Chapter 45: It is the Light!

Carrying one child in his arms and one on his back, Xin Wenyuan ran back to find Lin Xiuyi. By the time he reached Xin Wen'an, the entire extended family—from the elders to the young children—had gathered together.

As soon as Lin Xiuyi saw the son in his arms, she burst into loud wails.

Xin Wenyuan patted Xin Zhe's back. "The child is fine, he just has a fever."

"He... he's had a fever for two days already."

"Then why didn't you say so sooner? He's so small; a two-day fever could damage his brain." Xin Wenyuan wiped the water from his face but did not hand the child over to Lin Xiuyi.

She had just been terrified and was currently too unsteady to stand; if she tried to hold him now, she might drop him, making things even worse for the boy!

Nie Shi, supported by Mei Zhuqing, approached unsteadily. She touched Xin Zhe's forehead and gasped in fright. "Fourth Brother... Zhe'er's forehead is too hot. Nothing bad will happen, will it?"

"It won't." Xin Wenyuan had mysterious confidence in his daughter. With her around, what could possibly go wrong? As long as there was still a breath in him, he certainly wasn't going to kick the bucket.

Concubine Qiu pulled Xin Wen'an's hand and sobbed, "Third Master, when the sky turned pitch black just now, I thought I was going to be parted from you forever."

Xin Wen'an put his arm around her shoulder and whispered comfortingly, "It's alright, don't be afraid, Huiniang. Your husband is here."

Xin Wenyuan silently rolled his eyes at his third brother.

"Is everyone here? Let's move! Hurry and catch up with Mother and the others up ahead. In this weather, we probably won't get far; the bailiffs should find a cave or something soon to settle us in."

Just as he was speaking, several vicious-looking bailiffs rushed over, brandishing whips to strike.

"What are you all doing hiding here? Are you trying to run?"

Nie Shi's face turned deathly pale.

Xin Wenyuan dodged a whip, stepped forward, and blocked the bailiff's hand. "Brother Bailiff, it's a misunderstanding. The child fell into a puddle just now, which delayed us. We were just about to catch up with the group!"

The bailiff narrowed his eyes and suddenly reached out to snatch the small glowing orb from Xin Mo Han's hand. "What kind of treasure is this? It actually glows?"

As expected of a Marquis's household—even after being raided, they could still hide a high-quality night pearl on their person?

In this pitch-black darkness, this was a rare and precious item. The bailiff held it in his hand, unable to let go.

Little Xin Mo Han, having had his glowing orb snatched, opened his mouth, looking aggrieved and on the verge of tears.

Unexpectedly, the orb suddenly dimmed, plunging the area into darkness so thick they couldn't even see each other's faces.

"What happened?" another bailiff cried out in alarm.

Xin Wenyuan curled his lips into a cold sneer, though he maintained a facade of honest nervousness. "I don't know. I just picked this up from the water; I have no idea what it is."

"I thought it could light the way, so I let my son carry it."

The bailiffs were quite suspicious.

"Qiang-ge, how about we try giving it back to the kid?"

The bailiff who had snatched the orb frowned and stuffed the orb back into Xin Mo Han's hands.

Instantly, the orb lit up.

Xin Mo Han grinned widely with joy.

But the bailiff was unhappy.

What was the meaning of this? Did this night pearl only recognize the members of the Marquis's family? Did that make them, the lowly bailiffs, inferior?

Seeing that the bailiff was about to grab the child's things again without restraint, Xin Wenyuan beat him to it and grabbed the orb himself.

The bailiff snatched it back.

The orb went dark!

When he rudely shoved it back into Xin Wenyuan's hands, the orb lit up again!

After several rounds of this, the surrounding bailiffs felt mentally exhausted.

"Qiang-zi, how about we just let it go? Perhaps this extraordinary divine object only recognizes that father and son?"

"Damn it." Why couldn't he use it when they could?

The bailiff cursed and spat, snatched the orb from Xin Wenyuan's hand, threw it into the water, and stomped on it several times.

The orb remained dim and lifeless. The bailiff picked it up and shoved it back into Xin Wenyuan's hands, but it still wouldn't glow.

The bailiff felt satisfied! Hehe, what "divine object"? It broke after a few stomps.

Xin Wenyuan was also tired and couldn't be bothered to play along with this idiot bailiff anymore. He didn't mind traveling in the dark; with his eyesight, even if the path ahead was as black as ink, he could still see the ground beneath his feet clearly.

"Fo... Fourth Brother..." Nie Shi called out tremulously.

"It's alright, Sister-in-law. Everyone stay behind me. Hold onto each other in pairs. I'll alert you if the road conditions change ahead."

"Move!" shouted the bailiff called Qiang-zi. The other bailiffs didn't say it aloud, but they were all cursing him as an idiot in their hearts.

It had been so bright just now with the night pearl lighting the way; he just had to insist on keeping it for himself until it was ruined. Now they were traveling in the dark, lost and uncertain if they would veer off from the main group.

In that short time, the water had deepened. Everyone supported one another and followed behind Xin Wenyuan, pressing forward.

Thunder roared in the distance again. Xin Wenyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly shouted, "Spread out!"

The moment he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning struck right at Qiang-zi's feet, causing him to let out a yelp and jump up in terror.

Ignoring everything, Qiang-zi began to run blindly. The rain was too heavy, so he sprinted erratically along the edge of the trees.

The others saw nothing but darkness and couldn't understand what was happening, but Xin Wenyuan saw it clearly. He hurriedly shouted to stop him, "Hey! Hey, come back! Don't run under the trees..."

A deafening *crack* echoed through the sky.

A distorted, twisted bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the area in a ghastly white light.

Everyone saw it clearly in an instant.

The bailiff named Qiang-zi was dancing frantically under a tree, his limbs twitching and flailing wildly.

Then, his right hand clenched into a fist and jerked upward, his left hand hung stiffly, and his entire body fell backward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Smoke was rising from his mouth, nostrils, and ears...

Though they weren't far away, once the lightning passed, the world plunged back into silent darkness.

Everyone's faces turned pale with terror, and screams erupted.

Nie Shi screamed, "Oh my God!" as she fell backward; her two daughters-in-law rushed to support her on either side.

Xin Wenyuan's face darkened as he commanded everyone not to scatter. "Don't run around blindly. Stay away from the trees. Move, move, move! Hurry!"

The orb in his hand lit up at the perfect moment.

Fortunately, now that the idiot Qiang-zi was no longer trying to snatch it, the orb remained steadily lit without going out again.

Seeing the light, everyone—including the bailiffs—secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was light!

Thank goodness, there was light again; they could finally see a portion of the road ahead.

Everyone quickened their pace. No one dared to speak of checking on the lightning-struck Qiang-zi, and even the bailiffs didn't dare go near him.

Life and death were left to fate; in times like this, one could only look out for oneself.

Under the illumination of the orb, the small group soon caught up with the chaotic main body of people.

Xiao Jia, running at the very front, shouted to the crowd, "Don't fucking run around! Move forward! There's a row of cave dwellings at the foot of the mountain; we can go in there to take shelter from the rain!"

As he spoke, they saw light approaching, and everyone's vision brightened.

Xiao Jia squinted and saw several colleagues running toward them, calling out frantically, "Chief Liang! Chief Liang!"

Xin Wenyuan ignored their murmurs and led the Xin family straight toward his wife and daughter.

Xin Nian and her daughter were draped in straw mats, while the old lady held a pottery jar over her head, both of them looking toward them.

"Please stay, Fourth Master Xin."

(End of Chapter)