Chapter 11: The Team Grows

Wang’s face darkened completely. Together with Xu Da, she struggled to pin the rampaging Xu Dalang against the mountain wall. She eased her grip slightly, and was nearly sent flying by him.

Seeing this, Xu Yue, who had already cried enough, wiped the two forced-out tears from her face and reached her small hands toward Xu Dalang: "Brother, hold."

The rampaging Xu Dalang finally calmed down. He scooped Xu Yue up in front of him like a cub and retreated to the deepest part of the mountain wall, wary of anyone approaching.

Xu Da and Wang consciously pulled Xu Erniang away to keep a distance from him. The couple wiped the hot sweat from their foreheads and looked at Xu Yue with suspicion.

"What’s going on?" Wang asked in a low voice.

She didn't believe that her three children could be scared to tears so easily.

Truth be told, Xu Yue felt a bit helpless. Xu Dalang’s reaction was truly unexpected, but it also confirmed that her intuition was correct.

That bug-eyed man had looked at her as if she were prey; otherwise, he wouldn't have triggered such a reaction from Xu Dalang.

Xu Yue struggled to poke her little head out from her brother’s tight embrace and voiced her guess.

"Those nine people... they might eat people."

Xu Yue urged them uneasily, "Mother, dawn is coming soon, let’s go."

Hearing Xu Yue’s words, Xu Da’s expression darkened abruptly. He turned to look outside. The twelve people were gathered in front of the bug-eyed man, whispering about something, occasionally casting unfriendly glances in their direction.

Wang did not hesitate for long and nodded immediately, "We leave now."

Regardless of whether Niang’s guess was true or false, they couldn't afford to take the risk; they had to avoid them.

"Wait a moment!" Xu Da turned and said, "You all start packing. I’ll go ask Wang Dayou and call them to leave together."

Wang looked at him, puzzled. Was that necessary?

Xu Da nodded heavily. It was very necessary!

He gathered his family together and explained the reason in a low voice.

More and more people would inevitably flee into the mountains, and situations like today’s would certainly happen again. If the numbers were equal, it would be fine—everyone would leave each other alone.

But if they encountered another group like those twelve, even if they tried to avoid them, there was no guarantee the others wouldn't strike.

A group of refugees who were starving, freezing, thirsty, and facing the threat of death—once they met, they would be no better than a band of lawless rebel soldiers.

"As for human nature, it’s best not to hold any expectations."

This was the advice from Xu Da, a cultivator who had spent hundreds of years in the world of cultivation and had seen countless people kill for treasures.

Xu Yue looked at this "cheap" father of hers in surprise. She suddenly felt that a father is always a father. This perspective, this level of awareness—it really made one wonder what he had experienced in the past.

Wang gave him a few extra looks.

Xu Da thought to himself, *Now you know how impressive this true cultivator is, right?*

He raised his eyebrows slightly, brushed back the messy, dirty bangs on his forehead, and feigned profundity: "There is strength in numbers; only with many people can there be strength!"

Even if it didn't act as a deterrent, having so much "cannon fodder" around meant that if they were chased, the enemy would be distracted, increasing his family's chances of survival.

"Sigh, you wouldn't understand. Just get ready, I’ll be back in a moment!"

Before Wang’s flying fist could hit his face, Xu Da stood on his toes, turned, and ran.

Xu Yue and her sister exchanged a look, inevitably worried about their cheap father. Being this cheeky, he wasn't far from one of Mother’s lethal arrows.

Wang led the children to get busy. In the dark, they first finished the meat left over from last night’s roasting, each eating a small piece to pad their stomachs, which helped maintain their strength while reducing their load.

After eating, only one clay pot, five broken bowls, a piece of salt-cured meat, two bamboo tubes of water, and ten rice balls remained in the basket.

Wang covered these at the bottom of the basket with leaves, placed the bedding and marching packs of Xu Yue and her sister on top, tied them with straw rope, and hoisted them onto her back.

As for the remaining marching pack, she would give it to Xu Da later. Wang planned to have Xu Erniang sit on the pack and have Xu Da carry her so they could move faster.

As for Xu Yue, she would still be carried by Xu Dalang.

When Xu Erniang heard her mother’s arrangement, her little face turned bright red, and she resisted: "I... I can walk myself."

Wang glanced at her feet, which were covered in popped blisters. "Forget it. A child should act like a child. Your father and I still have the strength to carry you."

Xu Erniang: "..."

Fine, no need to be coy.

It was unclear what Xu Da said to Wang Dayou and the others, but when the villagers of Dawang Village looked at the twelve men again, they clearly showed wariness and disgust.

Seeing the people from Dawang Village and the Xu family getting busy and preparing to leave, the twelve men looked surprised.

One of them tried to approach the Dawang villagers to ask what they were doing, but before he could get close, the men of Dawang Village immediately raised their hoes, sickles, and sticks, making warning gestures to keep him away.

The man’s face darkened immediately, and he retreated silently. The twelve men watched the group that was about to abandon them with gloomy expressions.

Especially the bug-eyed man whose teeth had been smashed by Xu Dalang and who was still spitting blood; he stared at the Xu family, his expression hideous.

But they weren't together to begin with, so it was understandable that they were being left behind.

A faint light appeared on the horizon. Although the villagers of Dawang Village, who had finally managed to rest for a while, were not very willing to move, the thought of staying with a group of cannibals made them prefer to be tired and miserable rather than stay there in fear.

They didn't have many belongings. After settling the children, the group set off again.

Wang carried the basket, holding a stick and a woodcutter’s knife, walking at the very front. Because Xu Da said Wang knew where the water was, everyone followed her.

Seeing the situation, the twelve men prepared to follow, but Wang Dayou and the others raised their weapons in unison, keeping them behind.

The Xu family had said that the pond wasn't large and wouldn't even be enough for them; how could they let this group benefit?

But once they were far away and out of sight, they couldn't control where the twelve men went.

They could only hope they would be sensible and not take the same path.

The group of twenty-some people walked through the mountain forest, trampling a path through the virgin forest that no one had ever stepped on. Wild beasts in the deep mountains were startled away by the commotion, and Wang’s plan to hunt a few pheasants or rabbits for food along the way fell through.

She looked back at the team following her. The villagers of Dawang Village had been fleeing all night without rest, their stamina exhausted, and the group’s speed became slower and slower.

At this turtle-like pace, they probably wouldn't reach the pond even by sunset.

Wang glared at Xu Da. She didn't feel the benefits of "strength in numbers" at all; she only felt anxiety.

"How much further do we have to go?"

Wang Dayou’s wife, Tong, asked in a hoarse, dry voice.