Chapter 4

Wang Rouhua really wanted to get rid of the fox. She felt that this was the big fox's revenge on her. However, her son was tightly holding the fox and giggling, which made her completely forget about whether the fox had become a spirit or not.

Thinking about how her son had lost his father at such a young age, she couldn't bear to destroy the little bit of intelligence that had just appeared in her son. She wrapped her son up again, threw the fox into the bathtub, and continued on her way.

Wang Rouhua was very hungry, extremely hungry. There were many food vendors in Tokyo, especially when she passed by a rice cake shop. The rich aroma of osmanthus cakes kept wafting into her nostrils. After listening carefully to the shop assistant's cries, she left with regret. A piece of osmanthus cake cost two coins, but before the great flood, three coins could buy two pieces. When she was pregnant, her seventh brother had bought her two pieces, and they were truly delicious.

There were no good people in the city, not even for boiling well water, which also cost money.

Wang Rouhua subconsciously patted the cloth bag tied around her waist and continued walking, hoping to find some free water to drink.

"My water is infused with honeysuckle and licorice. After a great flood, there will surely be a great epidemic. Only by drinking the medicinal soup left by Grandpa Sun can you survive it."

Seeing that Wang Rouhua was unwilling to buy the water, the woman selling it shouted again.

Wang Rouhua had seen the flood and the corpses of people and animals floating on it. In the past, there were always corpses floating down the Yellow River Bend. The clan elder always asked the villagers to report to the authorities, and after the officials came, they would dig a deep pit to bury the corpses.

The villagers were reluctant to do this dirty work, but after being beaten by the sixth elder with a cane, they realized that decaying corpses were the source of the epidemic.

"I'll drink it for one coin for two bowls!"

Wang Rouhua stopped and looked at the woman wearing a copper hairpin, speaking firmly.

The woman casually wiped her cloth and smiled, "Seeing that you and your child are disaster victims, I'll give you a discount. One coin for two bowls."

As she spoke, she filled two bowls of yellowish soup from a large wooden bucket and placed them in front of Wang Rouhua. While Wang Rouhua was drinking, she carefully examined the child in her arms, Tie Xinyuan.

A clean child who didn't have a runny nose or drool was always endearing. The woman reached out to touch Tie Xinyuan, but Wang Rouhua quickly turned away to prevent her from touching him.

The woman said awkwardly, "I just feel sorry for this child."

Wang Rouhua whispered, "This child is shy."

Tie Xinyuan, who had been curiously examining the woman's clothes, quickly made a few sounds and turned his face into his mother's chest, confirming what his mother had said.

Seeing that the child didn't like her, the woman didn't mind and said to herself, "I have only one daughter. If you're willing, leave this child with me. This child will be in a nest of good fortune. I'll give you two strings of coins, and you can use it as a dowry to remarry. We'll never see each other again. Do you agree?

You should know that I only offered this price because I like this child. Nowadays, there are many children being sold in the market for five hundred coins."

Wang Rouhua said nothing, drank the water, and threw a copper coin at the woman, then coldly glanced at her and continued dragging the bathtub to find a place to stay.

"Ungrateful! I'll have plenty of chances to see you end up in a brothel, child..."

Wang Rouhua adjusted her son's swaddling closer to her chest and ignored the woman's curse. Two strings of coins for her treasure? Her treasure was destined for greatness, and she wouldn't trade him for a golden doll. Would a good family's daughter in the capital talk about brothels? Since this woman mentioned such a filthy place, her daughter was probably not far from it.

Wang Rouhua bought two steamed buns and wandered aimlessly through the streets of Tokyo. At some point, a few ragged beggars began to follow her, keeping a steady pace behind her.

Tie Xinyuan, worried about the hostile beggars, had no way to deal with them. Clearly, his mother had offended the woman selling water, and she had hired the beggars to rob them.

With Tie Xinyuan's purposeful crying, Wang Rouhua also sensed something was wrong. After failing to get help from a passing constable, she immediately spent a hundred coins to buy a sharp bone-removing knife and held it in her hand.

Seeing Wang Rouhua brandish the knife, the beggars exchanged glances and slowly retreated, but they didn't leave, just stayed far behind, waiting for an opportunity.

Wang Rouhua didn't dare to go to sparsely populated areas and could only follow the sparse crowd. The sky was already dark, and the streets were getting emptier as a heavy rain began to fall.

Under the eaves of the shops, there were dense crowds of refugees, and in the deeper alleys, more beggars roamed, like hyenas on the grassland, waiting to strike.

A broken umbrella couldn't keep out the rain, and soon Wang Rouhua's clothes were soaked. Tie Xinyuan, wrapped in a dry swaddling, was not affected by the wind and rain.

A small fox, the size of a kitten, lay on Tie Xinyuan's swaddling. Wang Rouhua leaned forward to prevent rain from dripping onto her child.

Tie Xinyuan reached out to grab his mother's chin, where rainwater had gathered into a small stream.

Wang Rouhua's eyes shot out a fierce look, like a she-wolf's, and even in the heavy rain, Tie Xinyuan could see it clearly.

Suddenly, a vast, towering wall appeared before Wang Rouhua. This wall was so high that it rivaled the city walls of Tokyo.

Other high walls were crowded with refugees, but this one was completely empty. Exhausted to the extreme, Wang Rouhua finally found a suitable place to rest. Without thinking, she hurried to a recessed corner of the wall, placed the bathtub in the corner, and huddled inside with her son and the little fox, watching the rain outside.

The beggars who had been following them turned and left without a word, and the other refugees looked on with a mixture of schadenfreude.

A sense of extreme unease rose in Tie Xinyuan's heart. He cried and urged his mother to leave this place. Whether it was the refugees or the beggars, there must be a reason they didn't come here. Just like a tiger's den, it wasn't that it couldn't provide shelter, but that it was more dangerous to be in a tiger's den.

Wang Rouhua was too exhausted to think about anything else. Her son's crying made her think he was just hungry. She put her breast in his mouth again and held the knife in one hand, watching vigilantly outside.

Her vigilance didn't last long. A day and a night of travel had drained her last bit of strength. Now, with a thin blanket covering her, she felt a bit of warmth and fell asleep, leaning her head against the bathtub.

Tie Xinyuan stopped crying and was eating a small piece of steamed bun. The little fox, puzzled, looked up and saw Tie Xinyuan helping his mother adjust her clothes, then returned to eating the bun.

Only now did Tie Xinyuan have the chance to carefully examine his mother.

Her hair was still wet, her face pale, but her features were delicate. The dye on her hemp clothes wasn't very fast, leaving some light blue marks on her neck.

Tie Xinyuan reached out and caressed her face, his heavy head resting on her neck, breathing in the scent of his mother.

This woman had brought him through the most dangerous journey.

Now, it seemed that the journey had come to an end, but Tie Xinyuan felt no resentment, only deep gratitude.

There was a small hole in the high wall, used for drainage. It was now dry, and even with such heavy rain, not much water flowed out.

Heavy footsteps approached from a distance, and the onlookers quickly scattered, but their eyes of schadenfreude still pierced Tie Xinyuan.

He pointed at the fox and made sounds, hoping it could escape. The small hole was too small for him to fit through, but the little fox should be able to.

Seeing Tie Xinyuan's hand, the little fox dropped the bun and leaped to his side, grabbing his finger with its mouth. Tie Xinyuan's hand fell weakly...

A towering figure blocked the gap ahead.

Tie Xinyuan saw clearly that this should be a warrior. It was the first time he had seen an ancient warrior, and it might be the last.

He rode a tall horse, and the warrior, clad in full armor, looked even more imposing.

Ancient armor was heavy, and this person was fully armored, even the helmet was fully sealed, with only cold eyes visible through the visor.

A long spear pointed at Wang Rouhua, who had just woken up. Seeing the bone-removing knife fall from her sleeve, the knight slowly urged his horse forward, the spear pointing at Wang Rouhua as if to pin her to the wall.

Tie Xinyuan sighed and hugged the terrified Wang Rouhua, who had gone numb, crying and shielding her with his small body.

He knew his small, fleshy body couldn't stop the sharp spear. As the spear approached, Wang Rouhua suddenly went mad, hiding Tie Xinyuan behind her and staring at the knight with wide eyes, shouting, "Don't hurt my child!"

It wasn't clear if it was Tie Xinyuan's cries or Wang Rouhua's shouts that startled the armored figure. A cold voice came from behind the visor.

"Anyone who approaches the imperial city within ten steps without cause shall be executed!"

Wang Rouhua, facing the armored figure, stammered, "This woman did not know!"

"The imperial carriage is here. I have no reason to spare you. The child is innocent, and I will send him to the orphanage. As for you, the law is merciless. Go to your death!"

The knight's spear thrust forward, knocking the swaddling from Wang Rouhua's hands. He caught Tie Xinyuan with his left hand and was about to strike again with his right.

Wang Rouhua, in despair, watched her crying son and slowly closed her eyes.

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**End of Chapter**