The woman pleaded, "I, I, I just wanted to come and get some meat for my son to eat."
"Shouldn't your husband go hunting if your son wants to eat meat? Why should I give my meat to your son?" The response was sharp.
Look at how she spoke - asking for some meat for her son to eat, as if it was a perfectly reasonable request?
Chang'an was no longer a true child, she would not sympathize with such a person. Even if she was truly a child, at eight years old she could still distinguish right from wrong.
Old Gu Six looked at his daughter, who appeared to be merely an eight-year-old child, yet tried to act like an adult, speaking in a serious manner. She was naturally adorable, but this demeanor made her even more endearing to his heart.
Chang'an spoke with a naturally soft and sweet voice. No matter how stern her words were, it always sounded like she was being coy, without any intimidating force.
Chang'an was frustrated. She clearly wanted to play the role of a graceful woman, but ended up with the appearance of a soft bun. That was how she was in her previous life, and even after being reborn in ancient times, she was still the same - couldn't she at least have a different appearance?
Old Gu Six cleared his throat lightly, suppressing his laughter, afraid his daughter would get angry.
He coldly growled at the woman, "Get lost."
The woman looked up and met Old Gu Six's gaze, cold and gloomy like the venomous snake she had seen while gathering firewood in the mountains, carrying a lethal toxin that could take her life at any moment.
She was so frightened that she scurried back to where her family was resting, with them witnessing everything that had happened.
After the woman returned, no one dared to come over and disturb them again, a bunch of cowards who only bullied the weak.
The little boy started beating the woman fiercely, "You useless good-for-nothing, can't even get a piece of meat for me to eat, what use is a mother like you?"
The old man also slapped the woman a few times, cursing, "Useless thing."
Her husband just sat there, turning his face away, pretending not to know anything. A few young girls were cooking wild vegetable porridge, not a single person stood up to defend the woman.
No one paid attention to the drama unfolding in the woman's family. Survival itself had become uncertain, who had the leisure to care about others' family matters?
The woman did not resent her son and family, but instead grew hateful towards Old Gu Six and his daughter.
They had a whole chicken, why couldn't they give her a chicken leg? If they did, she wouldn't have to endure beatings, and her son could eat meat.
God was so unfair, the good-for-nothings in other families could enjoy good food, but her three daughters couldn't even have more than a bowl of wild vegetable porridge.
The pitiful are bound to be hateful. She did not look for the cause within herself, but instead resented heaven, earth, and others who lived better lives.
The wild chicken was roasted, and Old Gu Six used a knife to slice the chicken leg meat into pieces, placing them in a small bowl for Chang'an. He himself tore off a chicken wing and started gnawing on it.
A bite of roasted chicken, a sip of porridge, it tasted incredibly delicious. Chang'an felt that if her Old Gu Six father lived in modern times, he could become a mukbang streamer, eating so appetizingly that it felt like his stomach was a bottomless pit that could never be filled.
Apart from the main meal, this Old Gu Six also ate a bag of beef jerky, three bags of banana chips, and a bag of shrimp crackers.
Chang'an felt immense pressure, as if she could not afford to raise him!
The small bowl contained the meat of two chicken legs, but Chang'an only ate half, about one chicken leg's worth, and drank half a bowl of porridge, considering herself full.
This worried Old Gu Six, how could she eat so little? He felt as if he might end up starving his own daughter.
"Daughter, would you like to eat a little more? Not much, just finish the meat in the small bowl."
Seeing her Old Gu Six's hopeful eyes, Chang'an cruelly refused, "No, I'm full."
"This little bit couldn't possibly fill you up? Look, your father ate a whole chicken and drank a whole pot of porridge, but you've only had a few bites? Be a good girl and eat a little more."
"Dad~, I really am full. Eating too much at night can cause indigestion, and you don't want me to feel unwell, do you?" She knew how to be coy and cute, without even trying. All she needed was to soften her demeanor, and she would naturally come across as adorable.
Old Gu Six, the one who could resist his daughter's pleas the least, nodded in agreement without hesitation, "As long as you're full, put the meat aside and eat it again tomorrow."
Chang'an nodded, hugged the bowl, and crawled back into the carriage, closing the curtain behind her and entering the space.
Noticing his daughter's aura disappear, Old Gu Six shifted closer to the carriage, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. If anyone dared to look their way, his cold, piercing gaze would strike them like daggers.
Two quarters of an hour later, Chang'an emerged from the space, and only then did Old Gu Six relax.
Little Ya's Dad and Yang Poxiao came over to discuss the night watch with him. Little Ya's Dad had eaten seven-tenths of a full meal today, and his whole being had regained some energy. The people in their group also had a bit of vitality, unlike the lifelessness of the previous days.
These mountains were layered upon each other, with the outer mountain ranges nearly half withered. There shouldn't be any wild beasts roaming around; the beasts would also need to survive, so they should have migrated deeper into the mountains.
Even without wild beasts, they still needed to be wary of people, so keeping watch was a must.
"Old Gu Six, my brothers and I will keep watch. You and the young lady can rest assured."
Chang'an was bewildered: When did she gain such an identity?
Yang Poxiao continued, "Ming Xiao and I will take the second half of the night. The rest of you brothers, keep watch during the first half."
Old Gu Six said, "Yu San, you all keep watch during the first half. Poxiao and the others will take the second half with me."
Little Ya's Dad wanted to say that they could keep watch for the entire night, but upon meeting Old Gu Six's emotionless gaze, he couldn't utter a single word, as if his throat was being choked.
His face turned pale, and he lowered his head and replied, "Yes," before leaving.
None of the families' bonfires had been extinguished. A single bonfire couldn't illuminate very far, but with hundreds or even thousands of them, they lit up half the sky in this small area.
Ten miles away in the valley, as Old Gu Six had guessed, they were surrounded by bandits.
On both sides of the cliffs, bandits stood guard, blocking the entrance and exit of the valley.
When the bandits arrived, the village chief could not care for the villagers still trapped in the valley and fled with one-third of the villagers outside the valley, desperately trying to escape.
The one-third who managed to escape were all from the three surnames, and another one-third of the three surnames were still trapped in the valley. Mu and his mother also followed the village chief and fled, but his elder brother and sister-in-law, as well as his second brother and sister-in-law, and their children failed to escape.
Mu's mother wanted to go back and find them, but Mu held her back tightly, calling out to them to keep moving forward and not stop to rest. His brothers and sisters-in-law looked at him like he was a murderer trying to take their lives.
See, they didn't listen and ended up surrounded.
"Mother, even if you go back now, you'd only be adding another head for the bandits."
Mu's Mother clung tightly to Mu, begging him, "Mu, please go and rescue them—they are your elder brothers and nephews!"
Mu looked at his aged mother without much expression, and asked, "Even if I go back and die, do you still want me to rescue them?"
It was said that his mother loved and favored him the most, but only he knew who she truly favored. It was not that he was difficult to deceive; she simply feigned favoring her youngest son in order to keep the household peaceful.
Mu's Mother did not speak, but gazed steadily at him, neither affirming nor urging, allowing him to make the decision himself. If anything should happen in the end, it would be the result of his own choice, not her fault for sending her youngest son.
She feared that her youngest son might go and never return, that she would be the one sending him to his death, and her conscience would never be at ease.
She knew Mu had a soft heart, and that if she looked at him like this, he would not have the heart to refuse.
As Mu's Mother expected, Mu did indeed agree, but not because of his soft heart. He wanted to settle the matter once and for all.
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