Chapter 73
Chapter 73
When Jin Bao saw Old Han stand to leave, she quickly reached out.
She caught his hem and lifted her little tear-streaked face.
Looking pitifully up at him, she asked timidly, “Grandpa, can you stay? Baby is scared…”
Realizing she had misunderstood, Old Han bent and stroked her head.
He smiled kindly. “Don’t worry. Grandpa isn’t leaving. I can’t go before they’re saved.”
Jin Bao’s scrunched face relaxed. She released his hem, stepped back, and dropped to her knees.
She knocked her head against the ground three times.
Before Old Han could pull her up, she was already done.
Snow water covered her fair forehead.
“You little girl… get up before you hurt your head.”
Old Han helped her up. Jin Bao smiled from the heart. “Mommy says people must be grateful. Baby remembers. Baby has nothing in her pockets, so Baby will bow three times. Grandpa, please save Daddy and Second Brother. They’re great heroes.”
She searched her pockets for a long time, but they were utterly empty.
Old Han stroked his graying beard with approval. “Heh. A grateful little girl. Your family must have taught you well. Grandpa promises to save them.”
He took two waterskins from a Snow Camel, filled them at the spring, and smeared medicine that promoted circulation around their openings before placing them near Xiao Che’s and Xiao Jingmo’s faces.
The steam carried the medicine into their lungs, quickly restoring their circulation.
An hour later, their complexions had changed from gray-blue to deathly pale.
The bruised color had faded from Xiao Jingmo’s fingers, leaving them red and swollen.
Both men woke. Agonizing pain roused Xiao Jingmo, but he gritted his teeth without making a sound.
“They’re awake! Daddy and Second Brother are awake! Grandpa, come quickly!”
Jin Bao had squatted between them without leaving for even one step.
When Xiao Jingmo opened his eyes, a huge smile blossomed across her face, and she waved excitedly at Old Han.
Old Han set down his staff and came over.
“They’re ready. We can dig them out.”
That was what Jin Bao had been waiting to hear.
Old Han had only begun bending down when Jin Bao started rapidly clawing away the snow.
She was even faster than when she had dug the pits.
Once Xiao Jingmo’s body was exposed, Jin Bao dragged him out before Old Han could speak.
Carrying Xiao Che, Old Han stared at her in astonishment. Only then did he realize she possessed divine strength.
No wonder she had dug so quickly.
Old Han laid father and son on a dry boulder beside the spring.
The rock felt warm and was just large enough for both men.
He took his fur blankets and coats from the Snow Camel and covered them.
Jin Bao circled anxiously, desperate to help but unable to do anything. She even pulled off her tiger-skin hat, revealing a forehead covered in sweat.
After finishing, Old Han lit a fire nearby.
They were beneath a cliff, whose sloping wall formed a natural barrier that blocked most of the wind.
“Little one, help Grandpa find some fist-sized stones.”
Old Han bent to gather dry branches and gave Jin Bao the task.
He had realized she would worry herself sick without something to do.
Sure enough, the moment she could help, Jin Bao flew into action and soon returned with a pile of stones.
They came in every size and shape for Old Han to choose from.
Jin Bao watched his hands with shining eyes and noticed that he chose round stones without sharp edges.
She ran off again and soon carried back several smooth, round stones of even size in her clothes.
Old Han nodded approvingly. “You have sharp eyes, little one.”
The praise did not excite Jin Bao as it normally would. She remained worried. She did not know what the stones were for, only that they should help save Daddy and Second Brother.
Old Han tossed them into the fire. Once warm, he pulled them out, wrapped them in hide, and placed them beneath the men’s armpits, at their groins, and behind their necks.
After a long while, warmth finally returned to their bodies.
Xiao Che moved his arms and legs, then sat up on the boulder.
“Thank you, sir, for saving our lives.”
Old Han waved him off. “It was nothing. Our meeting must be fate. You still shouldn’t move. Rest.”
How could Xiao Che rest?
“Sir, my family is still outside waiting for me to save them. Could you help us? I would be endlessly grateful.”
Old Han studied Xiao Che. This man was surnamed Xiao?
The little girl had said her father was a great hero-a great hero named Xiao.
Old Han had only recently heard that the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery in the Capital had been exiled. Could these people be from that household?
“Your surname is Xiao? How are you related to the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery in the Capital?”
Xiao Che had not expected this unremarkable old man to know of the Mansion of the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. Was he not an old hermit who had always lived in the forest? Apparently not.
“I am Xiao Che, the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery. The Emperor confiscated my estate and sent me into exile.”
Old Han leaped to his feet. “What? You truly are the Marquis?”
Xiao Che nodded.
Old Han paced back and forth several times, looking excited.
“Marquis, where is your family? We’ll go find them now.”
Xiao Che was certain they had never met. Puzzled by the old man’s enthusiasm, he studied him.
“Sir, do we know each other?”
Old Han smiled and shook his head. “No, but I’ve heard of you.
“Every member of your family is loyal and valiant. I’ll tell you about myself later. We must leave now.
“The White-Hair Howl won’t stop for days. Any later, and your family may be buried in the snow. Their bodies won’t be found until the third or fourth month next year.”
Xiao Che dared not delay and helped Xiao Jingmo up.
“Thank you. May I ask your name?”
“My surname is Han. I’ve almost forgotten my original name. Just call me Old Han.”
Xiao Che cupped his hands. “Old Master Han.”
Old Han stroked his beard and laughed heartily, clearly pleased.
But finding the Xiao Family posed another great problem.
“Marquis, do you remember any distinctive landmarks you passed on the way here?”
“Finding people in this endless forest is difficult enough. In this weather, it’s more than ten times harder. Without a special marker, even I may not succeed.”
Xiao Che remembered the three trees. “There was one place with three enormous trees arranged in a circle around a boulder. Does that count?”
Old Han quickly pulled a leather-bound notebook from a Snow Camel’s saddlebag.
He flipped to one page and pointed it out to Xiao Che.
“Marquis, do you mean these Mother-and-Child Trees?”
Xiao Che examined it. They were indeed the trees. Not only that, the book contained detailed maps of every feature in the forest. Who exactly was this old man?
Xiao Che could not help wondering. Even the finest scouts in the Xiao Family Army lacked such skill.
But the thought flashed away when he spotted the cliff where his family had sheltered.
“Old Master Han, I found it. Here. My family is here.”
The cliff was drawn with lifelike precision, and its orientation appeared correct. Retracing their path from the Mother-and-Child Trees, they should head southwest.
That meant they had been traveling northeast.
Old Han put away his notebook and led over the Snow Camels.
“Marquis, Second Young Master, these are the Snow Camels I raise. Riding them will save considerable time, and they never lose their way. Let’s leave now.”
Xiao Che was deeply grateful. With Old Han’s help, they all mounted the Snow Camels.
Old Han wrapped Xiao Che and Xiao Jingmo in wool felt and gave each a face covering that exposed only their eyes and nostrils.
The Snow Camels were warm beneath them. Compared with their agonizing journey out, the return was the difference between heaven and hell.
With Old Han guiding them and Snow Camels carrying them, a journey that had taken two hours lasted only one.
But the women of the Xiao Family could no longer hold on. Old Madam Xiao and Nanny Chen had lost all feeling in their bodies and fallen into a deep stupor.
The others were little better. Cold and hunger tormented them every moment.
When the Snow Camels appeared, everyone thought they were hallucinating. Only when Xiao Che and Xiao Jingmo dismounted did they realize they were saved.
Old Han distributed all the food he had brought among the Xiao Family and the two officers. After everyone drank some warm camel milk, warmth began returning to their bodies.
Old Madam Xiao and Nanny Chen were in serious condition.
Old Han made an immediate decision and led everyone through the night toward the cave where he lived.