Chapter 12: Once You Have Grown Wings, You Want to Return Home

The Zhou family was astonished, thinking: This young Master Xia looks young, but unexpectedly, he really knows medicine.

Carrying medicine with him, could it be that they run a clinic?

The way the Zhou family looked at Xia Mo and the others changed.

“Eldest son, hurry and start a fire to cook. Young man, what do you want to eat?”

Xia Mo saw that Auntie Zhou’s eldest son was already kneading the dough, so she smiled and said to Auntie Zhou, “Noodle dumpling soup would be great.”

Auntie Zhou smiled and said to Xia Mo, “Alright, tonight you’ll get to try our noodle dumplings.”

“Eldest son, put in two handfuls of greens and add more oil residue.”

“Got it, Mom.”

It would take a while for the noodle dumplings to be ready, so Xia Mo returned to Xiao Jingyuan’s side first.

Not to mention, after experiencing the incident of being sold, this kid Xiao Jingyuan had become quite cunning.

While others were settling their belongings in the valley, he quickly found a high ground that was sheltered from the wind and rain, with a fairly good view.

The place was just the right size for the two of them to sleep.

However, when Xia Mo put down her bag and prepared to rest for a while, Xiao Jingyuan stopped her.

“This is the place I found; if you want to rest tonight, you’ll have to find your own spot.”

Xia Mo froze.

So all her kindness to him over the past few days had gone to waste.

“From others’ perspective, we are brothers. You found a spot for two people but drove me away; others will get suspicious. Stop being difficult with me, or don’t blame me for leaving you behind.”

Xiao Jingyuan coldly said, “Whatever.”

Xia Mo: “…”

Oh dear, he has grown wings.

“Give it to me.”

Xiao Jingyuan: “What?”

Xia Mo replied lightly, “The things you took from the person you killed.”

Xiao Jingyuan tightened his grip on his bag, “No, I won’t give it to you. This is what I seized.”

Xia Mo guessed correctly; Xiao Jingyuan must have found quite a bit of silver on that person, or he wouldn’t be so assertive.

“Hmph.”

What a plastic brotherhood.

“In a bit, Auntie Zhou will treat me to noodle dumplings. If you have the ability, don’t eat any.”

Xia Mo angrily turned around and left.

She thought this was fine; the tyrant wanted to distance himself from her, not her initiating it. He wouldn’t hold a grudge against her in the future, right?

That would be best.

Before long, Zhou Er called Xia Mo to eat noodle dumplings. Xia Mo happily accepted their kindness and took out two buns for Auntie Zhou’s little grandson, Zhou Wang.

Auntie Zhou felt that this young man was quite considerate; he was giving medicine and buns, making her so happy that she gave Xia Mo two extra spoonfuls of oil residue.

As Xia Mo was eating, she saw Xiao Jingyuan come over at some point, nonchalantly accepting the noodle dumplings from others.

Xia Mo’s expression darkened. This bastard, didn’t he want to distance himself from her? Why was he enjoying the fruits of her labor?

What she didn’t know was that, in Xiao Jingyuan’s eyes, it was the merit of his Guanyin statue, and he felt justified in enjoying it.

Xia Mo also had her temper. After being scolded by Xiao Jingyuan, she wouldn’t voluntarily go to his place to spend the night again.

She would rather sleep with the donkey from Auntie Zhou’s family than sleep with him.

Xia Mo curled up next to a large rock, wandered around the convenience store, and picked up a pure black scarf for men, wrapping it around herself, even covering her head to fend off the cold wind.

She also took a pair of thick socks, gloves, and so on.

With her gear complete, she wasn’t afraid of the cold.

Not far away, Xiao Jingyuan watched the whole time, feeling a bit sour inside.

To outsiders, it seemed like she had taken these things from her bag, but he knew they were given to her by Guanyin.

So, just as Xia Mo had fallen asleep, Xiao Jingyuan woke her up by tapping her.

“Hey, give me back the jade pendant.” The emperor had said that only the destined person could unlock its secrets; he wanted to see if that person was her.

Xia Mo didn’t rely on his jade pendant; she took the pendant from around her neck and tossed it directly to him, her eyes filled with disdain.

Alright then, let’s sever ties cleanly.

Watching Xiao Jingyuan take the jade pendant back to the cave, Xia Mo scoffed, planning to enter the convenience store to grab something to eat, wanting him to know that even without his jade pendant, she could still receive Guanyin’s protection.

However, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she was stunned.

What was going on? Where was the convenience store?

She tried a few times and confirmed that she really couldn’t get into the convenience store.

Xia Mo slapped her forehead, thinking: Could it be that what she relied on was indeed Xiao Jingyuan’s jade pendant?

But she had told Xiao Jingyuan that the things were given by Guanyin, which was completely made up.

She had no one to rely on and wasn’t as persuasive as before.

Without the ability to swindle or deceive, how was she supposed to survive in this era of disaster and war without the convenience store?

Xia Mo was in a dilemma, and after a moment of hesitation, she decided to go find Xiao Jingyuan to make peace.

Just as the thought arose, a sudden clatter of hooves and screams echoed.

The riders shouted excitedly, indiscriminately hacking at the ordinary refugees in the valley with their long swords. The horses charged through, and the refugees immediately erupted in cries, turning into chaos.

Xia Mo had only one thought in her mind: The horse bandits were coming.

“Xia Mo, quickly take your brother and run,” Auntie Zhou’s family reminded her while hiding.

But how could a person with two legs outrun a horse with four legs? Fortunately, Xiao Jingyuan had chosen a higher position, so they didn’t encounter disaster right away.

“Everyone, don’t panic, just follow the light and climb up; the horses won’t come,” Xiao Jingyuan maintained his composure, shouting loudly to the panicking crowd, and turned on the flashlight Xia Mo had given him to guide everyone.

He had observed the terrain clearly when he arrived; he knew exactly where to climb to reach safety.

The refugees followed the direction of his flashlight, gradually escaping the range of the horse bandits’ attacks.

There weren’t many horse bandits, but they had horses, and they appeared suddenly, killing without hesitation, which intimidated the group of ordinary refugees.

As long as they could reach a safe place, the horse bandits wouldn’t dare to dismount and chase them.

The refugees had shovels, hoes, sticks, and so on; with their numbers, as long as the horse bandits dared to dismount, they could rush forward and take them down.

The horse bandits were clearly aware of this principle, but their goal wasn’t just to casually kill a few people; they aimed to incite panic within the Da Zhou kingdom, forcing these refugees to surround the city so that their main force could attack with greater efficiency.

However, they didn’t expect that a young kid would suffer here.

At that moment, one of the horse bandits dismounted and chased after Xiao Jingyuan with a sword.

He was holding the flashlight that was guiding the refugees; it couldn’t be turned off, and the refugees relied on its light for direction.

But on the other hand, the flashlight exposed Xiao Jingyuan’s location.

Hiding behind a pile of rocks, Xia Mo watched as Xiao Jingyuan fought with the horse bandit.

He was using the flashlight to guide the refugees, and in his other hand, he only had a fruit knife; being so young, he was no match for the horse bandit.

Xia Mo was extremely anxious and picked up a stone, throwing it fiercely at the horse bandit.

The horse bandit hadn’t expected a small thing to sneak up from behind for a surprise attack. Even though he dodged quickly, he was still hit on the foot by the stone, causing him to grimace in pain.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xia Mo shouted to Xiao Jingyuan, “Give me the jade pendant, quickly.”