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When it rains, it pours! Just as Mo Yan and the others had narrowly escaped death, they hardly expected that a heavy rain would start falling soon after. With no place nearby to take shelter, they had no choice but to brave the rain and hurry on their way, hoping to find a place to rest.
After trudging through the rain for nearly two hours, the bedraggled group of four finally found a small cave. Calling it a cave was a bit generous—it was more a spot sheltered from the wind with a large rock overhanging above and flanked by stones on either side, barely enough to keep the rain at bay.
Ravenous, having pushed themselves to travel in the rain, Mo Yan felt incredibly weak. She dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. Her wet clothes clung uncomfortably to her body, and there were no dry clothes to change into in her bundle—fortunately, it being summer, she didn't feel too cold.
Watching the pitter-patter of the rain dripping off the edge of the large rock, Mo Yan, dizzy with hunger, couldn't help but cup her hands to catch some water. Without caring whether it was clean or not, she brought it to her lips and took a sip. The water tasted slightly of earth but was surprisingly sweet.
After swallowing a few handfuls, Mo Yan felt her stomach settle somewhat and couldn't help but drink several more.
Mo Xin and Mo Zhen, also hungry for quite a while, followed their sister's lead and began to catch and drink the rain. Mo Qingze opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say a word of discouragement.
He had thought that finding a rabbit would allow the children to have a good meal, but they had run into those rogues, and the freshly stewed rabbit meat had been overturned in the skirmish. Having gone a whole day without food, let alone the children, even he, a grown man, was struggling to carry on.
The rain had been falling for over two hours with no sign of stopping, and the frequent thunderclaps seemed to mock his helplessness. Mo Qingze stared into the curtain of rain, feeling utterly hopeless. Had he known that there would be such a severe drought this year, he should have led the children north last year when the floods came. Now, they couldn't go to Yongcheng, and Jing City was too far. Was God truly cutting off all means of survival for their family?
Having drunk a few handfuls of rainwater to ease their hunger, Mo Yan quickly stopped the younger ones from drinking more. Though there was no air pollution in this era and the rain wasn't that dirty, it was still raw water and drinking too much of it wasn't good for their health.
Mo Xin and Mo Zhen were both sensible children. Despite their hunger, they dared not disobey their sister's words.
The sight of their hungry gazes pining for food was too much for Mo Yan to bear, and she turned away, only to see the despair on Mo Qingze's face. Startled, she contemplated for a moment before voicing her thoughts. "Father—Father, let's go to Jing City!"
The term "Father" twisted on Mo Yan's tongue, but having taken over this body, she ought to adapt to her new identity.
Mo Qingze was stunned for a moment before he understood the meaning behind his eldest daughter's words. His face was filled with sorrow. "Yanyan, do you realize how far it is from here to Jing City?"
Seeing Mo Qingze like this, Mo Yan felt a bit dazed. In the original owner's memory, Mo Qingze had always been the object of admiration by his children. Not only was he literate and well-mannered—the only Scholar in Mo Family Village—but he was also somewhat knowledgeable about music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, using his talent to earn Silver to support the family... In his daughter's eyes, Mo Qingze, her father, was nearly omnipotent.
Yet, even such a capable father had been beaten down by natural and man-made disasters to the point of losing his courage.
Rather than worrying about whether the whole family would make it to Jing City, he was more concerned that the children would not survive the journey and would die of hunger along the way. He was the head of the household, carrying all their hopes; one could only imagine how heavy the burden in his heart was!
"Father, how will we know we can't make it to Jing City if we don't try?" Mo Yan countered, leaving Mo Qingze speechless and lost in thought.
Mo Yan didn't disturb Mo Qingze lost in contemplation. She had the Space and was therefore certain that they could make it to Jing City. But this secret was something she couldn't reveal.
Mo Qingze was not normally indecisive. It was only due to overwhelming concerns that he found himself lost. Stirred by Mo Yan's words, he thought to himself: Since there is no way back, what is there to fear about moving forward?
"Yanyan is right. Father was mistaken. I agree to go to Jing City!"
Mo Qingze affectionately patted Mo Yan's head, relieved. His daughter had grown up and become resolute. Very good, very good!
Mo Yan sighed in relief, the matter of going to Jing City was settled.
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The rain continued until evening without stopping. Concerned that the two little ones would get sick from being in the rain all day, Mo Yan and Mo Qingze each tightly held Mo Zhen and Mo Xin in their arms, afraid to sleep too soundly. Fortunately, the rain stopped in the middle of the night, and the two little ones were lucky not to catch colds or fall ill.
The brilliant sunshine once again shone upon the earth, and the air was fresh after the rain. The trees, which had been yellowed and withered from the drought, seemed to regain some vitality, and with it, their spirits lifted as well.
The drought here was far less severe than in Lingnan, and last night's heavy rain had alleviated it somewhat.
The children had been through a lot yesterday, so Mo Qingze didn't rush to continue their journey. He planned to go out and look for food, knowing that traveling on an empty stomach could leave them fainting by the roadside.
But just as he was about to leave, Mo Xin and Mo Zhen clambered up from the ground, desperately clinging to his clothes. With a tearful voice, Mo Zhen said, "Father, Zhenzhen is scared and wants to go with you!"
Mo Qingze looked at his children, torn. If he took them with him, he feared he wouldn't be able to watch over them closely enough and that they might get hurt.
When Mo Yan returned from drying their wet clothes, she saw both little ones hanging onto Mo Qingze like koalas and heard that he was going out to find food. Her heart stirred. "Father, let me go instead. Xin Er and Zhenzhen were frightened; it's better if you stay with them!"
Mo Qingze was not at ease with the idea of his eldest daughter going out alone, but he was also worried about the little ones...
Sensing his difficulty, Mo Yan smiled and said, "Father, I won't go far, just around the nearby area. If I can't find anything to eat, I'll come back quickly."
Thinking of his always sensible daughter who knew her limits, Mo Qingze refrained from saying more, offering careful instructions before letting her go.
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