Chapter 90: Chao Chao’s New Friends
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
The carriage hurriedly departed from the capital city.
Inside the carriage, Lu Chao Chao, holding a small milk bottle, was snugly positioned in a corner.
A four-year-old boy, attired in elaborate garments, his eyes brimming with tears, surveyed his surroundings with palpable terror. “They are kidnappers; we’ve been abducted,” he stammered, his voice shaking with evident fear.
Lu Chao Chao turned towards him, her face registering slight surprise. “Little Brother, are you just now realizing this?”
The boy was taken aback. She had known about their situation all along? Observing the young girl, who looked to be barely older than a toddler herself, he sniffed in disbelief. How could someone so young understand such a dire situation? The more he thought about it, the more his fear intensified, and he was unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face.
“There must be someone in the capital who helped them. How could such a large group of people manage to kidnap us without any noise?” he continued, his mind racing with thoughts. “My father and mother must be extremely worried. My grandfather is the prime minister, and our family has been prominent for ten generations. Do you think they will let me go if I tell them this?” His voice conveyed innocence and a lack of exposure to the world’s harsher realities.
Prime minister? This momentarily startled Lu Chao Chao. Her maternal grandfather was the royal tutor, a figure of considerable significance, similar to the prime minister at court before he retired. However, since his retirement, her family’s influence had waned, particularly in comparison to the prime minister’s family, which boasted ten proud generations of serving the courts.
Lu Chao Chao watched as the young boy looked back at her, his eyes blinking with uncertainty. “Then… they might kill you.”
His tears continued to fall unabated.
“What’s your name?” Lu Chao Chao asked, her interest piqued.
Through sobs, he answered, “Wuwuwu, my name is Yuan Man, but you can call me Man Man. Wuwuwu, do you think we can ever escape?”
As the carriage continued its journey, other voices began to emerge from outside.
A girl suddenly awoke in the carriage, her voice filled with alarm, “Where is this? Who are you? Let me go back…” She appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old, one of three women in the carriage, all notably beautiful.
Two of these women were dressed in patched clothing, indicating their impoverished circumstances.
Another girl, though clad as a maid, had a delicate appearance that suggested she came from a wealthy background.
“Where is this? Let me out,” the women pleaded and lamented, the maid-like girl retreating into a corner, cautiously observing her surroundings.
Upon noticing Lu Chao Chao and Yuan Man, she slightly furrowed her brow.
“Why cry? I’m taking you all to the mountains to enjoy good fortune! Once we reach Fufeng Mountain, you’ll have plenty to eat and drink. Consider it your luck. Don’t even think about escaping.” The man who spoke had a menacing demeanor, his stern words silencing everyone in fearful sobs.
The tension was palpable; everyone drew back, their faces marked with terror.
Meanwhile, Lu Chao Chao… crawled to the window, extending her small hand holding the empty milk bottle: “Milk!”
The man with a scarred face stared at her, pondering for a moment.
“Wah! One year old, milk!” she pointed at herself, clearly indicating that she was merely a baby; after all, what else was she supposed to consume?
The man reluctantly took the milk bottle, grumbling as he walked away, “Next time, don’t kidnap such a small child, having to fetch milk on the road!”
A woman whispered, “She’s pretty, could be sold as a child bride.”
“Getting milk is alright, at least she doesn’t cry. Seems her mind isn’t fully there, just sits there and giggles stupidly…” The two continued muttering as they passed through the next town and fetched another bottle of milk for Lu Chao Chao.
Unperturbed, Lu Chao Chao clutched the bottle and drank eagerly. While others cried and wailed, she contentedly drank. She pinched her waist, patted her belly, noticing her clothes had become smaller.
Deep into the night, they were ushered out of the carriage at the foot of the mountain. Only then did they notice that the carriage had been followed by four or five men armed with knives.
“Up the mountain, quick, now,” the men urged, their expressions tense. “You’ve been away from the capital for half a day, and the city gates are locked. Lucky we left quickly. Who knows what’s happened back in the city; a full-scale search was underway before we left.” The men were visibly shaken.
“Please, let me go, if you want money, let my family gather it, please?” a woman pleaded on her knees, tears streaming continuously.
In the darkness, the sheer cliffs loomed ominously, seemingly easy to descend but perilous to ascend.
A few men sneered, “Gather money? We brothers don’t need money. If we did, we’d simply rob. What we lack are people. Quick, up the mountain! No more words, or we’ll chop off your hands and feet, throw you up there to feed the black bears. Here in Fufeng Mountain, what we have in abundance are black bears.” The man with the scarred face announced, causing everyone to freeze in fear.
The women sobbed and stumbled forward, Yuan Man trailing behind, his feet slightly bloodied by thorns on the ground.
Lu Chao Chao reached her hands toward the scarred-faced man, causing him to look at her blankly for a moment before recovering. “Carry.” She mumbled with a pout.
She pointed at the bushes, then at herself, barely taller than the grass. He couldn’t expect her to climb up, right? She was still a baby, after all.
“Carry her, she can’t walk,” a woman suggested with a glance. “Bring that boy too, to save time. The head of the village is returning to the camp today; let’s make him happy,” she continued.
Another man lifted the boy Yuan Man, and everyone marched up the rugged mountain path. During the ascent, the women cried almost continuously out of fear and at the occasional wolf howls.
“Why are there so many birds tonight?” a woman waved her hand at the constant bird encounters, her head swarming with thoughts.
“Friend, my friend…” Lu Chao Chao pointed at the small birds while imitating a bird call.
“I’m talking to them…”
“I’ve made new friends again…”
“Awooo awoo…” she howled softly, her voice milky and somewhat adorable.
But no one took her seriously.
A one-year-old child babbling nonsense, isn’t that normal?
Little did they know… On the other side of the mountain, a responding howl came, each one more urgent than the last, seemingly gathering more and more.
Everyone’s expressions suddenly changed.
“Quick, quick, there’s a wolf pack! Hurry, move!”
“If you don’t want to walk, feed yourself to the wolves!” With these words, even the reluctant women quickened their pace.
Lu Chao Chao lay on the man’s back: “Awooo awoo… Awooo awoo…
“Why is this wolf pack so relentless? Bad luck to run into a wolf pack!” The man carrying Chao Chao complained with sweat on his forehead.
“This little one keeps howling, you’d think she called them here!” The woman, sweating profusely, kept looking back to determine the position of the wolf pack by the sounds.
“Just a child making noise, ignore her, as long as she’s not crying.” Everyone ignored her after another said.
Lu Chao Chao clapped her little hands, her face excited, eyes sparkling. [I’ve made new friends! They’re so welcoming; it’s like they’re here to greet me. They are such enthusiastic buddies. It’s really fun, Fufeng Mountain is really fun. I’ll definitely make friends with everyone!]
Yuan Man glanced at her, then at the relentlessly pursuing wolf pack. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the howling of the wolves was somehow responding to her, almost deliberately!
Lu Chao Chao isn’t in danger, SHE IS THE DANGER!! xD