Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 728 - 681: Please Do Me a Favor (3)

Baili Rui was very obedient and did not chase after Guoguo.

He knew that he couldn’t keep Guoguo, because she had to go home to see her parents.

Baili Rui tugged on Second Madam Baili’s sleeve, holding back tears, and loudly called out, "Guoguo, don’t forget me either. You must marry me when we grow up!"

"Alright! It’s a promise!" Guoguo waved with a smile.

Baili Rui sobbed, reluctantly watching Guoguo’s carriage gradually disappear into the distance.

Second Madam Baili sighed, supporting her son as she said, "Xiao Rui, since you promised Guoguo, you must remember her."

"I’ll remember her, Mother." Baili Rui bit his lip.

"I will remember too." Baili Xin echoed with a smile.

Second Madam Baili, feeling heavy-hearted from the farewell and a bit unhappy, was amused by her two-year-old daughter’s words.

"Alright, you all must remember Guoguo."

The mule cart turned a corner at the market intersection, and as the gate of Baili Mansion was out of view, Guoguo ducked back inside the carriage.

Like an adult, she hung her head and sighed, "Alas."

Li Yuzhu laughed, holding her close, "Why are you sighing, Guoguo?"

"Aunt, do you think Brother Rui will forget me?" Guoguo’s little forehead scrunched up like a pretzel.

Li Yuzhu laughed, "No, he will remember you. He’s five years old now and can remember things."

Guoguo blinked and looked up at Li Yuzhu, "I hope so."

Not familiar with the road on the way here, they traveled slowly, but returning went much faster.

Li Yuzhu and Mu Yuanxiu braved the wind and snow, setting off at noon, and reached Sky Wolf Village at dusk, the same place they passed on their way here.

On this snowy night, the gates of Sky Wolf Village were tightly shut.

Mu Yuanxiu approached and knocked on the village gate, shouting loudly, "Brother Xiao, it’s me, Mu Yuanxiu, visiting!"

A month ago, Mu Yuanxiu was captured by the people of Sky Wolf Village. They wanted to rob him of his belongings but failed, got bitten by Guoguo’s leopard, and even got beaten up by Mu Yuanxiu.

These people feared nothing on earth, except those whose fists were stronger than theirs.

Mu Yuanxiu had scared them thoroughly, and his reputation spread throughout the village.

The gatekeeper, hearing his name, immediately ran out from the gatehouse.

On one side of the village gate, two bright tile lanterns hung from a pole.

The lantern light illuminated Mu Yuanxiu’s face.

The gatekeeper recognized him and promptly invited the village chief, Xiao Shan.

"Brother Mu, what brings you here today?" The village chief, Xiao Shan, walked out of the village gate, smiling as he cupped his fists towards Mu Yuanxiu, though the smile was forced.

Seeing Mu Yuanxiu again made him feel a headache and bitter inside.

Why did this Mu kid come back after leaving?

Could it be that he’s come back for revenge?

Oh no, we can’t beat him!

Mu Yuanxiu also cupped his fists in return with a smile, "Brother Xiao, we’re heading back to Zhen An Prefecture and happened to pass by this late. We’d like to stay in your village for the night and leave in the morning. I sincerely apologize for disturbing your brothers last time. This time, we will pay for the lodging according to inn rules. What do you think, Brother Xiao?"

Just lodging, then that’s fine.

Xiao Shan immediately laughed heartily, "I have plenty of houses here in the village. Brother Mu, stay wherever you like. Why charge accommodation? That’s too formal. I’m not stingy like that. Come on, come in first, and we’ll talk."

Just lodging, not robbing the village, so Xiao Shan treated Mu Yuanxiu politely and called for two of his men to quickly tidy up the rooms.

Mu Yuanxiu drove the mule cart, bringing Zhou Zhaodi’s carriage into the village.

Xiao Shan arranged for them to stay in the same small courtyard as before.

Of course, it was the courtyard they stayed at the second time, with a stove, tables, and chairs, and a ground furnace, making it very cozy.

Even though Xiao Shan said they didn’t need to pay, Mu Yuanxiu still offered five pounds of dried beef, two jars of wine, and about twenty pounds of flour.

Sky Wolf Village survives by hunting and sometimes robbing traders when they pass by.

But in the winter and spring, the mountains are snowbound, and prey is scarce, and so are passersby.

The fifty or so people in the village, having not caught any prey nor looted any wealth recently, are living in near hunger and cold, almost digging beneath the snow to find roots to eat.

The things Mu Yuanxiu brought were enough to feed the entire village for a day.

Xiao Shan, very pleased, politely accepted them after some exchange of courtesies.

Having received the goods, Xiao Shan became even more hospitable and ordered his men to bring hot water.

Water and firewood come from the nearby mountains of the village, free for the taking.

The lackeys of Sky Wolf Village brought three large barrels of hot water for Mu Yuanxiu and Li Yuzhu.

The group comfortably took a hot bath.

Mu Yuanxiu said he was going to discuss some matters with Xiao Shan, arranging for Li Yuzhu and Zhou Zhaodi to sleep with Guoguo on the same kang bed, while he sent the leopard to guard the door.

Their carriage and mules were all in the courtyard.

The leopard was stationed at the main door, able to guard both the luggage in the courtyard and watch over Li Yuzhu and the others inside.

Li Yuzhu was sleepy and waved to Mu Yuanxiu, "You go ahead; we’ll sleep first."

Mu Yuanxiu held her hand, "Yu Zhu, I might return by dawn. Sleep peacefully; the Big Leopard is guarding the courtyard, you don’t need to worry."

Li Yuzhu wasn’t worried at all; the leopard was strong and had sharp teeth. Besides, she had concealed weapons too.

She waved her hand, "Go ahead, don’t worry about me."

Mu Yuanxiu again instructed Zhou Zhaodi to keep an eye on Guoguo, then blew out the candle and left the room.

Guoguo turned to look at Mu Yuanxiu; she didn’t turn back until the door closed, still wide awake with large eyes pondering things.

The leopard lay under the eaves in front of the main house; Mu Yuanxiu worried it would be cold, so he laid a thick woolen blanket under it, especially for the leopard.

The leopard raised its head lightly when it saw him coming.

Mu Yuanxiu went over to the carriage, took a piece of jerky for it, petted its head, untied the horse from the carriage, and left the courtyard.

He locked the courtyard gate, mounted the horse, and arrived at Xiao Shan’s residence.

Xiao Shan, having received some food from Mu Yuanxiu, was feasting with his men.

Inside, there were sounds of guessing games, drinking, and laughter all combined.

Mu Yuanxiu dismounted and pushed open the door into the room.

Xiao Shan saw him, paused, "Brother Mu, you haven’t slept yet? Eh, why are you dressed like this?"

Mu Yuanxiu wore a bamboo hat and a dark cloak, with a large saber at his waist and a bow and arrow slung on his back.

He was dressed to go out and handle business.

Mu Yuanxiu glanced at everyone and smiled slightly, "Is there not much grain stored in the village?"

Xiao Shan froze, patting his chest pretending to be wealthy, "Where, where, our village has plenty of stored grain, enough for a month."

His subordinates all looked at him with disdainful eyes, what big talk was the boss spouting?

Apart from a few pounds of old cornmeal and some scraped sheep bones, where was there any grain stored?

The brothers in the village hadn’t seen meat for five days, eating dry buns every day. The meat they ate today was sent by Mu Yuanxiu.

Mu Yuanxiu laughed, "Brother Xiao, don’t deceive me; each of you looks pale and thin-faced, hardly like you eat well regularly." He pointed at the wine and dishes on the table, "If there’s a lot of stored grain, why eat all that I’ve given?"

On the table, there was a plate of golden-baked bread, a large basin of beef jerky, and the wine jar was also brought by Mu Yuanxiu.

According to custom, the food gifts given by a guest wouldn’t be eaten immediately by the host. They wait until the guest leaves to show they don’t covet the guest’s gift.

When the guest hasn’t left yet, but the host starts eating, only a household too poor to put food on the table would do so.

Seeing it couldn’t be hidden, Xiao Shan felt embarrassed and touched his head, "Brother Mu, you’ve spotted it? To be honest, the nearby mountains have been sealed by snow for months, and there’s less game to hunt. Since you left the village last year, we’ve only caught one roe deer, one buck, and two wild boars. But there are fifty-eight people in the village, how can that little food be enough? We’ve no money to buy any, so yes, we’ve been hungry?"

"You haven’t robbed passing merchants?" Mu Yuanxiu raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, absolutely not, we’ve turned over a new leaf." Xiao Shan waved his hands urgently.

There’s nothing to rob; snow falls daily, you step on the road, snow two feet deep, no one passes by, Xiao Shan sighed inwardly.

"Want to rob another time?" Mu Yuanxiu shifted the knife at his waist forward.

Thinking it was a bait, Xiao Shan got scared and waved his hands again, "No, no, no, Brother Mu, we’ve washed our hands of this life."

Mu Yuanxiu sighed, "That’s unfortunate. I thought you were still doing the same trade, planning to ask you for help to rob a rich man."

He shook his head with regret.

Xiao Shan and his men exchanged glances, what did this mean?

"Brother Mu? Who do you want to rob?" Xiao Shan’s heart was stirred.

His men couldn’t hold back their excitement, rubbing their hands eagerly.

Apparently, Mu Yuanxiu was in the same trade as them?

Great, then let’s earn together.

Mu Yuanxiu said, "Beiyang’s Supreme General Lang Feihua is reportedly from a wealthy Beiyang clan. When he travels, he always brings a pure white tiger skin as a seat cushion, said to be worth a thousand taels, and his horse is the prized Ferghana Horse, worth a thousand gold. If we obtain these two treasures, there’s no need to work this year."

Xiao Shan’s face changed drastically upon hearing Lang Feihua’s name; he slapped the table and stood up, "Where is that bastard boy? I’ll kill him with my own hands!"

Mu Yuanxiu said, "Currently, he’s leading fifty thousand troops, heading to Liangzhou City. By tomorrow night, or at the latest the morning after, he can reach the vicinity of Liangzhou North City Gate."