Chapter 4

On the grassland, a new mound of earth had risen, and Yun Xiao patted the soil solid with a spade. After eating a can of beef, he fed some to Xiao Bai. The little guy almost instantly fell in love with the taste of the canned food, using one paw to hold the can while he slurped away. Then he barked for water, his cute and innocent appearance somewhat soothing Yun Xiao's chaotic thoughts.

Yun Xiao applied some Yunnan Baiyao ointment to his thigh, then attached the sleeping bag to the horse's back before climbing back on.

With the sleeping bag as a barrier, he felt much more comfortable.

In the evening, Yun Xiao encountered a sudden downpour. The rain on the grassland came quickly, and before Yun Xiao could put on his raincoat, large raindrops were already pelting down. A curtain of water hung between heaven and earth, and the temperature dropped sharply. Yun Xiao shivered, grateful that compared to the possibility of catching a cold, the Huns' sabers were a more terrifying presence. A night of heavy rain would erase his tracks and slow down the pursuers.

Riding through the rain all night, Yun Xiao felt his throat was very dry, his head was dizzy, and he had a fever, as expected. After crossing a dense patch of grass, Yun Xiao finally saw the fields.

Farming has been the means of survival for the Han people for thousands of years. Peaceful Han people do not like to plunder but prefer to seek food from the earth, where all harvests come from labor. Compared to the nomads who like to plunder, good farmland is the mark of human civilization.

A girl about six or seven years old was digging wild vegetables with a boy about four or five years old by the edge of the field. In early spring, no family had enough food.

Yun Xiao felt dizzy and disoriented. The presence of fields meant there was a city nearby, and once inside the city, he would be safe. He spurred his horse toward the two children. The boy looked at the tall horse approaching with a dazed expression, while the girl, with a frightened look, pulled the boy and ran for her life, not even bothering to pick up the basket of wild vegetables.

Yun Xiao felt the world spinning. He tried to shout, but his swollen throat couldn't produce a sound. He tried to wave his arm in greeting but found his arms as limp as noodles, unable to lift them.

"Thud." Yun Xiao's vision went black, and he lost consciousness.

A single oil lamp flickered, and a cold moonlight streamed through a hole in the wall into the room. An old woman with gray hair was pushing the loom, her sweat glistening under the cold moonlight.

The loom moved back and forth, weaving the cloth. The mud-brick house was filled with the sound of the loom, the silence almost terrifying.

The first to notice Yun Xiao waking up was Xiao Bai. The little guy was quietly lying by Yun Xiao's side, and when he saw Yun Xiao wake up, he gently licked his nose with his spiky tongue.

Yun Xiao tried to speak, but his swollen throat hurt terribly, and he couldn't utter a word. He felt as if all his strength had been drained, leaving him with only the strength to breathe.

Xiao Bai's actions caught the old woman's attention, and she got up and walked over.

"Did you run away from the Huns?"

Yun Xiao nodded with difficulty.

"What a sin."

The old woman wiped away a tear. Yun Xiao pointed to the backpack in the corner. The old woman brought it over, and Yun Xiao used all his strength to unzip it and took out two aspirin tablets.

The old woman was amazed by the zipper design. Yun Xiao pointed to the coarse ceramic bowl on the floor.

He swallowed the aspirin with cold water, which made his swollen throat feel much better. Yun Xiao fell asleep again, and the aspirin was very effective in reducing his fever, a must-have for jungle exploration.

Feeling a cool sensation on his face, Yun Xiao opened his eyes. The old woman was still weaving, and the sky outside the hole in the wall was already bright. His body ached, and he felt extremely uncomfortable. Xiao Bai was wet all over, using his muddy paws to scratch Yun Xiao's face.

Seeing Yun Xiao not moving, Xiao Bai ran to the old woman, took a few steps toward the door, barked at her, and then walked out. Clearly, he was trying to get the old woman to follow him.

The old woman, puzzled, stood up, rubbed her aching back, and followed Xiao Bai out. Yun Xiao, still dazed, was woken up again by the cheers of the children. The two children were talking loudly. The old woman scolded them loudly, apparently afraid of waking Yun Xiao. He tried to move, but his body was still weak, and he was still sweating profusely.

Soon, the smell of fish and meat wafted from the yard. A girl about six or seven years old, wearing a coarse cloth dress and with two pigtails, brought in a coarse ceramic bowl.

Yun Xiao opened his mouth, but still couldn't speak.

The warm fish soup was spooned into his mouth, with a grassy taste, probably because no oil or salt had been added.

After a large piece of fish entered his mouth, Yun Xiao felt his body stop sweating, and he felt a bit more energetic.

Suddenly, chaos erupted outside. A woman's voice was quickly speaking in a dialect, but Yun Xiao couldn't make out what she was saying.

Several elderly women pulled open the door made of straw and dragged Yun Xiao into the yard. They moved a water jar to reveal a dark hole, and threw Yun Xiao into it. Yun Xiao saw a younger woman riding the four horses he had brought, fleeing into the woods.

The hole was small, and when Yun Xiao landed, he felt as if his body had fallen apart. Suddenly, the hole went dark, and something whizzed down, hitting his chest, almost making him lose consciousness.

Two more people came down, their blurry figures suggesting they were children.

The hole was slammed shut, and the sound of the water jar being moved back was heard. Outside, it was chaotic, with the sounds of people and horses, cries, and screams filtering through the ground. Then a faint smell of smoke rose from the ground.

After some time, the water jar was finally opened. The woman who had been riding the horses stood at the hole, pulling the somewhat recovered Yun Xiao and the two children up one by one.

The thatched house was still smoking, and several bodies lay scattered on the ground. None of them were intact, with arms and legs scattered everywhere. Gray intestines were hanging from the trees, and all the bodies were headless. Blood had almost dyed the entire courtyard red, and the dry tree bark was covered with a black, sticky layer.

The middle-aged woman was gathering the bodies, piece by piece. Without heads and in such a fragmented state, the bodies were piled up.

Yun Xiao stared at the scene, never imagining that the slaughter of the Han people by the nomadic tribes would be so bloody. The scenes he had only seen in textbooks were now vividly before him, leaving him deeply shaken. He couldn't understand why humans would commit such atrocities against their own kind.

The two children, however, were surprisingly calm, not crying or making a fuss. They followed the middle-aged woman in gathering the bodies, dragging a leg across the ground, which looked bizarre to Yun Xiao.

In the modern world, they wouldn't even be old enough to start primary school, yet now they were digging graves with their hands.

Yun Xiao dug out his spade and silently began to dig a pit. Since he was in this world, he had to face this reality; only the strong could survive here.

Together, they dug a large pit and buried the bodies.

Xiao Bai appeared from a corner, looking around nervously, clearly still frightened.

Yun Xiao opened his backpack, intending to take out a sausage to comfort Xiao Bai, remembering he had one left.

"Thud." A small wooden sign fell to the ground. Yun Xiao was about to pick it up when the middle-aged woman snatched it as if it were gold.

"Where did you get this sign?"

The middle-aged woman had a heavy accent, and it took Yun Xiao two tries to understand her.

"This is from an old man I met among the Huns. He was killed by them."

The middle-aged woman held the sign, tears streaming down her face. She had not cried so much even after gathering so many bodies.

"According to what you said, that must be my father-in-law."

The middle-aged woman placed the sign on the grave and led the two children in bowing.

"Our village is called Wei Family Village. There used to be about twenty households, over a hundred people. A few years ago, the Huns invaded, and the old and young were all captured. Only we dozen or so who hid in the mountains escaped. I never thought we would suffer such a disaster again. How can we live now?"

"Auntie, you saved my life. As long as I have food, you will have food too."

Four people and four horses headed toward Mayi. It was a city near the Great Wall, where the Han army was stationed, making it relatively safe.

"What's your surname, Auntie?"

"You can just call me Aunt Wei. These two children, the girl is Wei Ya, and the boy is Qing'er, both are from the eldest family."

"Wei Qing! Then his sister must be Wei Zifu?"

Yun Xiao's head spun again, almost falling off the horse.

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