He was awakened by the sounds of fighting. He didn't understand how, after just a nap, his situation had changed so drastically. By the moonlight, he could see his mother fighting with the two other households. He opened his mouth wide, almost letting out a scream, but then reason prevailed. He covered his mouth, unable to believe what he was seeing. He hadn't expected his gentle and weak mother to hold her own against such formidable opponents.
What he didn't know was that his mother, whom he admired, was struggling. Although she had practiced day and night recently, preparing for this very day, the opponents were numerous, and her cultivation time was too short, making it difficult for her to cope.
The other two families were astonished. They never dreamed that the old woman would be so deeply skilled.
Wu Caiwei, caught off guard, had her arm slashed. Without changing her expression, she continued to grapple with them. Judging by their seamless cooperation and the ferocity of their attacks, they were clearly not ordinary civilians.
He Sheng searched for a suitable weapon for a long time, but found none. He could only pick up a rock, preparing to help his mother if the opportunity arose.
When a man was kicked by his mother and sent flying towards him, he froze. The rock in his hand almost fell, hitting his own foot. He reacted quickly, raising the rock and smashing it onto the man before he could get up.
The man immediately looked up, his face contorted in pain and disbelief, before passing out unwillingly. Seeing the blood on his forehead, He Sheng felt flustered and panicked. This was something he had never experienced in his more than ten years of life. He hadn't expected to kill someone one day. However, those people gave him no time to breathe and charged forward with knives, intending to attack him.
He Sheng, being young, reacted swiftly. With a roll, he raised a rock to block a knife. The clang of metal against stone startled Wu Caiwei. She instinctively moved, not wanting her son to be in such danger. Having not had much chance to fight herself, she couldn't believe he was caught in the middle of it. She waved away their swords and leaped to his side.
Clutching a spatula tightly, she glared at them menacingly. The two families exchanged glances and considered retreating. Although the woman was old, if they waited any longer, they were confident they could subdue her. However, her martial prowess was not to be underestimated. If she killed one of them before they could defeat her, the loss would be too great. Thus, they sounded the retreat.
When the cave was once again empty except for their family, He Sheng collapsed onto the ground. Wu Caiwei quickly tore a strip of cloth from her clothes and tightly bound his wound.
"When did you learn martial arts, Mother? I've never heard you mention it," He Sheng asked, looking at his mother with suspicion. He felt like she was a stranger.
Wu Caiwei looked at him speechlessly and reached out to pinch his ear. "You little rascal, you're starting to doubt your mother now? Since the Zhang family doesn't want us, should I just hang myself from one tree? From now on, we'll go our separate ways. Our family will live a good life, and let them envy us."
She paused and then continued, "Learning martial arts isn't something that happens overnight. I started practicing long ago. You, being so careless, never noticed and now you ask me."
He Sheng quickly covered his ears and cried out, "It hurts! I was wrong."
Looking at his mother's familiar demeanor and hearing her familiar words, he felt that he truly deserved punishment. If he couldn't even recognize his own mother, who could he recognize?
"It's good that you know you were wrong. Hurry up and pack your things, we need to leave now. We can't stay here," Wu Caiwei said calmly, her hands behind her back.
"There's a plague in Tianxia Chun, and we don't have a house. Where can we live if we leave here?" He Sheng asked his mother, concern evident in his voice. Unknowingly, he had become the backbone of the family.
"If I'm not mistaken, these two families must have made their fortune through robbery and violence. They are in such a hurry to come up the mountain today because of the plague in our village, and secondly, because they just pulled off a big heist. If we don't leave, and they call their accomplices, we won't be able to leave when we want to." Wu Caiwei had originally planned to leave in a month, but an unexpected event had forced her hand. To prevent uncontrollable situations from arising, she had to be prepared.
He Sheng wanted to say more, but Xia He quickly stopped him. She knew her husband felt that it was dark and cold, and the two children were asleep. She was worried they would catch a chill at night, but fleeing could not be taken lightly.
It was with He Sheng's reluctance and the children's bewilderment that they began their journey of escape. Little did they know, it was fortunate they left quickly. Soon after they departed, those two families, along with a group of people, rushed to Shandong. Seeing the empty place, they angrily pounded the nearby wall and gritted their teeth, "Don't let me run into you again. If I do, you won't be so lucky."
Wu Caiwei was not very familiar with this world. Following the path the original owner had taken, she headed north. Along the way, she saw many people with worried faces, fleeing with their families.
They were all in the same boat, and no one was in a position to laugh at anyone else. Due to everyone's apathy, no one stepped forward to greet them.
After walking for half a day, they encountered the nearest small town. With heavy legs, they couldn't help but smile. Thinking that they had some silver left in the town to buy things to improve their lives and rest, they became excited.
Unfortunately, as soon as he took a few quick steps forward, his mother immediately grabbed his sleeve and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard he tried.
"Don't you think the town is too unusually quiet?" Wu Caiwei shook her head. She felt her son was usually generous and steady, but when it came to making decisions, he became flustered and lacked confidence.
After his mother's reminder, He Sheng carefully listened to the sounds of the town. Only then did he notice the problem. Crows were circling above the town.
Apart from the cawing of the crows, no other sounds could be heard. In the past, whenever they came to this town from their home, they could see the elderly carrying their purchases, happily heading into town from afar. They could hear the sounds of hawking and selling, which made their hearts uneasy. The few of them secretly entered the town.
Walking down the main street of the town, they found fallen leaves everywhere. Soon, He Sheng hid to the side and vomited. The reason was that he saw a corpse. Due to the passage of time, no one had managed it, and it had rotted. The crows were gathered around the corpse, pecking at it with their beaks. Seeing this terrifying scene, he could no longer bear it and vomited violently.
Wu Caiwei, with an unchanged expression, examined the dirty or foul-smelling corpses. The others looked at her with admiration. Putting themselves in her shoes, they knew they could never do it. Indeed, the older the ginger, the spicier it was.