On the other side, Li Shu anxiously rummaged through the luggage that had already been packed, checking it back and forth to make sure nothing had been left behind.
Li Qiao listened as her second brother kept searching over and over again.
Until she felt she had no trace of sleepiness left, she helplessly propped her chin with both hands and muttered:
“Second Brother, you do not need to worry. With Eldest Sister’s pace, she will probably only return in the morning. The two of us should rest first, otherwise it will be bad if we cannot keep up with Eldest Sister when we go up the mountain.”
In Li Qiao’s heart, her eldest sister Li Mai was someone capable of anything, someone who always did what she said. She would definitely return in the morning.
She truly could not understand why her second brother was so worried about their eldest sister.
Hearing this, Li Shu paused in his movements with the luggage. A trace of warmth flashed through his eyes, then quickly disappeared as he continued arranging the items in his hands.
Just as Li Qiao thought her second brother would once again respond with silence, he suddenly spoke.
“She… is different.”
“What do you mean, different?”
Li Qiao scrunched up her face, her entire expression filled with confusion.
Li Shu was unwilling to continue this topic, but he also stopped making any noise.
Before long, accompanied by the chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs in the night, Li Qiao gradually fell asleep.
Hearing his younger sister’s familiar breathing, Li Shu lifted his head to look at the bright moon, or perhaps in the direction of the county where the moon hung.
He did not know how long he looked, only that when his younger sister stirred again beside him, his eyes had become dry, and even blinking felt extremely difficult.
Watching the horizon gradually shift from inky darkness to a lighter shade, his already uneasy heart slowly sank to the bottom.
Just like that, Li Shu watched as a halo of light formed at the edge of the sky, and his once trembling heart gradually stiffened into stone.
He suddenly stood up. The abrupt movement caused the bow and arrows on his leg to fall to the ground with a sound.
“Clang!”
The sudden noise startled Li Qiao awake. She looked around in panic toward the source of the sound and saw only the back of her second brother, Li Shu.
For some reason, paired with the slightly desolate morning wind, she felt that his back carried endless coldness.
“You’re awake. Let’s go,” Li Shu said, glancing toward the end of the road.
Just as Li Qiao was puzzled, a cold, piercing voice sounded, startling her mind into alertness. She instinctively prepared to shoulder her basket and set off.
Her hand had just touched the strap when she suddenly realized something was wrong and said in confusion:
“Second Brother, Eldest Sister hasn’t come back yet.”
“She won’t come back.”
Li Shu’s voice was very soft, as if it could be blown away by the wind at any moment.
Because of that, Li Qiao did not hear clearly. She stretched her neck, trying to move closer to hear.
But Li Shu did not give her the chance. As soon as he finished speaking, he crouched down, placed the shoulder pole across his shoulders, and prepared to set off with the luggage.
Yet the moment he lifted it, the sound of a bell suddenly drifted through the wind from afar.
“Jingle, jingle…”
“Brother, did you hear that?” Li Qiao shouted in surprise.
She ran out of the courtyard, stood at the highest point, and looked in the direction the sound came from, trying to distinguish it more clearly.
“It’s a bell!”
“There is no one else left in the village except the two of us. How could there be a bell?”
Li Shu’s tone remained flat, as if nothing in the outside world could stir his interest.
He clearly knew that, at this moment, the most important thing for the two of them was to escape.
According to what Li Mai had said, the Yue people would arrive at the county today. The distance from their village was only about two hours on foot.
If the two of them were caught by the Yue people, there would only be death awaiting them, or something even worse.
“Stop looking. She won’t come back. We need to go quickly, or we’ll be caught by the Yue people.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qiao’s excited voice rang out.
“Second Brother! Second Brother! Eldest Sister is back!”
She shouted while raising both hands high, waving wildly toward Li Mai, who was approaching, her face full of joyful smiles.
“Bang!”
In the next second, Li Shu flung the shoulder pole and luggage off his shoulders and rushed toward the gate.
His eyes were wide open, the cold morning wind streaming past them as he ran, until he reached Li Mai.
At this moment, Li Shu’s eyes held only Li Mai, who had returned.
His reddened eyes stood out starkly against his pale face. His lips trembled as he tried to suppress the overwhelming emotions surging in his chest. He asked, his voice shaking:
“Eldest Sister, you came back?”
Li Mai’s face was filled with displeasure. If not for the promise flashing in her mind, she would not have even bothered to pull the reins and would have simply crashed straight into him.
Thus, she did not answer Li Shu’s question. Instead, she looked toward the luggage in the courtyard.
Then she glanced at the surrounding mountain peaks, took a deep breath, and a faint stir appeared on her stiff face as she said:
“Up the mountain. Move.”
As soon as these words were spoken, Li Shu immediately stepped aside.
Only then did he notice that his eldest sister, Li Mai, had returned driving a donkey cart.
Ever since their parents had died after prolonged illness, their family had no money left.
Even daily meals had been a problem. How could they possibly afford a donkey cart, something that only a few households in the village even owned?
For a moment, Li Shu’s heart rose to his throat, and a bad suspicion formed in his mind.
When he noticed the red marks on the wheel, his tension reached its peak.
In the next second, he grabbed his sleeve and used it like a rag, fiercely wiping at the marks on the wheel.
Only after wiping away all traces did Li Shu finally let out a breath.
At the same time, he could not help but sigh inwardly. The current Li Mai was truly no ordinary person. But since she was willing to take the two of them along to survive, from now on, she would be another real eldest sister to him.
While Li Shu’s thoughts churned, Li Mai had already driven the donkey cart to the entrance of the house.
Looking at the donkey cart beneath her eldest sister, Li Qiao felt nothing but joy. The smile on her face could not be restrained as she excitedly exclaimed:
“Eldest Sister, where did you get this donkey cart? With a donkey cart, going up the mountain will be much easier. This is great, really great. There are not many families in the village that have one, and our family actually has one now.”
She could not suppress her excitement and circled the donkey cart several times.
Until Li Mai impatiently called out again, “Up the mountain.”
“Oh, oh!”
Facing her cold eldest sister, Li Qiao was still somewhat afraid. She glanced at the color of the sky and immediately snapped out of her excitement.
She hurried back into the courtyard and picked up her basket.
As she slung it over her back, she did not forget to take out the vegetable cakes she had prepared earlier.
Holding them, she handed them to Li Mai and said with concern:
“Eldest Sister, you walked such a long way to the county. You must be starving. Eat quickly, I prepared these as dry rations for going up the mountain.”
Although Li Mai had already eaten quite a bit on her way back, she had never been able to refuse food.
She immediately took it, bit into the slightly dry vegetable cake, and the rich, pure aroma of corn along with the fresh fragrance unique to wild vegetables instantly spread through her mouth, becoming even more delicious with each chew.
Before long, a vegetable cake larger than Li Mai’s face was completely eaten.
At the same time, her mood improved considerably.
She jumped down from the cart and loaded the kudzu roots she had dug the previous day onto it.
After getting back on, she glanced at the two people following beside the cart and was about to swing the whip to head in the chosen direction.
Unexpectedly, the usually silent Li Shu spoke at that moment.
“I know a path suitable for going up the mountain.”
As soon as he said this, both sisters’ gazes immediately fell on him.
Li Shu’s heart skipped a beat under Li Mai’s stare, and he quickly explained:
“Father once taught me how to go into the mountains to hunt and told me about the small path he usually used. The villagers have never discovered it.”
If the villagers had not discovered it, then invading enemies like the Yue people would not easily find it either.
For the three of them, the chance of successfully escaping increased again.
Seeing that his eldest sister did not object, Li Shu’s heart instantly leapt with joy, and a rare, obvious smile appeared on his face.
He immediately stepped ahead and called out:
“I will lead the way!”
After he moved ahead, Li Mai drove the donkey cart to follow.
It had to be said that the path their father had chosen was indeed excellent.
Their house was already built at the very edge of the village, closest to the mountain. Normally, no one would come there. Placing the mountain path on the back side of the mountain made it even harder to discover.
Gradually, accompanied by the sound of the bell, the three of them walked along the easiest path at the foot of the mountain until it came to an end.
To continue forward, they had to climb.
Without a formed road, taking a donkey and a fully loaded cart up the mountain was not an easy task.
Thus, when they reached the entrance of the small path their father had mentioned, Li Shu stopped and looked worriedly at the donkey cart behind him.
Li Mai looked at the mountain covered in lush greenery. At first glance, there seemed to be no path at all, but with careful observation, the growth of vegetation here was slightly different from the surroundings.
Since there was already a path planned by someone, why should she make things difficult for herself?
So Li Mai jumped down from the cart, holding her spoils, the Tang saber.
The moment the Tang saber appeared before the siblings, both were stunned by the sharp light it reflected.
With just one glance, Li Shu knew the blade was extraordinary. It must have been obtained along with the cart and goods the previous night.
He could not help but praise it, “A fine blade!”
Li Mai tightened her grip on the saber, glanced at Li Shu, and asked:
“Can you drive the donkey cart?”
Li Shu had not expected this question. He stammered awkwardly:
“N… no, I have not learned…”
Before he could finish, he sensed his eldest sister’s dissatisfaction and quickly added:
“But I can learn. I am very smart, I will definitely learn…”
Sensing the change in her aura, Li Shu finally let out a breath of relief.
Li Mai left a sentence behind and prepared to clear the path with her blade.
“You drive the cart. Do not let the goods fall.”
“No problem.”
Hearing that he was really allowed to drive the cart, a surge of sweetness rose in Li Shu’s heart. He did not even notice the joy spreading across his face.
At this moment, Li Shu truly looked like a ten-year-old child, happy over something so simple.
Since he had to drive the cart, Li Shu placed his own load onto it as well.
As he sat on the cart, imitating his eldest sister’s earlier actions to urge the donkey forward, he straightened his back and looked ahead.
At a glance, he saw his younger sister carrying her load, drenched in sweat, her face flushed red. Shame instantly filled his heart.
He thought, how could he focus only on his own happiness and ignore his younger sister’s age and hardship?
Li Shu’s lips opened and closed repeatedly. Only when his heart felt like it might burst did he finally ask hesitantly:
“Eldest Sister, can Little Sister sit on the donkey cart for a while?”