Because Jing Chen's injury was very serious, it was inconvenient for him to move, so Yu Shu, the three of them, and the mouse stayed in the cave. Every day, they relied on roasting sparrows, digging for eggs, and picking wild fruits to survive. After ten days, Jing Chen's wound finally formed a new layer of scab, and it did not affect his walking anymore.
Yu Shu decided to leave the forest the next morning to find a village outside and ask for directions to the capital.
The day before they left, Yu Shu had made all the necessary preparations. She had a bag of fresh bird eggs and wild fruits to serve as dry rations for the journey, washed and dried medicinal herbs, and a walking stick that she had sharpened for Jing Chen in the past two days.
That night, Yu Shu let Xia Mingming and Yu Xiaoxiu take turns to keep watch, while she slept soundly. Because tomorrow she would lead the way out of the forest, she needed to recover enough energy so that she could use the Six Lines Divination to find the direction.
The next day, at dawn, Yu Xiaoxiu woke Yu Shu up after keeping watch for the second half of the night. They packed up, and Yu Shu led them out of the cave to the stream. After freshening up, they filled a leather bag with water, and according to Yu Shu's divination, they moved towards the east where the sun rose.
Jing Chen's body was weak, so Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu took turns to support him. Every time he slowed down, Yu Shu would take the initiative to stop and find a shady tree to rest. When Jing Chen recovered his strength, they would continue to move forward.
Only Kim Bao was the most relaxed. He sat on Yu Xiaoxiu's shoulder and looked around effortlessly.
It was easy to get lost walking in the forest. Fortunately, Yu Shu was good at divination. They walked and stopped from time to time. They slept in the forest for one night. Another day passed. On the third day, at dusk, they climbed over a small hill and finally saw the smoke of a distant field.
Yu Shu and the others were overjoyed and quickened their pace to the village. When they passed by the ridge, they saw the villagers working in the field. Yu Shu took the initiative to talk to them, claiming that they were travelers who had unfortunately sunk on the river and came here to ask the villagers to let them stay for the night.
The small village, which was far away from the city, was self-sufficient and simple. When they heard about what had happened to Yu Shu and the others, they were very sympathetic. At that time, a warm-hearted villager picked up the farm tools and led them back to discuss with the village chief.
Although the four of them were dressed shabbily and looked shabby, they all looked neat and tidy. They talked and behaved politely. The village head was older and had some experience. When he saw them, he asked people to clean up the empty house and let them stay for the night. He also provided them with a meal.
Yu Shu and the others had eaten in the wild for more than ten days. Their tongues were almost rotten. Finally, they had a hot meal. Except for Jing Chen, everyone ate until they were full.
After dinner, Yu Shu and Xia Mingming went to the village head's house to thank him and ask for the way to the capital. The village head couldn't tell them where the capital was, so he suggested that they go to a nearby town to ask. Under Yu Shu's request, he agreed to send someone to send them there tomorrow.
At night, sleeping was a problem. There were only two wooden beds in the house, but there were four of them. Jing Chen couldn't sleep on the floor, Xia Mingming couldn't sleep on the floor, and Yu Shu was tired to death. She finally saw a bed, so of course, she didn't want to sleep on the floor, and she wouldn't let Yu Xiaoxiu sleep on the floor.
"There's no other way. Let's squeeze." Yu Shu said.
Xia Mingming hesitated and said, "That bed can't sleep the three of you, right?"
Because of Yu Shu's calm and strong performance these days, Xia Mingming didn't doubt her gender and always treated her as a boy. In her view, she was the only girl in the house. If there was to be a squeeze, it could only be the three of them.
Yu Shu glanced at her with a smile and walked over to sit on an empty bed. She patted the space beside her and said, "Mingming will sleep with me." Xia Mingming, who was still considering whether the bed could fit three people, blushed when she heard this. She said to Yu Shu angrily, "You baddie, who wants to sleep with you!"
After saying that, she opened the door and ran out, not giving Yu Shu a chance to finish her sentence.
Yu Shu rubbed the space between her eyebrows and got up to chase after her.
Seeing this, Jing Chen stood up from the bed and wanted to follow Yu Shu, but Yu Xiaoxiu stopped him. "Brother Jing, don't go. You've been walking for the whole day, you should rest early." …
Yu Shu found Xia Mingming by the well in the village. She was leaning against a tree and kicking the pebbles under her feet with her head down. Yu Shu thought for a while and walked up to her. "Mingming, I have something to say to you."
Yu Shu had to admit that she had deliberately hidden the fact that she was a girl from Xia Mingming during their stay in the cave. Firstly, it was because she had to take care of Jing Chen, and she felt that it would make them feel uncomfortable if she told them about it. Secondly, it was because she was worried about Xia Mingming, who came from an unknown background, and she had always been on guard.
However, after spending some time with her, Yu Shu realized that Xia Mingming wasn't as spoiled and headstrong as she appeared to be. She would follow her to hunt sparrows in the forest for the whole day without complaining about being tired. She wouldn't even wipe her tears when she cut her hand while picking herbs, and she wouldn't sit around waiting to eat for free just because she was a girl. Other than taking care of Jing Chen, she would obediently listen to everything that Yu Shu asked her to do.
It was quite rare for her to be able to do this at her age. Yu Shu admired strong people, and Xia Mingming had won her respect in this aspect.
Yu Shu wasn't blind, and she could more or less sense this little girl's attentive attitude towards her. She didn't want Xia Mingming to misunderstand, so that she wouldn't unintentionally hurt her heart in the future. Thus, when they left the cave, Yu Shu planned to find a suitable opportunity to make things clear to her. Thus, when they were distributing the beds, Yu Shu took the opportunity to bring it up.
Xia Mingming quickly raised her head and glanced at Yu Shu, thinking about what she would say to her. A young girl's imagination couldn't help but have some fantasies. She suddenly felt shy and pouted, "What do you want to say?" Seeing her like this, Yu Shu secretly had a headache. The words that were at the tip of her tongue rolled twice before she finally said, "Actually, I am Miss Hua."
She enunciated her words clearly, not missing a single word. Xia Mingming, who heard every single word, was stunned. The flush on her face did not fade, but a layer of stiffness appeared on her face. She slowly widened her eyes and stared at Yu Shu, stuttering, "You, you said you are, you are?" Yu Shu bitterly smiled, "I'm sorry for hiding it from you on the way here. Xiaoxiu and I are brother and sister. I am not his older brother, but his older sister."
Afraid that Xia Mingming didn't believe her, Yu Shu took a step forward and pulled Xia Mingming's hand. She pressed it on her chest that wasn't moving up and down, but still existed: "I am the same as you." What her palm touched was real. Xia Mingming's face alternated between red and white. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, shaking her head, and stared in disbelief at Yu Shu's delicate and pretty face. Her eyes gradually turned red, and when she blinked, two crystal clear tears fell.
Seeing this, Yu Shu actually didn't know how to deal with it. She thought that after telling Xia Mingming, she might be angry, or even annoyed, but she didn't expect that she would cry.
"Uh, Mingming …"
Yu Shu stretched out her hand, wanting to comfort her, but was slapped away by Xia Mingming. Xia Mingming pushed her away and ran away from her.
Yu Shu turned around and chased a few steps. Watching her rush into the hut where they were staying tonight, she slowed down her pace, walked to the door, and quietly stood for a long time before entering.
Inside the hut, Xia Mingming was lying on the bed, with her back facing the direction of the door, motionless, as if she was crying to sleep.
Jing Chen and Yu Xiaoxiu were looking at her in confusion. When they saw Yu Shu coming in, they turned their puzzlement to Yu Shu.
Yu Shu didn't have the energy to explain to them, so she waved her hand and said to them: "Sleep early." After saying that, she went to get the straw mat behind the door and spread it on the floor. She shook off the thin quilt that was piled at Xia Mingming's feet and gently covered her body with it. She turned around and laid down on the hard mat, using her arm as a pillow, and closed her eyes.
After a moment, she heard the sound of footsteps on the floor. She opened her eyes a little and saw Jing Chen spread another mat beside her, slowly sitting down, and slowly lying down. He turned his body to face her and copied her, using his arm as a pillow, and looked at her with his dark and bright eyes.
Yu Shu couldn't help laughing in a low voice. She stretched out her finger and poked his shoulder, whispering: "What are you doing? Quickly go to bed and sleep."
Jing Chen held her finger, opened her palm, and wrote: "I want to sleep with you.
Yu Shu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She angrily stared at him and sat up from the floor. She rubbed her face, and her mood, which was messed up by Xia Mingming, became better.
Yu Xiaoxiu frowned as he looked at Xia Mingming, who was occupying the whole bed. He was about to tell her to get up and move when he saw Yu Shu get up from the floor and walked to the bed behind him. She rolled up the quilt and urged Jing Chen to get up from the floor. She spread the thin quilt on the two straw mats and pointed to the floor: "Xiaoxiu will sleep in the middle, Jing Chen will sleep over there, and I will sleep over here."
After saying that, she took off her shoes and lay down on the floor. She stretched and yawned at the two people: "Put out the oil lamp and go to sleep. We have to get up early to go to town tomorrow."
Jing Chen obediently lay down, leaving the space in the middle for Yu Xiaoxiu. Yu Xiaoxiu looked at them, touched his head, and went to put out the oil lamp. He held the lazy Kim Bao and lay down between Yu Shu and Jing Chen. He rubbed the fluff on Kim Bao's back and put it on his stomach. Kim Bao swung his tail, rested his chin on his two front paws, and blinked his eyes.
Soon, they fell asleep one after another.
This was the first time in more than ten days that Yu Shu slept with them. She didn't need to stare at the fire, think about what to eat tomorrow, and wait alone until dawn.
It was a quiet night.
The next day, Yu Shu was the last one to get up. Yu Xiaoxiu, who woke up early, woke up Yu Shu and pushed her up: "Sit on the bed over there, I will make the bedding."
"Oh." Yu Shu walked to the bed in her shoes, sat down next to Jing Chen, and looked around the room. She didn't see Xia Mingming. She frowned and was about to ask Yu Xiaoxiu when she saw Xia Mingming coming in from the door with a basin of water.
Xia Mingming looked at Yu Shu and turned his head away awkwardly. He walked in and put the basin on the table, wrung the towel in the basin, turned around, and strode to Yu Shu, handed the towel to her, and said to her angrily: "You got up so late, wash your face!"
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