Chapter 10

When he went out, Zhou Shixiang caught sight of his own bloodstained rat-tail braid lying on the ground and picked it up to put in his bosom. Song Xianggong and the others did not care about this.

The body and its hair are gifts from one’s parents. Although the hair was forcibly cut off by the Manchu, the rat-tail braid was indeed ugly, but it was still part of his body. Throwing it on the ground like that made Zhou Shixiang feel uneasy. Reflecting on it later, perhaps it was the ancient mindset of the previous owner of the body that was at work.

On the way, several more men emerged from the forest and silently followed the group. By the time they were close to Hu Lao's village, the number of people in the group had reached over a dozen. From the agile movements and familiarity with the mountain paths, it was clear that they were accustomed to navigating the mountain ravines.

The mountain paths twisted and turned, and the surroundings were pitch black. Although there were torches to light the way, Zhou Shixiang nearly fell several times. Fortunately, his reactions were quick, and the Ge brothers behind him came to his aid in time, so he managed to avoid any danger.

After about half an hour of winding through the mountains, Hu Lao finally led Zhou Shixiang to a valley, where the village was located. Zhou Shixiang looked around and found that he could not determine the exact location of the place.

Upon entering the village, someone came to greet them. Hu Lao ordered someone to take the large blue horse away and then invited Zhou Shixiang to rest, without mentioning a banquet or any other matters.

Such an arrangement suited Zhou Shixiang, who had been woken from a dream and was still very tired. If he did not rest, he would likely be exhausted the next day.

Zhao Sihai, however, was somewhat dissatisfied with Hu Lao's arrangement. He did not dare to say anything to Hu Lao, so he pulled Zhou Shixiang aside and apologetically whispered that it was too late today and that he would invite him for drinks the next day. Zhou Shixiang politely responded, and then someone led him to a guest room to rest.

The so-called guest room was actually a simple house with no furniture, only a bed and two stools, and a square table with a missing corner. Although it was simple, the hygiene was good. The bed was neatly made with clean sheets, and the room was spotless, indicating that it was frequently cleaned.

Guests should adapt to the host's arrangements, and Zhou Shixiang naturally did not mind the simplicity of the room. Compared to the bamboo huts, this was already quite good, at least he had a bed to sleep on and a blanket to cover himself.

After lying down in his clothes, just as his eyelids were about to close, someone knocked on the door. Zhou Shixiang became alert, got up to light the oil lamp, and took out the waist knife given by Yun Long before quietly going to open the door.

When he opened the door, he saw a little girl standing outside with a basket. Inside the basket were a bowl of rice, a plate of stir-fried meat, and a bowl of soup, the contents of which were unknown.

The little girl was wearing a water field dress, a type of clothing often worn by Han women in this era. She was not tall, only reaching Zhou Shixiang's chest, and her body was very thin, showing signs of delayed development compared to girls of the same age in the future. Due to the dim light at the door and her lowered head, Zhou Shixiang could not clearly see her face, but he estimated that she was about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Since she had brought food, Zhou Shixiang did not hesitate and turned to let the little girl enter the room to put down the food. When she was about to leave with the basket, he casually asked, "Where is this place?"

The little girl did not respond. Zhou Shixiang thought she had not heard him clearly and asked again, but she still did not speak.

Is she mute?

Zhou Shixiang was a bit stunned. With the help of the oil lamp's light, he noticed her face. She looked somewhat cute, like a girl from the future, but her face was not rosy; instead, it was yellowish, likely due to malnutrition.

Seeing Zhou Shixiang staring at her, the little girl became afraid and lowered her head even more, not daring to meet his gaze.

Seeing this, Zhou Shixiang stopped staring at her to avoid frightening her. Having lived two lives and just experienced the tragic deaths of his parents and wife, he naturally had no improper thoughts about a young girl who had not fully grown, nor did he have any anger towards her.

"Can you speak?" Zhou Shixiang did not directly ask if she was mute and tried to speak softly to avoid upsetting her.

This time, the little girl responded. She did not raise her head but shook it.

She is really mute?

Zhou Shixiang was taken aback. Just as he was about to speak again, the little girl picked up the basket and turned to leave.

Sigh.

Zhou Shixiang sighed, closed the door, and felt sorry for the little girl. At such a young age, she was mute, truly a cruel twist of fate. After feeling sorry for her, he decided not to waste the food and quickly devoured the meal she had brought. He wiped the oil from his mouth and fell back asleep, satisfied. No one disturbed him again until the next morning.

When he sat up in bed, Zhou Shixiang saw the bowls and plates on the table and did not bother to clean them, thinking that the little girl would come to collect them since she had brought the food.

After doing some simple stretching exercises in the room, Zhou Shixiang pushed open the door and went to find Hu Lao and Song Xianggong. He wanted to thank them for their hospitality and ask them to lend him a guide to lead him out of the mountains to join the army in Guangxi.

When he came out of the room, Zhou Shixiang clearly saw everything in the valley. The village was indeed small, with only a dozen or so houses and a few large communal huts. A stream flowed at the foot of the nearby mountain, and he could see people washing clothes there, all of whom seemed to be women.

The women in the bandit's nest were naturally all virtuous women who had been captured. Thinking of the mute little girl from last night, Zhou Shixiang shook his head, knowing that she must have been captured as well. He felt worried about their fate, but then he thought that he could hardly take care of himself, let alone worry about these women. His sense of justice from the future was worthless in the current situation. Moreover, in the midst of chaos, it might not be a bad thing for these women to stay in the bandit's nest, at least they could survive. Compared to life, chastity was not as important.

Looking around, he did not see Hu Lao or the others, nor any other men in the village.

Zhou Shixiang was puzzled. Where did everyone go?

Just as he was about to go look for them, the little girl came with a basket. Seeing Zhou Shixiang, she did not stop but went straight into the room to collect the bowls and chopsticks. Then, just like the night before, she lowered her head and was about to leave.

"Wait." Zhou Shixiang grabbed the little girl's hand and asked, "Do you know where Hu Lao is?"

The little girl's small hand was grabbed by a strange man, and she became anxious. She did not dare to cry but quickly pointed to a slightly larger house in the distance. When Zhou Shixiang turned to look, she suddenly used her strength to break free and quickly left, her face flushed.

Zhou Shixiang was focused on his own affairs and did not notice the little girl's embarrassment. After getting the direction, he quickly went to the house to find the people, not paying attention to where the little girl had gone.

When he reached the house, he heard people talking inside, the noise indicating an argument.

Zhou Shixiang did not know what was happening and hesitated about whether to enter. Just as he was hesitating, Song Xianggong saw him and beckoned him to come in. Zhou Shixiang had no choice but to step into the room.

Upon entering, he saw about twenty to thirty men standing inside, including Hu Lao and Peng Dazhu. There was also a young man sitting in the room, dressed in Ming dynasty official attire, with four Ming soldiers armed with knives standing behind him.