Chapter 3

Hiding oneself requires a strategy. A mother and daughter, having reached the border between Guangyang Commandery and Changtian Commandery, planned to enter Maple Mountain on foot.

To venture into the mountains, they needed supplies. They headed toward a nearby village, hoping to beg for even a few taro roots.

Unexpectedly, before they even entered the village, they caught the heavy scent of blood in the cold wind.

Chen Jiao had killed people before and was hypersensitive to that smell. She immediately grew alert and said, "Mother, stop walking."

Lady Xu, realizing something was wrong, halted and sniffed the air. "I think I smell something burning?"

Chen Jiao gazed toward the distant peaks. To reach the village, they would have to cross a small path, but she dared not go any further.

Suddenly, she heard a rustle in a dense thicket of vines. Startled, she didn't hesitate and made a swift decision: "Run!"

The two dared not delay and hurriedly turned back.

Little did they know, they hadn't run far before they heard the barking of dogs behind them.

The Hu scouts kept hunting hounds, which were sharp and, having detected something amiss, quickly gave chase. The dogs' behavior alerted the Hu, who blew a whistle. The barking continued, sounding as if it were relaying some sort of message.

Chen Jiao brandished a tree branch to drive them away, but the hounds did not retreat, only barking frantically at the pair.

Soon, two Hu scouts caught up.

One was full-bearded, with a broad back and thick waist, looming like Mount Tai. The other was fat-faced with big ears, a bulbous nose, and a greasy complexion; his round belly was stuffed with ill-gotten gains, and his arms were as thick as Chen Jiao’s thighs.

Lady Xu’s legs went weak.

The two men had little interest in the woman and the girl, barking out words the two could not understand. One of them signaled for them to hand over their bundles.

Chen Jiao, valuing her life and knowing there was nothing of value in their bags, tossed them over without hesitation.

The Hu searched the bundles. Finding no valuables, they were immediately displeased.

Lady Xu, however, clutched her bundle tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Chen Jiao assumed she was reluctant to part with a few copper coins and, being sensible, urged, "Mother, throw it to them quickly! Saving our lives is what matters!"

Lady Xu remained silent.

The Hu, growing impatient, stepped forward to snatch it by force.

Even though Lady Xu was terrified, she struggled to hold onto it with all her might. A palm as large as a fan suddenly struck her face, and she felt the world spin. She tasted the sweetness of blood on her tongue.

Lady Xu was knocked to the ground by the sudden force, and the bundle slipped from her grasp.

"Mother!" Chen Jiao cried out in dismay.

As Lady Xu slumped to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood, Chen Jiao rushed to help her up.

The Hu crudely rummaged through the bundle, tossing things about. He saw a few copper coins and scoffed. He dug deeper and, tucked away among tattered clothes and fake travel permits, pulled out a glistening gold lock.

The Hu’s eyes lit up.

Chen Jiao was stunned. Her family actually had gold hidden away?

Her mind was filled with disbelief, yet she did not know that the gold lock was Lady Xu’s lifeline. It had been obtained when Chen Jiao reached her hundredth day; it was an object specifically crafted by her father, Chen En, for his daughter, and it served as a token for Lady Xu to one day prove her identity to her husband.

Now that it had been seized by the Hu, she would not let it go. Ignoring the danger, she struggled to rise to reclaim it.

The other Hu watched like a man watching a monkey perform, not lifting a finger.

Chen Jiao frantically dragged Lady Xu away, searching for a chance to survive.

But the Hu had no intention of letting them go. His inherent bloodlust drove him to raise his curved blade toward Lady Xu.

At that critical moment, Chen Jiao threw herself over her mother to shield her.

At that instant, she had only one thought: to repay the debt the original owner of this body owed her parents.

In this godforsaken world, she did not want to go on living!

Just as she waited for death, filled with grief and indignation, she suddenly heard a "whoosh"—a powerful, wind-piercing sound arriving from somewhere unknown.

A sharp spearhead, carrying overwhelming force, pierced through the Hu's massive body.

The speed was truly too fast.

In a single moment, the Hu with the blade widened his eyes in terror, a distorted "gurgling" sound emerging from his throat, and he collapsed like a falling tree.

Everything happened too quickly!

Hearing the heavy thud beside her ears, Chen Jiao was stunned, lost for words.

The other Hu, who had been watching the spectacle, saw his companion shot down and flew into a rage. He didn't raise his blade to counterattack the newcomer but turned and sprinted toward the village as fast as he could, attempting to sound the alarm.

However, the next moment, an arrow whistled through the air, striking him in the leg. The Hu shrieked, struggling to stand and flee, only to be struck in the head by another arrow.

The Hu pinned by the spear still clutched the gold lock in his hand; Lady Xu hurried to snatch it back. The terrified hounds tucked their tails and fled.

Chen Jiao looked at the newcomers, still in shock. There were four of them, all mounted on warhorses.

The man in the lead was broad-shouldered and sturdy, likely over eight feet tall, his muscles dense and masculine. He had a square face, looked to be about forty, with thick brows, large eyes, a prominent nose, dark skin, and a handsome beard.

The red-tasseled spear had been thrown by him.

Having narrowly escaped death, Chen Jiao knelt and bowed, "Thank you, brave warriors, for saving our lives!"

She kowtowed to express her gratitude.

The four men, however, ignored her and rode directly into the village. As they passed, the leader reached out and snatched the Hu’s curved blade.

Chen Jiao watched their retreating backs with lingering fear, scrambling to collect their bundles and clothes.

Lady Xu had experienced killing and burying bodies before, so she was already numb to the dead. The two mother and daughter hurriedly gathered their belongings.

Lady Xu, ignoring the fact that half her face was swollen, urged, "This place is cursed, let's go quickly!"

But Chen Jiao had other ideas. Her brain worked rapidly, and she made a reckless decision.

***

"Mother, those people just now possessed such authority, and their skills were top-notch. That they intervened to save us shows they have a sense of chivalry."

Lady Xu blinked, looking confused.

Chen Jiao said calmly, "I want to try my luck."

Lady Xu did not have such audacity. She urged anxiously, "Are you crazy? What if they are evil men..."

Chen Jiao interrupted, "They have horses. If they are evil, we won't be able to run anyway."

Lady Xu: "..."

Ignoring her mother's confusion, Chen Jiao decisively entered the village to scout the situation. Lady Xu grumbled but, knowing she couldn't stop her, followed in a wretched state.

The leader of the four men was Xu Zhao, a military officer who had been on his way to meet someone in the neighboring Min Province. While traveling, he noticed the unusual movements of the Hu tribe and decided to intervene, tracking them all the way here, though they had arrived a step late.

The two hundred inhabitants of the Tao family village had all been slaughtered by the Hu. Aside from the two just killed, eighteen others were still rampaging in the village. This group of Hu had been active in the Min Province area and, hearing that the Tao family village was wealthy, had come specifically to pillage it.

Xu Zhao and his three companions were all elite warriors. Without hesitation, they charged into the village to engage the Hu in a bloody battle.

Chen Jiao and her mother heard the sounds of fighting and dared only reach the village entrance, not venturing any closer. They found a hidden spot to watch.

Xu Zhao was a formidable fighter, even more robust than the Hu. He snatched a large axe from a Hu’s hand and swung it downward in a diagonal strike, instantly cleaving half the man's head off. The other archer was a master marksman, hitting his target with almost every shot.

The four fought through the bloodbath for half an hour before they had slaughtered all the Hu.

The village was littered with corpses; apart from chickens and dogs, not a single soul remained alive.

Xu Zhao, who had sustained some cuts, led his men to search the village one more time to ensure no Hu had escaped.

To those who had already experienced the slaughter of a city by the Hu, the deaths of these villagers mattered little. In this chaotic age, human life was the least valuable thing.

Xu Zhao and his men went to the well to wash the blood from their bodies. They wore soft armor, and their only injuries were minor flesh wounds on their limbs.

As they took out medicine from their packs to dress their wounds, Chen Jiao mustered her courage, braced herself, and stepped forward, kneeling to kowtow. "Please, heroes, save us!"

Xu Zhao sat on a stone by the well, his tiger-like eyes glancing at her, assuming she was a villager. "The Hu have been wiped out. Go report this to the officials."

His accent was crisp and clear—authentic northern mandarin.

Chen Jiao paused, then replied in the same official tongue, "To be honest, heroes, we are not local villagers. We were merely passing through, hoping to find some food, but never expected..."

Another man interrupted impatiently, "We told you to report it, so go! Why the chatter?"

The burly man, bare-armed and temperamental, truly intimidated Chen Jiao. She shrunk her neck back in fear, not daring to speak again.

Xu Zhao’s attitude was relatively mild. As he put on clean clothes, he said, "If you do not wish to report it, then leave this place of trouble early."

Chen Jiao quickly said, "Heroes, you do not know—we are in dire straits. Even if we survive today, I fear we will not live to see tomorrow."

This piqued the interest of the four men. They looked the pair up and down, failing to see through the mother and daughter.

Since Xu Zhao had tracked the Hu here, he possessed a degree of chivalry. He stroked his beard and asked, "What sort of trouble has your lad encountered?"

Chen Jiao had already made up her mind to be a "dog-skin plaster" (to cling to them). Instead of answering, she asked, "We heard along the way that there is going to be a war in the neighboring Min Province. Have you heard?"

Xu Zhao pondered for a moment before saying, "Min Province is indeed not peaceful."

Chen Jiao flattered them, "Heroes, you have hearts of chivalry—far more justice than the officials. To be honest, we are from Guangyang Commandery. We were forced to leave our homes because we were bullied by the local government. My mother is old and frail, and I am just a half-grown boy with no skills. The journey to seek relatives in Min Province is treacherous; I fear we won't survive Tong Province."

Xu Zhao remained silent, having no interest in meddling further.

The man in green behind him suddenly said, "A war is coming to Min Province. Going there after traveling so far is no different from seeking death. Go somewhere else."

Lady Xu, who had been silent until now, mustered her courage and asked, "May I ask, great heroes, where in this world is there peace?"

The short-tempered man who had been helping Xu Zhao with his clothes spoke up in a loud voice, "Go to Hui Province. Hui Province is under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Huai'an. It is better than here."

The man in green added, "The Imperial Uncle Chen treats his people kindly."

Hearing the surname "Chen," Lady Xu could not help but glance at Chen Jiao.

At that moment, Chen Jiao was entirely focused on her plan to cling to these four men to get out of Tong Province, and she did not notice Lady Xu’s complex expression.

Lady Xu, however, took a keen interest in this aristocratic Chen. She probed, "May I ask if the name of that Prince of Huai'an is Chen En?"

Caught off guard by such a question, Chen Jiao finally snapped back to reality, looking at her mother with a strange expression.

Unexpectedly, the bad-tempered man replied, "Yes, the Imperial Uncle’s name is indeed Chen En."

It was as if a thunderbolt had struck from the sky, shaking Lady Xu so much that her lips trembled, and she could not speak for a long time.

Chen Jiao was not as agitated, merely stunned for a moment, thinking it quite a coincidence. Her "cheap" father was also named Chen En, wasn't he?

Xu Zhao keenly noticed the change in Lady Xu and stared at her intently. "Does this old woman have something to say?"

Lady Xu usually wasn't very clever, but she never failed at critical moments. Since they had recommended Hui Province, it was clear they were not enemies of Chen En. She suppressed her inner excitement and knelt, bowing. "I have a request, and I beg you all to grant it."

Xu Zhao frowned, feeling more and more that these two had many tricks up their sleeves, and did not reply.

Lady Xu continued, "You heroes have great skills. Could you trouble yourselves to escort my son and me to the Prince of Huai'an’s mansion in Hui Province? We will surely reward you with gold!"

Once these words were out, everyone was stunned, including Chen Jiao.

She opened her eyes wide in shock, never expecting her mother to have the audacity to "touch porcelain" (a slang for framing or scamming) with the Prince of Huai'an!

Xu Zhao was clearly shocked, his tiger eyes widening as he examined her with suspicion.

The man in green was even more incredulous. "Who exactly are you two that you can claim a connection to the Prince of Huai'an?"

Lady Xu looked at Xu Zhao and kowtowed. "I beg you, heroes, to finish what you started. Please deliver us to safety. Once we reach Hui Province and reunite with our kin, the Huai'an Mansion will certainly reward you handsomely!"

She spoke with such certainty, acting as if she were truly related to the Prince of Huai'an, which made Xu Zhao’s suspicions grow.

The four looked at one another. Xu Zhao hadn't wanted to get involved, but a cloud of doubt hung over him, making him very uncomfortable. He asked bluntly, "You say you have a deep connection to the Huai'an Mansion. Do you have any proof?"

Lady Xu, quick-witted, took the gold lock she had previously protected as her own life and presented it without hesitation.

Xu Zhao had seen the lock in the hands of the Hu and reached out to examine it closely. The craftsmanship was exquisite—an object for a child—and it was engraved with tiny characters: *Chen En’s daughter, Chen Jiao*, along with her detailed birth date.

Having seen the object, Xu Zhao’s doubts grew even deeper. He pointed blankly at Chen Jiao, his gaze like a torch. "She is Chen En’s daughter, Chen Jiao?"

Lady Xu nodded and answered truthfully, "She is the child of myself and Chen En. We disguised our appearances."

Chen Jiao did not expect her mother to confess everything. "Mother!" she cried.

She did not realize that Lady Xu was playing a very big game.

"My child, go wash your face."

Chen Jiao did not move.

Lady Xu pulled her to the well and scrubbed her face clean with a cloth.

The mother and daughter revealed their true faces. Lady Xu was in her thirties, and although her face was haggard, one could still see the beauty of her youth.

When they looked at Chen Jiao, all four men showed strange expressions.

It was a youthful face with a remarkably good bone structure. The thin skin clung to the bones without a hint of excess. There were a few small freckles on her nose and cheeks; her brows and eyes lacked the softness of a typical girl, possessing instead a heroic spirit. Her dark, deep eyes hid an untamable stubbornness, and her straight, tight lips carried a sense of guarded vigilance. Her entire being gave the impression of someone inherently unyielding. She wasn't classically "striking," but her features were incredibly enduring. Unlike ordinary young women, she had a sense of gritty, courageous determination.

Xu Zhao looked at her face, his mood becoming complex.

The man in green frowned. "Boss, we can't decide this."

The short-tempered man added, "Young Master Cui is still waiting for us in Min Province. Bringing two women along is inconvenient."

Xu Zhao weighed the situation and suddenly asked, "You say you two are relatives of the Prince of Huai'an. Do you have any other evidence?"

Lady Xu hurriedly said, "I remember that Chen En has a red mole behind his ear and on his chest, a birthmark on his buttocks, and a scar on his thigh."

She rambled on about her past with Chen En, making Xu Zhao even more suspicious. It was all too coincidental!

Xu Zhao was skeptical and found it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood. But he couldn't leave them behind now. The gold lock, Chen Jiao’s appearance, and the red mole behind her ear—all were inextricably linked to the Prince of Huai'an.

Although bringing them along was troublesome, Xu Zhao ultimately decided to take the mother and daughter with them.

Chen Jiao was both shocked and delighted, wanting to ask Lady Xu what was going on, but her mother wore an inscrutable expression. Fearing further complications, Chen Jiao chose to stay silent.

After the group left Tao family village, Xu Zhao did not send them directly to Hui Province. Instead, he took them to Min Province to have his superior, Cui Jue, verify the situation—a safer course of action.

The mother and daughter were truly destitute. On the way to Min Province, Xu Zhao had someone purchase supplies for them.

They changed into decent clothes; Lady Xu even applied powder, drew her brows, and used bright lipstick, looking like a noblewoman. As the saying goes, "People rely on clothes, horses on saddles." Now that they had been transformed, how could they be compared to the "murderous mother and daughter" they were before?

Traveling by carriage day and night, they arrived at the borders of Min Province in just six days.

Fearing the mother and daughter couldn't handle the jolting, they stopped for a night in Sui'an, Min Province. For the past few days, they had been traveling with Xu Zhao and his men, with no private space.

Now that they finally had a chance to speak in private, Chen Jiao couldn't help but ask the question she had been holding back: "Mother, what if the Prince of Huai'an isn't my father?"

She had expected Lady Xu to be resolute, given how she had boasted back at the village.

Who would have thought that her mother was even better at courting death? She said bluntly, "He is definitely not your father."

Chen Jiao: "???"

Chen Jiao: "!!!"

Lady Xu sat cross-legged on the bed, ignoring her daughter's shocked expression, and said to herself, "Your father’s surname Chen has absolutely no connection to the royal family."

Chen Jiao: "..."

Lady Xu said seriously, "We are lucky. Even the heavens couldn't bear it and sent us these nobles."

Chen Jiao almost cried, her face twisting. "So you were just bluffing Xu Zhao?"

Lady Xu said righteously, "You saw the situation back then. With just the two of us, we couldn't have made it out of Tong Province. At first, I didn't have much hope, but who would have thought the Prince of Huai'an would have the same name as your father? I just took the opportunity."

Chen Jiao remained silent, unsure of how she felt.

Lady Xu ignored her shock and said unreasonably, "The world is vast; people with the same name are everywhere. It’s true your father was named Chen En, and the gold lock is proof of that. But whether he is the Prince of Huai'an—I’ve never met the man, so a misunderstanding is reasonable. In any case, we have already left Tong Province. As for the future, we’ll take it one step at a time."

Chen Jiao clutched her face in agony, her blood boiling. "Mother, you are muddled!"

Lady Xu hurriedly reminded her, "Keep your voice down."

Chen Jiao was frantic. "Who is Xu Zhao? If he finds out you were playing him like a monkey, we won't live for more than a few days."

Lady Xu was unusually calm, waving her hand. "My child, you worry too much. At worst, we'll just find another chance to escape. If we can't, we’ll just explain it as a misunderstanding over a shared name. We’ll find a way to survive."

Chen Jiao was left speechless by her blind optimism. Daring to "touch porcelain" with the Prince of Huai'an—her mother was truly a talent!

The two looked at each other, eyes wide.

There was no other way; they could only take it step by step. But the lethal part was that Xu Zhao was taking them to see Cui Jue for approval.

This man was a strategist for the Prince of Huai'an and the second-in-command of Hui Province, known by the nickname "The Living Yama."