Chapter 5 Let's take a gamble!
In the early morning, the mountains were shrouded in mist. It had rained heavily again in the latter half of the night, only stopping this morning. Fan Xiaoxiao hadn't slept much all night, and she and her husband checked on Xiaobao every now and then.
"Er Ya, go to sleep. I'll watch over Xiao Bao."
Fan Xiaoxiao shook her head, showing no intention of going to sleep. Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang had also stayed up all night, sitting together with worried expressions. Although the child's high fever had subsided, he was still very weak. Moreover, although there was no rain inside the cave, it was cold and damp, which was not conducive to Xiaobao's recovery.
"Uncle Wang, are there any hunters staying in these mountains?"
"If it existed, it should have collapsed, but..."
"Hey! Old man, what are you talking about? Tell me!"
Aunt Wang couldn't stand Uncle Wang's hesitant manner, so she urged him on.
"Tsk! You woman! A few years ago, I saw someone build a village on this mountain. It's a secluded place, and I don't know if they're good people! That's why I hesitated!"
Xiao Bao groggily opened his eyes, and when he heard them discussing going to the village, he assumed they were going back to the house. In an instant, he remembered the red lights from last night, and the bandits shouting and yelling. The little boy shrank back, weakly tugging at Fan Xiaoxiao's sleeve.
"Cough cough, Auntie... Xiao Bao isn't feeling unwell, he won't go to the house."
Madam Fan patted his little shoulder tenderly: "Good boy, no one wants to go. Er Ya, why don't we go home? Those bandits might have already left."
This idea was immediately approved by Aunt Wang: "That's right! Let's not risk going to that village. Those bandits might just leave after they've robbed us!"
Hearing this, Fan Xiaoxiao frowned slightly: "No, we can't go back. It rained so hard last night, and we have a child with us. If even one of those bandits has a brain, they'll know we haven't gone far, and they might already be chasing us. Going back would be certain death!"
"No... Xiao Bao doesn't want to go home, Xiao Bao doesn't want to go to the house..."
Hearing that everyone was going home, Yu Xiaobao started trembling. Fan Xiaoxiao patted his head and coaxed him softly, "Xiaobao, don't be afraid. We won't go back, we won't go to the bad people. Auntie is just hungry, so I went to pick fruit. Xiaobao, rest well, and Auntie will bring you some fruit to eat later!"
"Hmm, it's picking fruit, not the house?"
"Yes, it's picking fruit."
"Oh well."
Fan opened her mouth as if to speak, but Fan Xiaoxiao gently shook her head, indicating that Uncle Wang should go outside to talk with her before leaving the cave.
Uncle Wang followed behind her, glancing back at Fan Shi and Aunt Wang, who were gently coaxing the child inside the cave, and said with some concern, "Girl, are you really planning to go to which village?"
Fan Xiaoxiao nodded and then shook her head, gazing at the misty forest with a heavy tone: "Uncle, if we go back now, we'll definitely not survive. Last night I heard that those bandits seemed to be targeting the women, and judging from their demeanor, they didn't seem to be going to let us go easily. If I'm not mistaken, I'm afraid that the bandits will come looking for us in another two or three hours."
"Is that really true!"
"really."
"Shall we go to the village now?"
Fan Xiaoxiao shook her head, leaned closer to Uncle Wang and whispered something in his ear. As he listened to her words, the expression on his face slowly changed from serious to astonished. Finally, Uncle Wang raised his eyebrows and looked at the dirty girl in front of him, saying with deep unease, "This... will this work?"
A soft laugh escaped Fan Xiaoxiao's lips. She turned to look at Uncle Wang, her small, dirty face revealing a startlingly bright pair of eyes: "Uncle Wang! Let's make a bet!"
More than an hour later, Uncle Wang lay on the edge of the cliff, looking at the riverbank they had come up from the day before. The small boats there had long since drifted out with the current. Several awning boats rowed over from a distance. He couldn't see who the people were, but seeing the gleaming knives, Uncle Wang knew these people were up to no good.
A chill ran down his spine. Recalling what the girl had said, he gritted his teeth and half-covered his mouth with his hand: "Cuckoo, cuckoo..."
A clear bird song rang out in the forest. Hearing this, Fan Xiaoxiao grinned and smiled silently—they're here!
(End of this chapter)
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