Survive
"mother!"
With ringing in her ears, Yan Zhiwei rested her left hand on the edge of the bulletin board.
She stammered, before she could utter a word, when a black-clad figure squeezed out from beside her. Its voice was hoarse, like a raven with its throat chapped. Only after Yan Zhiwei's tinnitus subsided did she realize that the black-clad figure was not a cat, but a beautiful young woman.
Yan Zhiwei looked up along the girl's neck and saw a black mole across her neck, which looked just like a portrait with ink stains on it that read "Er Niu" on a bulletin board.
Yan Zhiwei's eyes widened. She instinctively reached out to cover Erniu's mouth, trying to stop her from speaking.
"Father, Mother!"
Erniu was still shouting, her loud voice echoing down the long street, attracting passersby to turn around frequently.
Out of the corner of her eye, Yan Zhiwei noticed that several soldiers were also making a move. Anxious and helpless, she could only increase the strength in her hands, dragging and pulling Erniu into a deep alley.
"Didn't you see the portrait on the bulletin board? Going out now is a dead end!" Yan Zhiwei said in a deep voice, trying to make the person in front of him realize the current situation.
Of course, these words coming from a stranger would have absolutely no effect.
"Who are you? Let me go! I need to find my parents!" Erniu couldn't hear Yan Zhiwei's words. She only knew that she had been dragged into the alley for no reason. Her face was still showing panic. She showed her teeth and bit Yan Zhiwei's hand that was covering her.
Yan Zhiwei clicked her tongue and gasped, "Are you a dog?"
Yan Zhiwei pinched Erniu's cheeks with her other hand, and Erniu's Adam's apple bobbed, unable to make a sound. Yan Zhiwei sighed; it seemed this method was relatively safe and effective.
"Don't speak yet, let me speak first."
"First of all, I am not a human trafficker. Secondly, although I am sorry, if your parents were servants of the Yan family, they would probably be long gone..." Yan Zhiwei paused, a bloody image flashing through her mind, "The entire Yan family is dead, wiped out."
Yan Zhiwei blinked, her expression somewhat blank.
Her feelings right now are very complicated.
She was a transmigrator. The original owner of this body left home at a young age, and Qin Yuzhi almost sold her. Therefore, neither the memories inherited by Yan Zhiwei nor Yan Zhiwei herself actually experienced much grief.
But it's not that there are no feelings involved.
Yan Zhiwei's forehead was still damp with cold sweat—when she ran away from the marriage, she had thought of making the Yan family suffer a loss, but now that retribution had come, she felt lingering fear.
She never intended to exterminate the Yan family, never imagined she would indirectly deal with them, and never thought that human life was less valuable than grass in this world.
The Yan family was still a prestigious family, and although it had declined, it still had a reputation. However, the destruction of the Wang family was as easy as crushing an ant.
What about Yan Zhiwei? If one day she is hated by her enemies, will she also be skinned alive and bitten by wild dogs?
Yan Zhiwei dared not think any further. The little girl in her arms was still struggling, her tears hot and large, all falling onto Yan Zhiwei's sleeve.
"I don't believe it, you're lying to me. My father and mother were having dinner with me yesterday morning. They said they would wait for me to come back from gathering herbs in the mountains to celebrate my fourteenth birthday with me. I don't believe it, I'm going back to find my parents... Even if I die, I want to be with them..." Erniu covered her ears, her eyes red and swollen.
Yan Zhiwei was already annoyed, and Erniu was still being unreasonable. Yan Zhiwei thought that she should just give in to Erniu's wishes, but the girl in front of her was still in the prime of her life, and Yan Zhiwei couldn't bear to turn her into a piece of disfigured red flesh.
"Erniu," Yan Zhiwei called the girl's name softly, "If your parents were still alive, they would want you to live a good life, wouldn't they?"
Yan Zhiwei wiped away Erniu's tears and pressed her head close to Erniu's round face: "The past cannot be changed. If you believe me, I will take you away."
I'll take you away safely.
Yan Zhiwei patted Erniu on the back.
She didn't know if Erniu would believe her, but if Erniu rushed out now, she probably wouldn't be able to find anyone trustworthy to help her through this ordeal.
Yan Zhiwei couldn't bear to watch Erniu do something foolish, but she was willing to take on this trouble to help Erniu. Perhaps Yan Zhiwei herself was also a fool.
Yan Zhiwei sighed and ran her hand through Erniu's split ends.
"Are you willing to believe me?" Yan Zhiwei released her hand from Erniu's, her eyes sparkling and clear as lake water.
Looking into Yan Zhiwei's eyes, Erniu finally stopped crying.
"I want my mother..." The teenage girl finally let down her guard, hugged Yan Zhiwei back, and choked out.
Yan Zhiwei took apart Erniu's messy hair and braided it into a small side ponytail.
Erniu seemed to be a simple and honest child. Yan Zhiwei got along very well with her and learned that Erniu was thirteen years old and the only daughter of two servants who worked in the kitchen of the Yan family.
It's pitiful, too.
Yan Zhiwei brushed Erniu's blonde hair, thinking that her life in the past must have been difficult, and her nutrition was not good. Fortunately, Erniu still had a smooth and supple face, which was probably a child that her parents had raised with love and care through frugality.
"Erniu." Yan Zhiwei straightened the girl's body in front of her. "From now on, I am your elder sister. Listen, if we want to live well, we must first change this name and then leave this Shu County."
The most urgent thing is to leave immediately. Since the Wang family has already issued a notice to find people, they will not give up so easily. They probably really intend to wipe out the entire Yan family.
At least in Shu County, Erniu can no longer be called Erniu, and Yan Zhiwei can no longer bear the surname Yan.
Zhiwei patted the dust off Erniu's clothes, her gaze sweeping across the night sky. The stars were dazzling, but the moon was nowhere to be seen.
The starlight was faint, and the darkness was far from over.
Erniu is still so young. Zhiwei hopes that Erniu can live in the light, grow up carefree, and do whatever she wants.
She pinched Erniu's cheek and laughed, "From now on, you will be called Shao Zhao."
——
That night, Zhiwei brought home a black cat and boiled a bucket of hot water for her to bathe.
Shao Zhao seemed to have not washed or groomed herself for several days. As soon as she got into the water, her skin showed two contrasting shades of gray and white along with the heat. Zhiwei helped her gather up her dirty clothes and found that her coarse linen clothes had several holes in them.
Fortunately, Shao Zhao was taller than his peers. Zhi Wei remembered that she still had an old set of coarse cloth clothes that she hadn't been willing to throw away, but now they came in handy.
Zhiwei, holding a candle, intended to return to her room to find her clothes. The candlelight cast a faint glow in the dim corridor, and Shaozhao's humming of a tune in the bathtub faded into the distance.
"Whoosh—" A gust of wind came from nowhere and extinguished the candle. Zhiwei frowned, feeling a little scared. She quickly looked up and met a pair of eyes in the darkness.
"You're back." Upon seeing who it was, Zhiwei breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
"Mm," Zhu Mingyu said gently.
A draft swept through the corridor, whipping up sleeves and causing them to flutter wildly.
"The weather is about to change," Zhu Mingyu sighed. His night vision was good; he took a piece of Zhiwei's clothing and led her back to her bedroom.
Zhiwei was rummaging through the clothes in the closet when Zhu Mingyu stood beside her.
Zhiwei had already explained to Zhu Mingyu the reason why she brought Shaozhao back. Zhu Mingyu nodded and accepted Shaozhao. When he learned that the two of them had not eaten for a long time, he asked to go out to find food.
Zhu Mingyu brought back two roast chickens and served them to Zhiwei while Shao Zhao was taking a bath. Zhiwei ate half a chicken and then offered the remaining half to Zhu Mingyu.
Zhu Mingyu took it without eating, his face darkening as he watched Zhiwei's greasy lips, and he remained unusually silent.
Zhiwei noticed the low atmosphere and poured Zhu Mingyu a cup of tea, asking him what had happened.
“There was a slight mishap when we left the city,” Zhu Mingyu said. “I went to buy some food just now and found that there were already people at the city gate negotiating with Shao Zhao’s portrait, saying that a large reward was offered.”
"When it gets light, soldiers will still be searching for people along the streets. I heard it's a city-wide search, so it'll be hard to escape the inspection."
Zhu Mingyu drank the tea from Zhiwei's hand.
The two originally planned to lay low in the city for a few days before discussing their next move, but they did not expect the Prince's Palace to investigate so quickly. Of course, they could choose to take a gamble and continue hiding people, but this would put them in a passive position, and the matter of leaving Shu might become even more complicated.
Zhu Mingyu looked somber as he observed the other person's reaction.
"The city gates must be closed by now." Zhiwei recalled the time when she was at the Lingnan city gate and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Zhu Mingyu understood Zhiwei's dilemma and continued her words: "According to the rules of the court, the city gates should be closed, but Shu County has its own customs, and the north gate is not usually closed."
Indeed, if the timing of closing the city gates were truly important, countless Wang family shady dealings would be impossible to carry out under the cover of darkness.
Zhiwei sighed softly a few times, then slammed her empty cup onto the table and patted her thigh deftly: "We're leaving tonight!"
As midnight approached, the three men and one horse walked through the quiet streets.
A light rain began to fall from the sky. Zhiwei only picked out some essential items from her luggage and put the only straw hat she had on Shaozhao, who was riding on horseback.
Everyone was very nervous.
If all goes well, they will not encounter any obstacles and will be able to leave the city. If not... Zhu Mingyu's hand on the horse's reins trembled slightly.
There was silence all around, the only sound being the clatter of horses' hooves. As they drew closer to the north gate, a shout came from behind them.
"Where are you headed so late, young lady?" Zhiwei's temples were sweating, and she felt that the voice was somewhat familiar.
It was the old woman in charge of the Wang family who she had met during the day speaking!
Zhiwei stared wide-eyed.
The old woman was still grumbling, "Could it be that they think the feng shui of Shu County is bad and they're going to run away?"
"But it was really too hasty. I haven't paid you for these steamed buns yet. Don't you really feel regretful?"
The old woman smiled, but her eyes were cold.
"If I remember correctly, when you came to recruit workers, you gave your surname, Yan? Oh my, what a wonderful surname! My master has been looking for you everywhere."
"Please come to my residence for a rest, young lady," the old woman said.
“What if we don’t agree?” Zhu Mingyu stood in front of Zhiwei.
"Then we'll have no choice but to invite them." The old woman said, waving her hand, and several men in black carrying sharp weapons emerged from the shadows.
In a split second, swords clashed.
Zhu Mingyu pulled out a sharp sword from somewhere, and with a slight flick of his wrist, blocked the attack of the black-clad man's cleaver, creating distance between them.
The clanging sound of clashing swords continued.
Several more men in black lunged forward, but Zhu Mingyu suddenly ducked and pushed off the ground, using his left arm to barely block the blade that was slashing at him diagonally.
Zhiwei smelled the blood in the air. She looked closely and saw a large amount of dark blood gushing out from under Zhu Mingyu's coarse clothes.
"You guys get on your horses first, I'll catch up later!" Zhu Mingyu didn't have time to say more. He whistled and slapped the horse's rump hard. Before Zhiwei could even grip the reins, the horse had already started galloping.
"Live on!" Zhu Mingyu said again.
The view on both sides became increasingly blurry, and the sudden rain, accompanied by the wind, lashed against Zhiwei's face.
"Zhu Mingyu!" Zhiwei's eyes were not fully open, and she could only see Zhu Mingyu's back getting smaller and smaller until it turned into a dot and dissolved into the black ink.
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