“Are you the Ouyang family’s child?”

In the cramped tent, four people sat formally together. Zhuge Yue looked the child up and down, examining his luxurious silk clothing, and said in a deep voice.

The child seemed terrified, like a frightened little rabbit. Chubby and sitting on the ground, he even swayed slightly from side to side. He shrank his head, timidly stealing glances at Zhuge Yue from the corner of his eye, then reached out a small hand to pull Zhuge Yue’s sleeve, pitifully calling in a soft voice, “Father…”

“I’m not your father!”

With a slap, the child’s hand was knocked away. The little one’s mouth quivered, looking as if he might cry again, but he forced himself to hold back his tears.

Chu Qiao frowned and turned to look at the other child, saying seriously, “Star, did you bring him here?”

Little Star appeared very young, but her big eyes were quite clever. Hearing this, she secretly glanced at Chu Qiao, then lowered her head and remained silent.

“If you don’t speak, I’ll send both of you out right now.”

Star quickly raised her head, blinking her big eyes, and asked in a childish voice, “If I tell you, can you just send me out alone?”

At these words, Chu Qiao was momentarily stunned, her brow relaxing slightly, then she asked, “Star, don’t you know bringing him here will cause trouble?”

“I… I know.” The little girl pouted, her small brows tightly furrowed, saying helplessly, “I couldn’t take him back to my family’s tent. My father would tell Manager Lin.”

“So you brought him to me?”

The little girl nodded dejectedly, “Yes.”

“Do you know each other?”

“We’re good friends!” Little Star raised her head, her little scribbled face very serious. She puffed up her small chest and declared righteously as if taking an oath, “We’ve been playing together the whole way!”

“Father…” The child beside her again tried to pull Zhuge Yue’s sleeve, pouting pitifully, “Mo’er is hungry.”

After being glared at by Zhuge Yue, the child turned to Little Star for help, but his expression showed mostly the discomfort of hunger and the bewilderment of being bullied, with no trace of understanding what the term “friend” meant.

“Wait a bit longer!” Star patted the child’s shoulder, her gaze very clear.

Zhuge Yue and Chu Qiao suddenly seemed stunned. This servant girl, just because she had played with someone along the journey, dared to take such a risk and do everything possible to save him. The word “friend” from her mouth was so firm, so resolute that it commanded respect from the two adults facing her, leaving them unable to utter a single word of objection.

Such unwavering loyalty, in the adult world, had perhaps long since become extinct.

Chu Qiao’s expression softened, and she asked in a deep voice, “Where did you find him? Where have you been hiding all day?”

Seeing Chu Qiao’s softened expression, Little Star grew much bolder, saying proudly, “Last night when so many soldiers came, I was scared and hid in the meadow behind. Then I saw an uncle whom I recognized as Mo’er’s family uncle with a big bird on his back—I had seen him before. I saw he was covered in blood, lying in the meadow, holding Mo’er in his arms. He was already dead but still clutching Mo’er tightly. Mo’er was so frightened that he wanted to cry but didn’t dare; his face was white. So I pulled him out. After the soldiers left, I took him home.”

“Home?” Chu Qiao raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but my mother wouldn’t let us in, and when my father saw Mo’er, he frantically wanted to report it. I knew if those soldiers found out, Mo’er would be killed like his uncle, so I grabbed him and ran away. We’ve been hiding in the meadow behind all day today.”

Mo’er sat on the ground, his head drooping, lips protruding, looking listless, seemingly unaware of what the other three were discussing about him. The child was too exhausted. He had been hiding and fleeing for so long, being hunted down, hungry and thirsty. Now this “father” before him was also fierce, and he had no interest in listening to these people talk. Dazed and confused, he was about to fall asleep.

“But why did you bring him to us?”

“I… I…” Little Star frowned, gathering courage for a long time before saying quietly, “Sister is kind, and this… this uncle is fierce and formidable…”

“Uncle?” Zhuge Yue immediately glared, slapping Little Star on the head, “Little one, don’t call me that!”

Chu Qiao glared at Zhuge Yue. She naturally knew why. Last night when those people rushed into the outer camp, they argued with Zhuge Yue and even wanted him to kneel. But who was Zhuge Yue? How could he endure such humiliation? With two quick moves, he knocked down two guards who charged at him. Fortunately, the Liu family’s manager was astute, knowing they were just ordinary travelers introduced by Escort Yu, with unclear backgrounds but clearly of noble bearing. The matter here was unrelated to them, and the Liu family didn’t want trouble, so they didn’t pursue it further.

Last night, Wang, Jia, Ouyang, and other families all perished, with only this young master fortunately escaping. It seemed an Ouyang family servant had protected him and fled desperately, but died on the way before leaving the camp, coincidentally discovered by this little girl who hid him. The Liu family’s people thought the child had been rescued away and pursued outward, never imagining he was hiding openly in the outer camp. Star’s parents knew their daughter had saved the child, but didn’t dare report it.

Chu Qiao sighed and said, “Star, don’t you know what you’re doing is very dangerous?”

“I know,” the little girl’s face was very troubled. In her mind, she probably couldn’t understand why her wealthy friend had fallen into such a state overnight. She scratched her head and said, “But what else could I do?”

Yes, what else could she do? Should she have betrayed her friend?

“So you brought him to us and taught him to call us father and mother to win our sympathy, right?”

The little girl’s head drooped even lower, seemingly aware that her actions weren’t particularly honorable. Chu Qiao heaved a long sigh, reached out to pull Little Star into her arms, and sighed, “You are a good child.”

At that moment, there was a thud as the child’s head tilted to one side, and he had fallen asleep just like that. His entire body collapsed into Zhuge Yue’s arms, his head resting on his leg, drool continuously flowing from the corner of his mouth. His little stomach rose and fell, with light snoring as he slept soundly.

“Get up! Who said you could sleep here? Get up, you…”

The child opened his eyes very grievously, only to see Zhuge Yue’s fiery face again. Feeling wronged, he rubbed his eyes and said in a small, pitiful voice, “Starving…”

Just then, a sudden commotion of footsteps sounded outside, and the two children immediately jumped up like startled birds. Little Star, like a mother hen, quickly embraced the trembling Mo’er. Looking around, with nowhere to hide, they finally ran behind Chu Qiao, clutching her clothes and squatting down.

Even though they were just tugging at her clothes, Chu Qiao could still feel their panic and fear. It reminded her of many years ago when she carried little Seven with his broken arm, and the child trembled all over as he asked her, “Sister Yue’er, is little Seven going to die?”

Back then, she told him no, she promised him he would never be harmed again. But less than an hour after those words, the child was thrown into the cold lake waters, never to be seen again.

The footsteps passed by the tent without stopping, continuing straight ahead. They weren’t looking for them.

“Sister, I need to go back now.”

Star said timidly, “I’m afraid my father might say something wrong. I need to go back and check.”

Chu Qiao looked at Star, then down at the Ouyang family’s young master who was staring at her expectantly. She suddenly made a decision and said to the child, “If you want food, go beg him.”

The child was stunned, then looked somewhat fearfully toward Zhuge Yue, seeing his unfriendly gaze, which intensified the fear on his face. He timidly took two steps forward, then with a thud, knelt down and began to cry, his speech incoherent and unclear. Only the crisp sound of repeated kowtowing echoed in the tent. The child foolishly knocked his head, his voice gradually becoming clearer, crying and calling out, “Please, please…”

Even a four-year-old child probably knew what kind of situation he was facing.

Family destroyed, hunted down—even though he was so small, he probably knew his future didn’t look good.

At first, Zhuge Yue could still maintain a frown, ignoring him, but gradually his expression softened. He almost roughly pulled the child up from the ground, then angrily looked at him.

The child was terrified, his lips quivering as he called, “Father…”

“Stop calling me father!” Zhuge Yue shouted angrily, but as soon as he finished, he saw the child looking like he was about to cry again. Zhuge Yue immediately sighed, saying helplessly, “Don’t call me that, and… and I’ll let you stay.”

Star was quick-witted and immediately delighted. She hurried forward and said, “Mo’er, call him uncle, call him uncle and you can stay here!”

“Un… uncle…”

The child seemed to not understand what “uncle” meant, but he followed the instructions. Seeing Zhuge Yue’s expression softened slightly, he suddenly cried out, rushed forward, and hugged Zhuge Yue’s neck, wailing, “Uncle, big people… killed… father mother… set fire… kill Mo’er… blood… woo… dead people…”

Just this one change in title, and he treated Zhuge Yue as family, crying as he complained. In his voice, there was no trace of deep hatred. Perhaps he didn’t yet understand what hatred was. He was simply afraid, sad, and also disliked and resented what had happened. However, these emotions that now seemed quite mild would surely change, take root, and sprout in the years to come, growing into a lush tree bearing seeds of revenge.

Just like Yan Xun now.

And the enemies he remembered now were just some adults, unknown in identity, background, status, or even surname and name. He only knew that those who killed his parents and relatives weren’t children but a group of adults. And now, these adults were hunting him, not letting him eat, sleep, or go home. They wanted to eradicate him, to kill without mercy.

This time, Zhuge Yue didn’t push the child away. The child’s small body trembled with crying, tightly hugging his neck as if he were family.

Star’s eyes reddened, then she said, “Sister, I’m leaving now. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Just as the child was about to leave, Chu Qiao suddenly grabbed her, took out a small dagger, placed it in her hand, and said very seriously, “Star, be careful. If anything happens, come find me.”

The child immediately broke into a big smile. She waved to Mo’er, then carefully glanced at Zhuge Yue before walking out.

The wind outside was very cold. The child’s small figure hopped and skipped away. Chu Qiao stood up and blocked the doorway, seeing the child turn back to wave at her even from far away. In the darkness, she couldn’t see her face but could sense she seemed to be talking to her. The wind was so strong that she couldn’t hear what the child was saying. She could only raise her head to look at the dark sky, where stars were scattered, each one plotting the trajectory of every person’s fate.

Everything seemed like a cycle; watching this departing child, it was as if she saw herself.

As time passed, something collapsed deep in her heart. The wind howled across the wilderness, and she suddenly felt very cold.

“Feels familiar, doesn’t it?”

A calm voice sounded behind her. Chu Qiao turned back to see the child still nestled in Zhuge Yue’s arms, his small shoulders shaking continuously, seemingly still crying. Zhuge Yue looked at her, his gaze so sharp that time seemed to rapidly reverse in their eyes. Everything seemed to return to the beginning when they too were once this small yet had endured much more.

Chu Qiao smiled gently, “She is a strong, good child.”

“Yes,” Zhuge Yue nodded, then said, “I’ve seen someone even stronger than her before.”

With a “whoosh,” a strong wind rose from the ground, stirring up the dull yellow earth. The wilderness was so quiet, with no night birds flying overhead, only a dark cloud drifting in from afar.

“Uncle, I’m hungry.”

The child had grown tired from crying, his blackened little face streaked with tear-washed strips of brightness, looking quite comical. He rudely broke the silence here, biting his finger and reasonably protesting to his newly acknowledged relative.

“Mo’er is starving.”

Very well, temporarily setting aside those melancholic reflections and memories, Zhuge Yue looked with a troubled expression at this little one who wasn’t even as tall as his leg and frowned, saying, “Hungry? What do you want to eat?”

“Hmm…” The child frowned, thinking hard, then asked, “Do you have abalone soup?”

Zhuge Yue’s mind went blank, and he frowned, “No!”

None of this? The child continued asking, “Do you have golden broth roasted squab?”

Zhuge Yue’s expression grew somewhat displeased as he said in a deep voice, “No.”

“Do you have steamed shark fin?”

“…No…”

“None of these?” The child frowned in dissatisfaction, eyeing suspiciously at this newly acknowledged relative, somewhat depressed as he doubted the other’s financial capacity. “Then… then surely you must have a golden roasted suckling pig? Uncle, Mo’er doesn’t eat vegetarian food…”

Zhuge Yue’s face was about to darken. The child could read expressions, so he immediately sighed and reluctantly said, “Then… then… then some braised meat is fine too, but… but it has to be venison. I don’t like braised pork; beef is barely acceptable.”

Damn!

Zhuge Yue immediately became furious, grabbing the child and saying angrily, “You little brat! Are you toying with me?”

“Woo…” The child cried on command, crying while saying pitifully, “Alright, pork is fine too. Uncle, you’re so poor!”

This was possibly the first person in the world—the first person to say to Zhuge Yue’s face that he was poor.

Chu Qiao watched them, and her mood suddenly improved. She lowered the curtain, smiled as she bent over to walk in, picked up a bowl of white porridge nearby, and said, “You haven’t eaten all day. Have some porridge first.”

The child picked up the bowl dejectedly, then stuck out his little tongue and lightly licked it, as if the porridge might be poisoned.

But after one sip, he suddenly paused, then lifted the bowl and began to eat in big gulps.

“Sister, this porridge is delicious!” The child smiled, very happy.

Chu Qiao sighed. What delicious? This porridge was cooked by Zhuge Yue; how could it be delicious? He was just hungry.

“Hey! Kid, don’t call her sister.”

Zhuge Yue stood by with a dark face, saying in a deep voice.

“Hmm?”

The child glanced at him, then ignored him and continued drinking his porridge.

“Sister, it’s delicious.”

“I told you not to call her sister.”

The child frowned, somewhat annoyed at the man interrupting his meal, and asked with a frown, “Then what should I call her? Mother?”

“What mother?” Zhuge Yue was somewhat angry, getting upset with a four-year-old child. “I told you not to call her that, so don’t!”

“Then what should I call her?”

“Call her, call her Xing’er…”

“Xingxing?”

“It’s Xing’er…”

“No,” the child firmly shook his head, saying with character, “Mo’er can’t remember, will get confused.”

“You little stinker!”

…

This child was truly clever; they all suspected they were being played…

Traveling away from home in bad circumstances, many things had to be improvised.

For instance, at night, spreading mats on the ground, Chu Qiao lay on one side, Zhuge Yue on the other, with the little one right in the middle. Although Zhuge Yue was separated from the two by a large box, it still seemed somewhat intimate. Before lying down, the child smiled very satisfactorily and said something that made them want to spurt blood.

“Father said he had things to do with Mother at night, and he hasn’t let Mo’er sleep with them for a long time.”

“Cough, cough, cough, cough!”

Zhuge Yue, who was drinking water, immediately choked and began coughing loudly.

Chu Qiao’s face also turned bright red as she lightly tapped the child’s head, saying, “So talkative, go to sleep quickly.”

“Yes!” The child knew she wasn’t angry, and tilted his head with a giggle, diving under the covers in a few movements, happily closing his eyes.

The wind was very strong at night, making the tent rustle loudly.

Suddenly, a cold breeze blew in from outside. Chu Qiao hadn’t fallen asleep; a hunted little one had suddenly appeared beside them, and there were many things to plan.

Feeling that the child’s blanket had been kicked off, Chu Qiao reached out her hand, intending to pull the blanket up for him.

But as her hand stretched out, it suddenly touched a slender finger. In that instant, as if electrified, Chu Qiao quickly withdrew her hand. Her fingertips were ice-cold, but her face reddened.

Zhuge Yue also seemed stunned. He reached around the box to cover the child properly. The air in the tent felt strange; no one spoke. Only slightly deep breathing could be heard softly in the tent, and occasionally, the child’s lip-smacking sounds.

Life truly was a wondrous thing.

“Not asleep yet?”

Zhuge Yue’s voice was somewhat deep but very clear, obviously, he too had been awake all along.

“Yes,” Chu Qiao nodded, saying softly, “A bit worried.”

The wind grew stronger, howling like a beast. Chu Qiao worried that it might rain tomorrow.

“Sleep now.”

Zhuge Yue said slowly, then turned over and said no more. Chu Qiao thought he had fallen asleep, but then his voice sounded again, deep, rich, and gentle, yet very firm and reassuring: “I’m here.”

Outside, the wind was so strong, but suddenly, the narrow tent felt so warm.

As long as the tent remained, no matter how strong the wind, it couldn’t blow inside, right?

Later that night, a fast horse quickly galloped in, charging directly into the camp, bringing news from Fourth Master Wind in Xianyang.

At that time, Yan Xun was sleeping but couldn’t rest peacefully. Even before the scout entered the camp, he suddenly awoke from his dream. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead; he had dreamed of the Ouyang family’s child. Throughout the journey, he had seen the chubby child several times, smiling, and had been curious a few times, wanting to approach him.

But in the dream, he saw the child looking at him with a bloodied face, holding a knife, his eyes red.

Then, the child suddenly raised the knife, but instead of stabbing him, he plunged it firmly into Chu Qiao’s heart as she sat beside him. The child was killed with blood all over his face, yet still looked at him with gloomy eyes, smiling like a demon crawling up from hell, fiercely saying, “I will destroy you, destroy everything you have!”

“A-Chu!”

Yan Xun was drenched in sweat, his white robe soaked. His breathing was so rapid as his mind continuously replayed the nightmare.

“Cut the grass and remove the roots, cut the grass and remove the roots…”

Yan Xun seemed half-trapped in the nightmare, constantly muttering, then suddenly raised his head and shouted, “Someone!”

“Young Master!”

“Find the Ouyang family’s child immediately, at any cost. I want to see his corpse before dawn!”

The servant was slightly stunned, but in a flash, answered in a voice as cold as ice and snow: “Your servant obeys!”

“Young Master!”

At this moment, another attendant ran in, knelt, and said in a deep voice, “Fourth Master Wind’s messenger has arrived.”

“Feng Mian?” Yan Xun slowly frowned and said in a deep voice, “It’s about time.”

Striding down from the bed, he grabbed his robe. Yan Xun’s expression changed, discarding all his agitation, transforming back into that calm and wise King of Yan Bei, saying in a deep voice, “Come, let’s see what good news Xianyang has brought us.”