Chapter 5: Blocked on the Way Down

“Little Sister, why are you following me up the mountain? If Grandmother finds out, she’ll scold us.”

“Big Brother, it’s boring at home, and I’ve never been up the mountain before…”

It was a child’s voice. Tang Yao didn’t dare linger. She grabbed her things and quickened her pace down the mountain.

Not far down the path, several figures suddenly emerged from the forest on the left. Seeing Tang Yao carrying Fang Mingxi on her back, they all stopped in unison.

“Big Brother Gao, who are they? I’ve never seen them before!”

Among the group, a chubby little boy carrying a bamboo basket stared at the two girls in surprise.

Tang Yao was too nervous to speak and instinctively stepped back, clearly trying to avoid any interaction.

The one the chubby boy called Big Brother Gao was a boy of about ten.

He was slender, with regular features and slightly tanned skin. His name was He Gao, the eldest grandson of the He family at the village entrance. The boy speaking was Li Pang, his neighbor.

Several other boys, around five to ten years old, followed them.

He Gao glanced lightly at the girls. “Don’t know them. Probably some relative of another family.” He adjusted the little girl he was carrying.

The girl, about two years old, wore a floral dress. Her round, pale face looked like a little rice dumpling. Her big black eyes, like grapes, curiously studied the two in front of her.

Fang Mingxi suddenly felt a chill on her back and quickly lowered her head to avoid the gaze. Something felt oddly cool behind her.

Li Pang stepped forward. “Whose family are you from? I’ve never seen you before.”

Tang Yao bowed her head. “We’re from the cattle pen.”

The expressions of the children around changed instantly.

They had heard of the cattle pen before; adults constantly warned them not to interact with those from there.

“They’re all bad people,” they had said. “If you get close to them, you’ll become bad too.”

Li Pang’s smile vanished, and he sheepishly returned to He Gao’s side. “Big Brother Gao, let’s go! Don’t go over there.”

He Gao and the other boys had the same thought. Just as they were about to leave, they noticed the basket in Tang Yao’s hands filled with red berries.

He Gao was surprised. “Where did you get these red berries?” He had come up the mountain to chop firewood that morning and hadn’t seen them anywhere. Did they venture deep into the mountain?

The other kids peered over. They saw that the leaves Tang Yao held were full of small, bright-red fruits.

They swallowed hard. Snacks were rare for them, and wild berries scattered across the mountain were their usual treats.

Seeing someone with red berries excited them all.

“She must have picked them up there.”

“Big cousin, let’s hurry and get some more for Sister Xixi.”

Xixi? That little girl was also called Xixi?

Fang Mingxi quietly glanced sideways. The little girl remained silent and calm, as before, but her gaze, which should have been on Fang Mingxi, was now fixed on Tang Yao.

The children spoke in dialect, and it took Tang Yao quite some effort to understand. She pointed toward the top of the mountain. “We found them up there, but I don’t know if there’s more.”

He Gao nodded and thanked her, carrying He Xi back up the mountain.

The others followed, except for two boys around five or six. They glanced at Fang Mingxi, then at little He Xi, whispered to each other, and eventually caught up.

Fang Mingxi, with her sharp hearing, caught their muttering.

“Brother, that baby must be the one who shares Xixi’s name!”

“Probably. There’s only one such baby in the cattle pen.”

Fang Mingxi’s eyes darkened, a strange feeling welling in her heart. These kids made her feel slightly annoyed.

After He Lei and the others had left and their figures were out of sight, Tang Yao, who had been standing in place for a long time, suddenly took her things and started down the mountain.

In such a short time, Fang Mingxi could feel the dampness on her back. She sighed and hugged Tang Yao tightly. Poor child, she must have been terrified.

…

He Gao carried He Xi while also shouldering a bamboo basket filled with some dry branches he had picked up along the way. Though not unbearably heavy, the combined weight and the climb left him panting.

Seeing this, He Xi squirmed, wanting to get down. “Big cousin, I can walk myself.”

He Gao gently placed her on the ground. “Then Big Cousin will hold your hand as you walk.”

“Okay.” He Xi held his hand, waddling a few steps with her short legs, walking steadily.

He Lei and He Tian, carrying a bundle of branches behind, relaxed. They were He Xi’s elder brothers, six and four years old, respectively. Knowing they couldn’t overpower their big cousin, they didn’t insist on taking the load.

Last time, they had tried to carry their sister and ended up falling, earning a harsh scolding from their mother.

Now, even though their sister wanted to climb the mountain, at least their big cousin was there, or else they couldn’t have managed it.

They quickly reached the halfway point, and without waiting for anyone to speak, everyone naturally spread out.

He Lei absentmindedly picked up firewood, glancing around for red berries.

Even after nearly finishing, he saw none in the forest.

“Who are these people? No wonder they didn’t tell us.” He Lei was frustrated, suspecting Tang Yao hadn’t told the truth. He knew the mountain well, there were no berries here. Those two must have gone deeper into the forest.

The forest was dangerous, with wild beasts. They dared not go in themselves. Tang Yao and the others were truly brave.

“Big Brother, come quickly!” He Xi’s sweet voice called from ahead.

“Coming.” He Lei snapped out of his thoughts, carrying his basket of firewood to join her.

But as he lifted his foot, he tripped, lost his balance, and fell flat on the ground.

“Big Brother! Brother!”

He Xi and He Tian panicked, dropping their things and running over. He Gao and He Xin, picking up branches nearby, also came to help.

“Big Brother, are you okay?”

“Brother, get up quickly!”

Together, they helped He Lei to his feet. He gritted his teeth, holding his head. Underneath was a big lump.

He Xi puckered her lips and blew on it. “Big Brother, it doesn’t hurt. Hoo-hoo.”

Whether it was psychological or not, He Lei felt a cool breeze on his forehead. The lump no longer hurt.

He laughed and touched He Xi’s head. “I’m fine now. Thank you, Xi Bao.” But… what had tripped him earlier?

He Lei looked down and saw the culprit.

It was a moss-covered stone, partially buried in the soil with a sharp tip sticking out. That was what had caused him to fall.

Angry, He Lei squatted, dug it out, and threw it down the mountain.

“Damn stone, now you’ve messed with me. You trip me, I throw you. Fair’s fair.”

Just as he was about to leave, sharp-eyed He Tian noticed something unusual on the ground.