Chapter 36 - 37: Alive

Chapter 36: Chapter 37: Alive

Ancient Wen Heng left all their baggage with Li Cuicui, making the excuse that he was taking Jin Qianqian farther off to search for wild vegetables.

Li Cuicui pursed her lips, watching the young couple walk into the distance. ’Are their grain supplies already hitting bottom?’ she wondered.

"Mom, let me see if Brother Qi still has any water in his bamboo canteen?" Gu Yuanlei couldn’t wait to get his hands on it, but Li Cuicui slapped his hand away.

"Whether there is or not, it has nothing to do with you. What is it now? After swindling your own mother and father, now you want to swindle your Brother Qi?"

The very sight of this son was enough to exasperate Li Cuicui now. The last few times they had found a water source, he had actually disregarded her objections and secretly rushed to give the water to the Lan Family.

If her other sons hadn’t set aside some water for them, she and her husband might not have survived this long.

"Mom, don’t make it sound so harsh. I’m just thirsty and wanted to borrow some from Brother Qi."

"Borrow? Then you’d actually have to pay it back! Don’t forget, your father and I have only survived this long because your brothers supported us. You have the gall to even ask?"

If her husband hadn’t been holding her back, Li Cuicui would have thrown this unfilial son out. He liked that girl from the Lan family, didn’t he? Then he could just get lost and go be a live-in son-in-law. It wasn’t like she was short on sons.

Gu Yuanlei said, "Look, I’ve already given them so much water. I just need to give them half a canteen more, and Yingying will agree to marry me. I’ve already put in so much effort. I can’t let it all be for nothing, can I?"

At the thought of all the water he had pilfered bit by bit, Li Cuicui aimed a kick straight at him, but Gu Yuanlei dodged out of the way.

"You dare to dodge?" Li Cuicui casually picked up a rock and threw it without the slightest hesitation. The rock hit him squarely on the foot, making Gu Yuanlei clutch it and howl in pain.

"Good, it’s supposed to hurt! I’m in ten times more pain than you are! Look at all this damn nonsense you’ve been up to! Look at your brothers and your sisters-in-law! Go on, keep offending everyone. You’ll get what’s coming to you later!"

Thinking of the looks on her daughters-in-law’s and grandchildren’s faces, Li Cuicui wanted to pick up a stick and beat some sense into this deluded fool.

"It’s not like I won’t pay it back! When I can, I’ll pay them back tenfold, a hundredfold! It’s just a little water, isn’t it? Once the heavens send rain, we’ll have as much as we want."

"Get lost," Li Cuicui cursed angrily. "Everyone else is out looking for water, and you have the gall to sit here waiting for a handout? Scram, now!"

"...So, can I see if Brother Qi has any water left?"

Li Cuicui just picked up her carrying pole. "Go on, try me."

"..."

The argument over here didn’t escape the notice of the Gu family’s daughters-in-law, but they all sat there with cold indifference. These days, none of them wanted to mess with Old Gu.

* * *

Ancient Wen Heng pointed to the high mountain in the distance. "Not many people are over there. We should press on a bit further."

A sense of unease settled over both Ancient Wen Heng and Jin Qianqian the moment they reached the mountainside. With so many people camped here, it was no place to stay for long.

By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, their legs were trembling.

There’s a saying: "A mountain in sight can run a horse to death." The peak hadn’t looked far, but the journey had still taken them the better part of the day.

"There’s really no one over here," Ancient Wen Heng said, looking at the summit, daunted. Although his heart ached for Jin Qianqian, he didn’t dare leave her here alone.

He reached out and took her hand. "If you can’t go on, just tell me. We’ll stop and rest for a bit."

Jin Qianqian couldn’t help but tease him. "Senior, I thought you were going to carry me on your back."

Ancient Wen Heng looked down at his own stick-thin frame and said self-deprecatingly, "If you’re not afraid of taking a fall, I could certainly fulfill that wish for you."

He’d seen the blisters forming on the soles of Jin Qianqian’s feet so many times on their journey, but he had never dared to make the offer.

Aside from the fear of dropping her, he worried that if they both got injured, they would be abandoned by the group.

Although their group as a whole had survived until now, some of the old and weak had quietly vanished from their ranks along the way.

It was a stark reminder of the difference between reality and the stories they’d read.

Jin Qianqian looked at the hazy, gray mountain, where the trees had long since withered and died. "You know, autumn is supposed to be crisp and clear, but all the trees are already dead. If someone’s not careful, couldn’t it cause a wildfire?"

Ancient Wen Heng pulled her up a small earthen slope. "I’ve read the laws from this era. For starting a fire in the mountains, whether intentional or not, the court’s sentence is death, and your family is implicated for three generations."

"Really?" Jin Qianqian was rather surprised. "No wonder that all along our journey, even when resting at the edge of a forest, everyone tried their best to clear the grassy areas. I just thought it was to keep the bugs away."

She was so exhausted from the daily trek that Jin Qianqian had simply been copying what others did without giving it a second thought.

Ancient Wen Heng said, "So we shouldn’t underestimate anyone, and we definitely shouldn’t think we’re like those incredibly overpowered protagonists from novels who can conquer the world with a wave of their hand. That’s just not realistic, after all."

Jin Qianqian understood. "I’m not that delusional. We’re just ordinary people, and right now we’re refugees too weak to even tie up a chicken. All I’m asking for is to stay alive; I wouldn’t dare dream about anything more..."

"...Did you hear something?" Jin Qianqian’s expression suddenly turned serious.

Ancient Wen Heng immediately drew the machete tucked at his waist, looking around warily. "Which direction?"

Jin Qianqian pointed uncertainly to her right. "I think it came from that way? Could it be someone looking for wild vegetables?"

Ancient Wen Heng cautiously took a few steps in the direction she was pointing and listened intently.

"Could it be some kind of animal?" Jin Qianqian heard it more clearly this time. It sounded like something scraping against the trees.

Ancient Wen Heng wasn’t sure either. "You stay here and don’t move. I’ll go check it out."

But Jin Qianqian grabbed his hand tightly and shouted toward the noise, "Who’s there?"

Now the RUSTLING sound was even more distinct, but no one answered.

"Should we go take a look?" Jin Qianqian’s eyes shone with hope. "Maybe it’s a small animal."

’If they found an animal, they would have an excuse to take out some meat. They had to be careful even when sneaking extra food; the smell of cooking meat was too strong, so they’d been sticking to bland, watery things.’

Ancient Wen Heng said, "Then I’ll go by myself. You stay here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled away from Jin Qianqian, walked over, and pushed aside the bushes, only to stumble back a few steps in shock.

Jin Qianqian nervously covered her mouth and quickly pulled a can of pepper spray out of her space.

Seeing no reaction from whatever was on the other side, Ancient Wen Heng finally summoned the courage to walk over and check. "It’s a person. Looks like they’re injured."

If he hadn’t seen the man’s fingers still moving, Ancient Wen Heng would have thought he was looking at a corpse.

"What do we do now?" Jin Qianqian cautiously edged closer, stood on her tiptoes, and peered through a gap in the undergrowth. She finally glimpsed a dusty, human-like figure.

Ancient Wen Heng picked up a nearby stick and gently prodded the figure with it. It wasn’t until he heard a groan that he let out a quiet sigh of relief.