Some people tore at their luggage, while others viciously ripped at the family’s clothing, wanting to see if they had any dried rations hidden on their bodies. The woman screamed incessantly, and the child cried hysterically.

Bai Jinse, who had returned to the entrance, watched the scene inside the ruined temple. Her gaze searched for the boy, and indeed… she saw him with a dried ration cake clenched in his teeth, crawling out from under the crowd’s feet using both hands and feet, running toward Bai Jinse.

Seeing that the boy had already taken advantage of the chaos to escape, Bai Jinse turned and left. The boy trotted to catch up with Bai Jinse, tore the compressed dried ration cake in half, and stuffed the larger half into Bai Jinse’s hands.

Bai Jinse looked down at the little boy who was looking up at her with bright eyes. Seeing that Bai Jinse wouldn’t take it, the little boy pressed the dried ration into Bai Jinse’s hand.

“Eat…” the boy said.

This dried ration was something the boy had risked his life to obtain. Bai Jinse originally didn’t want to eat it – it should belong to the boy – but having gone too long without food, Bai Jinse needed strength to escape, so she had to eat.

She didn’t mind the boy’s dirty hands, didn’t mind that the dried ration might have his saliva on it. She took the dried ration, thanked him, and ate while walking.

Suddenly having something enter her stomach, Bai Jinse felt as if she had come back to life. She restrained herself from swallowing in large gulps, chewing in small bites. She hadn’t forgotten Physician Hong’s instructions – after being hungry for too long, one needed to drink porridge to let the organs adapt. But now there was no porridge, no water, so she could only chew the dried ration more carefully.

Bai Jinse and the boy headed north, walking and eating…

The moon hung high in the sky, with stars dotting the darkness.

The clear light illuminated the leafless, withered trees. Bai Jinse and the boy walked under the menacing tree shadows, not letting their figures be exposed in the moonlight, lest they be seen by evildoers who might harbor ill intentions toward one weak and one small.

If Bai Jinse had been walking this path alone today, she might have been afraid, but with someone accompanying her, even if it was just a child… Bai Jinse seemed to have gained some courage.

This was probably why those Xi Liang refugees crowded together to travel, and why… that family, though carrying dried rations, didn’t travel alone but followed these refugees together.

Fortunately, Bai Jinse was born into the Bai family and had the opportunity to learn much knowledge, so she used the Big Dipper in the sky to keep from going in the wrong direction.

They didn’t dare take the main road, afraid of being caught by refugees with ulterior motives and becoming someone else’s meal again. They could only take small paths through tall forests and dense groves.

Bai Jinse was now extremely grateful to that merchant Cui Fengnian, who had made the Xi Liang people go hunting, causing them to nearly exterminate all wild beasts. At least they didn’t have to worry about ferocious wild animals leaping out of invisible shadows to end their lives here.

Neither of them stopped walking until dawn broke on the horizon. Bai Jinse was already gasping for breath, and when she looked back, she saw the little boy following her closely, his chest also heaving violently.

“Let’s rest here!” Bai Jinse said to the boy.

The boy seemed not to quite understand, his bright black eyes staring straight at Bai Jinse. Only then did Bai Jinse switch to Xi Liang dialect, saying in the official language: “Let’s rest here for a bit!”

The boy nodded. Seeing Bai Jinse sit down, he also sat down, but his gaze wandered around, wanting to find something edible.

But… in places where refugees had passed through, how could there be anything left to eat? Even the tree bark… had been stripped clean.

“You’re not a commoner!” Bai Jinse judged from the boy’s ability to understand the official language that he wasn’t a commoner. “You don’t understand Xi Liang dialect – are you from Great Zhou?”

The boy didn’t speak. Bai Jinse didn’t press him. They were strangers who had met by chance, merely traveling together. In times like these, not trusting others was perfectly reasonable. Even if the boy asked about her identity, she likewise wouldn’t tell him – it was the same principle.

Daytime wasn’t like nighttime with the Big Dipper for guidance. Bai Jinse could only bring the boy to the main road and walk along the mountain path beside it, using the road as a reference for their progress. Though this made the journey more difficult, it could help them avoid encountering danger again.

Sometimes they encountered broken paths with thirteen or fourteen feet of cliff face ahead. Bai Jinse had learned some martial arts from the Bai family army and could climb down. The boy looked thin and small, but his hands and feet were nimble – he climbed even faster than Bai Jinse. He would look up from below at Bai Jinse testing her footing, and once Bai Jinse came down, the two would continue forward together.

The little boy didn’t know where he was going, but wherever Bai Jinse went, he followed. Perhaps because when they were in desperate straits, it was Bai Jinse who had helped cut his ropes, and it was Bai Jinse who hadn’t abandoned him. At the crucial moment, she had shouted about the dried rations in the bundle, saving him once again, so the little boy kept following Bai Jinse.

Neither of them was talkative – they simply traveled together as companions.

When night came, they lit a fire, huddled together for a brief rest, then got up to continue their journey.

The little boy suddenly tugged at Bai Jinse and pulled out a cake from his chest that had been crumpled beyond recognition. He tore it in half and handed half to Bai Jinse.

Bai Jinse hadn’t expected the little boy to still have hidden dried rations. She thought about it, took the dried ration, and divided her portion into several pieces. When they had escaped earlier, Bai Jinse had eaten all the dried ration the boy had given her at once because, without eating, she wouldn’t have had the strength and couldn’t walk fast enough, making it easy to be caught up to!

Now she had to consider what came next – if they couldn’t find anything to eat along this journey, their only food would be this cake!

The boy, who had been wolfing down his food, saw Bai Jinse divide her dried ration into several portions. He stopped and followed her example, dividing his dried ration into several pieces and putting them away.

Noticing the little boy’s actions, Bai Jinse couldn’t help but pat his head: “Let’s go!”

The little boy stood up, extinguished the fire, and followed beside Bai Jinse as they continued forward.

·

Yun Jing.

Old General Cui Shanzhong had just checked on Bai Qingyu. The imperial physician said… Bai Qingyu’s chaotic pulse had improved somewhat, and he should wake up within the next few days.

The weight on Old General Cui Shanzhong’s heart finally settled.

“Old General Cui, what do you think… should we wait for Great Zhou’s Emperor Bai Qingyan to arrive, tell her about the Yan Empress Dowager betraying Great Zhou’s information to us, then send Bai Qingyu back to her as a gift and submit to seek the preservation of our country? Or… should we cooperate with Yan?” Li Tianjiao walked slowly with Old General Cui Shanzhong along the red-lantern corridor.

“Perfect timing – this old minister also wanted to discuss this matter with Your Majesty…” Old General Cui Shanzhong said slowly. “This old minister thinks we could take a two-pronged approach!”

Li Tianjiao became interested and turned to look at Old General Cui Shanzhong: “Please tell me what the old general has in mind.”