Chapter 9: He Has Social Butterfly Syndrome

Xu Erniang loosened her feet, turned around, and pulled a small wooden stick she had carefully hidden from her marching pack!

This was no ordinary small wooden stick; it was the only piece of redwood she had managed to find among a pile of firewood at home that could withstand magic power.

Xu Erniang placed her straw sandals on the open ground, then waved her "wand," quickly gesturing in the air above the sandals. A faint, almost invisible white light lit up from the tip of the stick, tracing a complex star-shaped pattern.

As Xu Erniang lightly tapped the sandals with the stick, the star pattern instantly merged into them, and the faint light vanished in a flash.

Xu Erniang happily picked up the sandals, but they were still the same old straw sandals; they looked no different than before.

No, that wasn't entirely true. If one felt them carefully, they seemed just a tiny bit tougher than they had been.

The joyful smile on Xu Erniang's face instantly froze.

Great God of Light, please forgive your believer.

She had brought shame upon the mages!

This deep resentment successfully attracted the attention of Xu Da. He glanced over, watching Xu Erniang clutching her straw sandals with a complex expression, her face full of grief and indignation.

Noticing his gaze, the young girl looked up, her face flushed red as if she had been humiliated by someone.

Xu Da understood this expression all too well!

How could he not?

As a dignified Elder of the Star Gate, he had spent ages staring at two fish-stones, yet he couldn't divine the future. What kind of humiliation was that?

Father and daughter looked at each other from across the straw pile, and for a moment, a sense of mutual sympathy arose between them.

"Father, give me your straw sandals; I'll enchant them for you."

"Erniang, don't be discouraged. Father will cast a lucky hex for you."

Father and daughter smiled at each other—what a touching scene of paternal kindness and filial piety.

Xu Yue, who had been silently watching her father, mother, and sister show off their skills, looked at the starry sky outside and suddenly felt that this transmigration wasn't so bad after all.

As long as she clung tightly to these pillars of support, surviving in this strange and cruel ancient world didn't seem too difficult.

...

Outside the rock wall, the fire crackled and jumped, leaving the area in silence.

Inside the rock wall, because the space was too narrow to lay out straw mats or bedding, the family of five sat on the dry grass, using their marching packs as backrests, half-lying down to rest.

Perhaps because this body was too weak, Xu Yue's eyelids began to fight, and she gradually fell asleep leaning against her brother Xu Dalang's arm.

The four who were still awake silently softened their movements.

As the night deepened, the howls of wild beasts could be heard from time to time. Fortunately, the sounds were very far away and could not reach them.

The family had assumed the night would pass peacefully, but unexpectedly, near the second half of the night, a dense "rustling" sound suddenly came from below the mountain.

Xu Da, who was sitting cross-legged and practicing breathing exercises, was the first to wake up.

Wang, who dared not sleep soundly, noticed Xu Da's movement and immediately sat up by reflex.

The sound grew closer, no more than thirty meters away.

Xu Da extinguished the fire in front of the rock wall. Wang picked up the bow and arrow at her side and handed the woodcutter's knife to Xu Da. The two stood before the rock wall, staring intently at the cluster of orange firelight approaching in the darkness.

A group of about thirty people emerged from the dense forest, swarming out while carrying torches.

Perhaps the firelight in front of the rock wall had drawn them over in the dark.

There were men and women, adults and children among the thirty-plus people. The youngest were curled up in their mothers' arms, while the oldest were seven or eight years old. Everyone was disheveled and gaunt.

On their backs were various messy belongings they had snatched up in a hurry.

Heavy bundles pressed down on their thin, withered bodies, as if to break their spines, but in reality, those thin bodies were far more resilient and tenacious than their fragile appearance suggested.

Seeing this group, Wang and Xu Da secretly breathed a sigh of relief; they were fleeing villagers, not a rebel army.

The firelight illuminated Xu Da and Wang in front of the rock wall. Seeing the couple's guarded and vigilant appearance, the group stopped at a distance of about five meters.

The two sides looked at each other from afar. A strange light radiated from the eyes of the others—the kind of ruthlessness found only in people at the end of their rope.

Wang and Xu Da exchanged a look, their hearts sinking.

There were so many of them, while they only had two adults. If the other side wanted to do something, such as seize the cave and food behind them, the consequences...

Xu Da narrowed his eyes; this was an instinctive action he took when calculating in his heart.

Observing this group carefully, most were wearing tattered hemp clothes, carrying children and belongings, and a few were even holding livestock like dogs or geese in their arms.

The drought at the foot of the mountain was severe; in such circumstances, anyone who could still afford to keep livestock was definitely a wealthy household in the village.

However, the few people standing scattered on the edge of the group, wearing rags that barely covered their bodies, looked strangely healthy and spirited.

That ruthless gaze mostly came from the eyes of these people.

Their eyes darted around, observing the reactions of those around them while sizing up the situation inside the rock wall.

Unfortunately, the fire in front of the rock wall had been extinguished, and it was pitch black behind Wang and Xu Da, making it impossible to see anything.

At a time when everyone was so hungry they had to gnaw on tree bark, everyone Xu Da had seen was sallow and listless.

Thinking of this, Xu Da's eyes darkened. These were clearly two different groups of people!

And judging by the direction they came from, they must have come from the direction of Dawang Village.

Under the great drought, only Dawang Village, which had low-lying terrain and an old well that still produced water, had the most villagers remaining among the dozen or so surrounding villages.

In just a single breath, Xu Da had a strategy. He looked at the man in the crowd who had the fewest patches on his clothes and appeared the strongest, and suddenly spoke with pleasant surprise

"Is that Brother Wang from Dawang Village? I'm Xu Da from Yangjiao Village! My family came to your village to buy water the day before yesterday, and I saw you then!"

Xu Da spoke with a local accent, his Yangjiao Village dialect flowing perfectly. His surprised expression caused everyone present to freeze, and then they all looked at the man Xu Da was addressing.

Wang Dayou, the blacksmith from Dawang Village, looked blankly at the thin man not far away who was full of surprise, showing a hesitant expression.

Had he met this person?

But looking at that enthusiastic manner, they must know each other, right?

Yangjiao Village and Dawang Village were only ten miles apart, and they had dealings with each other. Many people came to him to have iron tools made; perhaps he had just forgotten him.

Thinking of this, Wang Dayou stepped out of the crowd and pretended to be surprised, responding: "So it's Brother Xu!"

"Yes, it's me! How come you all fled here too?" Xu Da trotted over.

The woman beside Wang Dayou let out a frightened gasp: "Dayou!"

Wang Dayou gave his wife a reassuring look that said not to be afraid. Xu Da, having sharp ears, immediately called out eagerly: "Brother Dayou!" He rushed up and patted Wang Dayou on the shoulder, acting very warm and familiar.

This "Brother Dayou" dispelled the doubts of Wang Dayou and the villagers around him.

So it was a brother that Dayou knew; that meant they were allies.

Feeling the villagers' expressions soften, Xu Da breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. His expression became even more enthusiastic as he activated the essential skill of a playboy—social butterfly syndrome!

He successfully blended into the group of refugees from Dawang Village.