Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

Jing Zhichun pulled both babies into her arms, then covered them completely with her large cloak.

Immediately afterward, with a thought, the two baby dolls in her arms were instantly stored in her spatial dimension.

It was pitch black all around, and people could only see the bulge under her cloak, assuming that the two babies were still peacefully sleeping in her arms.

After doing all that, Jing Zhichun quickly glanced at Su Heng and Yang Xiaoniu beside her.

Su Heng gripped a stick tightly in her hand, her eyes fixed on the dark woods ahead. Yang Xiaoniu beside her was also staring intently into the shadows, and no one paid any attention to her.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, she quickly summoned the system shop in her mind and spent five thousand coins to buy a high-end silenced pistol, which was already loaded with twenty bullets.

Jing Zhichun put the old pistol in her hand into her spatial storage again.

Actually, her old pistol was still usable, but it made too much noise.

If we really open fire with the enemy later, the sound of gunfire will definitely alert the other wild animals in the forest.

Therefore, just in case, this silenced pistol is currently the most suitable weapon for her.

Jing Zhichun gripped the pistol in her hand, and then used her mind to check on the two babies in the space who were still fast asleep. She felt relieved.

Then, she turned her attention to the dark forest in front of her.

In the darkness, Yang Erniu lay prone on the snow, his ears never leaving the ground.

Soon, he heard the clatter of hooves growing clearer and closer.

Yang Erniu's face was deathly pale. He immediately whispered to Jing Zhichun, "Madam Shen, the sound of horses' hooves is getting closer and closer. They're coming this way."

Kyoto Haru nodded upon hearing this: "You all stay where you are and don't move. I'll go take a look ahead."

After speaking, without waiting for anyone else to reply, Kyoto Haru stood up, adjusted her cloak, and took two steps forward. Then, she saw four lights in the woods not far ahead, heading towards them.

Four flames...

Furthermore, the sound of horses' hooves wasn't very chaotic, so Kyoto Haru guessed that there were no more than ten people coming towards them.

She hoped there would be as few people as possible.

Kyoto Haru squatted down on the snow, then turned to the others and whispered, "There are probably at least ten of them, and they're coming this way. Listen, no matter what you see or hear, no one is allowed to shout, run, or move."

We pressed ourselves low to the ground, hiding in the snow, pretending to be snowdrifts or stones.

If they don't spot us, we'll hold our breath and wait for them to pass by.

If they find you, forget about the food and just run with the children towards the bear's den. Don't look back! I'll deal with them!

"How can that be!" Yang Dawang was the first to disagree. "Madam Shen, there are quite a few of them. How can you, a woman, handle them all!"

Yang Xiaoniu chimed in quietly, "Yes, Madam Shen, our whole family, except for the kids, knows how to hunt. Let's all go together!"

"Yes, let's do it together!"

The remaining members of the Yang family were also unwilling to let Jing Zhichun stay behind to fight alone.

Even Xiaoman and Su Heng joined in.

"Aunt, I'll stay and help you too."

"Mom, I want to help you fight the bad guys too!"

Jing Zhichun quickly raised her hand to make a shushing gesture: "Shh...don't make a sound. Brother Erniu, have you forgotten my iron lump? How did you kill that woman and the medicine monkey back then? My thing kills without leaving a trace, I can handle those people by myself. When it really comes to that, you just need to run and keep an eye on my two kids."

"mother!"

Before Kyoto Haru could finish speaking, Xiaoman appeared in front of her without her noticing and tugged at her sleeve.

"Mom, I can smell Uncle Six's scent. The person coming must be Uncle Six."

Jing Zhichun was taken aback: "What does it smell like?"

"It's the sachet he always carried with him; it smells like musk."

Upon hearing this, Jing Zhichun quickly took off her mask and carefully smelled the air.

Upon smelling it, she could indeed detect a faint scent of musk, mixed with the aroma of sandalwood.

She was familiar with this taste.

It was Xiao Liu's unique fragrance.

Xiao Liu was a eunuch from the palace.

Generally, after being castrated, most eunuchs in the palace were too old to control their urination and always had a faint odor on their bodies, so they dared not get too close to people.

To mask the smell, they all have a set of fixed methods to suppress the gamey odor.

Every morning, these eunuchs would go to the bathhouse to wash themselves with hot water and then change into clean clothes.

They would also put absorbent soft cloths in their crotches and sprinkle some sandalwood powder, spikenard, and borneol mixed together as a fragrant powder, which would both absorb moisture and mask odors.

Moreover, the clothes worn by eunuchs were repeatedly scented with light sandalwood and agarwood before they could be worn.

A plain-colored sachet was tied around her waist, containing sandalwood powder, borneol, and some dried jasmine petals.

In short, these were all used to cover up the stench emanating from them.

Therefore, the eunuchs of the Great Zhou Dynasty all had a particularly strong fragrance on their bodies, and people could smell their scent from a great distance.

Smelling this for too long can make you dizzy.

Therefore, when eunuchs served their masters closely, they would put mint in their mouths so that their breath would be fresh and invigorating.

Jing Zhichun quickly sniffed again, inhaling the air.

She was certain that there was indeed a faint musky scent in the air, exactly the same as the scent on Xiao Liu.

Every time Xiao Liu came to deliver food to them, she could smell it from a great distance.

At this moment, Xiaoman tugged at Jingzhichun's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, those people must be Uncle Liu! Uncle Liu must have come looking for us when we weren't here. Mom, we don't need to hide anymore, let's go find Uncle Liu now, Aunt must have asked him to bring us something again!"

The little girl's string of affirmations almost persuaded Kyoto Haru as well.

But she still managed to hold onto that last shred of reason.

This place of exile wasn't just home to Xiao Liu, but also to Eunuch Wang, who died at her hands.

So let's wait and see clearly before making a decision.

Immediately, Jing Zhichun hugged Xiaoman tightly: "Xiaoman, don't speak yet, let's observe her first."

After saying that, she turned to the Yang family and whispered, "Quick, everyone lie down and don't make a sound. Let's wait and see clearly before we speak!"

As Jing Zhichun finished speaking, the Yang family members immediately lowered their bodies and lay down in the snow, not daring to even breathe.

At this moment, the wind was still howling and the snow was still falling.

Before long, the clatter of hooves grew closer and clearer, and the light of the torches also began to draw nearer.

Just then, a male voice suddenly came from not far away.

"Sixth Master! There's a set of footprints and tire tracks here. It looks like those people just left not long ago!"

"Hmm, it seems they just left recently. Everyone, follow the footprints! We must find the young master!"

"yes!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a rapid sound of horses' hooves rang out.

Kyoto Haru lay on the snow, listening to the conversation of the group, her heart pounding.

The last person to speak was definitely Xiao Liu's voice!

It's really him!

It really is Xiao Liu who came looking for me!