Chapter 238 I’m Really Hungry
A few white clouds like willow catkins floated in the light blue sky. The cool morning breeze blew across the undulating sea of grass. A red chestnut horse strolled among them, picking up the tender green grass roots and feasting on them.
Shen Yuexi sat on a big rock, hugged her knees, and turned her back to Xiao Zhuo with a puff of anger.
"If you don't want to eat it, then don't eat it," she reminded Xiao Zhuo quickly, "Don't bring it to me."
No one knew where this man had learned all these wild survival skills, but he actually caught a few fat and furry creatures... According to Xiao Zhuo, they were called voles, and he roasted them on the campfire.
To Shen Yuexi, it was a mouse. Just the sight of it made her scalp tingle, let alone eating it.
"You really don't want to eat them?" Xiao Zhuo said seriously behind her, "When I was fighting in the Northern Di, my soldiers and I often caught and ate them. There are many of these little things on the grassland, and they are delicious when roasted. I want you to try them."
Shen Yuexi said firmly: "I would rather starve."
Honestly, those bald-headed vultures flying in the sky are much more pleasing to the eye than field mice. I don't know what this person is thinking, it would be great if he could catch her a chicken.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuexi suddenly became interested. She jumped off the stone, ran to the horse, and took off the bow hanging on the saddle.
This was the thing that impressed her the most. From the moment she was chased on that rainy night, the sound of the bowstring clacking had been with her like a shadow, accompanying her all the time.
She imagined herself riding a horse, her eyes sweeping across the vast grassland like an eagle. Suddenly, a fat pheasant fluttered out from the grass. She sneered, drew her arrow and put it on the string. The arrow flew out like a meteor, and the pheasant fell to the ground.
That's so heroic.
The bow felt heavy in her hand. The handle, once wrapped with dense anti-slip cloth, was already worn in several places. She grasped the handle with her left hand, hooked the bowstring with four fingers of her right hand, and tried to pull, but it wouldn't budge.
Drawing a bow and shooting an arrow is just a thought. I guess it’s impossible in this lifetime.
She hung the bow back on the saddle and looked up into the distance.
Qiang Lin had gone out early this morning to explore the route ahead and hadn't returned yet. They were now surrounded by the enemy and were desperately trying to find a way out. To the north lay the defenses of Xiao Beiheng's Dingbei Army, and it was unclear how far west they had to go to bypass the enemy's blockade.
As they were looking around, they saw dust rising in the distance. It seemed that a horse was running towards them, and three people on horseback were chasing it from behind.
Is Qianglin being chased by the enemy?
She quickly ran to the rock where she had just been sitting, climbed up using both her hands and feet, and warned Xiao Zhuo, "Husband, someone is coming this way."
"I see." Xiao Zhuo also stood up and walked to the front of the horse and took off the bow.
Seeing that Xiao Zhuo was prepared, Shen Yuexi finally felt relieved. She stood up, covered her eyes with her hands and looked out.
The man being chased was wearing Dingbei Army uniform and armor, and was clearly not Qiang Lin. The three people chasing him were also wearing Dingbei Army uniform and armor. The man being chased seemed to have spotted her and Xiao Zhuo and was galloping towards them desperately.
"Husband, it seems that there is an internal conflict in the Dingbei Army?" Shen Yuexi turned her head to look at Xiao Zhuo.
"Our position has been exposed. We can't let them go," Xiao Zhuo responded as he drew arrows from his quiver. "If they go back and report it, a large group of people will come after us."
"Which one should be killed first?" Shen Yuexi asked.
"Kill the one behind first, so that the one in front will think we are helping him, and then we can kill him last." Xiao Zhuo drew his bow and arrow, and when the bowstring sounded, one of the three people chasing behind fell off his horse.
The remaining two Dingbei soldiers saw their companions shot by arrows and were about to turn their horses and flee when Xiao Zhuo fired two more arrows, hitting their targets perfectly and knocking all three off their horses. The three horseless horses were frightened and ran away in all directions, disappearing without a trace.
Xiao Zhuo drew out another arrow, ready to shoot the last one off the horse, but Shen Yuexi suddenly shouted, "Wait, don't kill her."
The man had run closer, his face was clear, and Shen Yuexi recognized who it was.
Xia Lan.
When she was imprisoned by Xiao Beiheng, she had dealt with this maid who always had a smile on her face. She never expected to meet her in such a desolate place. Fate's arrangement was incredible.
How could she be chased by the Dingbei Army? Isn’t she Xiao Beiheng’s maid?
Xiao Zhuo put down his bow and arrow and said, "Is he someone you know?"
Shen Yuexi nodded.
For ease of riding, she wasn't wearing women's clothing, but a smaller version of men's attire. Xia Lan didn't recognize her for a moment. She ran over, jumped off her horse, and breathlessly clasped her fists at the two men, saying, "Thank you so much. I'm starving, starving..."
Before Shen Yuexi could say anything, Xia Lan had already followed the aroma and saw the field mice roasting on the campfire: "Let me eat something first."
Without asking the two of them, she rushed to the campfire, picked up a vole and stuffed it into her mouth, not even caring that it was hot.
"Hey, that's a mouse!" Shen Yuexi ran to her and reminded her.
Xia Lan didn't even raise her head.
Shen Yuexi thought she was starving, her usual smile gone, so she stopped trying to persuade her. Although Xia Lan was Xiao Beiheng's maid, she couldn't move herself with Xiao Zhuo beside her. After she finished eating, she could ask Xiao Beiheng for information.
She went to the saddle to get the water bag, brought it to the campfire, and handed it to Xia Lan, saying, "Here, have some water."
"Thank you...thank you." Xia Lan spoke incoherently with her mouth full of meat. She reached out to take the water bag and happened to meet Shen Yuexi.
"Shen Yuexi?"
Her eyes widened, and the field mouse and water bag in her hands fell to the ground.
After some inquiries, Shen Yuexi finally understood the whole story and couldn't help but feel surprised and happy.
What surprised her was that Chen Lan actually ran back to find Xiao Kai, but was caught by Xiao Beiheng. What made her happy was that Su Mo actually let Chen Lan go.
Xia Lan and Shen Lan escaped together. The two women had been on the run for two days and two nights, drinking only water, and Shen Lan was nearly fainting from hunger. Xia Lan, unable to hunt, left Shen Lan in a safe place while she ventured into the Dingbei Army camp to steal food. She was discovered by the cooks, who chased her there. Who knew she would run into Shen Yuexi and Xiao Zhuo?
"You won't run away secretly and tell Xiao Beiheng, right?" Shen Yuexi was a little worried.
Xia Lan shook her head like a rattle: "I told Su Mo the true side of Xiao Beiheng. If Xiao Beiheng catches me, he will kill me. It's not like I'm tired of living."
She stood up and walked to her horse, picking off a large piece of raw mutton, which looked to be at least four or five pounds.
"I stole a piece of mutton from the Dingbei Army camp and was chased for more than ten miles. I almost lost my life."
Shen Yuexi was delighted. This was truly delicious food. Sprinkle some salt, cumin powder, and pepper on it, roast it over a fire, or make it into mutton soup. It was better than those little things with pointed beaks and round ears.
She was worried about her sister Chen Lan who was still starving and was now alone, so she was afraid that she might be in danger. Just then, Qiang Lin also returned, and everyone immediately went to look for Chen Lan together.
When they found Chen Lan behind a sheltered slope, she had already passed out from hunger. Seeing that Chen Lan had lost her left hand, Shen Yuexi was overwhelmed with grief. She asked Xia Lan what had happened and only then did she understand what had happened.
Xia Lan said, "Chen Yuexi, you must be content. If we hadn't escaped, your sister would be dead now."
Shen Yuexi held Shen Lan in her arms, fed her water from the water bag, called Qiang Lin over, and asked, "Why didn't you tell me about my sister? You were clearly there at the time."
Qiang Lin's face showed guilt as he said, "It's not that I want to hide this... If I tell the master, he will definitely go to rescue us. We can hardly save ourselves..."
"It's okay," Shen Yuexi glanced at the scar on Qiang Lin's face and said softly, "Go help Xia Lan cook."
She understood that Qiang Lin was doing this for her own good. Chen Lan was imprisoned in Yongwei City, and Qiang Lin had no secret guards to help her. Even if he wanted to save her, he couldn't, which only added to his troubles. Qiang Lin had risked his life repeatedly to save her from danger, and now he still had several wounds on his body. She couldn't bear to scold him anymore.
After taking a few sips of water, Shen Lan slowly woke up. When she saw that the person in front of her was Shen Yuexi, she burst into tears:
"Sister, I didn't expect that I would see you again."
Shen Yuexi asked, "Sister, why do you insist on going back to find Xiao Kai? Where are Madam Li and the others?"
"Madam Li fled with Li Wan. When they learned that Nanping City had fallen, they immediately ran away," Chen Lan said weakly. "I have nowhere to go. Where else can I go except to go back to find Xiao Kai?"
Shen Yuexi was speechless. She felt that when it came to saving their lives, Madam Li and her daughter were very agile. They ran without hesitation. If only Shen Lan could follow them.
"Sister, we no longer have a home," Chen Lan said, tears streaming down her face. She stretched out her right hand and held her wrist. "When you and Xiao Zhuo went to fight Yong Wei, a messenger came to tell me that His Majesty had gone mad and killed Grandpa. The people in the Duke's Mansion were afraid of implicating their entire family, so they all dispersed... We no longer have a home."
"No, my sister is here," Shen Yuexi hugged her and said, "Don't cry, sister."
Unlike Shen Lan, she had no emotional attachment to the Duke's Mansion, and was not as sad as Shen Lan after hearing the news.
What she is more worried about now is how to escape.
Originally, she, Xiao Zhuo and Qiang Lin were running smoothly, but they didn't expect to meet Chen Lan in the middle of the journey.
The difficulty of escaping has increased.
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