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It turns out that the Exile Team responsible for escorting the Crown Prince and the military generals encountered a landslide yesterday.
The entire Vanguard Team at the front was buried alive, all twenty-six of them, not one survived.
The timing of the heavy rain was such a coincidence that it triggered the landslide, instantly burying them.
It is said these twenty-six men were the elite soldiers and strong warriors of Nanyue, responsible for siege warfare.
They were the ones in charge of escorting Crown Prince Xiang Li before, and because they beat him up and denied him medical treatment, it sparked intense emotions among the Xizhou military officers, forcing them to hand over Xiang Li to Xiang Ying's group, which has more female members.
Upon learning what happened, Xiang Ying was completely unsympathetic.
Tao Xue, clutching her heart, said: "If we had been slower yesterday, it might have been us who were buried."
Xiang Yuanshuo, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke nonchalantly: "It wouldn't have been us; they would have died no matter where they went, because they bullied uncle."
Xiang Ying looked at the little one, but Xiang Yuanshuo had already turned away, telling his siblings to let him know if they got tired.
He looked every bit the little adult, as if the indifference he had just shown was merely Xiang Ying's misperception.
The sun rose, and the Exile Team set off again.
Huang Huzi saw Xiang Ying without much change in expression, just a somewhat perfunctory smile.
The two soldiers he sent to pull the cart were also very rude.
The journey was continuously bumpy, and Xiang Ying was worried that Xiang Li's still-healing wounds would burst open again.
To make up for yesterday's delay, the Exile Team did not stop for a moment today.
Several Military Supervisors decided to take a shortcut over the mountain and head directly for the next major station to rest.
Towards evening.
They found a wide and abandoned beast den and used it as a temporary resting spot.
Naturally, people of their status, like Xiang Ying and her children, had no right to stay in the den.
Xiang Ying found a sheltered spot on the side of the cave for the children, laying down some grass and clothes before lying down.
Some of the concubines who wanted to follow Xiang Ying sat down near her.
The Military Supervisors set up a fire in front to cook porridge, and the scent of meat drifted over once again.
However, the meat was for the supervision team captain; the Exiled Criminals only had thin porridge.
What Xiang Ying prepared for the children was braised pork over rice.
The rice, wrapped in greaseproof paper, was topped with finely chopped braised pork and greens.
She squeezed it a couple of times to form the shape of a rice ball, making it very convenient to eat.
She had wanted to add a couple of cooked shrimp, but feared she couldn't explain it clearly to the children.
With no other option, Xiang Ying made herself a seafood-topped rice dish.
Chopped shrimp mixed with rehydrated and cooked scallops and abalone, drizzled with a spoonful of rich sauce, then topped with green onions and chili, extremely delicious!
You can't let the children suffer without treating yourself too.
For the Lin family, it was one pickled vegetable and meat-filled pancake each, which they were told to eat in secret.
Xiang Ying pulled the children away, under the pretext of taking them to relieve themselves, to a secluded spot where there were fewer people.
When they had quietly finished eating, Xiang Ying intended to take them back, but Xiang Xiuxiu grabbed her sleeve.
"Mother, the three of us have decided to tell you a secret."
"Hm?" Xiang Ying raised her eyebrows, "What is it?"
Xiang Yuanshuo sent Tao Xue to keep watch.
The three little ones looked quite serious as the second son, Xiang Yuanlang, stepped forward.
"Are you always going to take care of us like this, never leave us behind?"
Xiang Ying, surprised: "You can actually speak, aren't you a mute?"
Xiang Yuanlang's usually impassive little face suddenly showed a look of resentment.
"I just didn't want to deal with you before, but that's not the point. Answer me, will you always be responsible for us!"
"Is that even a question? Of course, I have to be responsible for you."
Xiang Xiu said sweetly, "Mother, you always ask the Military Officers for food, it's too dangerous, so we've decided, we will provide the food."
"You? How will you provide?"
"The second brother can talk to animals, he can call wild rabbits over, and since you're so agile, you can just catch them." Xiang Yuanshuo had the whole plan figured out.
Xiang Ying looked at Xiang Yuanlang: "You can communicate with animals?"
She did not expect this child to have such an ability.
But, Xiang Ying wasn't too surprised.
Because in the apocalypse, there had been people who suddenly awakened superpowers that could communicate with all creatures.
Xiang Yuanshuo, seeing that Xiang Ying did not show any surprised expression, thought she didn't believe it.
"Second brother, show her what you got!"
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Xiang Yuanlang nodded, picked up a leaf and put it to his lips, managing to blow a clear and crisp tune.
The woods rustled in the wind as Xiang Ying stared intently at the underbrush, waiting for a wild rabbit to appear.
All of a sudden!
Flocks of birds in the nearby woods took flight, sweeping over their heads with a whoosh, like a dark cloud.
Xiang Ying was stunned before she could react, something landed on the back of her hand.
A warm glop of whitish bird poop...
"Ah!" Xiang Xiuxiu covered her head with both hands and yelled, "Second Brother, you called the wrong signal, there's so much bird poop, Mother help!"
The three children screamed in panic, grabbing onto Xiang Ying's sleeves as they ducked for cover.
Xiang Ying scooped up Xiang Xiuxiu, tucking her under her arm.
"Run!" she turned and bolted.
Xiang Yuanlang hurriedly dropped the leaf and, along with Xiang Yuanshuo, awkwardly followed behind Xiang Ying.
Tao Xue was on guard nearby, unaware of what happened, only seeing the mass of darkness in the sky and the deafening squawking of birds.
She turned her head just in time to see Xiang Ying sprinting towards her with incredible speed, with Xiang Xiuxiu tucked under her arm and the other two children being dragged along by the hand.
Tao Xue was perplexed, "Eh? Elder Princess, what's..."
Like a gust of wind, Xiang Ying blew past her, grabbing Tao Xue's clothes and making a big motion to drag her along.
They dashed out of the woods, and the flock of birds pursued Xiang Yuanlang right overhead.
The dark mass loomed over the encampment of the Exile Team.
Before the soldiers could react, they realized they were being hit by bird droppings.
Curses and screams rose one after the other, chaos mixing with cries.
Suddenly!
An arrow whistled through the air with lethal speed, striking down one of the birds.
Only then did the flocks seem to regain their senses, turning and flapping their wings to flee into the distance.
Mounted on his horse, Jie Chen lowered his bow and arrow, and beneath his mask, his sharp eyes swept toward the spot where Xiang Ying was located.
As the birds flew away, the shadow that had enveloped them dispersed.
Xiang Ying took short breaths, wiping away the bird droppings on Xiang Xiuxiu's face with a handkerchief.
The little girl looked miserably aggrieved as she murmured, "Stinky."
Xiang Ying herself was relatively clean, with only a few spots on the faces and arms of the three children.
A little clean water on the handkerchief was all it took to wipe them clean.
Xiang Yuanlang, face flushed with embarrassment, clutched the corner of his clothes, not daring to look up at Xiang Ying.
"Pfft." Xiang Ying couldn't help but laugh.
Xiang Yuanlang glanced up at her, still trying to maintain a cool tone, "I haven't done this in a long time, I just lost control for a moment."
Xiang Ying knew that after the apocalypse, people who awoke with superpowers needed to train.
Most likely, Xiang Yuanlang's ability required practice too.
She reached out and ruffled Xiang Yuanlang's hair, "You're already doing great."
Xiang Yuanlang was slightly startled, his pupils dilating in surprise.
Was he being praised?
Xiang Ying didn't notice the little guy's emotional shift and simply advised, "But you need to practice your ability and shouldn't use it lightly until you truly master it. It won't be too late to use it then."
Speaking of which, Xiang Ying suddenly thought that once Xiang Yuanlang could proficiently command animals,
maybe in the future he could raise a herd of cows to help her till the land?
The thought alone made her feel how much easier things would be!
"Mm... I understand," Xiang Yuanlang nodded lightly, sneaking a glance at Xiang Ying before turning his blushing face away.
Xiang Ying took out the Emperor Green encased in a wooden shell from her chest, carefully wiped it, and put it back inside her clothing.
A patrolling soldier seemed to casually come nearby, noticing the object in her arms.
Night fell.
The children were asleep, and Xiang Ying was about to rest.
But she saw Huang Huzi stealthily approaching her, "Elder Princess, I've found something, please come with me to look."
Xiang Ying got up, glanced at Tao Xue and the sleeping children.
Without hesitation, she followed Huang Huzi away from the main resting troop, quietly making their way to a side path.
The wilderness was silent, filled only with the sound of the wind.
"What is it?"
"This, you must recognize it, right?" Huang Huzi opened his hand.
Under the moonlight, Xiang Ying saw that what lay in his palm was the sugar piece that had been promised to her as an antidote.