"Shh, it's me, Little Yan Yan."
Ajiu, still shaken, pulled his hand from her mouth.
"What are you doing? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Her heart was still in her throat, and her voice had changed.
Her eyesight was so good she'd been distracted by the peach, yet she hadn't seen this brat Tuoba Yan here. She'd been scared to death.
"Didn't Uncle ask me to keep watch? He said their main forces were all out, and I just came down from that slope."
Little Yan Yan realized he had scared Sister Ajiu quite a bit and quickly explained.
"I just saw some figures in the woods. I was hiding in the dark to observe."
"What?" Ajiu exclaimed, and then, *plop*.
Something fell from the tree. Ajiu turned to look, and in the dim moonlight, she grabbed the lump from the ground.
"It's done? So fast?" Ajiu was overjoyed and took a bite with a *crunch*. It was truly tender and juicy.
This was faster than growing wheat. Could it be that this seed came from her space, and therefore already had some spiritual energy?
"Shh." Little Yan Yan was surprised. What was this thing? It was edible.
Ajiu crouched down to grab it and put it in the front pocket of her tunic.
Tuoba Yan didn't have time to be curious about the thing.
"Ajiu, your eyesight is good, look if those are human figures?" As soon as Little Yan Yan spoke.
Ajiu was pulled back to reality. She quickly crouched down, hiding in the shadow of the peach tree, and looked in the direction Little Yan Yan pointed.
Indeed, there were four or five people moving in and out of the vicinity of the few wooden houses.
Their clothes were all ragged, but Ajiu could tell at a glance that the one standing outside the wooden house with his arms crossed was the leader.
He was about thirty years old and was looking around. Until three people came out from inside the house.
The leader waved his hand and disappeared into the woods. It looked like he was heading to the next house. At this rate, they would find her soon.
"Little Yan Yan, you watch here. I'll go find my dad and Uncle Wu. Although these people are dressed raggedly, the knives in their hands look like official weapons, not something commoners would use."
What if they were irregular soldiers? That would change things considerably. They might be lackeys of the government on one hand, and in league with bandits on the other, killing without batting an eye.
Ajiu turned to leave, but Little Yan Yan grabbed her back.
"You stay here and don't go anywhere. I'll go find people. Here..."
As he spoke, Little Yan Yan handed Ajiu a wooden sheath he had made at some point.
"It's convenient to carry and won't accidentally injure yourself."
"Then be careful." Ajiu didn't insist. She held the ox-horn knife tightly and looked up at the rapidly ripening peach.
No, Ajiu's eyes rolled. There was a more pressing matter to attend to.
The ox-horn knife was her only tool.
After about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Ajiu saw a few figures emerging from the woods.
She looked back anxiously at the distant mountains. Why hadn't her father returned yet?
"Da Xiong, did you fucking say you saw smoke here during the day? Why aren't there any people to be seen?"
The leader cursed as he descended the mountain and headed towards the next house.
"Second Boss, I really did see it. I just don't know how many people there were, so I didn't dare to come closer."
The one called Da Xiong patted his chest and guaranteed. "I can assure you I didn't see wrong. Look, there's still a house there. It might be that family I saw."
"You brat, if you don't find anything valuable or useful, I'll dig out those blind eyes of yours first."
Ajiu was panting at this moment, covering her mouth, not daring to breathe heavily. She waited until they entered the woods, which could block their sight, and then she got up and ran into the house.
"Mom... Mom, wake up quickly."
Ajiu was the first to wake Cai Lihua, and fearing she would shout, she quickly gestured for her to be quiet.
Her father had told her not to light a fire when he left.
"Someone's coming, hurry up, Mom. Let's move Aunt Wu and her mother somewhere else."
Cai Lihua was so frightened that she didn't even put on her shoes. She quickly fumbled in the dark with her daughter to carry the two women to the back of the house.
Aunt Wu, perhaps too weak to exert herself, was not shouting.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Mrs. Wu, who had cried herself tired, suddenly woke up in fright and shouted.
Ajiu's scalp tingled. Then, hurried footsteps came from outside.
The crisp sounds of *pa pa pa* clearly indicated someone stepping on the wooden planks. Obviously, the person had reached the door.
With a *clang*, the door was kicked open, and the torch instantly illuminated the entire dilapidated house without any blind spots.