Chapter 46: Encountering Danger

When Hu Xiaocao returned home, Wu Yuan was treating a woman.

"Grandpa Wu, how is my mother?"

The woman's eye sockets were slightly red, as if she had just cried; she wiped the corners of her eyes and said, "Grandpa Wu said that as long as I rest a while longer, I'll keep getting better."

Hu Xiaocao's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great! I knew praying to Mountain God Grandfather would work."

Wu Yuan beside them looked sympathetic, watching the elated Hu Xiaocao, he moved his lips, glanced at the woman's pleading expression beside him, but ultimately said nothing.

But Hu Xiaocao sensitively sensed something off: "Mom, you're almost better, why aren't you happy? You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?"

The woman forced a smile: "I'm happy, I'm almost crying from happiness; besides, if you don't believe me, go ask Grandpa Wu."

Looking at Hu Xiaocao's innocent, tender eyes, Wu Yuan nodded with difficulty.

"Great, then I'll go make dinner."

Hu Xiaocao hopped and skipped outside to gather firewood.

After she walked away, Wu Yuan finally sighed, "Your condition can't be hidden; Xiaocao is a smart child, she'll find out sooner or later."

The woman wiped a tear from her eye corner, "Let her be happy for a few days; Xiaocao has suffered too much. Sigh, sometimes I think, if I died, maybe Xiaocao wouldn't be so exhausted."

Wu Yuan's face changed upon hearing this: "How could you have such a thought? Xiaocao already has no father; do you want her to lose her mother too?"

The woman's cloudy pupils suddenly flashed a glint of light: "Uncle Wu, rest assured, even for Xiaocao's sake I will strive to keep living; I still want to see her get married."

Wu Yuan left some herbal medicine, gave a few more instructions, then departed.

After taking the herbal medicine with Evening Primrose as a primer, the woman's condition improved for a while, but then worsened; she would burst into heart‑rending coughs every midnight, barely sleeping through the night.

Her face turned pale as if a breeze could knock her over; at that point, Hu Xiaocao would tightly grasp the woman's hand, fearing she might vanish in the blink of an eye.

After the small shrine was built, Hu Xiaocao ran there even more diligently, rain or shine, reporting there every day.

Many villagers passing by would see Xiaocao kowtowing and praying for her mother's swift recovery, and couldn't help but show sympathetic, pitying looks.

"This Xiaocao is also pitiful; I heard her mother's illness worsened, and she placed her hope in the illusory Mountain God."

"There's no such thing as a Mountain God; all this is feudal superstition."

"Speak softly, don't let Xiaocao hear; a child only has this little reliance, and you went so far as to build a little shrine—if you expose it, wouldn't that hurt people's hearts?"

The villagers sighed and walked away, feeling pity for Xiaocao, and would lend extra help wherever they could.

That day, kind neighbor Aunt Zhang brought over several eggs to nourish the mother and daughter; Hu Xiaocao ran home as if she had found a treasure, presenting them to the woman like an offering.

The woman shook her head, ruffling Hu Xiaocao's dry‑grass‑like hair, "Mother doesn't like eggs; you eat them yourself."

To some families eggs might be ordinary, but to this mother and daughter they are extremely precious; the eggs at home are saved up to sell for money.

Eating one feels like committing a crime.

The mother and daughter simply couldn't bring themselves to eat; since the last time they had eggs, Hu Xiaocao felt it was from a past life, and their daily meals were just rice with pickled vegetables, lacking any meaty flavor.

To them, an ordinary egg is already a rare delicacy.

Hu Xiaocao stood firm, holding the egg and refusing to put it down: "No, Mom, you must eat the egg quickly; eating eggs strengthens the body and will help you recover faster."

Unable to resist Hu Xiaocao, the woman had no choice and ate two eggs.

Only one egg remained, but Hu Xiaocao hesitated, not moving.

The woman couldn't help but wonder, "Xiaocao, why aren't you eating it?"

Hu Xiaocao couldn't help swallowing, as if an idea struck her: "I'll take it outside to eat!"

Watching Hu Xiaocao's retreating figure, the woman smiled and shook her head, "This child, even eating an egg she has to run outside."

Little did she know, Hu Xiaocao ran with the egg to the Mountain God's shrine.

"Mountain God Grandfather, look what I've brought you."

Although she knew the clay Mountain God statue wouldn't reply, Hu Xiaocao still talked to herself, having grown accustomed over these days to narrating what she saw and heard, as well as her worries.

It seemed as if the clay Mountain God statue before her could actually hear.

"Aunt Zhang gave me three eggs; so Mom could get better quickly, she ate two, and I brought the remaining one for you."

Hu Xiaocao chattered on while peeling the egg, gazing at the plump, round egg white emitting a faint fragrance; she inhaled deeply and licked her lips.

Summoning great willpower, she managed to restrain herself from biting the egg.

"Mountain God Grandfather, if you eat my egg, please bless my mother's body to recover quickly."

When people become powerless, superstition becomes their last hope; Hu Xiaocao is young and doesn't understand superstition—she is simply overly filial.

Just as Hu Xiaocao was about to set the egg down, a "pat‑pat" footstep sounded behind her.

She had thought it was a few passing villagers, but when she turned around she saw a strange man.

In the countryside, everyone knows each other by sight; Hu Xiaocao knew all the village uncles and aunts, but she had never seen this man before.

She looked bewildered, about to ask him something.

A cloth was pressed over her mouth and nose; she instantly smelled a pungent odor, then Hu Xiaocao lost consciousness, and the egg in her hand rolled to the ground.

After doing all that, the man saw no one around, grabbed Hu Xiaocao in a bear hug, and darted into the nearby woods.

Only the clay Mountain God statue witnessed all of this.

The egg meant for offering fell to the ground, gathered dust, instantly became filthy, and was finally crushed under the man's foot.

……

Not long after the man entered the woods, he ran into several others.

One of them appeared stout, with bulging muscles, seemingly a martial artist; his eyes were fierce and menacing, not looking like a good person.

Another was as thin as a bamboo pole, with a shifty, mouse‑like face; his eyes were somewhat yellowish, and when they darted about, one always felt he was scheming, causing unease.

In short, this group looked like anything but upstanding citizens.

"Yang Cheng, you're quick on the draw."

"I saw she was alone, with no one else around—perfect chance to strike, so I brought her back; this counts as our opening success."

It turned out the man's name was Yang Cheng; his gang were traffickers, planning to abduct children and women in nearby towns and sell them elsewhere.

Yang Cheng happened to be scouting nearby when he ran into Hu Xiaocao, who was making offerings beside the temple, so he conveniently brought the person back.

Actually, in townships and rural areas, smaller places are easier to succeed in—there's no surveillance to speak of, and besides, if one wants to call the police, they have to go to town, so they also end up missing the best opportunity.

In big cities, electronic eyes are everywhere, and traffic police patrols show up from time to time, so a moment's carelessness can lead to exposure.

(End of chapter)