Chapter 45
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Chapter 45: Doesn’t that clueless little bird remind you of yourself?
The twenty-odd men who raided Old Cave Village at night split into two groups near the village, both with rotten luck.
One group started searching from the village outskirts and barged straight into the Kong family’s courtyard guarded by Zhao Qi and Chen Gang. The other headed straight for the Village Chief’s house and ran into Tan Wang, who was still drinking there.
Nearby courtyards erupted with the clang of blades and thuds of clubs cutting through the night, soon mixed with furious shouts and terrified screams.
Noises of doors opening and rushing footsteps came from Du Yinsui’s courtyard too. Prisoners’ doors were locked from outside after dark, so it must’ve been Zheng Yi and Ma Datou rushing out to help.
After one light sniff, Du Yinsui knew the outsiders stood no chance against the guards. The thick blood scent hanging in the air after just a few clashes confirmed these were refugees, not bandits.
More guards were stationed outside, so that fight ended quickly. The commotion deeper in the village lasted longer, but even that quieted down soon after Zheng Yi brought reinforcements.
The unusual fighting sounds woke prisoners in all three courtyards. The guards only opened doors to count heads, faces grim, offering no explanation about the chaos outside.
Not until next morning—when the Kong family shrieked at discovering bloodstains—did Du Yinsui’s group learn bits of the story from the frowning Ma Datou.
The night raiders were indeed refugees from Daizhou, including two with ties to Old Cave Village. Knowing every household kept black goats, they’d come to loot. Splitting outside the village, one group meant to seize the Village Chief while the other planned to herd goats using abandoned houses as base. Instead, they’d stumbled into the exiled group… Farmers armed with clubs and kitchen knives were no match for guards.
To guards regularly traveling between the Capital and Northern lands, last night was a minor hiccup. The beaten and tied raiders possessed nothing valuable—too poor even to flee famine without turning thief. Uninterested, the guards left their fate to Old Cave Village—whether handed to officials or dealt with locally.
What darkened Ma Datou’s brow wasn’t the raid, but the likelihood of endless repeats.
Just two days north of Old Cave Village lay Daizhou territory—the unavoidable path to Linzhou.
Guards had interrogated the refugees: Daizhou’s disaster had been suppressed by officials for months. Now unleashed, its force couldn’t be ignored. Continuing north, their safety—let alone supplies—would be jeopardized.
Ma Datou sighed heavily, outlining the situation.
Du Yinsui, her powers restored, glanced at the neighboring courtyard.
Since last night, Tan Wang and Xu Lv had argued nonstop about detouring around Daizhou.
For Du Yinsui herself, crossing Daizhou was better—chaos improved escape chances. But for Jiang Wu and others continuing north, a safer route seemed wiser.
Still… while crossing Daizhou risked large refugee waves, could detouring through Rongzhou and Shuzhou guarantee safety?
If Daizhou’s famine was truly as dire as described—people exchanging children to eat—then surrounding regions, even northern Linzhou, would face refugee floods…
Old Cave Village smelled of plentiful grain and black goats. The exile group could potentially gather enough supplies here for crossing Daizhou. But… with only ten guards, could they protect provisions against countless refugees?
Du Yinsui even thought immediate retreat was wisest.
Yet this wasn’t her decision. Nor was it Xu Lv’s to make—a titled official without real authority.
Insisting, Tan Wang ordered the group northward into Daizhou… and sped up their march again.
Jolting on her donkey cart, Sun Xinang felt grateful she’d begged and paid dearly to reclaim it last night. At Tan Wang’s current pace, even Li Dayong couldn’t have carried her all day without breaking his legs.
From his carriage, Xu Lv watched the orderly procession of carriages and donkey carts behind—resembling a picnic outing, not an exile convoy. His face stayed stormy all day.
With the young master dead, would anyone in the Capital receive his letters? Would any hidden guards be sent? Could someone just strike Tan Wang down?
Tan Wang’s anxious impatience, Xu Lv’s frustration, and the group’s collective worry—Du Yinsui, her sense of smell restored, understood them all more deeply now.
But…
One thing truly puzzled her.
Usually, human scents shift with emotions. People harbor multiple feelings at once, creating complex odors. Scents might change with every emotional ripple.
Yet all this complexity and change should rest on reason.
For example, the metallic scent of blood that stemmed from the despair and malice of last night’s raiders, or the searing and acrid aroma from Tan Wang and Xu Lv’s fiery argument—all were "reasonable" emotional scents for the situations they were in.
But… what was up with Jiang Wu?
Though the stale, desolate scent from their first meeting had faded, it was replaced by a bittersweet aroma mixed with faint bitterness—what was that about?
Before the night raid happened last night, when everyone lay down to sleep, Jiang Wu’s presence was so strong it overshadowed everyone else in the room, nearly causing Du Yinsui, with her newly recovered sense of smell, to stumble. She briefly thought she might have taken fake medicine that messed with her senses.
The arrival of the twenty-odd people outside briefly diverted Du Yinsui’s attention. Only after she called everyone up did she realize Jiang Wu’s scent was one of secret admiration.
Even now, as she rocked on the donkey cart under the high sun, recalling last night brought a smile to her face…
When she first realized it was the scent of a secret crush, she wondered who Jiang Wu secretly liked. She hoped it wasn’t some Stockholm syndrome making him fond of those unimpressive guards. But she might have looked at Jiang Wu too many times, because even in the dark, he sensed her gaze and called out.
Just three words… Just one “Du girl”…
And the “bittersweet” sweetness and sourness flipped entirely.
Great, Jiang Wu did not secretly like the guards.
Terrible, Jiang Wu’s secret crush was actually her…
Du Yinsui’s mind buzzed on the spot.
That buzz lasted until now.
Even with the sun heating her forehead, Du Yinsui still felt she might not be fully awake.
Du Yinsui looked up at the sky and exhaled deeply. Before she finished, a bamboo cup was handed to her.
“It’s getting hot, drink some water.” After giving her the cup, Jiang Wu pulled out a piece of coarse cloth from the basket that came with the black sheepskin, shook it open, and held it over Du Yinsui’s head for shade.
As the shadow fell, the scorching sunlight was blocked, cooling her overheated forehead.
Du Yinsui sipped the water, glancing sideways at the calm figure beside her, shading her from the sun.
Who could guess that this dignified, calm look produced such a sweet and sour feeling that made her teeth ache…
Having successfully posed as a Crown Prince for eighteen years, it was truly hard to see his true thoughts.
But last night… Du Yinsui couldn’t help thinking of when the guards locked the door outside and her antidote hadn’t worked yet, Jiang Wu quietly drew an exit map for her—could the bitterness have hidden the sweetness then?
No, this wouldn’t do…
Du Yinsui put on a serious face, and stayed serious all day.
When the sun set and camp was set up, freeing everyone from the crowded, eavesdropping donkey cart, Du Yinsui pulled Jiang Wu aside to talk right away.
But the usual tug she gave as she took his hand made her regret it instantly.
A flood of sweetness overwhelmed her, making her release Jiang Wu’s sleeve with a tremble and a rueful smile.
Snooping on someone’s thoughts wasn’t polite.
Since it was a secret Jiang Wu kept, Du Yinsui wouldn’t bring it up directly. Separation was near, so out of care for Jiang Wu, she needed to gently set things straight.
“There’s a bird’s nest with eggs up in this tree,” she said, stopping Jiang Wu with a frown as he rolled up his sleeves to climb, “By the way, did you know? When chicks hatch, they imprint on the first moving thing they see, feeling a special fondness. But that fondness comes from ignorance, thinking anything that moves is great. It’s more about wanting to copy it to grow fast, not real liking. Once the bird matures, it sees that person wasn’t special—just there when it was young and naive. Better things come later.”
In the post-apocalyptic world, every day was life-or-death; Du Yinsui had met many who looked at her once and proposed life together. She’d never faced a secret admirer, so she prepared indirect words. While they seemed clear, she felt awkward.
After speaking, Du Yinsui caught a faint scent of confusion and turned to Jiang Wu: “Do you get what I mean?”
“Have the eggs in the tree hatched?” Jiang Wu looked up, “If they have, we shouldn’t eat them. If they imprint on me and like me, eating them later would be wrong, right…?”
“…” Du Yinsui grabbed the tree in frustration, “Was I talking about birds? I meant us humans.”
Here, Du Yinsui regretted being too obvious.
Since Jiang Wu seemed fragile, she didn’t want to upset him…
While Du Yinsui wrestled with regret, Jiang Wu had a flash of insight, quickly replaced by guilt and hesitation.
Du Yinsui sniffed secretly, relieved.
Thankfully, he wasn’t a fool; he must have understood.
They were nearing Daizhou, so she needed to plan her escape. Though Jiang Wu might not confront her, explaining early could help him move on.
Du Yinsui felt a weight lift but also a strange emptiness.
Maybe separation was like this—after days together, everyone had to adjust.
As Du Yinsui comforted herself, she caught a whiff of anxiety almost as strong as the secret fondness…
Ah, she’d been too blunt.
Du Yinsui started feeling anxious too.
With her words said, escaping seemed wise.
As Du Yinsui looked around and stepped back to leave, Jiang Wu spoke.
“Did she talk to you?” Jiang Wu sighed, “It’s normal you don’t want this… I’ll find time to reason with her. But I think she admires you not out of ignorance; her fondness isn’t naive. She likes you for who you are…”
A soft sadness and helplessness, mixed with concern, replaced the guilt. The bittersweet scent stayed strong.
“Wait… who are you talking about?” Du Yinsui replayed Jiang Wu’s words twice, still confused.
Her bird analogy was already vague—how was Jiang Wu’s reply even vaguer?
“I meant Yao Yao, who’s not an ignorant little bird. She truly likes you and wants to call you ‘mother.’ She knows your ages don’t match, so she planned to prove herself first before asking. But with you leaving, she spoke sooner… Huh?” Jiang Wu frowned, “How does she know you’re leaving? Did you tell her?”
Du Yinsui: “…”
So that was why the Little one always smelled sweeter and milkier than her brother.
The Little one wasn’t the clueless little bird.
The one spilling secrets, whose worry scent hid a secret fondness even during a raid—didn’t you see how much you resemble that little bird who knows nothing?
