I'm guessing the little Mo household is having a power outage right now, hence the auto-update.
Also, why is it that every time I write a woman into the story, you all ask whether he's going to keep her? Who's the pervert here? I'm the purest one of all.
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Before long, Yang Kai walked back with a grim expression.
"How is it?" the Madam asked anxiously.
"They're all dead." Yang Kai shook his head. Zhang Ding's group had been ruthless and efficient—those killed in their sleep had all been finished off with a single strike, and those who'd died in combat had likewise been left without a shred of life.
The entire caravan now consisted of only Yang Kai and three living women.
The young miss's sobs drifted out from inside the carriage, and Cui'er was scrubbing at her eyes with all her might. The Madam, having weathered many storms in her time, kept her tears from falling despite the ache in her heart.
"Men die for wealth, birds die for food…" the Madam murmured softly, as if mocking, as if lamenting.
After letting the three women grieve for a while, Yang Kai spoke up. "What do you plan to do? Are you still heading to Sea City?"
The Madam raised her head and gave a small nod, looking at Yang Kai with desperate hope. "Could the young hero escort us through this stretch of road?"
They were in the middle of nowhere, and after the horrific events that had just transpired, how could they dare travel alone?
Cui'er grabbed Yang Kai's arm and pleaded pitifully. "You little beggar, you can't just leave us!"
"Cui'er!" the Madam scolded sternly. "Don't be rude."
Before, it was one thing to have been blind enough to mistake Yang Kai for a little beggar, but now that he'd saved their lives, using that kind of address was simply ill-mannered.
Yang Kai glanced at Cui'er and nodded. "It's only one more day's journey. I'll see you there."
"Thank you, young hero." The Madam let out a breath of relief.
"I knew you wouldn't abandon us." Compared to the Madam's cautious formality, Cui'er was much more natural and forthright.
The young miss, who hadn't said a word the whole time, now whispered a quiet thank-you so faint it was barely audible.
"There's a thick smell of blood here—we might attract some wild beasts. We should leave now. By tomorrow evening, we should reach Sea City," Yang Kai said.
The Madam hesitated, then spoke after a long pause. "Young hero, could I trouble you with one more thing?"
"What is it?" Yang Kai looked at her.
"Many of those who died tonight were protecting us. I can't bear to leave them exposed to the elements in the wilderness. Could you…"
Before she could finish, Yang Kai's brow furrowed. Being asked to kill someone was one thing, but burying corpses? That was going too far. So many bodies—it would be an enormous undertaking.
The Madam was perceptive. Reading his expression, she smiled bitterly. "If that's the case, then I won't trouble you further. Cui'er, come with me and the miss—we'll bury Old Wu ourselves. As for the others… let it be."
"Oh." Cui'er nodded, then glanced at Yang Kai and shook her tiny fist at him without a trace of fear.
Yang Kai's expression remained neutral. He stepped aside and said nothing to stop them.
Cui'er helped the Madam and the miss down from the carriage. The three women shivered, their faces pale, as they picked up swords and blades from among the corpses. Clutching the weapons in both hands, they found a spot nearby and began slowly digging.
Old Wu must have been very important to this family, or the Madam wouldn't have insisted on giving him a proper burial.
As the three women dug, Yang Kai circled the area, collecting spoils from the dead.
When he returned to them, he found they had barely dug a hole less than an inch deep. The Madam and the miss appeared to be women of privilege—unused to manual labor, they fumbled clumsily at the task, flinging dirt on each other while blades flashed precariously close to their own bodies.
Watching from the side, Yang Kai's heart lurched and his blood ran cold.
"The smell of blood here is too strong. A wolf pack might show up any minute, and none of us will be able to leave," Yang Kai said, smacking his lips.
The Madam and the miss went white in an instant.
Cui'er's chest heaved with fury. She flung down the large blade in her hands and stormed over to Yang Kai. Her tiny pink fists hammered against his chest as she shouted, "And here you are cracking jokes! I've been feeding snacks to an ungrateful wolf for days!"
As she cursed, a distant wolf howl carried through the air, making Yang Kai's words ring all too true. This time, not only were the Madam and the miss scared half to death—even Cui'er lost her nerve. She sidled up to Yang Kai, glancing around and trembling. "There… there really won't be a wolf pack, will there?"
"Fine, fine. Go gather up the valuables. I'll handle this," Yang Kai said, utterly resigned.
Truthfully, if the Madam had only asked him to bury Old Wu, he wouldn't have refused. Over the past few days, being around Old Wu had given him certain insights into the old man's martial path.
But what was said was said, and it was too embarrassing to take it back. At least now he'd found a chance to pitch in.
"Thank you, young hero." The Madam breathed a sigh of relief and beckoned the miss and Cui'er to the second carriage to sort through their belongings.
Before long, Yang Kai had dug a large pit and laid Old Wu's body to rest inside.
On the other side, the three women had finished packing. They took what was valuable and had no choice but to leave behind the rest—what would become of it, and who might profit, was anyone's guess.
"Let's go." Yang Kai ushered them into the carriage and took his seat on the driver's bench. In his hand, he held Old Wu's whip. Drawing on the traces of martial insight he'd gained over the past few days, he flicked it with a sharp crack. The horses broke into a gallop.
By nightfall, they had left the blood-soaked ground far behind.
Though it was Yang Kai's first time driving a carriage, he handled it with ease. With each crack of the whip, the martial traces he'd inherited from Old Wu grew ever more profound. Gradually, he sank into a state of immersion, cross-referencing those insights with his own understanding and fusing them together.
By the next morning, Cui'er emerged to say they should stop and rest for a bit, and Yang Kai agreed to their wishes.