The Prophet's Peak (II)
The place they were thrown into by the system was the top of a barren mountain. Thick snow covered the surroundings, leaving nothing but a vast expanse of white, with only a few broken branches and trunks exposed. Not even a single wild rabbit could be seen, let alone food.
Four people plus a child, without weapons and without local assistance, everything went black before their eyes.
"Which way do the four directions go? Oh, no, where are the four directions?" Shi Xiaofeng squatted in the snow and prepared for the blind audition.
"Where to?" Nie Yun pointed casually.
"Why are you so sure?"
Nie Yun shrugged: "I am not a prophet."
Shi Xiaofeng was so angry that he almost laughed: "Don't the fortune tellers on TV have crystal balls and burn incense ashes to read the revelations? How can you be like this? You just point at something randomly, and who knows you..."
Liang Qing interrupted him: "Right here, follow Nie Yun's intuition."
With Liang Qing's unconditional support, Nie Yun felt less confident. She scratched her head. "Don't blame me if I'm wrong. Like Xiaofeng, I always feel like this identity forces me to make predictions... Oops!"
They had only taken a few steps in the direction Nie Yun pointed when something under the thick snow was triggered. The sound of taut ropes colliding with metal exploded in the cold air.
Liang Qing pulled Nie Yun back, and in just half a second, a black tooth-shaped mechanism jumped out of thin air and bit hard at the place where Nie Yun had been standing.
If Liang Qing hadn't pulled him back, Nie Yun's calf would have been broken by this thing. It was a trap.
"Is your prediction the opposite of what it was?" Shi Xiaofeng checked on Nie Yun and complained even though he was still in shock.
Nie Yun: ...
Alan carefully dragged the trap over and examined it. "It has the seal of Shengji City on it. Someone must be hunting nearby."
"There's no prey in this desolate mountain..."
"Mother..."
Grandma's voice suddenly came from the biting wind, but the voice was quickly blown away by the wind and the source could not be identified.
The four adults looked at the seat belts at the same time... At some point, the buckle of the seat belts was unfastened again without them noticing.
To keep Liang Baobao warm, Liang Qing briefly removed him from his clothes. The four of them then wrapped him in whatever clothes they could. Then, Liang Qing came to his senses, grabbed Nie Yun, and Liang Baobao, standing in the snow, vanished in an instant.
As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but dead trees and white snow. There was no sign of Liang Baobao.
"Looking for it!" Liang Qing pursed her lips and ran in one direction first. The other three immediately separated, one in each direction, shouting Liang Baobao's name as they ran.
Liang Baobao squatted in the snow, his clothes so thick that his originally short legs were almost invisible. He hadn't run very far. He could even see Liang Qing and the others scattered dozens of meters away, anxiously searching for him, but the tree stump in front of them blocked most of his body.
He couldn't reach the thing hanging above his head, and Liang Baobao stomped his feet in frustration.
Time passed by minute by minute, but Liang Baobao, who was in the blind spot of everyone's vision, was still not discovered.
"Come down." Liang Baobao frowned, and suddenly two words came out of his mouth without any instruction.
Suddenly, there was a crackling sound among the dense branches, and the huge wild boar fell slowly from the net bag.
The sound was amplified infinitely in the empty mountains. Allen, who was closest, had sharp eyes and caught the source of the sound. He pounced on Liang Baobao a second before the wild boar fell.
The wild boar, frozen into a huge lump, fell to the ground with a thud, splashing a huge dance of snow.
Allen hugged Liang Baobao tightly. Behind him, Liang Qing and others ran over.
"Cough cough cough... Bao Bao is fine."
Alan handed Baobao to Liang Qing, and Shi Xiaofeng and Nie Yun helped Alan up.
"You can't leave us quietly, understand?" Liang Qing rarely looked serious to Liang Baobao.
Liang Baobao seemed to realize that he had made a mistake, and his two chubby little fingers kept pushing, but because he was wearing too many clothes, his two hands could not touch each other, and he could only poke in the air.
Liang Qing suppressed her laughter and put him down.
"How did this pig get up there?" Shi Xiaofeng hissed and circled around the tree.
Nie Yun disagreed: "I'm more curious about how it got down."
Alan kicked the frozen pig that looked like a mountain of meat. "What I care about is how to turn it into food for us."
"You, raise your hands!"
Behind the few people, a young child's voice suddenly appeared.
Liang Qingyi winked, and the other three raised their hands. She slowly turned around and saw a little kid, about eight or nine years old, standing not far from them, wearing a thick fur coat. He held a custom-made wooden bow in his hand, the arrow pointed at them.
Under the tiger-skin hat are a pair of beautiful big eyes. He is not strong, but has a straight back, which makes him look majestic.
Liang Baobao wanted to rush over to Liang Qing's feet, but Liang Qing picked him up and protected him behind him.
"If we don't resist, can you also lay down your weapons?" Liang Qing said in a gentle voice.
"No! You just tried to steal my boar!"
Shi Xiaofeng smiled provocatively: "Since this pig is yours, why don't you drag it away."
The little kid snorted, and suddenly he took out a dagger from his pocket and slashed at somewhere in the snow. A sharp sound of wind came to his ears.
The frozen pig seemed to have grown legs again. It ran out quickly and soon disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
Everyone was stunned.
The little kid was very proud: "Isn't that great! I said this is my pig, so it's my pig!"
Liang Qing nodded, agreeing completely: "The pig is yours, and we will go back to the fort with you."
Little Doll: ...
His face became alert for a second: "You are..."
His eyes swept across everyone and finally landed on Liang Baobao's hat - the sky blue robe belonging to the prince was revealed from the messy cotton jacket.
"Your Highness! He is His Highness!" The little boy's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly threw away his bow and arrow, kneeling on one knee in a proper manner to pick up his luggage.
Liang Baobao was controlled by Liang Qing, pinching the tassels of her clothes and kicking her legs in the air - it was obvious that as a "little prince", he felt very embarrassed to be greeted like this.
“…I’ll put you down.” Liang Qing put Liang Baobao down and tidied his clothes.
Liang Baobao faced the luggage of a child who was much older than him, with a hint of pride on his little face, and he nodded in a serious manner.
The little boy stood up, clapped his hands, and led the way with joy: "His Royal Highness the Prince has brought foreign aid! Our Shengji is no longer an abandoned land! Follow me!"
The four of them followed the little boy for twenty minutes. The mountain road turned from flat to rugged. On the last stretch of the trail, they smelled the strong aroma of meat. Their stomachs began to growl unconsciously.
Liang Baobao, who was tucked under Liang Qing's arm, looked like a small plane about to take off. He was completely lost in the aroma of barbecue, and was dancing as if urging Liang Qing to walk faster.
"We're here!" The little boy stopped in front of an inconspicuous stone and knocked on the door with extremely complicated movements. An older voice sounded from the doorway: "Xiao Shisan, you're back?"
"It's me! Grandpa, the clan leader, open the door! I've brought distinguished guests with me!"
The stone door slowly opened, and a warm breath rushed out. They looked inside - almost everyone in the cave came out with weapons in hand.
The little boy stood in front of Liang Qing and the others: "Grandpa, clan leader! The Seventh Prince has brought people to rescue us!"
Half an hour later, Liang Qing, sitting by the campfire, looked troubled. She awkwardly apologized to everyone, "Sorry... he's a bit of a glutton."
As he spoke, Liang Baobao put down the wild boar leg he had gnawed clean, burped loudly, and reached out to grab another one.
In front of him, the people of Shengji who survived the battle to defend the city were already emaciated by hunger. Among them were many old people and children. They endured the rumbling of hunger and watched Liang Baobao inhaling the whirlwind with awe and longing.
Liang Qing picked up Liang Baobao. The fat boy, still immersed in his own world, kicked his fat legs unconvinced and made a "babble" in resistance.
"You can't eat anymore."
Liang Baobao understood what he said and pouted, about to cry. Liang Qing ignored him, simply holding him with his arm, pulling off a piece of meat, and walked straight to the boy who brought them here.
"You should eat something."
The boy named Sang Ya hadn't expected Liang Qing to remember him. He said "thank you" several times, took it with a sense of flattery, and lowered his head to chew the meat silently.
Beside him were his younger siblings. Perhaps because Sanya was tasked with trapping animals, he was dressed more warmly than the others. The oldest brother, only about six years old, was huddled in a corner, wearing a dirty, torn cotton jacket.
These refugees obviously also have their own order for food distribution. For children like Sanya's brothers and sisters who have no fighting ability and productivity, it is very good to have a sip of meat soup every time they come back from hunting.
Liang Qing neatly divided the wild boar into several portions, first giving some of the good meat to the children. After doing this, she looked down at Liang Baobao. In her arms, Liang Baobao had calmed down. He sucked his thumb thoughtfully as he watched the other children wolf down a few mouthfuls of meat, no longer clamoring for more.
The remaining meat was given to the refugees.
Leading the charge was the father of the former leader of Shengji Village, the most respected clan leader among the refugees. He was embarrassed and terrified, "We shouldn't eat the prince's food."
Liang Qing put Liang Baobao down and sat back by the campfire: "He can't eat everyone's food."
Although he was only half full, the well-behaved Liang Baobao did not try to grab the food. He leaned against Liang Qing and nibbled on his pacifier.
After the entire wild boar was devoured, the atmosphere in the cave had calmed down considerably compared to its previous desolate state. The Seventh Prince was intelligent and lovable, and the officials accompanying him were all sensible men, which put everyone at ease.
The clan leader slowly unfolded the map of Shengji and told Liang Qing and the others how the ancient city, the first frontier fortress of Baita Kingdom, bravely withstood the invasion of Black Mountain for a century, and how the originally impregnable defense line was gradually disintegrated in the past three years.
"We are the only indigenous people of Shengji... We have been trapped in this mountain for five months. No one has cared about our lives. We never expected, really never expected, that His Majesty would not give up on us."
A woman suddenly started to murmur a few words and burst into tears.
Nie Yun patted her shoulder to comfort her, but her expression suddenly changed and she quickly withdrew her hand.
"The city lord and the former general defending the city died overnight?" Liang Qing retracted his gaze and continued to ask the clan leader.
When his son was mentioned, the clan leader's eyes reddened slightly and he nodded: "He was poisoned to death."
"How was the poison administered?"
"It should be water." The patriarch rummaged through his bag and found an ordinary glass cup. The cup was engraved with the emblem of Shengji City and had a chipped edge.
"This was found at the scene of their death. My son and General Joseph were discussing military matters together that day. Late in the night, a maid knocked on their door to bring them a late-night snack. She found them dead in the Privy Council room, spitting blood."
"He must be a spy from Montenegro!" someone said angrily.
It was also on the night when General Sith and the city lord died suddenly that the Black Mountain army marched straight in and broke through Shengji's border defenses.
Liang Qing looked at the map carefully. This was the battle map used by the former city lord. Some breakthrough routes were repeatedly outlined on it with pens of different colors.
With Shengji bordering the sea on one side and mountain passes of varying altitudes on the other three, it once possessed a formidable natural barrier. However, after the city was breached, this barrier became a prison. Nearly 100,000 civilians within the city were unable to evacuate in time, and most perished at the hands of the Black Mountain cavalry.
The city lord's battle route wasn't just a matter of attack and defense; it was also a path for survival. Many routes intertwined and intertwined, none of which offered a smooth path. It was clear that Shengji City had suffered greatly from Black Mountain.
"I still need to study this map," Liang Qing said calmly, rolling it up. "We've all come from the capital and are exhausted from the journey. Let's rest tonight and continue tomorrow."
"Okay." As if he had found a backbone, the patriarch nodded hurriedly.
The victims had their own self-defense team. Several men stood up, reinforced the stone gate, and then divided into two groups, one to guard outside and the other to keep watch at the door.
Most of the lights in the cave went out. Liang Qing, holding Liang Baobao, squeezed next to Nie Yun. Nie Yun almost immediately emerged from under the covers and whispered, "The spy is still in the cave."
Liang Qing patted her hands: "I guess so."
As they were talking, Allen and Shi Xiaofeng also came over.
"How did you find out?"
Nie Yun wanted to elaborate, but he held back and said briefly, "It's pretty much the same as before, just go by the feel."
The prophet's intuition was crucial in this situation. Shi Xiaofeng was intrigued and eager to try. "How are we going to catch the spy?"
In the dim cave, Liang Qing's eyes sparkled: "No."
The other three exchanged glances before hearing Liang Qing continue, "...maybe it could be of great use."
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