldn’t he see the children were completely exhausted?
Wouldn’t it be better to let them rest more during this time?
Wang Shi noticed Xu Da’s confused and subtly contemptuous gaze. She mentally criticized him as an ignorant illiterate, but still offered an explanation.
After all, he was her upcoming partner—if he remained too ignorant, it would hold them back.
“This is called stretching. It helps the body reach a better state and prevents muscle and skeletal injuries.”
“The children have never exercised so intensely before. If we don’t adjust their physical condition properly, they won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
“If they lose even this little mobility and we encounter real danger, you and I will have to look after this one and that one, and we’ll all be doomed together!”
Xu Da, who had never considered caring for others while fleeing for his life, was stunned. The worldview of the survival of the fittest in the cultivation world was once again violently shaken.
“Vision, do you understand?” Wang Shi scoffed at Xu Da, too lazy to look at his shocked expression. She turned to the children and instructed:
“Rest quickly. I’m going to the cliff ahead to check the situation down the mountain.”
“Mhm, be careful, Mother.” Xu Yue nodded obediently, sympathetically glancing at Xu Da who had been looked down upon by Wang Shi again. She silently handed the rice bran rice ball she had divided into three portions to her brother and sister.
The portion given to Xu Dalan was noticeably larger than the one given to Xu Erniang.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Xu Erniang asked curiously.
Xu Yue shook her head. “I didn’t walk at all, so I’m not tired. Brother and Sister worked harder than me, so they should eat more.”
Looking into her younger sister’s large eyes filled with concern, Xu Erniang suddenly felt that her physical fatigue had mostly faded.
“My kind sister, the Goddess of Light will bless you.”
Xu Erniang made a praying gesture over her chest before cheerfully accepting the food her sister offered.
As for Xu Dalan, he ate whatever his younger sister gave him without question, completely unfussy about food, and unaware that he was eating his sister’s portion.
A fist-sized rice bran ball plus the extra small piece from Xu Yue couldn’t fill his enormous stomach. After finishing, he stared longingly at Xu Yue.
This last portion was what Xu Yue had kept for herself. Although she wasn’t tired, her body’s hunger didn’t care about that—her stomach was growling at her, so she absolutely wouldn’t give this portion away.
Even though Xu Dalan’s eyes were so full of desire, she unhesitatingly tossed it into her mouth and swallowed it whole with some water.
Seeing that the food was gone, Xu Dalan’s expression visibly drooped, but he didn’t make any move to harm Xu Yue over the food.
He gently patted her small head with his palm, as if comforting her: It’s okay, it’s okay.
Xu Da still followed Wang Shi to the edge of the cliff. Standing there looking out, they could see the entire situation in Changyi County.
Black smoke billowed densely upward, while the vagrant army holding high the red-letter banner moved through the dark smoke, more terrifying than soul-reaping ghosts.
They robbed everyone they encountered, killing those who resisted!
The captured men and women, with disheveled hair and exposed flesh, had long ropes tied around their necks. They stumbled with every step, some trampled under horse hooves, others crushed beneath feet, their brains and innards splattered across the ground. The sound of weeping filled the wilderness.
Despite the great distance between the county town and North Mountain, the thick scent of blood drifted all the way to Wang Shi and Xu Da.