Chapter 28: Innate Powers of Observation

Xiao Jingyuan listened to Xia Mo’s words and looked at her with a complex expression.

The pavilion chief’s face was ashen.

At this moment, the beautiful young lady from before appeared out of nowhere.

“Uncle.”

“Wan’er? What are you doing here?”

The young lady approached the pavilion chief, glanced at Xia Mo and the other boy, and sighed lightly. “Uncle, let them go. This young brother is right—war is the matter of adults. We shouldn’t make things difficult for a child. Only when the brave men at the front lines guard our home and country well can the children in the rear grow up safely and become the pillars of Da Zhou.”

Xia Mo met the girl’s melancholy gaze and suddenly felt something was off.

Why was she looking at her like she was some heartless scoundrel?

“Hehe, Miss Wan’er is absolutely right,” Xia Mo replied with an awkward smile.

“Lord Pavilion Chief, just give my little brother another three to five years to grow. He will definitely become an extraordinary talent.”

Even the greatest figures started out as children. Forcing him to become a foot soldier right now and fight one against three was simply a waste of talent.

“Sigh!” The pavilion chief took a deep breath and said, “Since even Wan’er says so, then let it be.”

With that, he pulled out a silver ingot from his sleeve. “The road south will be tough for you two. Take this as a small token. Please accept it.”

Xia Mo felt warmth in her heart. This pavilion chief was truly a good official.

In these troubled times, the fact that he could organize village militia to protect the people made him far better than the many officials who had fled.

Just as she was about to refuse, she saw Xiao Jingyuan reach out and accept the silver.

“Thank you.”

Xia Mo: “…” Why was his skin so thick?

Looking at the pavilion chief’s patched-up shoulder, he didn’t seem to be a wealthy man either.

The pavilion chief let out a sigh of relief. “Wan’er, see these two heroes off.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

Miss Wan’er personally escorted them to the edge of the town.

Xia Mo stopped and said to her, “Miss Wan’er, the world is in chaos, and things are dangerous outside. You should hurry back.”

“Alright. Young masters, Wan’er is grateful for your help. The road ahead is long—please be careful.”

The two of them shouldered their packs and continued south.

Xia Mo had no idea where they were going. She had been directionally challenged since childhood, with an abysmal sense of orientation. She completely relied on Xiao Jingyuan to lead the way.

Xiao Jingyuan found her hopelessly incompetent.

“And you still want to leave me behind and travel alone? Hmph. Aren’t you afraid you’ll just wander off and get completely lost?”

Xia Mo: “…”

She retorted, “No matter how bad I am with directions, I can still tell north from south, east from west!”

“Oh? Then which way should we go now?”

Ahead of them was a mountain, and many refugees were heading toward it.

Although Bianzhou had not yet been occupied by the enemy, the people were already panicked. Many believed it was only a matter of time before the city fell. If they waited until the enemy arrived, they wouldn’t be able to escape. Fearing they’d become food for the barbarian invaders, most chose to flee while they still could.

Xia Mo smiled confidently. “Of course, we should follow them into the mountain. As the saying goes, ‘A path will appear at the foot of the mountain, and a bridge will form at the river’s edge.’ The road may seem blocked now, but when we reach the base of the mountain, a path will surely emerge.”

With that, she stepped forward to follow the crowd.

But Xiao Jingyuan didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?” Xia Mo stopped. “You don’t want to go with me?”

“I thought…” He pointed to a fork in the road. “We should take this path instead.”

The path he pointed to slanted backward at a forty-five-degree angle.

Xia Mo raised a brow. “No way. If we take that path, won’t we just be heading back? It looks just like the one we came from—it must lead into the mountain as well.”

Xiao Jingyuan shook his head. “No. Look at the wheel tracks.”

There were tracks leading into the mountain from their current road and tracks on the side path, but none that showed carts entering the mountain from the slanted path.

What did this mean? It meant the slanted path and the mountain road weren’t heading in the same direction. Carts wouldn’t turn around in circles.

His observational skills were truly impressive.

“How do you know the slanted path is easier to walk than going into the mountain?”

“Look at the tracks. The mountain path is full of donkey and ox hoofprints, but there are no horse hoofprints. The other path, however, is covered in horse hoofprints. Refugees are not locals—they don’t know the roads. Like you, they rely on intuition, taking their donkeys and cattle into the mountains. But those who travel often recognize the way—they mostly use horses. That’s why this path should be the better choice.”

Xia Mo was convinced. If he was already this sharp now, give him three to five years, and he might just reach the heavens.

She couldn’t help but give him a big thumbs-up.

Xiao Jingyuan looked at her curiously. “What does that mean?”

“It means you’re amazing.”

Xiao Jingyuan immediately puffed out his chest in pride and strode ahead.

At first, the path seemed to be leading them backward, but after an hour, Xia Mo was astonished to find that the mountain, which should have been behind them, had somehow shifted to their front-left. Without realizing it, they had looped back in the right direction.

“See? This road lets us bypass the mountain.”

Xia Mo nodded lightly.

Not only did it let them avoid the mountain, but it was also much quieter.

They occasionally passed by traveling merchants or galloping couriers, but there were no large groups of desperate refugees.

It was clear they had chosen the right road. A path like this without a signpost was truly a trap for the unwary.

—

As the sun began to set, they still hadn’t seen any sign of a town nearby. It seemed they would have to camp out again or find shelter in a village.

“Let’s head there.”

Xiao Jingyuan pointed toward a wisp of smoke rising in the distance, indicating the presence of a household.

They followed the smoke and soon found themselves in a peach orchard.

At this time of year, the trees were nothing but bare branches, but come spring, this place would surely be stunning.

As they drew closer, they saw that there was indeed only one household—a small homestead consisting of three mudbrick rooms and a thatched hut. A donkey stood outside, chewing on dry grass as it turned a millstone.

Under the eaves of the house sat an old man, weaving straw sandals.

“Excuse me, sir,” Xia Mo greeted.

The old man paused his work and looked up.

“Sir, we are refugees from the northern border. May we stay the night at your home?”

“Huh? What did you say?” The old man tilted his head, turning his ear toward her.

Xia Mo couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed the old man was hard of hearing and hadn’t understood her.

At that moment, a hunched old woman came out, leaning on a cane.

“He’s deaf. Don’t bother talking to him. What do you want?”

Xia Mo quickly bowed. “Grandmother, we’re refugees from the northern border. We were passing through, but with nightfall approaching and no town in sight, we were wondering if we could stay the night at your home.”

“Oh, just for the night? Come on in, then.”

The old woman walked slowly, and they had no choice but to follow at her pace.