Lightning nodded and slithered down from the carriage.
The refugees begging for food, upon seeing a large silver snake appear from nowhere, all screamed and scattered.
“Lightning!” Lu Yun shouted in surprise.
Tian Dou also said joyfully, “Lightning actually followed us!”
“Lightning must not want to leave me!” Lu Yu shouted.
Lightning opened its huge snake mouth, flicking its tongue to drive the people away.
At this moment, Lu Ye yelled, “Lu Tong, hurry up and drive the carriage!”
Lu Tong flicked the reins, and the two horses galloped forward quickly. The three carriages behind them also followed suit.
After scaring away the refugees, Lightning slithered its body to catch up to the carriages.
Yang Ming, driving the last carriage, heard Lu Yun and the other children inside shouting, “Lightning, run faster, come on!”
After leaving the market town, Yang Ming slightly slowed down the carriage. Lightning caught up and slithered into the carriage where Lu Yun and the other children were.
The carriages continued until dusk, when they stopped in a desolate area.
Changzhou was indeed better than Bianzhou. At least here in the wilderness, sparse trees and wilted grass could be seen.
Everyone got out of the carriages. Tong Tie and the four maids went to prepare dinner, while Yang Ming and Wei Han were responsible for keeping watch.
Lu Yun, with the other children hanging their heads, walked up to Bai Sheng.
“Sister-in-law, back in town, I couldn’t control Lu Yu and Tian Ya, and they gave food to a little girl, which attracted those refugees and put everyone in danger. It was my fault,” Lu Yun said, picking at his fingers with a guilty look.
Before Bai Sheng could speak, Lu Yu said, “Sister-in-law, it’s not second brother’s fault, it’s mine. I saw that little girl and her sister were about to starve, so… so I wanted to give them some food.”
“It’s my fault too, Godmother. I was the one who offered to give it. It has nothing to do with Brother Xiao Yun,” Tian Ya said, on the verge of tears.
Tie Zhu and Tian Dou also mumbled, “Madam, we… we almost gave it too.”
Bai Sheng smiled and exchanged a glance with Lu Ye, feeling deeply gratified. Although these little monkeys were usually mischievous, their nature was pure, and they dared to take responsibility when faced with trouble. None of them had gone astray.
She said gently, “Children, remember this: it is never wrong to be a kind person. However, the prerequisite for doing good deeds is to ensure your own safety.
Moreover, you don’t know people’s hearts just by looking at their faces. Today, you trusted that little girl, but she turned around and betrayed you. Therefore, kindness without rational thought can easily bring terrible disaster upon oneself. You must think carefully before acting in the future.
What’s done is done today. You don’t need to blame yourselves excessively. Consider it a valuable lesson learned.”
“I understand, Sister-in-law,” Lu Yun led the response, and the other children echoed him.
Bai Sheng stroked their heads and praised them with a smile, “However, Sister-in-law believes that the best thing you did was to admit your mistakes and bravely take responsibility. You are all good! Sister-in-law is very proud of you!”
The five mischievous monkeys, hearing Bai Sheng’s formal praise, all showed happy yet shy expressions, giggling and narrowing their eyes into ten slits.
“Alright, go play now. You’ve been in the carriage all day, it’s time to move around!” Bai Sheng waved her hand, signaling them to go play on the side.
The five children immediately cheered and ran towards Lightning and Bao Yu, playing with them happily.
Bai Sheng returned to the carriage and sprinkled some rice in the pigeon coop. These two carrier pigeons were given by Prince Yu. One was pure white, and the other was gray.
Bai Sheng was hesitant to put them into her spatial dimension, fearing it might affect their existing vision and senses, thus impacting their homing instinct.
However, she believed that with food from her dimension and spring water, they would likely be willing to stay with her.
After feeding the carrier pigeons, Bai Sheng hid in the carriage to feed the four cubs.
The four cubs now had a much larger appetite. For fairness, Bai Sheng divided their feeding time equally, letting them eat until they were half full before the wet nurses fed them.
After eating and drinking their fill, the four cubs began to sleep soundly.
Seeing them cradled by the wet nurses, Bai Sheng got out of the carriage.
For safety, the four carriages were arranged in a circle, with two lanterns hung on each carriage, providing adequate light.
Bai Sheng excused herself to relieve herself, taking Lightning and Bao Yu to protect her. She walked to a secluded spot where no one was paying attention, and secretly took out several chickens and rabbits with broken necks from her spatial dimension, throwing them in front of the two.
“Eat quickly, and come back as soon as you’re done.”
Lightning and Bao Yu opened their mouths and swallowed one each.
Dinner was ready: rice, corn-braised chicken, and cold cucumber salad.
These cucumbers were “bought” at a high price by Grandpa and Madam when they passed through the county town of Guyang.
Bai Sheng also brought a simple foldable wooden table. Everyone sat around the table and ate with great gusto.
Knowing that Lu Huo had a large appetite, a big pot of rice was cooked. Lu Huo buried her head in the rice basin, devouring it in large mouthfuls.
Wen Zhimò looked at the little big girl’s way of eating with amazement.
He had trained for a long time to build up his muscles, but this little girl was naturally muscular, even stronger than him, without any training.
Wen Zhimò felt that heaven was unfair.
Wei Han was also shocked by Lu Huo’s eating habits. First, what she held in her hand was not a large "bowl" but a ceramic "basin," as big as a foot basin.
Then there was her eating speed. It was faster than if she had her head cut off and just poured the rice down her throat.
Finally, there was her appetite. Wei Han felt like a weakling in front of her.
Where did the sect leader buy such a rice-guzzling girl?
Except for Wen Zhimò and Wei Han, who were occasionally drawn by Lu Huo’s frantic eating, everyone else looked as if they were used to it.
Amidst the sounds of frantic eating, Lu Yun’s somewhat hesitant voice rang out. He looked at Lu Ye and Bai Sheng and said hesitantly, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, today, all along the way, I saw those refugees… I felt so sorry for them. My heart ached… I really wanted to help them, but I don’t know how.
What should I do to ensure that there are no more unfortunate people in this world?”
When Lu Yun finished speaking, everyone was stunned.
After a moment, Wen Zhimò gave him a thumbs-up and praised him loudly, “Brother Xiao Yun, at such a young age, you truly have great vision, great compassion, and great ambition! I, Wen, admire you immensely!”
Wen Zhimò, having transformed into a muscular strongman, now spoke with the tone of one.
Lu Yun smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng exchanged glances, their eyes also showing approval.
Bai Sheng said solemnly, “Xiao Yun, do you think that by giving them all our food and water today, we would be helping them?”
Lu Yun thought for a moment and shook his head, “No. Because after they eat this food and water, they will be hungry again soon, just like today.”
Tian Dou also said, “Moreover, even if we give them food, they might not be able to eat it themselves, as it could be snatched away by stronger people.”
Lu Yu, with his mouth full of food, said, “Even if we save these people, there are still many poor people elsewhere. We can never save them all.”
Tie Zhu shrunk his neck, “If we give them all our food and water, we will starve and die of thirst. If we starve and die of thirst, the four… so adorable little masters will have no one to look after them.”
Xiao Yu thought of her little niece and nephew being left uncared for, and tears welled up in her eyes.