Chapter 274: Thief
Editor: Atlas Studios
Around four in the morning, Mu Yangling woke Bowen and Xiuhong up. The cold wind outside was chilly enough to freeze people to death, but she still decided to set off now. They didn’t pass through the county, but bypassed it and walked east. The prefectural capital of Xingyuan Prefecture was east of Three Springs County.
Although it would take a lot of time to enter the county and leave the east gate, the city gate had yet to open, and she was herding a flock of sheep. The soldiers guarding the gate might not be willing to let her in, and who knew how much money they would try to extort from her before they let her enter.
Mu Yangling had already asked the landlord about it. There was a gentle slope on the main road. As long as they crossed the gentle slope, they would be able to see a small path. They could walk directly from there and finally reach the main road of Xingyuan Prefecture.
Mu Yangling put on a rabbit fur scarf, a dog fur hat, and a wolf fur coat on them. In the end, only their eyes and noses were revealed.
Exhaling, Mu Yangling said, “Alright, let’s go.”
“Cousin, why aren’t you dressed like us?”
“I’m in good health. Besides, I’m also wearing a hat and gloves. I’m fine.” The key was that she still had to herd sheep.
Mu Yangling touched Blackie and kissed its neck affectionately. “Thanks for the hard work in advance, buddy. There’s a section of road that’s more difficult to walk later.”
“Alright, don’t take the carriage anymore. Let’s walk for a while first. Otherwise, you’ll die from the cold.” Mu Yangling chased the sheep out and walked in front. Xiuhong hurriedly walked in front and held the lantern. Blackie didn’t have to be led and followed behind smartly.
Bowen stumbled a little, but at least he caught up.
When they were about to walk out of the village entrance, Mu Yangling herded the sheep forward and walked down the main road towards a tree. Then, she stretched out her leg and kicked the two trembling people. Seeing that they did not wake up, she exerted more strength and kicked them to the ground.
Trembling as they opened their eyes, the two of them were startled to see Mu Yangling.
Mu Yangling removed the wine flasks on her waist, unscrewed the lids, and poured a mouthful into each of their mouths. She said unhappily, “Consider yourselves lucky. This wine happened to be warm because it was placed beside the stove last night.”
When the wine entered their bodies, the two of them felt hot from the inside out. They shivered and looked at Mu Yangling in a daze.
Mu Yangling patted their faces and felt that they should be awake now, so she said, “Alright, hurry up and go home. Why would you want to be a thief?” With that, Mu Yangling took out a tael of silver from her pouch and stuffed it into their hands. She waved her hand and said, “Leave quickly, or I’ll beat you up.”
After saying that, she turned around and caught up with the flock of sheep in front.
Xiuhong jogged to Mu Yangling’s side and asked, “Cousin, who are they? Aren’t they courting death by sleeping outside on such a cold day?”
“Exactly. They want to be a thief yet lack the guts. They’ve been watching for an entire day and night. As a result, I’ve been on guard for half a night for nothing.”
Because she knew that there were thieves outside, she didn’t dare to fall asleep and merely dozed off in short bouts. After causing her trouble for a day and a night, not only did they not have the guts to steal, but they even almost froze to death outside. Mu Yangling was speechless.
When Xiuhong heard that they were thieves, she immediately widened her eyes. “Then, Cousin, why did you still give them silver?”
“That’s right, Sister. It’s already good enough that we don’t send them to the officials, right?”
Mu Yangling patted their heads and said, “They just had the intention to steal, but they haven’t done it yet. It’s obvious that they’re newbies and aren’t bold enough. Such a person won’t do it again after someone gives them a helping hand. Therefore, we have to forgive people wherever possible.”
The group climbed the gentle slope and then climbed down the gentle slope. Then, there was a relatively gentle path. Although the ground was still a little uneven, it was much easier to walk than the gentle slope before.
Starting to sweat, just as Xiuhong and Bowen were about to loosen their scarves, Mu Yangling quickly slapped their hands and said, “Don’t remove it. You’ve just started sweating and you’re removing your scarf? If the cold wind enters your body, can you withstand it? Walk forward slowly and extend your breathing. You’ll be fine in a while.”
The two of them could only stop.
By the time they walked onto the main road, the sky was already bright and the cold air had been dispelled by the sun. The three of them turned around and saw that Three Springs County was already way behind them.
Mu Yangling stopped at a place and waved at them. “Alright, go find some dry firewood. Let’s start a fire and have breakfast.”
The flock of sheep stood at the side to rest. It was also very difficult for them to travel in such cold weather.
“Cousin, I feel colder today than yesterday and the day before.”
Mu Yangling nodded. “I reckon we’re unlucky to have encountered a cold current.” Mu Yangling turned around and glared at a spot. “How long do you plan to follow us?”
Startled, Xiuhong and Bowen turned around and saw two half-dead youths stumbling out from behind a tree at the entrance of the path. The two of them were supporting each other and wearing patched cotton clothes, looking at Mu Yangling in fear.
Mu Yangling’s gaze slid past their hands and knees. Seeing that there was some mud on them, and even a vague trace of blood, she knew that they had fallen on the road.
It turned out that she hadn’t heard wrongly. When she was going down the slope, she heard something roll down. As it was dark, she couldn’t see anything. She’d thought that the two people who had secretly followed her had accidentally dropped something, but it turned out that they had actually fallen themselves. How stupid.
Mu Yangling turned around and ignited the firewood with hay, then waved at them. “Come over. Are you planning to be a Wife-watching Stone1 over there?”
The two young men blushed and supported each other as they walked over. They glanced at Mu Yangling timidly, and the younger young man said, “W—we’re not married.”
If Mu Yangling had water in her mouth, she would definitely spit it out. What kind of godly reply was this?
Xiuhong and Bowen couldn’t help but be amused. They weren’t so wary of them now.
Seeing that they were talking, Xiuhong and Bowen went over to bring over the dry rations they had prepared. Although it was called dry rations, it was ten steamed buns, half a pot of braised pork, and 20 pancakes.
Bowen placed the pot filled with braised pork on the fire to heat it up. Soon, there was a sizzling sound of oil, and fragrance kept wafting out.
Xiuhong, on the other hand, picked up a pair of chopsticks and roasted the steamed bun by the fire. After heating it up, she made an incision and picked up the braised pork to fill the steamed bun.
The two young men looked at the things in their hands without blinking, swallowing their saliva the entire time.
Mu Yangling stretched out a pot of water in front of them and said, “Drink a few mouthfuls of water before eating.”
The two of them took it in a daze and gulped down half a pot of water. Only then did they realize that they weren’t that hungry anymore. The two of them looked at Mu Yangling resentfully, took the meat buns that Xiuhong had stuffed into their hands, and wolfed them down.
After they ate and drank their fill, Mu Yangling propped her chin on her hand and looked at them. Seeing that his brother was still eating, the older brother pushed him. The younger brother immediately wiped his mouth and sat up straight to look at Mu Yangling.
“Alright, can you tell me what’s going on now? What are your names, where are you from, and why are you following me?”
The younger brother looked at the older brother. The older brother was at a loss for a moment before managing to speak. “M-Miss Mu, our surname is Zhang. My name is Zhang Wu1. This is my cousin, Zhang Liu2.”
“Your names are quite easy to remember.”
Zhang Liu scratched his head and said, “There’s no one who can read in our family, so the kids are all named according to their order of birth. I’m the sixth in the family, hehe.”