Chapter 91

Chapter 91

Xiao Jingmo walked to the front of the crowd, regarded everyone with a calm gaze, then began questioning them in a firm, ringing voice.

“Before we set out yesterday, my father had someone ask each and every one of you. Did he ever force any of you to travel with us?”

“When you were fleeing for your lives, you wanted to rely on the Xiao Family.”

“When the wolf pack came, you relied on the Xiao Family then too.”

“Yet we’ve been traveling for only half a day, and the moment you encounter a little hardship, you start taking your resentment out on my family. What, are we your personal scapegoats? Do we look that easy to bully?”

“Let’s make everything clear today. Every ration you’ve eaten over the past two days was dug out of the ruins one handful at a time by members of the Xiao Family.”

“If you have no proper clothes, you shouldn’t blame us for that either. Zhao Hu was the one who mistreated you. What does that have to do with us?”

“None of your suffering came from the Xiao Family. We were simply more capable than you and obtained more supplies. That is all.”

“Are you really going to use your own weakness and incompetence as an excuse to blame the Xiao Family for being too strong?”

“You truly have no shame!”

“Anyone who wants to return to the Garrison is welcome to go. We’re still in the outer reaches of the Black Pine Forest and haven’t entered its depths. There’s still time to leave. This is your last chance.”

When Xiao Jingmo finished, his sharp gaze swept over every person present. They all ducked their heads in silence, and none dared meet his eyes.

Unable to stop himself, Xiao Jingmo laughed mockingly. “What’s wrong? You had plenty to say just now. Why are you all silent? Have you suddenly gone mute?”

No one dared refute Xiao Jingmo. Even Xu Huaijin felt deeply ashamed.

He stepped forward as well and spoke a few words in the Xiao Family’s defense.

“Everyone followed me because you trusted me.”

“This was originally my own decision. Since all of you were willing to follow the Xiao Family, I saw no reason to stop you.”

“Setting aside the hardships of traveling, let me ask you this: when you hid inside those dugouts, were you never cold or hungry?”

“Didn’t people still freeze or starve to death every day?”

“But since Lord Xiao took responsibility for everyone, has a single person among us frozen or starved to death?”

“At the very least, none of us are going hungry, even if the journey is tiring.”

“Even at the Garrison, didn’t we have to cut trees every day? Logging was exhausting too. Looking at it that way, we’re better off following Lord Xiao.”

“Think carefully. If anyone truly regrets coming, then as the Second Young Master said, there’s still time to go back.”

“Brother Jin, I’m not going back. I’m following the Marquis. At least I’m not starving now. It’s only walking, isn’t it? That takes far less effort than chopping down trees.”

“Brother Jin, I’m following the Marquis too. When I went out logging every day, the cracks between my thumb and forefinger never had a chance to heal. Now I finally don’t have to cut trees anymore. It’s just walking. I can keep going.”

Xu Huaijin looked at his companions raising their arms and shouting one after another, then nodded with satisfaction.

“Good. Then we’ll continue forward.”

After that confrontation, no one in the crowd dared complain about the Xiao Family again. Instead, gratitude took root in their hearts.

Xu Huaijin was right. Ever since they began following Lord Xiao, no one seemed to have died from hunger or cold.

“Marquis, you sent me ahead to scout just now. The Third Young Master and I found a cave three li ahead that can hold a hundred people. It will take us a little less than half an hour to reach it from here.”

Old Han and Xiao Jinghao had finally returned, bringing good news with them.

The crowd was overjoyed and felt even more ashamed.

Moments ago, they had been wrongly blaming the Xiao Family. They never imagined that Xiao Che had already sent his own son ahead to scout the way for everyone.

“Marquis, we were wrong. We hope you can be generous and overlook our offense. Please don’t hold it against us. From now on, we’ll follow your arrangements and never complain again.”

“That’s right, Marquis. We were wrong.”

Xiao Che regarded everyone with a stern expression. “You may question my decisions, but I, Xiao Che, will never disappoint you when it comes to my character.”

“In the future, I also ask that you watch your words and refrain from slandering my family.”

“I, Xiao Che, am no pushover. If I hear anyone stirring up trouble behind our backs and undermining morale again, we’ll deal with them according to military law.”

“You all know I’m a rough man who grew up in military camps. If I truly lose my temper, I won’t be like my second son and merely reason with you. I will take real action.”
After speaking, Xiao Che flexed his wrist.

Everyone was too frightened to breathe loudly and nodded again and again.

Led by Old Han and Xiao Jinghao, the group finally reached the cave just as their strength was about to run out.

One glance made it obvious that no one had ever visited this cave.

The floor was blanketed with a thick layer of pine needles and many dry branches.

After entering, everyone found a spot and dropped heavily to the ground, too exhausted to move even a finger.

“All of you, stand up! Don’t lie down. If you do this, you might never wake up again.”

Seeing them collapse, Old Han immediately shouted at everyone.

At the words never wake up, even the most exhausted people hurriedly struggled back to their feet.

“Everyone, get moving. Gather dry wood and light fires. Once the fires are burning, you’ll be safe.”

Before long, three large fires blazed inside the cave. By then, everyone had recovered slightly and began to feel their exhaustion and hunger.

Xiao Jingmo and his special team distributed lunch.

Back at the Garrison, they had eaten only once a day, receiving nothing more than a black-flour cake or half a coarse-grain flatbread. Now, every meal included a piece of jerky and an entire coarse-grain flatbread, and they ate three meals a day.

Such a life felt almost impossibly blissful.

No one spoke ill of the Xiao Family anymore. Everyone was filled with gratitude and thanked them repeatedly, while the group’s cohesion strengthened invisibly.

After resting briefly in the cave, they still had to continue traveling. They absolutely had to find another place to shelter before nightfall. Otherwise, if this many people spent the night in the forest, more than half of them would probably die.

Xiao Che, Xu Huaijin, and Old Han stood to one side discussing their plans.

Pei Wanqing took out the hides they had cured earlier, along with those obtained from the Garrison, and distributed all of them among the frail women and weaker men in the procession.

Once again, everyone was overwhelmed with gratitude.

With these hides, they had gained another chance to survive.

After eating and drinking her fill, Jin Bao chased Xiao Jingyu around the cave in play. Suddenly, she heard a series of squeaks.

She followed the sound outside and discovered a squirrel perched in a tree directly across from the cave, holding a pine nut and gnawing on it.

Jin Bao ran beneath the tree, tipped back her little head, and stared curiously.

The squirrel exposed two large front teeth and skillfully cracked open the pine nut. The shell fell and struck Jin Bao squarely on the forehead.

Jin Bao cried out in surprise, startling the squirrel.

The squirrel clutched the pine nut in both front paws and stared adorably down from the tree.

Suddenly, it scampered down the trunk. After several leaps, it landed on Jin Bao’s shoulder.

Its fluffy tail lifted and gently brushed Jin Bao’s little face.

Jin Bao burst into giggles.

She reached up, pulled the squirrel down, and hugged it to her chest. The squirrel was not afraid of people at all. Even while Jin Bao held it, it kept stuffing food into its mouth. It was a tiny glutton, just like her.

Jin Bao carried the squirrel back into the cave.

“Mommy, Baby found a Squirrely! It’s so cute!”

Pei Wanqing had just finished packing their bundle, and everyone was preparing to set out again. She was quite surprised to see Jin Bao enter with a little squirrel in her arms. The tiny creature was not afraid of people at all.

“It really is cute. It seems to like you. Why don’t you bring it along?”

Jin Bao blinked happily. “Okay, okay! Baby likes it!”

As though it understood Jin Bao, the little squirrel affectionately swept its tail across her palm.

“Mommy, look! It said yes!”

Pei Wanqing laughed too. The little creature was remarkably intelligent.

Night fell early in the mountains, so Xiao Che did not dare delay too long. As soon as everyone finished packing, they set off.

They continued northwest.

Their pace that afternoon was noticeably faster than it had been in the morning. Perhaps everyone knew they would freeze to death if they failed to find shelter for the night, so they pushed themselves to keep moving.

They surprisingly traveled twice as far that afternoon as they had in the morning.

But even after darkness fell completely, they did not encounter another cave.

With night upon them, Xiao Che dared not let Old Han and Xiao Jinghao scout ahead alone.

Aside from the group’s labored breathing and conversation, not a single sound came from the forest. The silence was unnerving.

Suddenly, an alarmed cry rang out from the sled. “Squirrely, don’t run away!”

A tiny shadow darted out immediately afterward.

Jin Bao chased the squirrel and quickly left the group behind.