Chapter 5: Brother, Do You Speak Human?

"Erniang, Youniang, get up quickly! We’re leaving right now!"

Xu Yue and Xu Erniang had only just lain down when they were hurriedly pulled from their bedding by Wang, who had rushed back in a panic.

Holding a hemp rope, Wang rolled up the straw mats and quilts, stuffed the sisters' small bundles inside, and quickly fashioned a marching pack, which she handed to Xu Erniang.

"Can you carry this?" Wang asked.

Xu Erniang nodded, hoisted the bedding onto her back, and asked in confusion, "What happened? Why do we have to leave now?"

Xu Yue had already put on her straw sandals and was looking at Wang with unease.

Over on his side, Xu Da had already rolled up his bedding. He didn't know how to pack a marching bag, so Wang stepped in to take over, explaining as she worked

"The rebel army is coming. They’ll take the county seat before dawn and will soon swarm into all the surrounding villages. We have to leave now!"

Otherwise, the dangers they would face would be completely unpredictable.

In Xu Yue’s mind, the memory of an "army" was still tied to the People's Liberation Army of the 21st century—organized, disciplined, and taking not so much as a needle or thread from the masses.

But she had read history books. The so-called "rebel armies" were, in reality, massive bands of marauders, bandits, and robbers. While they might stir up the masses with rhetoric, perhaps drawing in desperate farmers with nowhere else to turn, for ordinary people, encountering such a force was a fate worse than death. In this era where slave trading was rampant, people were nothing more than currency; those marauders wouldn't let a single soul go.

Men were killed on the spot, women were sold into slavery, and children too young were simply tossed by the roadside to be trampled to death by horses—it was utterly inhumane.

In this moment, Xu Yue finally felt a vague sense of the barbaric era she truly inhabited.

...

The family had already planned to leave, so their things were prepared well in advance.

Wang shouldered the packed marching bag and grabbed her bow, arrows, and a sickle.

Xu Da hoisted the basket filled with food and picked up the family’s only torch and a wood-chopping knife.

Xu Erniang carried the sisters' luggage and bedding. Xu Yue was too small to carry anything.

In less than five minutes, the whole family was assembled.

"Mother!"

Before the family set off, Xu Yue called out urgently, looking toward the partially open woodshed.

Wang frowned but said nothing; after all, it was a living life.

A flash of irritation crossed Xu Da’s eyes. He automatically attributed Wang’s hesitation to "womanly kindness."

No one objected. Xu Yue rushed into the woodshed and untied the hands and feet of Xu Dalang, who had already been startled awake.

"Brother, the rebel army is coming. We have to leave. Please, be a good boy and listen to us—we’re going together."

Xu Yue looked at the thin, twelve-year-old boy before her with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, hoping he would seize this chance.

Fortunately, although Xu Dalang looked at the three people outside the door with hostility, he nodded heavily at her and scooped her up into his arms.

Don't let his thin frame fool you; he possessed immense strength. In the Xu household, if he claimed second place, no one dared claim first. Especially now that he was well-fed, carrying a child of a few dozen pounds was effortless.

Wang walked in the lead, followed by Xu Erniang, then Xu Da holding the torch, and finally Xu Dalang carrying Xu Yue.

The family of five walked quickly toward the village entrance. Whenever they passed a house that might still have survivors, Wang would pound on the door to warn them that the rebel army was coming.

As for whether those people believed her or chose to run, that was their own business; she had done all she could.

This action delayed them quite a bit, and Xu Da had his complaints, but...

As the saying goes, a great man knows when to bend and when to stretch! Those who understand the times are heroes! Now that his cultivation was gone, he still had to rely on this woman, so he decided to endure it for now.

Reaching the village entrance, Xu Da looked at the morning star on the horizon. He focused his mind and began to calculate, and just as he was about to announce his findings, Wang—who had already accounted for the wind direction, mountain terrain, and her own marching experience—pointed toward the mountains in the northwest

"We’ll head into the mountains to hide from the rebel army, then decide on our next move."

Xu Da froze for a moment, thinking to himself, *Could this Wang be one of my own kind?*

Otherwise, how could she have come to the exact same conclusion as him?

Wang had already strode forward. Xu Da didn't have time to overthink it; he looked back at Xu Yue and her brother, signaling them to follow.

Knowing that their family had all been "replaced" from within—that the children weren't truly children, and that the one who looked most like a child, Xu Yue, had Xu Dalang as a free sedan-chair bearer—Wang walked with long, swift strides, making Xu Erniang, who was trailing behind, grind her back teeth in frustration.

Seeing that Wang and the others had already pulled far ahead, Xu Yue hurriedly urged her seemingly dull-witted brother to run.

But she didn't expect Xu Dalang to misunderstand; he surged forward like the wind, passing Xu Da, overtaking Wang, and in the blink of an eye, he had charged into the forest!

The three of them stared in shock. *What on earth is inside that Xu Dalang’s body?!*

Xu Yue: "..."

*I’m freaking stunned!*

Feeling the fierce wind blowing past her cheeks, Xu Yue regained her senses and hurriedly shouted for him to stop.

Xu Dalang was obedient. He came to a screeching halt, startling the birds in the forest. The dust and dirt kicked up made Xu Yue cough uncontrollably.

"Roar, roar!" Xu Dalang let out an anxious, inhuman growl. His slightly reddened eyes looked at her with worry, his face full of confusion.

Once she finished coughing, Xu Yue asked him very seriously, "Brother, can you speak human language?"

"Heh?" He tilted his head, his eyes rolling around in confusion, then he nodded, then shook his head.

Xu Yue: "Okay, I understand. Brother can't speak human language yet, but you can learn, right?"

The boy waited several seconds before nodding.

Xu Yue realized that everyone in the family had inherited the original owners' memories, so Xu Dalang should have them too.

Regardless of what was inside him, since his body was human, he should be able to speak.

*I'll teach him slowly later,* Xu Yue thought, rubbing her forehead.

Footsteps approached. The three who had fallen behind finally caught up. Xu Erniang looked Xu Dalang up and down, her eyes full of interest. That naked gaze made it seem as if she wanted to dissect him right there on the spot.

Xu Dalang’s eyes widened, and he let out a low growl at Xu Erniang. She was caught off guard and startled, but then she let out a strange laugh and gave a provocative "tch."

Relying on the fact that her sister could keep this monster in check, she wasn't afraid at all and triumphantly followed in Wang's footsteps.

"Youniang, if anything is wrong, speak up immediately," Xu Da warned, still full of wariness toward his "good son" Xu Dalang.

Xu Yue nodded obediently. "I know, Father."

"Good." Xu Da reached out, wanting to pat his daughter's head, but he didn't expect that the moment his hand reached out, Xu Dalang would suddenly reveal a fierce glint in his eyes. He hugged Xu Yue tight with one arm and swung his other hand at him with lightning speed.

Xu Da’s eyes darkened. He quickly dodged to the side, gripping the wood-chopping knife in his hand.

"Brother!"

At Xu Yue’s sharp cry, Xu Dalang, who had been acting as if facing a great enemy, stopped his attack. He held her with both arms, his body slightly hunched, legs spread, eyes glaring at Xu Da in a defensive posture.

If anyone dared to hurt the little person in his arms, he would immediately rush forward and tear out their throat!

"Xu Da, Youniang!" Wang called from ahead.

The father and son, locked in a standoff, finally let each other go and hurried to catch up.

(End of chapter)