Chapter 4

Mo Wen had struggled in the icy water for a long time. When he finally climbed onto the ice, he was already numb from the cold. The arrow from the Hu man had pierced his chest, but he did not feel much pain. Instead, he felt the last bit of life force slowly draining from his body through the wound.

Mo Wen could no longer stand. All he could do was open his eyes and watch as Lin Ruochen's carriage was dragged away by the Hu people. He saw that Lin Ruochen was awake, but she did not speak or try to resist; she was terrified.

Watching Lin Ruochen being taken away was not the last thing Mo Wen did. The last thing he did was turn his head with great effort to look at his mother. This action was instinctive, like a child seeking comfort and protection from his mother when hurt. However, what he saw was not a warm smile but blood on the ice and an arrow through his mother's head.

At this moment, he was on the verge of fainting. The immense grief caused him to lose consciousness. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw Xiao Wu still struggling in the ice hole, trying to climb out.

The Chinese people have always valued filial piety, and the heavens reward such virtue. When his parents fell into the water, Mo Wen instinctively jumped in to save them. Although he ultimately failed to save them, his cotton clothes were soaked with icy water. The cotton clothes, filled with miscellaneous fibers, absorbed the water and reduced the force of the arrow, so the one-eyed Hu man's arrow, though it pierced his skin and flesh, did not reach his vital organs.

Mo Wen soon regained consciousness. Before opening his eyes, he felt someone pulling his right hand, moving him quickly. There was still some light in the sky, and the surface behind him felt smooth. These signs indicated that he had not been unconscious for long and was still on the ice.

"Master, we're almost to shore. We've escaped," Xiao Wu said, panting.

"Help me up," Mo Wen managed to say. He was too weak to lift his head and observe his surroundings.

"Master, the arrow is still in you. Lie still," Xiao Wu said, his breathing heavy. It was clear he was also exhausted but was gritting his teeth to keep going.

Hearing this, Mo Wen did not speak again. Instead, he tried to lift his left hand and grab the arrow. In his grief and anger, he did not think much and pulled the arrow out with a swift motion.

Xiao Wu was still dragging Mo Wen toward the opposite bank and did not notice his action.

The Mo family ran a pharmacy, so Mo Wen knew some medical skills. After pulling out the arrow, he took a deep breath and found that he could breathe smoothly, indicating that the injury was not fatal.

He then tried to move his limbs. He discovered that his arms could still move, but his legs were unresponsive.

"Xiao Wu, I can't feel my legs," Mo Wen said, gasping for breath.

Xiao Wu turned and saw that Mo Wen had pulled out the arrow. He quickly examined his wound and was slightly relieved to find that it was not life-threatening.

"Master, I'll help you walk," Xiao Wu said, squatting down to support Mo Wen. Their clothes were now frozen stiff, and the weather was cold, so they needed to find a way to warm up or risk freezing to death.

After being helped up by Xiao Wu, Mo Wen instinctively turned his head and looked back, then burst into tears. His mother's body still lay on the ice, and the slaughter on the opposite bank continued. The carriage carrying Lin Ruochen and the maids had already disappeared.

"Master, let's find a sheltered place to rest. I'll come back after dark to retrieve Lady Mo," Xiao Wu said, crying as he moved forward.

Hearing this, Mo Wen wiped away his tears and turned. He knew that crying would not help; he had to survive. Only by surviving could he seek justice and revenge, and only by surviving could he find his wife.

At first, Mo Wen could hardly move, but after a few steps, his legs gradually regained feeling. After a few dozen steps, he could walk slowly with Xiao Wu's help. However, as his limbs recovered, the wound began to bleed heavily, and he fainted again after three miles.

When he woke up, it was already late at night. Opening his eyes, Mo Wen found himself lying in a dilapidated mud house. His clothes were dry, and he was lying on a bed of straw. In the center of the room was a fire pit that was still burning, but Xiao Wu was not there.

Mo Wen wept again. He did not feel relieved to have survived; he could not accept the sudden loss of his family. The night before, they had been together discussing wedding details, and now everything had changed.

When Xiao Wu returned with Lady Mo's body, Mo Wen's sobs turned into wails. He struggled to get up and gave his bed of straw to his mother, kneeling on the ground and weeping over her body. Xiao Wu's situation was no different; he also wept, as his own mother was still lying at the bottom of the cold river.

Life is full of misfortunes, and no matter what happens, one must face it. Crying only releases emotions and does not solve problems. Eventually, Mo Wen regained his composure and tried to comfort the grief-stricken Xiao Wu.

"Master, what should we do now?" Xiao Wu asked, wiping away his tears.

Mo Wen did not answer immediately. In families, whether wealthy or poor, sons usually listened to their parents before marriage. After marriage, they would gradually take on more responsibilities until they could handle things independently. Before marriage, Mo Wen had only focused on studying and medicine, and now he was at a loss.

"What do you think we should do?" Mo Wen asked, leaning against the edge of the straw bed. The arrow wound on his chest prevented him from sitting upright.

"I don't know. I'll follow your lead," Xiao Wu said, adding wood to the fire. The mud house had no door and was not warm.

"Let me watch the fire. You should rest," Mo Wen said.

"I can handle it. This is my job," Xiao Wu shook his head.

"I need to keep vigil for my mother," Mo Wen said, his voice breaking.

"I'll stay too," Xiao Wu said, trying not to cry.

They argued for a while, but Mo Wen, being injured, eventually fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already morning. Xiao Wu was not in the room. Mo Wen looked at his mother lying on the straw bed and knelt down to weep again. He felt deep guilt for not staying up all night to keep vigil for his parents, which was a sign of filial impiety.

He had lost a lot of blood and had been crying a lot, so he was very thirsty. However, he did not drink the boiled snow water that Xiao Wu had left.

At around 7 a.m., Xiao Wu returned with herbs and food.

"Did you go back?" Mo Wen asked, surprised to see the wooden box containing the herbs, which belonged to their family's pharmacy.

"You need to apply the medicine, and we need to eat," Xiao Wu said, grinding the herbs with a mortar.

"Did the Hu people see you?" Mo Wen asked, disapproving of Xiao Wu's risky action.

"They're gone, probably left last night," Xiao Wu said, taking a drink from a bowl.

"Is anyone still alive in the city?" Mo Wen asked.

"No," Xiao Wu shook his head.

"Xiao Wu, let's go home," Mo Wen suggested, feeling a strong urge to return.

"I want to go back too, but..." Xiao Wu stopped mid-sentence.

"I've heard that the Hu people never return to the same place. They won't come back," Mo Wen said. The Hu people left nothing behind, so there was nothing for them to take.

"I'm not worried about that. The city is full of dead bodies, and I'm afraid it will scare you," Xiao Wu explained.

"It's fine. Besides, there's nothing here. We have to go back to have a chance of survival," Mo Wen decided.

Seeing Mo Wen's determination, Xiao Wu agreed. After applying the medicine, Mo Wen leaned on a branch, and Xiao Wu carried Lady Mo's body. The two of them crossed the river on the ice.

The Hu people had caught up with the Mo family despite their early warning, and others had not escaped. The area between the river and the city gate was littered with dead bodies, most of which were dismembered or disemboweled, with more elderly, children, and men than young women.

Xiao Wu had been back before and was prepared, but Mo Wen had never seen such a horrific scene. He recognized many of the bodies and shuddered involuntarily whenever he saw a familiar face.

By the time they reached the city, Mo Wen was numb and no longer felt fear. On the way, he kept looking for the wheel tracks of the carriage that had taken Lin Ruochen. The tracks, stained with blood, indicated that it was the same carriage. Unfortunately, the tracks were obscured by footprints in the city, making it impossible to follow.

After walking nearly twenty miles with his injury, Mo Wen was exhausted, and Xiao Wu, carrying the body, was also very tired. They did not look around when they entered the city but went straight to the Mo family pharmacy.

The front door had been left open, which was why the Hu people had not entered to search for valuables. The house was still as it had been when they left the day before.

Stepping over the threshold, Mo Wen wept again. A home is where one's family lives, and without his family, the house was no longer a home. However, the house where his family had once lived provided some comfort and stability, so it was still a home, and the home was still there.

They walked slowly, and by the time they returned home, it was already dark. Mo Wen, injured and now with a cold, fainted again upon entering. Xiao Wu placed Lady Mo's body in the main hall and moved the firepots from the other rooms to Mo Wen's room to keep him warm.

As night fell, the city was silent and dark, with only a faint light from the Mo family's house...