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

In early January, the wind was still biting cold.

At this time, it was still dark, and only a few wisps of pale white light peeked through the gray-blue sky, outlining the mountains as a continuous, undulating silhouette of darkness.

As everyone hurried along, the road beneath their feet quickly transformed from a village path into a rugged mountain trail.

Jing Zhichun tightened the collar of his wolfskin coat and pulled his hat down further, revealing only a pair of wary eyes.

This outfit is indeed warm; the thick wolf pelt effectively insulates against the cold, but it's not as convenient to move in as a cotton-padded coat.

Or perhaps the Yang family was walking too fast, and she couldn't keep up, making it very difficult for her to walk.

Yang Xiaoniu walked at the front; he was the most experienced hunter and was responsible for scouting and identifying directions.

Yang Erniu followed closely behind, occasionally turning back to check on Jing Zhichun and his wife who were walking in the middle.

Yang Ersao was a taciturn woman with a sturdy build. She carried a large bundle on her back, which contained not only her own belongings but also some shared cooking utensils and extra dry rations.

Her steps were steady; she was clearly someone who did manual labor regularly and could endure hardship.

The initial stretch of road was relatively flat, but the silence was somewhat oppressive.

Aside from the sound of their footsteps in the snow and the occasional hushed conversations, there was only the whistling of the cold wind through the bare branches and the cries of unknown birds in the distance.

"Madam Shen, can you keep up with my pace?"

After walking for more than an hour, as dawn broke, Yang Xiaoniu stopped and turned back to ask.

"I can keep up, Brother Yang, go ahead." Jing Zhichun adjusted her breathing.

After more than a month of hard work and training, her body was much stronger than when she first arrived, but it was still no match for hunters who spent years traversing mountains and valleys.

She was just trying to keep up the pace and not fall behind.

Yang Ersao handed over a water bag: "Madam Shen, have some water to moisten your throat. You're thirsty from walking on this mountain path."

"Thank you." Kyoto Haru took the water and sipped some of the cold water.

The water in the water bladder was a bit cold to the touch, but it did relieve the dryness in my throat after going down.

After a short rest, the group continued on its way.

The mountain path began to become steep, and in some places, one had to use both hands and feet to climb.

The snow layer conceals gravel and icicles, making it easy to slip and fall if one is not careful.

Jingzhichun walked very carefully, making sure each step was firm before moving on to the next.

Sometimes, Yang Ersao would reach out and help her when she encountered difficult spots.

"Watch out for this slope," Yang Xiaoniu pointed to a sunny, less snow-covered scree slope ahead. "It looks easy to walk on, but there's black ice underneath, it's very slippery. Let's go around it."

"it is good."

The group had no objections and followed Yang Xiaoniu's instructions.

The group followed Yang Xiaoniu and chose a more strenuous but safer route, traversing through the bushes and rocks on the side.

As the sun rose higher, it dispelled some of the chill, but also reflected a blinding white light onto the snow.

Kyoto Haru squinted and took out a simple pair of snow goggles made of dark coarse cloth and thin rattan from the side pocket of her backpack and put them on.

She made this last night; although it's simple, it's effective in preventing snow blindness.

Yang Xiaoniu glanced at her novel gadget a couple of times, but didn't ask any further questions.

Around noon, they stopped to rest under a sheltered rock and ate some dry rations.

Yang Xiaoniu unfolded a crumpled, simple hand-drawn map, on which mountain shapes and a few place names were drawn in charcoal.

"We're roughly around here now," he pointed with his rough fingers, "and if we walk for another half a day, we'll reach the outskirts of Wild Goat Pass. The Liu family should already be waiting there. Wild Goat Pass is low-lying, surrounded by mountains on three sides, like a pocket. It's rich in water and grass, and used to be a gathering place for wild goats, hence the name. The tiger disappeared in that area, and it's very likely hiding in the pass or in a cave nearby."

"Did the Liu family send people there in advance?" Jing Zhichun asked.

"Yes, Young Master Liu said he'll send a few capable guards and experienced guides familiar with the area to set up a temporary camp and prepare some large equipment, like cages and sturdy nets," Yang Xiaoniu said. "When we get there, we'll meet up with them first, get a clear picture of the situation, and then we can take action. Blindly going into the mountains to search is too dangerous."

Jing Zhichun nodded; the arrangement was fairly sound.

After resting for about 15 minutes, the four of them set off again.

The road became increasingly difficult in the afternoon, and they gradually ventured deeper into the real old forest.

The trees grew tall and dense, their bare branches intertwining and blocking out most of the sunlight, even in winter. The snow in the forest was deeper, reaching up to the calves with a single step.

The air was damp and cold, and my lungs felt stinging with every breath.

Wild animal tracks can be seen from time to time.

There was fresh wolf droppings, messy hoof prints of roe deer or wild deer, and once, Yang Xiaoniu pointed to a huge, plum blossom-shaped footprint on the snow and said in a low voice, "Look, a leopard. It's quite big and not far from us."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense, and everyone knew that danger lurked everywhere in the mountains.

The four stopped talking and quickened their pace, while observing their surroundings more vigilantly.

Kyoto Haru's hand quietly rested on the axe handle at his waist, his ears catching any unusual sound in the forest.

Fortunately, they did not encounter any large beasts head-on before it got dark again.

"We can't go any further today." Looking at the increasingly dark forest and his exhausted companions, Yang Xiaoniu made a decisive decision: "We need to find a place to spend the night. It's too dangerous in this forest at night."

They found a protruding rock face beside a stream that was about to freeze over, which could barely provide shelter from the wind and snow.

Yang Erniu and Yang Ersao quickly began clearing the snow from the ground and collecting dry branches.

Kyoto Haru also put down her backpack to help.

The fire was quickly started.

The orange flames leaped, bringing long-lost warmth and light, and dispelling the surrounding darkness and some of the chill.

The four men sat around the fire, warming their frozen hands and feet, and boiled a small pot of snow water, eating their dry rations with the hot water.

"Someone needs to keep watch tonight," Yang Xiaoniu said, chewing on some dried meat. "Two people per shift, two hours per shift. Erniu and I will keep watch for the first half of the night, and Mrs. Shen and Erniu's wife will keep watch for the second half. We'll wake the others up immediately if there's any noise."

Kyoto Spring had no objection.

In the perilous depths of the mountains, this is essential.

She leaned against the rock wall, wrapped her wolf-skin coat tightly around herself, and tried to fall asleep, but the cold rock beneath her and the occasional strange cries of owls and rustling sounds of some unknown animal kept her on edge and wide awake.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she was gently woken up by Yang Ersao. "Madam Shen, it's our turn."

Jing Zhichun sat up with a start, glanced at the Yang Xiaoniu brothers lying beside her, fully clothed and already snoring softly, and nodded.

She and Yang Ersao moved to the fire and added some firewood to keep the flames burning brightly.

The forest was even more tranquil and eerie in the latter half of the night. Beyond the area illuminated by the firelight lay an impenetrable darkness, as if countless eyes were lurking within.

The wind seemed to have changed its tone, whimpering and sobbing like a woman's weeping.

Yang Ersao held a thick wooden stick, staring nervously into the darkness, her lips tightly pressed together.

Kyoto forced herself to remain calm, listening intently while her sharp gaze swept across the shadows at the edge of the firelight.

Time passed by, each second feeling incredibly long.

Suddenly, a chirping sound came from the depths of the distant dense forest.

Jing Zhichun and Yang Ersao froze at the same time, their hair standing on end!

The wooden stick in Yang Ersao's hand fell to the ground with a slight sound.

"Don't move!" Kyoto Haru said, quickly grabbing a burning, thick tree branch and raising it high, while his other hand reached for the axe at his waist.

The firelight illuminated only a limited area; the direction from which the sound came was pitch black, and nothing could be seen.

Even Yang Xiaoniu and Yang Erniu, who were fast asleep, were suddenly awakened, almost sitting up abruptly and grabbing the weapons beside them instantly.

"What's that sound?" Yang Xiaoniu asked in a low voice.

"I don't know, it sounded like... coming from over there." Kyoto Haru pointed to the source of the sound with a burning branch.

Yang Xiaoniu and Yang Erniu immediately went on alert, listening intently.

The forest returned to deathly silence, with only the crackling of the campfire.

After a while, there were no more unusual sounds.

"It's probably some animal passing by." Yang Xiaoniu slowly breathed a sigh of relief, but his expression remained serious. "Judging from the sound, it should be a rat, or something else, but whatever it is, it's not far from us. We can't be careless tonight."

Soon, the two on watch became four.

In the latter half of the night, no one could fall asleep. Everyone was on edge, gripping their weapons tightly, until the eastern sky turned gray.

The four of them finally breathed a sigh of relief when the first rays of dawn struggled to pierce through the gaps in the dense forest.

They quickly packed their belongings, extinguished the embers, and carefully covered the signs of their encampment with snow.

The atmosphere became even more tense for the rest of the journey.

The four of them barely spoke, simply keeping their heads down and making their way while keeping their eyes and ears open.

Fortunately, they did not encounter anything further until they left the dense old forest in the afternoon and came to a relatively open hilly area.

Standing on a high slope, Yang Xiaoniu pointed to a valley surrounded by mountains and with a noticeably low-lying terrain, and finally a look of relief appeared on his face.

"Look, that's Wild Sheep Pass. We've arrived."

Kyoto looked in the direction he was pointing.

The valley was covered in snow, which gleamed coldly in the afternoon sun.

At the edge of the valley, wisps of smoke could be faintly seen rising from chimneys.

The Liu family should be there.

After descending the high slope and walking for about half an hour, the four of them finally stepped into the edge of Wild Sheep Pass.

From a distance, you can see several gray-brown tents pitched in the snow, forming a small campsite.

The camp was surrounded by a simple fence made of sharpened wooden stakes. Several strong men wearing thick cotton-padded coats and carrying waist knives were patrolling nearby. When they saw the group, they immediately gripped the handles of their knives warily.

"Halt! Who goes there?" a leading man shouted.

Yang Xiaoniu quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Brother, we are hunters from Yangjia Village in Qingshi County. We have come to assist in tiger hunting at the invitation of Young Master Liu. This is the document given to us by Young Master Liu."

As he spoke, he took out the invitation card bearing the official seal of the Liu family from his pocket and handed it over.

The man took the invitation, examined it carefully, and then looked at the four of them. His expression softened slightly as he returned the invitation to Yang Xiaoniu: "So it's Hunter Yang. Manager Liu instructed you to go directly to the large tent in the middle when you arrive. Follow me."

The man led them through the simple wooden gate into the camp.

The campsite wasn't large, but it was quite crowded.

At a glance, there were no fewer than thirty people!

Apart from seven or eight men who looked like guards of the Liu family, the rest of the men were dressed in various ways. Some looked like mountain folk, some like wandering martial arts masters, and two or three were dressed in furs with sharp eyes, clearly experienced old hunters.

These people were in groups of three or five, some squatting, some standing, some sharpening knives, some checking bows and arrows, and some talking in hushed tones.

Upon seeing this, Jing Zhichun immediately guessed that the Liu family had probably not only contacted the Yang family!

Judging from this setup, they're probably casting a wide net; whoever has the ability to catch the tiger will get the reward.

In this way, they not only have to deal with the tiger, but also have to be wary of the tactics these competitors might use.

Suddenly, the competitive pressure increased dramatically.

Yang Xiaoniu clearly realized this as well, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

He whispered to Jing Zhichun, "Madam Shen, the situation has changed. We need to be careful."

Kyoto Haru nodded slightly, subtly pulling her hat brim down further, her gaze quickly sweeping over the unfamiliar faces in the camp.

The man leading the way brought them to the largest tent in the center of the camp and lifted the thick felt curtain: "Manager Liu, Hunter Yang and the others have arrived."

The tent was warmer than outside, with a charcoal brazier burning inside.

A middle-aged man wearing a dark blue silk cotton robe, a warm hat, and with a small mustache was sitting behind a simple wooden table, flipping through some booklet.

He was about forty years old, with a shrewd face and eyes that revealed the calculation of a businessman and the authority of a manager.

This must be Steward Liu.

Upon hearing the report, Manager Liu raised his head, his gaze lingering on Yang Xiaoniu and Jing Zhichun, especially on the woman Jing Zhichun, for a moment. A hint of surprise and scrutiny flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his professional demeanor.

"Hunter Yang, you must be tired from your journey," said Steward Liu.

"Greetings, Steward Liu." Yang Xiaoniu hurriedly bowed.

Steward Liu nodded and pointed outside the tent. "You're not the only ones invited by the young master to hunt the tiger. His orders are that whoever can capture the beast alive and unharmed will receive a reward of five hundred taels of silver on the spot! If it's injured or dead, that's none of the Liu family's business. As for how to capture it, each family will rely on its own abilities, and we won't interfere with each other, but... let fate decide. The camp provides basic food and lodging, as well as some tools. If needed, you can register and collect them. But let me make this clear: if anyone intends to cause trouble or try to harm their fellow travelers, don't blame the Liu family for being impolite!"

This statement is clear, but it also carries a warning.

The reward is tempting, but the rules are strict: competition is allowed, but vicious fighting is not.

"Yes, we understand Steward Liu's rules," Yang Xiaoniu replied.

"Good that you understand." Steward Liu then gave them a simple map of the nearby mountains.

"it is good."