Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 697 - 0650: Another Incident in the Baili Family (2)
As soon as one of the carriages deviated from the route, the leopard immediately roared angrily at the driver.
These four people had just been fiercely beaten by Mu Yuanxiu, how could they possibly contend with the leopard?
All of them obediently directed the carriage to another, more spacious compound.
Once the carriages were settled, the leopard stayed by the carriage, and the four returned to fetch Mu Yuanxiu and his companions.
Mu Yuanxiu and the others had finished their supper and were waiting for these four to come and lead them.
"Brother Mu, the courtyard is ready, please come this way?" the four said with smiles.
Mu Yuanxiu nodded, "Lead the way."
"Alright." The group cautiously led the way ahead, fearing to offend Mu Yuanxiu.
In their hearts, they cursed Xiao Shan, wondering where he had found this plague god and hoping he would leave soon!
The newly appointed courtyard was in another corner of the village, with a floor heating system and a kang stove.
Though not luxurious, the room was clean and tidy, fitted with furnishings from a well-off village family.
There was a long and wide kang bed against the wall that could sleep ten people.
The kang was covered with neatly arranged quilts and blankets.
As soon as the two children entered the room, they exclaimed how warm it was.
Li Yuzhu took off the children’s outer garments, and they immediately climbed happily onto the kang.
Zhou Zhaodi went over and tidied their clothes and lined up their shoes.
Mu Yuanxiu inspected the carriage, patted the leopard’s head, and said to the four, "Thank you, you may go now."
The four sighed with relief and hurried away without stopping.
Mu Yuanxiu brought a mattress from the house and spread it under the eaves. He took out half a raw deer leg from the carriage and placed it in front of the mattress. The leopard snorted and lay down on the mattress, leisurely munching on the deer leg.
Inside, Zhou Zhaodi and Li Yuzhu were already lying on the kang with the two children. Mu Yuanxiu placed Baili Rui at the other end of the kang, and they shared a blanket.
In the middle of the kang was a large iron pot, steaming with water.
The two children chatted playfully through the pot.
Li Yuzhu yawned, "Whoever doesn’t sleep after counting to three won’t have breakfast tomorrow."
Guoguo immediately covered her mouth, waving at Baili Rui, "Little Aunt says we need to sleep quickly."
Baili Rui covered his mouth too, "I’m going to sleep, aren’t you sleepy yet?"
Guoguo smiled brightly, "I’m almost asleep too, you should hurry and sleep."
Baili Rui nodded, "Alright, I’m falling asleep now, you go to sleep too, Guoguo."
Guoguo murmured, "Yes, I’m going to sleep now."
Li Yuzhu, "..." Will it ever end?
With the warm room, the two little ones murmured a few words and gradually fell silent, breathing evenly.
They fell asleep.
Zhou Zhaodi was very attentive, occasionally tucking Guoguo in during the night.
Li Yuzhu also yawned and closed her eyes.
Seeing that they were all asleep, Mu Yuanxiu got up and opened the door to check outside.
The north wind howled, and snowflakes danced wildly.
The leopard also started snoring.
Elsewhere in the village, it was quiet, with only the occasional bark of a dog.
Mu Yuanxiu closed the door and returned to the kang inside, tucked Baili Rui in, and lay down beside him.
That night, Mu Yuanxiu severely beat several of the most formidable people in the village, and the news quickly spread.
The Sky Wolf Village had only about fifty people in total, with less than twenty skilled in fighting and wielding knives.
But Mu Yuanxiu took down thirteen of them, including their village leader Xiao Tie Shou, Xiao Shan.
Four people were lightly injured but took many punches and were mentally traumatized by Mu Yuanxiu. A gaunt man had a piece of his thigh bitten out by the leopard, leaving him bedridden in pain.
The others were drugged and slept unconscious.
The villagers discussed Mu Yuanxiu and dared not attempt an ambush again, waiting for Xiao Shan to wake up and give orders.
The few who were drugged slept until daylight before waking up.
Remembering last night’s ambush defeat by Mu Yuanxiu, they were secretly terrified.
Thank goodness it was a sleeping drug; if it had been poison, they would have met King Yan long ago.
The four who were merely beaten without being drugged reported yesterday’s events to Xiao Shan, "Boss, it’s not that we truly wanted to call that lad our big brother, it’s just that... he’s too formidable."
After a night, their facial injuries worsened; some had swollen eyes, some had mouths swollen out of shape, one had a sideways swollen face distorting features, and one’s leg was so badly hurt they limped.
Xiao Shan squinted slightly, "That lad could easily have killed us all, but he didn’t do so, merely wounding and drugging us. Who is he exactly, and what does he want?"
"Boss, maybe we should ask him upfront. If he’s not from Beiyan, maybe we can just treat this as a misunderstanding and make a friend. If he is from Beiyan, next time we’ll need help to eliminate him," suggested another of the four.
Xiao Shan didn’t want to act rashly and get into a fight without knowing the opponent’s background—that wasn’t his style.
In order to uncover Mu Yuanxiu’s true identity, Xiao Shan went personally to make a courtesy call.
Unlike his attitude yesterday, Xiao Shan was extremely respectful when he saw Mu Yuanxiu.
His change in attitude softened Mu Yuanxiu’s as well. He even called Li Yuzhu over to distribute some healing medicine to Xiao Shan’s subordinates.
Xiao Shan repeatedly expressed gratitude.
Mu Yuanxiu said, "As Brother Xiao mentioned, fate has brought us together. I am Mu Yuanxiu from Zhen An Prefecture. If not for coming to Liangzhou City to visit the Baili Family, I might never have come to Liangzhou City. It is indeed a great fortune to meet Brother Xiao today."
Mu Yuanxiu proactively revealed his purpose in coming to Liangzhou City.
Xiao Shan felt relieved, seeing that Mu Yuanxiu was originally from Zhen An Prefecture. It seemed he had misunderstood. People with the surname Mu existed all over the world—how could they all be from the Beiyan Royal Family? He had been overly suspicious.
Since Mu Yuanxiu spoke the truth, Xiao Shan didn’t want to harbor ill will against this young man and decided to mend the relationship. Therefore, he said, "Oh dear, Brother Mu, you came at an unfortunate time. The Baili Family has encountered some issues recently."
Mu Yuanxiu said, "I’ve heard that their young master passed away, and Young Madam Baili is so grieved she fell ill. A relative of mine has some connections with the Baili Family, so I was specially asked to bring some consolations and visit Young Madam Baili."
"No no, you only know part of it; there’s more to it," said Xiao Shan.
Baili Rui listened attentively as it involved his family, his little face solemn.
Guoguo held his hand, listening with the same serious expression.
Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu exchanged glances and both looked at Xiao Shan.
"What else is there?" Mu Yuanxiu asked.
Xiao Shan continued, "Envoy Baili has also fallen sick with a strange illness. The Baili Family’s patriarch is extremely anxious, sending people everywhere to seek a divine doctor."
Envoy Baili is the regional official of Liangzhou City and the commander in times of war. If he falls ill and no one can replace his role, especially if something goes wrong with border security, it would be disastrous.
The borderlands would descend into chaos!
Beiyan would seize the opportunity to invade, and Zhao Country’s Northern Land would surely fall.
