Chapter 87

As the temperature in the cave gradually rose, the women gathered around the fire to dry their clothes.

Unfortunately, it was not easy to dry the clothes while wearing them.

Seeing this, Mo Jiuye decided to go out for a while to take shelter.

When He Zhiran saw him leaving, she quickly went up and handed him two small packages of charcoal.

"Take these with you and deliver some to Elder Brother Peng and the others."

Mo Jiuye looked at the two small packages of charcoal, reluctant to part with them.

He had carried the charcoal up the mountain himself, so he knew best how much there was. Even if he didn't give it away, he was afraid it wouldn't burn for very long.

There was barely enough for his own family, yet he was supposed to share it with others.

He Zhiran saw his dilemma.

"Don't worry, I still have some over there."

Mo Jiuye immediately thought back to the scene of massive loss of goods from the state treasury, and he instantly felt more confident.

"Alright, I'll bring them over right away."

After Mo Jiuye left, He Zhiran took the initiative to stand guard at the mouth of the cave, allowing the women to take off their clothes and quickly dry them.

Gradually, the sky had darkened, and there was still no sign of the heavy rain letting up.

Fortunately, the terrain here was high, and all the rainwater flowed down the hillside without any accumulation.

Sitting in front of the embers, Peng Wang had to admire the Mo Jiuye couple.

"Brother, you and your wife really had foresight. The area below the mountain must be flooded by now."

Mo Jiuye was clearly somewhat worried.

"It looks like Village Chief Liu didn't listen to your advice."

Peng Wang also sighed.

"I've said all I could. Village Chief Liu is stubborn by nature, he always feels that I'm fearmongering."

Mo Jiuye shook his head helplessly, also at a loss for what to do.

Seeing the two chatting, Zhang Qing squeezed over to join in the fun. "Boss, although we may have escaped a flood disaster by coming up the mountain, we can't stay here for a day or two without starving to death, can we?"

This issue was not something Peng Wang hadn't considered. At first, he only thought they would stay up the mountain to avoid the rain for one night and could leave the next morning.

But looking at the still pouring rain, he was also unsure.

At this moment, Mo Jiuye suddenly stood up and strode to the mouth of the cave.

Mo Jiuye's actions were not difficult to guess. Something must have happened.

The two tacitly followed him to the mouth of the cave.

"Brother, what's going on?"

Mo Jiuye gestured to Peng Wang to keep quiet, then said softly, "Elder Brother Peng, lend me your saber. I seem to have heard the sound of a wild boar."

Hearing there was a wild boar, Peng Wang inexplicably became somewhat excited.

If it was just him and the few government clerks, he might feel nervous. However, standing in front of him was the youngest war god of the previous Da Shun dynasty. He immediately felt relieved.

Peng Wang took Zhang Qing's saber and handed it to Mo Jiuye, "Be careful, brother."

Seeing that Mo Jiuye had already gone out of the cave, Peng Wang raised his saber and followed along.

"Brother, let me help you."

At the same time, He Zhiran also heard the movement outside.

A smile appeared on her face as she thought to herself: dinner is settled.

She had just walked out of the cave when she saw Mo Jiuye's shadow flash as he sprinted towards the bushes up ahead. Peng Wang ran wildly behind, unable to keep up with Mo Jiuye.

Knowing that Mo Jiuye had made his move, He Zhiran simply returned to the mouth of the cave.

With such heavy rain, if not for Mo Jiuye's keen sense of danger, they might not have discovered the wild boar so early.

Hearing the wild boar cry out in the distance, it was soon drowned out by the storm.

Not long after, Mo Jiuye and Peng Wang came back dragging a pitch-black wild boar.

Peng Wang immediately called over several men from the other three families and ordered them to clean the wild boar properly.

Only then did everyone notice that Mo Jiuye had actually braved the rain to hunt a wild boar.

Now this was good - at least they wouldn't go hungry tonight.

At the same time, they were also deeply aware of Peng Wang's reason for bringing them up the mountain. Such heavy rain had been falling for so long, the area below the mountain must have already been flooded.

Everyone now felt somewhat fortunate that although they had lost a lot of belongings, their lives were safe.

Figuring the women's clothes should be just about dry after all this time, Mo Jiuye returned to the cave where his family was staying.

Hearing there was wild boar meat for dinner brought smiles that could not be contained to everyone's faces. He Zhiran was more attentive. Seeing Mo Jiuye's clothes soaked again, she pulled him to sit by the embers so he could dry off properly.

At the same time, Mo Jiuye also noticed that the pile of charcoal in the corner seemed to have increased compared to before.

He looked deeply at He Zhiran but the probing look in his eyes was much less than in the past.

He had probably seen too many strange things like this and was gradually becoming numb to them...

He Zhiran propped up the tent and went out to gather some branches.

There was no other way - all the cooking utensils had been left behind at Village Chief Liu's house. They could only roast the wild boar meat over the fire.

In any case, it was good that they could fill their stomachs.

The government clerks were also not idle. In order to eat the wild boar meat sooner, everyone took out their daggers or sabers and cut the meat into evenly sized chunks according to He Zhiran's requirements.

The women were responsible for skewering all the wild boar meat.

With so many people to cook dinner for, He Zhiran alone would surely be overwhelmed. Thus, fires were lit in all three caves and everyone worked on their own provisions.

The government clerks and people from the other three families had no seasoning and could only eat the bland wild boar meat. But it was different for the Mo family.

He Zhiran's pockets held a little bit of everything...

There was salt, and she could take out a small bottle of vegetable oil.

That's not all. While roasting the meat, He Zhiran would also secretly sprinkle on some spices that were not too intense in flavor.

It had to be said, the Mo family's dinner tonight was simply too delicious.

The He family also benefited from the heavy rain today, for the first time enjoying the same treatment as everyone else.

The government clerks didn't have their usual black steamed buns to give them, so they certainly couldn't watch them go hungry, especially since there was so much meat from one wild boar that with so many people it was just enough.

Therefore, Peng Wang closed one eye and let them eat the wild boar meat to their content.

Just as everyone had just finished their meal and was preparing to rest, they faintly heard a commotion in the distance, accompanied by women's crying and children's wailing.

Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran exchanged a glance.

"It should be those villagers." Mo Jiuye said with certainty.

"Yes, the situation below the mountain is probably worse than we imagined." He Zhiran said, voicing her guess.

The crying and footsteps grew closer and closer.

While no one was paying attention, He Zhiran used Taobao Treasure to buy a wooden torch with an ancient style design and handed it lit to Mo Jiuye.

Holding up the torch, Mo Jiuye went to the mouth of the cave.

In the faint firelight he could see a group of people walking up the mountain path towards them.

Hearing that Mo Jiuye had also noticed the sound outside, Peng Wang hurriedly jogged over.

"Brother, I'm afraid the village has already been flooded."

"Fortunately they went up the mountain, casualties shouldn't be too severe." Mo Jiuye said heavily in response.