Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Jin Bao sat astride a tree branch and craned her neck to look down. She was so startled she nearly fell out of the tree.

A pack of wolves was chasing a herd of wild boars from behind.

Only after the wolves had passed did Jin Bao let out a long breath.

“Baby nearly got scared to death.”

Jin Bao patted her little chest, then nimbly climbed down from the tree.

She followed the wolf pack from a distance. The moment she got too close, she would immediately climb up a big tree to watch.

After Jin Bao led the dozen or so wild boars in a big loop through the woods, they were no longer as lively and fierce as before. Very soon, the wolves caught up and surrounded them.

Jin Bao hurried down from the tree, circled far around, and returned to the cave entrance.

By then, Xiao Jingmo, Zhu Laosan, and Li Si had all regrouped. They had found Xiao Che’s family, and everyone had climbed into neighboring trees as well.

The moment Jin Bao appeared, Pei Wanqing spotted her.

“Baby, hurry up and come up here. Are you all right?”

Seeing that Jin Bao’s tree-climbing speed had not slowed in the slightest, Pei Wanqing finally felt the heart that had been hanging in her throat settle back into her chest.

“Mother, Baby is fine, super fine! I saw lots and lots of wolves. They’ve already surrounded the big dumb pigs. They’re fighting right now.”

Xiao Jingmo and Xiao Jinghao both gathered around.

“Little Sister, don’t tell me you led the boars to the wolf pack on purpose?”

Xiao Jingmo felt it could not possibly be such a coincidence. The wolves just happened to run into the boars?

Unless someone had deliberately guided them there, with how wary wild boars were of wolves, how could they have walked right into a trap?

Jin Bao blinked her big eyes and said with a giggle, “Second Brother is so smart. Baby did it on purpose.”

Xiao Jingmo rubbed Jin Bao’s little head.

“Our little sister is the smartest and most capable. You saved all of us. You’re the great hero of our family.”

Praised like that, Jin Bao lifted her little face and made a face at Xiao Jingmo, then snuggled into Pei Wanqing’s arms.

Xiao Jingmo noticed that Jin Bao had become much livelier over the past two days, unlike at the beginning, when she was always shy.

Pei Wanqing listened to Jin Bao describe it so casually, but inside, she had nearly been scared to death.

Even a grown adult with decent martial skills would have been terrified out of their wits if chased by a pack of wolves. This child truly was a newborn calf that feared no tiger.

It seemed she would have to find time to talk to her properly. Otherwise, if Jin Bao encountered something even more dangerous in the future and still charged straight in, it would be too late for regrets.

“Awooo-”

“Awoo-”

Wolf howls suddenly rang out from the forest, mixed with the agonized cries of wild boars. From the sound of it, the boars were struggling desperately to no avail, roaring as the wolves tore into them.

Everyone stretched their necks toward the source of the noise.

But it was too far away, and the forest was pitch-black. They could not see a thing.

Zhu Laosan and Li Si were in the next tree over. They did not know exactly what had happened on that side, but listening to the sounds, both of their expressions looked terrible.

Especially after they had just experienced being chased madly by a herd of boars. Their legs were still weak, and they had no mind at all to go down and check.

“Brother San, from the sound of it, did the wolf pack come?”

Li Si swallowed nervously, his calves still trembling.

Zhu Laosan was not doing much better.

“Probably. Judging by the noise, the wolves must have run into the boars. That’s good news, in a way. Once they both suffer losses, we’ll be a bit safer.”

“Brother San, when you went to check earlier, did you really come across a big tree that had been washed down by the rain?”

Li Si still found it hard to believe that Jin Bao could predict whether he lived or died, so he asked again, unwilling to give up.

“That’s right. If Xiao Jingmo hadn’t warned me this time, I probably would’ve been flattened into a meat patty by now. Looking at it that way, the Xiao Family can be considered our saviors. From now on, if we can look after them, we should.”

Li Si’s scalp tingled as he listened. If he had really gone along, he might truly have lost his life.

“Brother San, didn’t you promise those people that you wouldn’t interfere in the Xiao Family’s affairs?

“They’re obviously trying to make sure the Xiao Family doesn’t survive to reach the Northern Frontier. Are we really going to get involved?”

Li Si was somewhat hesitant.

Zhu Laosan shook his head. “I only took the money and agreed to turn a blind eye to the petty tricks of those three scourges. I never agreed to help them murder the Xiao Family.

“No matter what, the Xiao Family is a family of loyal and upright people. They shouldn’t die at the hands of those scum.

“Now those people themselves are useless. They couldn’t kill the Xiao Family and even got themselves killed instead. What does that have to do with us?”

Li Si was a little confused. “Brother San, are you really going to protect the Xiao Family all the way to the Northern Frontier? I don’t think this journey will be peaceful. Someone wants them dead. Even without those three condemned criminals, there might be other schemes waiting down the road.”

Zhu Laosan looked at Li Si with a serious expression. “Cousin, the one we serve is the imperial court. We eat the ruler’s grain and carry out the ruler’s duty. That is what we are meant to do. As long as we do our part, everything else has nothing to do with us.”

“But what if the person behind this is the Emperor? If we do this, wouldn’t we be ruining…”
Li Si was only halfway through speaking when Zhu Laosan cut him off. “You’re overthinking it. I can say for sure it wasn’t the Emperor.”

Li Si had no idea what Zhu Laosan knew that he didn’t, but he did not press the matter. Instead, he brought up the other two men. “I wonder how Cui Jin and Zou Yong are doing now.”

Zhu Laosan gave a cold snort. “Those two cowards drove all the exiled prisoners into the woods. On the way here, I saw no fewer than ten bodies. Every last one had been gored to death by wild boar tusks. Some had been ripped open from chest to belly. With such a heavy stench of blood, no wonder it drew the wolves over.”

“Those two are absolute scum. At the crucial moment, they didn’t even bother with us. They abandoned everyone and ran. Let’s see how they explain themselves when they get back.”

Li Si muttered under his breath, but soon, even more miserable screams scared him into silence.

He was afraid that once the wolves finished hunting the wild boars, they would come eat them next.

And so the two guards and the Xiao Family stayed in the trees until daybreak, when a startled cry jolted everyone awake from their drowsiness.

“Yu’er!”

Lu Shuangshuang had grown sleepy and failed to hold the child tightly. Xiao Jingyu fell straight down from the tree.

Fortunately, the ground was covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves, so Xiao Jingyu did not hit the ground too hard.

“Mother, Yu’er is scared…”

Lu Shuangshuang followed Xiao Jingyu’s gaze and saw three wolves not far from the big tree, charging in their direction.

Her legs went weak with fright. Her body tilted, and she was about to jump down when Madam Liu grabbed her.

“If anyone is going down, it will be me. I’m already this old. Whether I live or die doesn’t matter. You take good care of Yu’er.”

By then, everyone in the trees had seen that the wolves were going to eat the child. Aside from Madam Liu and her daughter-in-law, no one dared rush down recklessly.

“Mo’er, Hao’er, take the Poison Thorn and go save him.”

Xiao Che handed the Poison Thorn he had made in the cave to his two sons.

Madam Liu and Lu Shuangshuang looked at Xiao Che gratefully.

Old Madam Xiao clutched tightly at Madam Liu’s clothes, afraid she would get too anxious and fall.

When the three wolves saw people climbing down from the tree, they immediately slowed, watching warily as they circled Xiao Jingmo and the others.

There were three wolves in total. If Xiao Che’s leg had not been injured, dealing with them would have been no challenge at all. But right now, the two guards in the opposite tree were watching them closely, so he could not act rashly.

Li Si and Zhu Laosan gripped their broadswords and leaped down from the tree.

The two quickly moved closer to Xiao Jingmo and Xiao Jinghao.

“Li Si and I will each take one. You brothers take the last one. We have to end this quickly.”

After judging the timing, Zhu Laosan immediately gave the orders.

Xiao Jingmo nodded. He had not expected Zhu Laosan to be so loyal, actually coming down to help at a time like this.

He and Xiao Jinghao each held a Poison Thorn and locked their eyes on one wolf.

The four of them moved at the same time, tangling with the three wolves for a full quarter of an hour before finally killing them all.

Because they had been too tense and were exhausted, they all collapsed onto the ground.

Lu Shuangshuang had already climbed down from the tree and pulled Xiao Jingyu into her arms.

“Yu’er, how are you? Did you get hurt? Were you frightened?”

Xiao Jingyu’s little face was deathly pale with fear. He could barely speak. Held in Lu Shuangshuang’s arms, his whole body trembled, and it took him a long while to recover.

“Everyone, get back up into the trees. We don’t know what the situation below is like yet. The trees are safe for now.”

After catching his breath, Zhu Laosan directed everyone back up.

In Pei Wanqing’s arms, Jin Bao moved her little head, her big eyes darting around.

“Mother, Baby needs to pee.”

Pei Wanqing glanced around and was about to let Jin Bao take care of it in the tree, but Jin Bao refused.

“Embarrassing. Baby wants to go down.”

How could Pei Wanqing possibly let her?

Xiao Jingmo saw through Jin Bao’s little scheme at once.

“Little Sister, are you trying to go see the wolves and the wild boars?”

Jin Bao, having been exposed, glanced at Pei Wanqing in embarrassment.

Pei Wanqing finally understood Jin Bao’s routine. Every time the little girl wanted to go out, she claimed she needed to pee. She had never even changed her excuse. Pei Wanqing did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Xiao Che also felt that someone should go check the situation. The screams had gone on for half the night yesterday, so the battle must have been fierce. But it was also very dangerous.

“Mo’er, go with your sister. If you run into danger, climb a tree immediately. If you find a chance, run at once. Safety comes first.”

Xiao Che then reminded Jin Bao, “Good girl, you must listen to your Second Brother. Don’t act recklessly.”

Xiao Che had discovered that this daughter of his was actually quite bold. She simply loved to get shy, yet deep in her bones, she had a natural courage.

With Xiao Che’s permission, Jin Bao quickly nodded, already clinging to the tree trunk and starting to climb down.

Xiao Jingmo was afraid the little one would try to act alone again, so he quickly followed. After the two climbed down from the tree, they ran toward the place where the wolves had hunted the wild boars the night before.