Chapter 11

"It's you again. You won't learn your lesson unless you use force, right?" As soon as he finished speaking, the whip sounded. The escorting officer waded over with a fierce look on his face and whipped people with all his strength.

Sui Hu turned his back and the whip swept across his spine. He gasped in pain. Sui Wen'an and Sui Ling were not as lucky as him. The whip fell on them intensively, and Sui Ling was beaten so hard that she burst into tears.

"Alright, alright, don't delay our journey." Across the river, a soldier with a beautiful beard spoke out to stop them.

The sound of whips stopped, and the people queuing to cross the river fell silent. When the escort officer's fierce gaze swept over them, they all lowered their heads.

"Sir, it's not us siblings causing trouble. It's people who are deliberately picking on us." Sui Ling was furious. If she got whipped, why shouldn't others get away with it? She stopped crying and pointed at the two men who were almost to the other side of the river. "It was the man with the mole under his nose and the other man carrying the straw bundle who pushed us from behind. They also pushed us from behind when we were going down the mountain path before. They're deliberately picking on us. There will be three or four more of them."

Sui Wen'an did not stop her this time. He caught a glimpse of the whip coming towards him. He grabbed Sui Ling and held her in his arms, taking the whip head-on.

"I'm not here to judge the case for you. Know who you are," the escorting officer warned.

"They are still young and ignorant." Sui Hu took the blame for his nephew and niece, lifted one of Sui Wen'an's arms, gave Sui Ling a wink, and the three of them waded through the water to the other side.

Sui Linghen was filled with anger, her breathing became rapid. Just when she thought the matter was over, the soldier with beautiful beard kicked the man with the black mole under his nose away. Another man was kicked down, rolled several times into the river, hit his head on a rock, and immediately bled.

"Everyone, please be careful. If anyone causes trouble again, this will be your fate," the officers and soldiers warned.

Sui Ling felt relieved and immediately thought that it was worth it to be whipped a few times. Even Sui Wen'an felt relieved.

After crossing the river, Sui Hu let go of Sui Wen'an's arm. Sui Hui hurried over to support him, crying and asking, "Brother, sister, are you two okay?"

"Will the foot injury affect our journey?" Sui Yu glanced at the large group that continued to march forward. They had to pass through the forest next.

Sui Wen'an sat down with the help of a stone, touched his foot bone and bent it hard. There was a cracking sound, and his face was distorted with pain.

"Hurry up." The escort officer who fell behind started urging again.

"Let's go, it's okay." Sui Wen'an stood up and tried, pushing his two sisters into the crowd to avoid being whipped again.

"Cousin, can you set bones?" Sui Yu thought he was quite amazing.

"I know a little bit about martial arts and bone setting."

Sui Yu looked at Sui Hu, who understood and said, "I can't."

Sui Yu uttered an "Oh," turned her head, and her face fell. How could a daughter not know whether her father was a martial artist? She twisted her hands and wanted to slap him in the face.

"I wanted to ask if you were hurt." Sui Yu gritted his teeth and patched himself up.

"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. Stop talking, watch the road and be careful not to step on snakes." Sui Hu bent down and picked up his son.

The mountain was short, with dense trees and many vines. The withered stems and vines were entangled together, making it difficult to walk. A thick layer of rotten leaves covered the ground, covering the potholes. People had to step up and down when walking on it, and they would trip and fall from time to time, which slowed down their progress.

The light and shadow that came through the trees disappeared imperceptibly, the sun set in the west, and the mountain became dim.

"Hurry up." The whip sounded.

"You keep falling and falling, are your eyes in your ass? Damn it, run."

"If you keep dawdling, you'll all be fed to the wolves when dark comes."

The officers and soldiers were shouting more and more urgently, and the sound of whips was as loud as the wind, which made people dare not say a word. They had to cover their mouths when coughing. The atmosphere in the team became depressing.

"Ah!" Sister Zhen's son Niu Wazi jumped in shock.

"Don't shout, walk faster." His father dragged him.

"Dad, hold me, there is a snake on the ground." Niu Wazi felt pain in his calf.

Niu Wazi's father looked back and saw that the people behind him were walking peacefully. He thought his son was being lazy and lying, so he slapped him and said, "Hurry up and leave. If you make any more noise, the officials will whip you."

The pain in his leg disappeared, and Niu Wazi thought he was just scratched by a branch. He breathed a sigh of relief, stopped asking to be held, and continued walking with his parents.

After crossing the mountain, there is a city in the valley. Standing on the mountain, you can see the fire, and when you get closer, you can smell the fragrance of food.

"Dad..." Niu Wazi was out of breath and called out in a voice as thin as a mosquito, but was immediately drowned out by the rumbling stomachs of the people around him.

"I'm so hungry. I'm starving." Sui Yu leaned over to look at the houses on the side of the road.

Children holding their rice bowls also stared at passers-by curiously.

"A child died." A maid shouted outside the tavern.

The people in front stopped and heard crying. Sui Yu stood on tiptoe and asked, "What happened up ahead?"

"It seems like a child died."

"Why did he die out of nowhere?"

The crowd was noisy and blocked the road. Sui Yu listened for a long time but couldn't understand how the child died. When the crowd moved, she finally figured out two sentences from the locals' difficult words: The child died. Bitten by a snake.

"Before you leave tomorrow morning, tie your legs and feet with ropes made of straw," Sui Hu instructed.

"Well, that's scary." Sui Ling was scared. Fortunately, the snake ran away when they passed by.

The crying sounded closer, and Sui Yu felt it was familiar. Something was amiss, and when she saw a face, her heart skipped a beat. It was Sister Zhen, crying over the child. Their eyes met, and hatred gleamed in the lifeless woman's. Her cold gaze sent a chill through Sui Yu.

Sui Ling and Sui Hui were so frightened that they couldn't breathe. They only took a deep breath after entering the post station. Sui Ling rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and muttered, "It wasn't us who caused this."

Sui Yu elbowed her and sternly warned her, "From now on, watch your mouth and don't talk if you can."

Sui Ling was dissatisfied and was about to argue when he heard his elder brother say, "Listen to Sister Yu. If you cause trouble with your mouth again, I will not care about you."

She immediately became obedient.

After entering the woodshed, Sui Hu chose a place a little further away from his clansmen and lived together with the prisoners from Chang'an.

Sui Yu went to grab some dry straw to spread on the ground. When she was walking back, someone stepped on her foot viciously. She jumped up and when she turned around to look for the person, the person had already run far away.

"You wimp." She cursed softly, picked up the bundle of grass and limped into the woodshed.

"What's wrong with your foot?" Sui Hui asked.

"It's okay, don't go out, and don't walk around randomly." Sui Yu was worried that someone would hit him from behind.

Sui Hu went out and brought back another bundle of straw. Sui Liang lay down and fell asleep. The others sat on the straw mat, pulling out the straw stalks to make ropes, twisting them into a ball and throwing them at their feet.

The bright moon emerged from the clouds, and the crying outside the post station stopped. When it was time to get food, Sister Zhen and her husband came in like puppets.

"Is the child buried?" asked Aunt Chun.

"Buried." Sister Zhen answered dully.

"Don't think about it, the child is enjoying himself."

Sister-in-law Zhen didn't respond.

In the middle of the night, a thin figure walked to the corner of the wall. Sui Hu sat up and stared at the blurry figure in silence. The two men stood and sat facing each other.

Sui Liang was awakened by the urge to urinate, and he turned over and got up.

"Do you want to pee?" Sui Hu asked in a low voice?

Sui Liang nodded. He stared at the departing figure for a while, then followed his father to the door.

"Just pee at the door, I'll wait for you here." Sui Hu didn't go out, but stood by the door and stared at the corner.

When Sui Liang fell asleep again, the sound of a woman crying appeared amidst the deafening snoring and continued until dawn.

In the next few nights, Sui Yu did not see Sister Zhen get up again when he was on night watch.

…

Walking out of the valley is a vast grassland. Looking from a low place, the grass is like a waterfall, and there is no trace of horses. From time to time, you can hear horses neighing, and when the horses gallop, the river water ripples and shakes.

"It's really magical that there is a grassland surrounded by mountains. After walking all the way here, I am really amazed." Sui Hu exclaimed.

Sui Wen'an nodded, "If you don't go out, you don't know what the outside world is like, and you don't know what the scenery and roads behind are."

Sui Yu felt hot, so she walked to the river, scooped up some water to wash her face, then stepped on the stones to the middle of the river, scooped up two handfuls of cool water and drank them all.

In front was the Pastor's Court. When officers and soldiers approached to seek accommodation, they were driven away by armed guards with cold faces.

The main force took a detour and continued forward, not stopping until it was dark.

"We will spend the night in the wild and set off to find the next post station tomorrow morning," the officers and soldiers shouted.

"That's fine. It's not cold anymore. I won't catch a cold if I sleep outdoors for a night." Sui Yu slumped down on the grass. He had been walking all day and the bones in his butt were sore.

"Is there anything to eat tonight?" someone asked. "Can we light a fire?"

"You can make a fire. There's horse manure on the grassland. You can pick it up and burn it."

Those who had food and cans quickly went to pick up horse manure. Sui Wen'an stepped on the horse manure pile to avoid it being snatched away. However, there was firewood but no food.

"Let's boil some hot water first." Sui Yu handed over the can and said, "Dad, go get some water from the river."

"Keep an eye on your brother." Sui Hu left.

Sui Yu saw someone rummaging through the grass, and she knew it was edible wormwood. She pulled Sui Liang along to rummage through the grass, too. If horses could eat it, so could people. She followed the gnawed grass, pulling it up by the roots. Later, she found six clumps of chives, which she boiled in water and tossed into the pot to cook.

"Brother, can you lend me your fire and pot?" a fellow prisoner came to ask.

"Okay." Sui Hu agreed without hesitation.

When the water was no longer hot, he scooped it up and took a sip. The soft leeks and other unknown grasses went into his mouth. He chewed them with bated breath and swallowed them whole.

"Uncle San, aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache?" What Sui Wen'an wanted to say was that he wasn't afraid of eating poisonous grass.

Sui Hu waved his hand and said, since Sui Yu dared to cook it, he could eat it.

The family of three ate it all, and the remaining half can went into the stomachs of Sui Wen'an and his two siblings. Although they disliked the taste of the grass soup, no one was willing to waste it.

Guanzi and Huodui borrowed people, and Sui Hu cleaned up the straw bed and took people to find another place to sleep.

The night wind carried the strong scent of green grass, the snorting of horses, and the whispers of people nearby. Lying on the grassland and looking at the starry night sky, Sui Yu relaxed and fell asleep soon after with his hands behind his head.

As the night deepened, the fire burning with horse manure died down, leaving only specks of sparks when the night wind blew, and everyone fell asleep.

A scream broke the quiet night, and the sleeping people suddenly woke up. Another scream rang out, and everyone got up in a hurry.

"There's a wolf. The wolf is coming."

Sui Hu immediately picked up Sui Liang, and with his other hand, he grabbed the wooden board for self-defense and said, "Don't get separated, Wen'an, you know martial arts, keep a close eye on them and protect the sisters."

The wolves tore off their camouflage and emerged from the grass. They were like entering a sheepfold, slowly searching for their targets among the fleeing crowd, and screams were heard everywhere.

Five figures were leading the wolves towards a certain place with a clear goal. Suddenly one of them fell down. Sister Zhen tried to pull him away, and she dragged the wolf along with him. Another wolf came running, and she laughed wildly.

When Sui Wen'an fought with the wolf, she stood aside and laughed happily.

Sui Hu saw Sui Yu recklessly hefting a plank and smashing it against the wolf's waist. He held his son and retreated again and again. Then he saw Sui Wen'an being bitten on the arm by a wolf while trying to protect Sui Hui. Meanwhile, someone was dragging Sui Ling towards the wolf pack. He put Sui Liang down, hurriedly told him to hide, and with a roar, he raised the plank and smashed it against the wolf's head biting Sui Wen'an.

"Go save Sui Ling." He hated her so much. Seeing Sister Zhen rushing towards him again, he dragged her into the wolf's mouth. "You want our lives? You will die too. Let's all die——"

The wolf bit his leg, and Sui Yu pounced on it to beat it. She smelled the blood and broke down in tears. She grabbed the wolf's head like crazy and rode on it, hitting it hard. Later, Sui Hui joined in, and the wolf gradually became silent.

Seeing the hideous wound on her leg in the moonlight, the flesh on her calf gone, Sui Hu felt a chill in his heart. Turning to see Sister Zhen staggering to her feet, he pounced on her and strangled her to death. He would take her away even if he couldn't live. A mad person is more terrifying than a wolf.

"Dad, she is dead, and the wolf is dead too." Sui Yu walked over with a trembling voice.

Sui Hu's face was half bloody. He raised his head and looked for Sui Liang first. Seeing Sui Hui pulling him, he looked away and asked in a hoarse voice, "Sui Yu, where is your magical power?"