Chapter 264

Chapter 264

Gui Xiang’s family were honest, down-to-earth people. They had come specifically to thank him. After kowtowing and offering gifts, seeing that the benefactor had accepted, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Old Man Zhao couldn’t hide his fatigue. Thinking that he had just come down the mountain and might have been exhausted from a day’s travel, the woman was quick to read the situation. She immediately told her husband to pack up the baskets, not daring to disturb them further.

“Then we won’t disturb your rest,” she said, standing there a bit awkwardly. “We were worried you might leave, so we only prepared some simple gifts in a hurry. We still have some dried vegetables and mountain goods at home—nothing valuable, but enough to get by for a few days. Let us go back and pack them up. First thing tomorrow morning, I’ll have my husband bring them over.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll come tomorrow,” the man said, holding a shoulder pole. He looked like nothing more than an honest, simple farmer. “By rights, we should invite you to our home as guests, but a few days ago…”

Perhaps he felt it was shameful to say it out loud, his whole face flushed red as he stammered, unable to speak.

But the woman didn’t feel ashamed. She took over, saying, “The day Gui Xiang came back, those father and son went and had a fight with the second branch. That night, still angry, they burned down that family’s kitchen. The matter reached the village head. Our family is in the right, so we’re not afraid, but there’s no avoiding the gossip in the village. Now the two families are at odds—every time we meet, we end up fighting. That family spouts nonsense and makes trouble even when they’re wrong. For now, it really isn’t convenient to invite you to our home. We’re worried it might disturb your peace.”

Actually, it was more than just a burned kitchen, and more than just a simple fight. Their family and the second branch had reached a life-or-death feud. Even the elders stepped in to mediate, using filial piety to pressure them, but it didn’t work.

That vicious woman refused to admit it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. Daring to use such evil schemes on a fellow villager, harming a girl from the same village—this was no longer just about whether their family would forgive her or not. The whole village wouldn’t let her off.

That was also why the head of the household dared to burn the second branch’s house. His own daughter had been harmed for no reason. To put it bluntly, her whole life was ruined. They couldn’t just let it slide.

The village forbade any outsiders from entering. Such a serious scandal had occurred in their village—if it spread and blew up, it would affect the marriage prospects of several generations.

Although the village head had promised to give their family a resolution, those filial sons of the second branch had also put out word that anyone who dared touch their mother would not have an easy time.

Now the village was in chaos. They truly felt powerless.

Old Man Zhao naturally understood. Not only did he understand, but he also looked at Gui Xiang’s father with a hint of approval. He seemed like an honest man, but he never expected him to burn his own brother’s kitchen. In the countryside, what people valued most were ancestral graves, farmland, grain, money, houses, and children. Anyone who dared touch those things was making enemies for life.

When brothers reached this point, the relationship was severed for good.

For the sake of his children, a father could show such boldness and act so decisively without leaving any room for reconciliation. Old Man Zhao personally admired that. That was a real man!

“You’ve got a mess to sort out right now, so I won’t disturb you,” he said. He looked at the sky. “It’s dangerous to travel at night in this weather. Why don’t you stay the night in the shack? You can head back to the village tomorrow morning.”

With that, he looked at the pile of gifts and said warmly, “As for these gifts, I’ll keep the chickens and eggs. I’ll shamelessly keep the maltose candy and wine too. But take back the bacon and the clothes.”

Seeing the couple’s anxious expressions, he smiled and interrupted: “I appreciate your kindness, and I accept your thanks. But if you empty out your whole home, how will you get by? Listen to me—take the bacon back. Make a couple of nice meals for yourselves. Get your strength up so you can fight better. And the winter clothes—since they belong to your granddaughter, they should stay with the child. It’s cold; don’t let the little ones suffer.”

When Gui Xiang’s brother heard this, he finally understood why his little sister was so sure that the person who saved her was a good person.

The winter clothes had been taken off his own daughter. His wife had watched from the side, only daring to secretly wipe away tears. He knew his parents were reluctant too, that they felt sorry for their granddaughter, but these were truly the only things their family could offer.

A life-saving grace—how could they ever repay it?

“Just listen to him,” Wang said. “Take the bacon and the winter clothes back. And don’t come again. Keep the dried vegetables and mountain goods for yourselves. The times are bad. The spring plowing hasn’t even started yet, and you need to stock up on food. Who knows what the future holds?”

Since both elders had spoken, Gui Xiang’s parents hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

For the evening meal, they made do with what they had. Each person got only half a bowl of bean rice.

The family of four felt a little embarrassed. They hadn’t planned to accept, but the woman who was dividing the food was so warm-hearted that she forced the bowls into their hands.

During the meal and casual conversation, the couple learned that they were refugees from far away, fleeing disaster. They were headed to Yanlin Prefecture but had been stranded here due to food and weather. It was by fate that they had gone hunting in the mountains and saved their Gui Xiang.

When the couple heard this, they almost wanted to kneel and kowtow to the heavens several times. What great fortune! Their Gui Xiang had the destiny to live!

“The mountain passes are blocked by heavy snow now. The road will be hard to travel,” Gui Xiang’s mother said, worried, upon learning they planned to leave in a few days. “Maybe you should wait for better weather. There might be a merchant caravan passing by. Following behind them would be much safer.”

Among the villages at the foot of the mountain, Tangkou Village had the best location, with this road leading to Yanlin Prefecture. The surrounding villages were all envious. Shuangxing Village was on the other side of the mountain from Tangkou Village. Usually, when they got word, they would come and do some small business with passing merchants. She was fairly familiar with the area.

Zhao Shanao was sitting nearby keeping the guests company. Hearing this, he sucked on his cold, empty tobacco pipe and said, “Can’t wait any longer, young folks. We’re people who live from day to day, worrying about tomorrow. We have to keep moving forward to survive.”

The couple instinctively looked up at the crude shack above them and fell silent.

Although their family lived at the foot of a remote mountain, the storms of the chaotic times had already swept across the land. Nowadays, even three-year-old children knew that there was war outside. Natural disasters and man-made calamities were frequent. Northerners fled south, and countless people in the south abandoned their homes and became homeless refugees.

On the other hand, they had the advantage of their location. War couldn’t reach into the mountains, disease couldn’t cross the threshold. The only thing they had to guard against was the occasional suspicious passerby and fugitives hiding in the mountains, and they could live in peace.

To someone who had fled all the way here and was now facing a once-in-a-century blizzard, talk of waiting was indeed like standing idly by and making light of others’ suffering.

Seeing the couple growing uneasy, Old Man Zhao spoke up: “There are plenty of refugees out there, people much worse off than us. You can’t even count them all. These chaotic times devour people. I don’t know how many bones lie buried in foreign lands. Just making it here alive is a blessing in misfortune.”

Gui Xiang’s mother quickly said, “A good man will always have heaven’s protection. May you continue to have smooth sailing.”

“I hope so too,” Old Man Zhao said cheerfully. “But I’m not sure how difficult the road to Yanlin Prefecture is. We’re outsiders, unfamiliar with the terrain. We don’t have any locals to ask. Which road to take, how long it will be, whether there are dangerous places to avoid—we’re completely in the dark. We can’t get a handle on it.”

He had thought about asking the villagers of Yutang Village, but with the village just hit by snow damage, they were on high alert, scared that these refugees might take advantage of the chaos to loot. He didn’t want to go looking for trouble.

“We don’t know the exact route either. We’ve only heard that you have to cross the mountains to reach Yanlin Prefecture. If all goes well, it takes about half a month to nearly a month,” Gui Xiang’s mother said apologetically. In the past, she had brought baskets of boiled eggs and wild fruits to sell to passing merchant caravans, but she was inexperienced, lacked courage, and had never dared to ask questions. She only knew that Yanlin Prefecture was on the other side of the mountain. How far it was, or which way to go, she really didn’t know.

But she wanted to help her benefactor, so she racked her brains to recall.

“Those merchant caravans haul goods, cart after cart, endless. What a horse or mule can walk, a person can walk even more easily. The paths are at least wide enough.” She turned to look around, orienting herself, then pointed at a mountain path buried under thick snow, its condition unclear. “That’s the road. In normal years, around the New Year, it was bustling. The caravans came from that direction and left this way.”

Then she pointed further off. “Our village is over there. When we go up the mountain to chop firewood, standing on high ground, we can see the caravans moving slowly. They look like little ants, carrying goods and people along winding mountain roads, until they pass over the ridge and are hidden by the dense forest.”

That was also why their village could rush over with local goods to sell in time. The villagers even arranged for children to keep watch on the mountain. As soon as they spotted a caravan, they would run back to notify the village, and everyone would immediately carry their goods and hurry to Tangkou Village.

Gui Xiang’s father was a man of few words. Whenever his wife said something, he would nod, occasionally adding a couple of sentences.

For example, there were indeed a few sections of road that were hard to travel. His father, when young, had wanted to follow a merchant caravan to see the world, but after only a few days he came back with his pack, saying it was too dangerous and he didn’t want to go anymore.

When pressed, he said that on the road he had heard fellow travelers discussing business—how much they lost today, how much they would lose tomorrow, how much they had been squeezed for tolls at certain places, and how they had been robbed by mountain bandits at some unknown territory. They worked themselves to the bone and nearly died. After a year of hard work, the money they earned was actually for others. Moreover, the journey was long, the environment dangerous, and the roads were hard to walk. When he thought about it, going out to seek fortune was more painful than staying home. At home, he only needed to wait for the merchant caravans to pass by. Out there, life was uncertain. In the end, he thought it was better to just go home and farm.

So when it came to Yanlin Prefecture, the couple was somewhat fearful. They even advised, “They say Yanlin Prefecture is restless, with wars breaking out every now and then. There are also long-haired, green-eyed foreigners who capture girls to bear their children. The children born look neither human nor ghost, with terrifying faces.”

Gui Xiang’s mother tightly clutched her daughter’s hand, unable to bear the thought of such good people taking risks: “Do you really have to go to Yanlin Prefecture? Why not stay here in Liangjun Prefecture? It’s safe here, much better than life on the other side of the mountain.”

“If you’re worried about having no roof over your heads, I can have my man talk to the people in Tangkou Village. If not that, come to our Shuangxing Village. Our family can vouch for you. We’ll have the village allocate some land nearby. The father and son can help build a house. Our family has some lumber and tiles. My brother is a stonemason and can lend a hand. I can’t promise a great house, but one or two rooms to shelter from the wind and snow—that’s not difficult.”

She then looked hesitantly at the people sitting around the fire, and said after some deliberation, “...Build it bigger, and we’ll all squeeze in for now.”

“Right, squeeze in first. We’ll figure something out in the spring,” Gui Xiang’s father quickly added.

The couple genuinely wanted to help, and Old Man Zhao appreciated the gesture, but he said, “We’re going to join relatives. We’re not entirely without family on the other side of the mountain. Besides, we’re a large group. Allocating land is no small matter. You already have a lot on your plate at home. You shouldn’t take on extra trouble.”

After what happened in Liuhe Village, he was determined not to stop midway again. He was afraid of more trouble.

Seeing that their persuasion had no effect, Gui Xiang’s parents pursed their lips but said nothing more.

Old Man Zhao thought for a moment and instead gave them a piece of advice: “Liangjun Prefecture seems peaceful now, but we’ve heard some rumors on our way here. They say that in some town near the prefectural seat, they’re conscripting able-bodied men everywhere to work in the mines. The stories have details. I don’t know if they’re true or not. Anyway, if there’s no urgent need, try not to leave the mountains. The outside world is chaotic now, far less safe than the mountains.”

The couple’s heart tightened. They nodded repeatedly, saying they understood.

Old Man Zhao quite admired this family, so he said a bit more. In this era, one had to hunker down and survive. Those who stuck their necks out either offered their throats to be cut, or they had the skills to cut others’ throats.

These villagers at the foot of the distant mountains—if they stayed hidden in the mountains, their lives might be poor, but at least they would be safe. If they rashly left, no one could know what awaited them once they stepped out.

They might be robbed and left for dead, or conscripted as able-bodied men to work in mines, or dragged to the battlefield to fight, or become hidden dependents of wealthy families, trapped on a piece of land for a lifetime, sweating blood for others, tilling the soil until their last ounce of value was squeezed out.

In times of chaos, life is as cheap as dirt; sometimes a single turn can change a lifetime.

That night, the firelight lingered long, shadows dancing without pause.

What started as an acquaintance born of gratitude gradually deepened into genuine feelings for each other.

At dawn, a family of four shouldered bamboo baskets filled with cured meat and winter clothes, bidding farewell with deep gratitude and reluctance as they left the crowd.

All the blessings and advice had been shared the night before.

After two days of rest, the large refugee band of several hundred people packed up and set off once more.

The snow still falling, the young and old, well-fed and content, tied ropes of hemp and bark around their waists, one linked to another, their footprints now deep, now shallow as they supported each other along the unknown mountain path.

In the silent woods, rows of unswept snow-covered shelters finally collapsed one after another under their unbearable weight.

The thick snow buried the campfires, erasing all traces of this group's brief stay.