As soon as the words fell, Li Mai suddenly turned her head. What she saw were two utterly disheveled figures, along with the donkey cart piled high with food.
After calculating quickly in her mind, she replied:
“Only one person can sit on it.”
“Thank you!”
Li Shu shouted excitedly, his eyes shining brightly.
Li Qiao had not expected that she would also get a chance to sit on the donkey cart. She was so happy that she did not know what to say.
The strength that had been gradually fading from her body suddenly returned.
At this moment, she felt full of energy again, enough to keep walking for a while longer.
Li Shu glanced at the reins in his hand and explained:
“Little Sister, once I learn how to drive the donkey cart, I will switch with you.”
“It’s fine, Second Brother, you go first. I am only carrying a basket, I can still hold on for a bit.”
As she spoke, Li Qiao smiled and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
While the two were talking, Li Mai made her move.
With a swing of the blade in her hand, the dense shrubs ahead quickly fell. The sharp, decisive motion left the siblings staring in shock.
In no time, a narrow path just wide enough for the donkey cart had been cleared.
The moment Li Mai stopped, Li Qiao hurried forward with concern, taking out the prepared water and dry rations.
“Eldest Sister, you have done so much work, you must be tired. Eat something quickly and replenish your strength.”
Li Mai accepted without hesitation. She stuffed the food into her mouth, chewing the vegetable cake in large bites, then drank a big mouthful of water to replenish what she had lost.
After a brief rest, her mood improved significantly. She turned to Li Shu, who had been practicing for a short while, and called out:
“Drive the cart, go up the mountain.”
Facing Li Mai’s oppressive gaze, Li Shu tried hard to straighten his back, afraid she would see his lack of confidence.
Then, putting on a semblance of authority, he lashed the donkey’s back with the whip and shouted loudly:
“Go!”
The only response was silence.
The donkey stood still, unmoving, leisurely chewing the grass beneath its feet.
Li Shu’s face flushed red. He no longer dared to look at Li Mai and raised the whip again, intending to urge the donkey forward.
But he was stopped by Li Mai’s next action.
Out of nowhere, she produced a carrot. Its bright orange color stood out vividly against the green forest.
The donkey immediately noticed it, lifting its head and stretching its neck, eager to bite into the beloved carrot.
“Jingle, jingle…”
As the donkey raised its head, the familiar bell rang again.
Li Shu suddenly understood and exclaimed in realization:
“So it can be done like this!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mai stuffed the carrot into the donkey’s mouth and said:
“There are still a few carrots behind you. If you cannot drive it, make a pole and hang one in front of it.”
Li Mai truly could not understand why anyone, or any donkey, would like carrots.
They looked appealing, but the taste was strange and not pleasant at all. Probably only donkeys liked them.
Otherwise, how could a donkey suddenly produce carrots from nowhere while walking?
“Eldest Sister, I will make it right away!”
As if he had obtained a secret manual, Li Shu immediately began making the carrot pole.
He casually pulled a vine from nearby grass, tied a carrot to one end and a stick to the other.
With a lift of his hand, the brightly colored carrot hung in front of the donkey’s mouth.
The familiar smell instantly captivated the donkey. In order to reach the carrot, it lifted its hooves and stepped forward.
The sudden movement caught Li Shu off guard. He fell backward, his back hitting the luggage.
Yet the pain did not bring a grimace. Instead, he broke into a wide smile and shouted excitedly:
“It moved! It moved!”
And so, the cart began to sway forward.
Li Mai stayed behind, clearing the path and preventing anyone from following their route up the mountain.
She looked up at the towering trees beside her, chose her target, and struck with her palm. The tree snapped at the point of impact and fell toward another tree.
“Crack… boom!”
It collided with the tree opposite, forming a narrow triangular obstruction that blocked the way.
The sudden noise not only startled the other two, but also frightened the animals in the forest, making the woods lively with movement.
But she did not stop there. Li Mai went to several other spots and created similar obstructions.
She made their path appear as though it had been used for logging.
It served as a double layer of protection. After they passed, the branches pressed down by the cart wheels would spring back up, concealing the route.
Once everything was handled, Li Mai returned to the group and saw the two waiting for her not far away.
Li Qiao kept staring at Li Mai’s hands, as if trying to understand how a single hand could possess such strength.
Li Shu, on the other hand, jumped down from the cart and suggested:
“Eldest Sister, you have worked for so long, you must be tired. You sit on the cart, I will pull it.”
As he spoke, he still paid attention to the distance between the carrot and the donkey, making sure it would not disappear into the donkey’s mouth.
Li Mai had no intention of being polite, nor of playing caretaker. She directly jumped onto the cart, pulled out a kudzu root, and began eating while sitting.
Li Shu, meanwhile, stood to the side, satisfied, guiding the donkey forward with the carrot.
With the donkey leading the way, although there were still low plants blocking the path, overall the progress was smooth.
Li Qiao followed at the very back, fully enjoying the benefits.
Tall trees above blocked the sunlight, and the ground had been flattened neatly by the cart wheels.
Aside from climbing and carrying her load, she was far more at ease compared to her second brother, Li Shu.
However, as the slope grew steeper, both people and donkey began to struggle.
“Clang.”
A stone under the donkey’s hoof shifted. Its leg slipped, and the entire cart tilted to one side.
Fortunately, Li Shu noticed in time. He rushed forward, bracing the cart with his back and digging his feet into the ground, preventing a possible disaster.
The sudden jolt woke Li Mai from her drowsy comfort. As soon as she opened her eyes, a cold glint flashed.
When she realized it was caused by the useless donkey, she gently stroked the blade in her hand and said softly:
“Useless things only have one outcome.”
Li Mai’s first thought was to kill the donkey for meat. Since arriving here, she had not eaten any proper meat.
Moreover, she remembered a line from a cookbook she had once read, dragon meat in heaven, donkey meat on earth.
It was clear how delicious donkey meat must be.
She licked her lips, already imagining countless ways to cook it.
Perhaps sensing the naked intent behind her gaze, the donkey, after a brief moment of panic, quickly regained its footing and began moving forward as if fleeing for its life, even without the carrot.
Li Shu, still bracing the cart, did not react in time. He nearly fell backward, stumbling several steps before regaining balance, drenched in cold sweat.
After recovering, he looked at the speeding cart ahead and shouted:
“Sis! Be careful!”
Then he turned to his younger sister. Seeing her drenched in sweat, he immediately took the basket from her back and placed it on himself.
“Let’s go. Little Sister, you have worked hard.”
“Brother, hey?”
Li Qiao barely had time to react before the basket was transferred from her shoulders to his.
She tried to run forward and take it back, but Li Shu did not give her the chance. Now that he no longer had to focus on the carrot and donkey, his pace quickened, leading her as they chased after Li Mai.
At this moment, Li Mai had already reached the mountaintop.
The donkey, exhausted from continuous effort, nearly collapsed, panting heavily while chewing mouthfuls of wild grass to regain strength.
Li Mai glanced at the blazing sun overhead and said:
“Rest for a while.”
Otherwise, she truly feared the donkey would collapse completely. There were still several mountains ahead.
She had no intention of becoming the one pulling the cart. As for the donkey meat, once she found a suitable place to settle, useless things would naturally be dealt with.
“O… okay…”
Li Qiao was utterly exhausted. Hearing her eldest sister’s words, she no longer cared about cleanliness and immediately sat down on a patch of soft grass.
But the moment she sat, a strange writhing sensation surged beneath her.
In an instant, countless bad thoughts flashed through her mind, and a scream pierced the sky.
“Ah!”
Li Qiao leapt up, quickly looking down to see what was moving.
When she saw it, her heart sank.
She had just sat on a snake. Its black patterned markings on its head gave off a terrifying aura.
The reason she saw it so clearly was that the snake had already lunged at her ankle.
She could even see the fangs in its mouth, the strands of saliva between them, and smell the foul stench coming from it.
Just as Li Qiao thought she was about to be bitten, her eyes widened in terror.
At the critical moment, a flash of silver streaked before her eyes.
“Pfft!”
In the next second, the snake’s head fell to the ground by her feet, its mouth still open, while the severed body writhed ahead.
At that moment, Li Qiao did not know whether to feel relieved for surviving or terrified by the sudden appearance of the blade and the severed head.
Her mouth opened as if to speak, but no sound came out.
When Li Shu rushed over in concern, his gaze immediately landed on the Tang saber that had cut the snake.
Recalling the flash he had seen earlier, he turned to Li Mai and called out:
“Eldest Sister, your blade.”
He immediately picked it up, wiped the blood off with his sleeve, and returned it to her.
Seeing this, Li Mai nodded in satisfaction. Just as she was about to take out the kudzu root behind her for lunch, Li Shu suggested:
“Eldest Sister, can you eat snake? The one just killed is not venomous.”
“Snake? Is it tasty?”
Li Mai, wearing her usual cold expression, asked curiously.