Chapter 8

Avoiding danger is a human instinct. A troop of cavalry was galloping towards them, and this being the territory of the Hu people, the arrivals were naturally Hu. In a panic, Mo Wen turned and ran with Lao Wu.

The two were carrying a large amount of dry rations, and they even had gold hidden in their shoes, which made them run slowly. The sound of hooves behind them grew louder. Mo Wen anxiously looked around, trying to find a place to hide, but in their panic, they had not fled into the woods. Instead, they ran back along the main road, now out of the forest, surrounded by a grassland with no place to hide. It was too late to turn back.

At this moment, the cavalry behind them had already spotted Mo Wen and Lao Wu, shouting, "Stop!" Mo Wen, seeing no way to escape, stopped and stood by the roadside, watching the troop of cavalry gallop closer. Seeing Mo Wen stop, Lao Wu also stopped and stood beside him.

There were about twenty riders, dressed the same as the Hu people who had shot at Mo Wen earlier, all carrying bows and curved swords. What puzzled Mo Wen was that there were three women among them, one of whom, a girl in a black fur coat, was at the front.

The cavalry quickly approached Mo Wen. The girl in the black fur coat reined in her horse, and the others quickly surrounded Mo Wen and Lao Wu. Among them, only the girl in the black fur coat looked puzzled, while the others, including the other two women, looked angry.

"Why did you two enter the hunting ground without permission?" the girl in the black fur coat asked, looking at Mo Wen and Lao Wu.

Mo Wen had already prepared for the worst, intending to curse the Hu people before he died. He was considering what to say when he realized that although the Hu people were armed with bows and swords, they did not immediately attack them.

"I didn't know this was a hunting ground," Mo Wen said, looking straight at the girl in the black fur coat. She was young, probably around fourteen or fifteen, with fair skin, a high nose, and large eyes, very beautiful. However, Mo Wen noticed that her face clearly had Hu features.

"Ridiculous, bow your head!" As soon as Mo Wen finished speaking, a Hu man on his right lashed out at him with a whip, leaving a bloody mark on his face. But Mo Wen did not bow his head; instead, he turned and glared at the Hu man.

Seeing his defiance, the Hu man became furious and lashed out again. Lao Wu, seeing this, quickly stepped in front of Mo Wen to shield him from the whip.

"Why did you hit him?" the girl in the black fur coat asked, displeased.

"Princess, their behavior is suspicious, and they look nervous. I believe they are not citizens of the State of Zhao but spies sent by the Southern Barbarians," the Hu man said, bowing to the girl in the black fur coat.

"Where are you two from?" the girl in the black fur coat asked, frowning at them.

It was only then that Mo Wen realized that this girl in the black fur coat was the princess of the State of Zhao. Seeing her relatively kind expression, he decided to tell the truth. "My wife was taken away by your country's soldiers a few days ago. My servant and I came north to find her."

As soon as Mo Wen said this, the surrounding Hu people drew their swords and glared at them.

"Anyone who is not a citizen of the State of Zhao and enters the country without permission must be a spy and should be executed," the Hu man who had lashed Mo Wen shouted.

"We are not spies," Mo Wen shouted in defense. He was not afraid of death, but he did not want to be falsely accused.

"If you are not spies, why did you run when you saw us?" the Hu man rode closer.

"There are many corpses in the forest ahead, eaten by people. My servant and I were frightened, so we tried to hide," Mo Wen said, looking at the curved swords in the Hu men's hands, the same kind that had beheaded his father-in-law.

"Go and check," the girl in the black fur coat said to the Hu man, who turned his horse and went to investigate. A moment later, he returned and nodded to the girl in the black fur coat.

"There is no shortage of military rations now. Why eat them? After the hunt, go and investigate to see which general's troops did this, and reprimand them," the girl in the black fur coat instructed the Hu man.

The Hu man grunted in agreement.

Mo Wen and Lao Wu listened in fear. The girl in the black fur coat's words implied that their army did indeed eat people, and she did not consider it wrong, just unnecessary when there were rations.

After speaking, the girl in the black fur coat looked at Mo Wen and Lao Wu, clearly thinking about what to do with them.

"Princess, my master and I came to find my wife. Whether we find her or not, we will not return. My master is a scholar and a doctor. Please don't kill us; we are not spies," Lao Wu said, seeing that Mo Wen had not begged for mercy.

"Daring to lie to the princess, spies like you from the Southern Barbarians will not confess without some persuasion. Come, give each of them thirty lashes," the Hu man said, clearly prejudiced against the Han people.

"Princess, with your keen eyes and wisdom, you should be able to see that we are not spies," Mo Wen said, having no choice but to speak.

"You do have some insight. Hou Boyan, give them a pass and let them go," the girl in the black fur coat said, smiling at the Hu man.

"May I ask, Princess, how did you know they were not spies?" Hou Boyan asked cautiously.

"They ran too slowly to be spies," the girl in the black fur coat said, noticing a deer in the grass and excitedly chasing after it.

"Did you capture any game in this hunting ground?" the Hu man asked, taking a square piece of paper from his saddlebag and throwing it at them.

"No, we had no intention of hunting, and we ran too slowly to catch anything," Mo Wen bent down to pick up the paper.

"I hate you Southern Barbarians, always talking in highfalutin terms. Get lost," the Hu man lashed Mo Wen with his whip, knocking him to the ground, and then rode off to catch up with the others.

"Master, are you alright?" Lao Wu helped Mo Wen up.

"I'm fine, how about you? Does it hurt?" Mo Wen asked, straightening up. Although it was winter and he was wearing many layers, the whip was very strong, and his back felt like it was on fire. However, the joy of surviving and getting the pass made him forget the pain.

"Thank you for your concern, Master, I'm fine," Lao Wu said, moved. He thought that blocking the whip for Mo Wen was his duty as a servant, but he was touched that Mo Wen remembered it.

With the pass, the two hurriedly left and continued north.

"Master, there's something I don't understand," Lao Wu said, frowning.

"What is it?" Mo Wen asked.

"How did you know the Hu princess could tell we were not spies?" Lao Wu asked, puzzled.

"I didn't know if she could tell. I just praised her for her keen eyes and wisdom. If she still thought we were spies, she would be blind and foolish," Mo Wen sighed. He would not have flattered an enemy in the past, but to save his life, he had to do it. He finally understood the helplessness of having to bow to someone more powerful.

"Oh, in our terms, you gave her a high hat," Lao Wu said, understanding.

"Flattery is not the way of a gentleman," Mo Wen sighed again.

"Don't worry, you are a gentleman, and I am just a servant. In the future, I'll do the flattering," Lao Wu said with a smile.

"From now on, don't call yourself a servant. We are brothers in adversity. Besides, when has my family ever treated your family as servants?" Mo Wen said seriously.

"Thank you, Master," Lao Wu said, bowing.

Mo Wen looked at Lao Wu helplessly. Lao Wu's habits were deeply ingrained and would not change easily.

"Master, I heard that the princesses of our State of Jin rarely go out, and when they do, they bring a large group. Why did this Hu princess come out hunting with only a few people?" Lao Wu asked, handing Mo Wen a cake.

"The Hu people are different from the Han. Their ancestors lived by hunting," Mo Wen said, taking a bite of the cake. His family had been well-off, but not extremely wealthy, so he did not feel a great difference in his current situation and did not pick his food.

"I didn't expect the Hu women to be so beautiful," Lao Wu said, taking a big bite of the cake.

"Those who are not of our race have different hearts. Even if they are as beautiful as celestial beings, their hearts are like those of snakes and scorpions," Mo Wen glared at Lao Wu.

"I don't think her heart is that different. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have survived today," Lao Wu said, not noticing Mo Wen's glare.

Mo Wen did not argue with Lao Wu. Although the girl in the black fur coat had let them go, her words revealed a disdain for the Han people. She even thought eating people was not wrong, a wolfish nature hidden behind her beauty.

Not far from there, the two began to shiver. They had been puzzled earlier about why the princess had come out hunting with only a few people, but now they understood that her guards were behind them, and there were many, at least a thousand.

Even with the pass, Mo Wen decided to go around, thinking it better to avoid trouble.

By evening, the two finally saw the city and its walls. The pass worked, and the guards at the gate let them in.

Regardless of the nature of the black-furred princess, Mo Wen began to thank her. Without the pass, they would not have been able to enter the city after their long journey.

Both were traveling for the first time and in a foreign land. Upon entering the city of the State of Zhao, Mo Wen found it similar to the State of Jin, with mostly Han soldiers and few Hu people on the streets.

After entering the city, they began to ask around. Since the Hu people did not often come south, they quickly learned that the Hu had taken the grain carts and the women they had captured north.

It was already late, so they did not continue their journey. They found an inn and settled in. After negotiating with the innkeeper, Mo Wen exchanged the gold pieces that had fallen from the melted gold ingot for silver and copper coins.

After a tiring journey, they no longer had to sleep outdoors and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, Mo Wen found that Lao Wu had already prepared water for him to wash his face. After thanking Lao Wu, Mo Wen washed his face and did not comb his hair.

After washing, the two left the inn and continued north to search...