Chapter 79
Chapter 79
After endless hardship, the exiles finally stood on the soil of the Heishui Garrison.
Zhu Laosan and Li Si were completing the handover with Zhao Hu, the man in charge.
Zhao Hu was known as Yama Zhao for his endless methods of torturing exiles.
The procedure was simple. Zhao Hu stamped the official document Zhu Laosan brought, wrote an acceptance notice, and stamped that as well.
Zhu Laosan and Li Si left the Garrison and said farewell to Xiao Che’s group.
Without the Xiao Family protecting him along the way, Zhu Laosan might have died countless times.
After this parting, they might never meet again.
“Brother Xiao, take care of yourselves. Li Si and I can only escort you this far.”
Xiao Che cupped his hands. “Thank you for your hard work along the way, Officers.”
Zhu Laosan and Li Si departed with a caravan headed for the Capital.
Only then did the Xiao Family carefully survey their surroundings.
The Heishui Garrison stood on a terrace halfway up Eagle’s Beak Cliff. To the north rose an almost vertical black rock wall more than two hundred feet high.
To the east lay a jagged slope and an open quarry, one of the main places where the exiles labored.
To the west stretched the endless Black Pine Forest, where the exiles cut timber.
To the south, a winding path led away. It was the only official road, barely wide enough for one cart, with a cliff wall on one side and a precipice on the other.
Three timber-and-stone buildings stood before them, their roofs layered with birch bark, thatch, and stone slabs.
It was already the end of the tenth month. A bone-chilling northern wind howled, driving large snowflakes down their collars.
Zhu Laosan and Li Si had been gone for fifteen minutes, yet Zhao Hu still had not emerged to assign the Xiao Family lodging. He left them in the wind for half an hour.
“Mother, how are you feeling?”
Seeing Old Madam Xiao’s face turn blue and her body stiffen, Xiao Che asked anxiously.
She had already suffered frostbite. If she froze again, she might lose her life.
Her lips were numb, and she could no longer speak.
“Father, Zhao is deliberately trying to intimidate us. He’s stayed inside this long because he wants us to freeze to death.”
Xiao Jinghao glared furiously at the wooden building.
“They’re deliberately tormenting us. They know we barely survived the journey, and the officers already delivered the register. They must know we have many women and children, yet they still leave us outside. This is murder.”
Xiao Jinghao clenched his fists, longing to charge inside and argue. If words failed, he would fight.
“Third Brother, if you know they’re provoking us, why become so angry?”
“We’re exiles now, lower than everyone here. Anyone can trample us. Your impatience will cause trouble. Remember to endure from now on.”
Xiao Jingmo patted Xiao Jinghao’s shoulder. The men inside were testing the Xiao Family’s limits.
They wanted to see whether Father could swallow this insult. If fighting broke out and the family killed someone, no one would remain to clear their name.
Exiles had no dignity here. They had to prepare themselves for that truth.
“Mommy, what’s wrong with Great-grandmother?”
Curled in Pei Wanqing’s arms, Jin Bao asked softly, her large eyes full of worry.
“Great-grandmother is frozen. Is Baby cold?”
Pei Wanqing touched Jin Bao’s hand and found it warm. The outfit Mo’er had made truly kept her protected.
“Mommy, Third Brother said someone is bullying us. Is it the people in that building?”
Jin Bao pointed at the tightly shut door.
Pei Wanqing nodded. “Baby, we’re exiles, so we’ll inevitably be bullied here. I’m sorry my Baby has to freeze out here with Mommy.”
Jin Bao’s eyes turned. No. Baby could not let anyone bully Mommy or Great-grandmother.
“Mommy, Baby needs to pee.”
Pei Wanqing looked around but saw no latrine.
“Put Baby down. Baby can go by herself.”
“No. The snow is deep and there are rocks everywhere. A fall could seriously hurt you.”
“Baby will be fine. Mommy has to trust Baby.”
Unable to change her mind, Pei Wanqing set her down but followed closely to protect her.
Inside the building, Zhao Hu and several guards were drinking and playing dice.
“Chief, it’s been half an hour. Those people must be frozen solid by now.”
“Good. We can haul them down the mountain and sell them, then buy a few more jars of wine. Nothing warms you better in the dead of winter.”
“You’re right. Let’s leave them out a little longer.”
“Hahaha…”
The moment her feet touched the ground, Jin Bao became a little squirrel, swiftly plowing a path through the snow toward the three wooden buildings.
Pei Wanqing shouted in alarm, “Baby, come back!”
But the storm swallowed her voice.
In the blink of an eye, the little figure was already ten feet away.
Jin Bao’s eyes shone as she stared excitedly at the building.
Then she remembered something. Pursing her lips, she puffed out her pink cheeks like an angry little frog.
“You dared bully Baby’s Great-grandmother, so Baby will beat you up! Great-grandmother is freezing, so you have to freeze with her.”
Jin Bao pressed her lips together, clenched her fists, and took a deep breath. Then she exploded into motion, racing around the building and pounding its walls.
She ran ahead while snow half a foot deep sprayed behind her like a tiny motor tearing across the ground.
After making one circuit, she dashed away and threw herself at Pei Wanqing.
“Mommy, run! The house is going to fall!”
With no time to think, Pei Wanqing picked her up and retreated.
They had taken only two steps when the building creaked.
Then came a massive, muffled crash that made everyone’s scalp prickle.
Sharp cracks rang out in quick succession as the main load-bearing pillars snapped in half.
Wrapped in snow and rotten timber, the entire building slammed into the ground.
The sturdy structure vanished in an instant beneath flying splinters, dust, and snow.
The Xiao Family remained frozen in shock for several seconds.
Xiao Jingmo hurried forward and took Jin Bao.
“Little Sister, are you hurt?”
Jin Bao shook her head excitedly. “Baby is fine! Now no one can bully Great-grandmother. They don’t have a house either, so it’s fair.”
She dusted off her hands, and Xiao Jingmo immediately warned her in a low voice.
“Little Sister, you didn’t do anything. You were only playing in the snow. The building’s collapse had nothing to do with you. Remember?”
Jin Bao nodded. “Baby remembers. Baby never does bad things. Baby only does good things.”
Xiao Jingmo tapped her forehead. “Very clever.”
Brother and sister exchanged smiles, then looked at the wreckage.
A blood-covered, dust-caked man crawled from the debris.
“Help… me…”
The collapse also alerted the exiles living in underground huts nearby.
They all ran out to see what had happened.
When they realized the Garrison had collapsed, they hurried over nervously.
In a flurry, they dragged Zhao Hu from the wreckage.
His head was split open, one arm was broken, and a stone slab had crushed his lower leg into bloody pulp.
None of the other guards survived. All had suffocated beneath the ruins.
The exiles pulled out their bodies and laid them in the open, unsure what to do.
Zhao Hu had fainted. If no one saved him, he would freeze to death within half an hour.
The Xiao Family would not help him. The choice now belonged to the other exiles.
They seemed to hate Zhao Hu too. They had rescued him only out of habitual fear. Seeing his terrible injuries and realizing the other guards were dead, they sensed an opportunity.
Yama Zhao had tortured them until they barely resembled humans. At last, they could vent their hatred.
As though the same voice sounded in every heart, they exchanged glances and lunged at him.
They punched, kicked, and tore at him with their teeth.
Soon, Yama Zhao left to meet the real King of Hell. His corpse was mutilated beyond recognition, without a patch of intact skin on his face.
The exiles even stripped off his clothes and whipped the corpse.
Only after exhausting their fury did they notice the Xiao Family.