Chapter 395 - Settling in the Cave (1/2)

Goudan wandered in the forest for three days, and his mother cried for three days. In the end, the fog in the forest gradually dispersed and he followed the sound of his mother’s cries out!

It wasn’t because of his luck that he was able to come out. Instead, the fog array changed every three days. Even if someone got trapped, there wouldn’t be any great danger and they could naturally come out after three days. Goudan’s incident had a great impact on the villagers of Dongshan Village. They all repeatedly warned their children to stay away from the foggy forest.

Yu Xiaocao looked at him and said with a smile, “Older Brother Goudan, you aren’t frightened by the fog forest, right? Want to have a bet to see who can go in and come out intact?”

Goudan knew that she was teasing him. At that time, when he made the bet, he had nearly buried himself here for the sake of two wheat steamed buns!

Had it been someone else, Goudan would have already started fighting with that person. However, when he looked at Xiaocao’s tender and pretty little face, Goudan blushed and scratched his head, “Younger Sister Xiaocao, don’t make fun of me. When I was younger, I didn’t know how to be afraid and did a lot of ridiculous things. I won’t do it anymore in the future…”

Yu Xiaocao smiled and said, “If I say that I can bring everyone inside safely and provide everyone with a safe place to stay, would you believe me?”

Goudan was mesmerized by her bright smile. ‘Xiaocao is so beautiful. Her skin is even more tender than a peeled egg and her eyes are big and lively, as if they can speak. Her voice is also very nice and sounded even better than the lark that I caught last time.’ Goudan unconsciously nodded and said, “I will believe everything Younger Sister Xiaocao says! Haha!!”

Yu Xiaocao rolled her eyes at the foolish-looking Goudan in her heart. She was only twelve, okay? In her previous life, she would only be a little sixth grader. Who did she offend to have so many rotten peach blossoms [1]?

She ignored Goudan and said to the village head, “Village Head Grandpa, my younger brother and I are very familiar with this forest. We often come here to play when we were younger, and we have never gotten lost. The cave that I mention is at the end of the forest.”

The village head remained silent for a moment, and then confirmed with her again, “There was no fog in the forest before, so it wasn’t easy to get lost. Have you been here after the forest was shrouded by fog? Have you ever been in this mountain forest? It’s not that Village Head Grandpa doesn’t believe you, but this affects our village of more than a hundred people. I must be cautious ah!”

Yu Xiaocao firmly replied, “Rest assured, Village Head Grandpa! I came here ten days ago to catch some little white fish in the valley to make soup for the princess consort. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Her Highness!”

The delicious small white fish could only be found in this valley stream and couldn’t be found anywhere else. After he got Princess Consort Jing’s confirmation, the village head finally agreed to let Xiaoaco take everyone into the fog. Originally, many villagers rejected this idea. Didn’t the imperial bodyguards already say that the Wokou had already withdrawn from the forest? So, why couldn’t they just stay in any random cave? Why must they enter this dangerous fog forest?

Several households didn’t believe Xiaocao’s words. Among them, there was a villager who frequently set traps and hunted in the surrounding forest. He thought that he was very familiar with the surrounding area. The head of those families came to an agreement to work together. After talking with the village head, they took their families and separated from the big group.

That villager had once gone into the mountain and encountered heavy rainfall. At that time, he hid in a cave to avoid the rain. That cave could accommodate at least thirty to forty people. The families had a good relationship, and there was more than enough room for them. However, that cave was somewhat far from here. Fortunately, they should be able to arrive before sunset.

The people who stayed chose to believe in Xiaocao. In actuality, the person who they believed in was the village head. Since the village head trusted in Xiaocao, they didn’t have the courage to doubt her. Thus, they could only follow the majority.

Xiaocao took everyone and stepped into the fog filled forest. The fog didn’t actually exist in her eyes. Therefore, she could clearly see where they needed to turn and the obstacles in their path. The people behind her could only see the back of the people in front of them, and beyond that was completely covered by fog. In order to not make any mistakes, all of the villagers were completely focused on following the person in front. They were afraid that they would get left behind in the forest accidentally.

Soon, Xiaocao stopped in front of a cliff full of green vines. There wasn’t as much fog here. She turned around to check on her family; none of them were missing! Meixiang, who was beside Princess Consort Jing, also did the same and made sure that the people who came with them were all present. The village head told each head of the household to make sure that everyone in their families were present.

Xiaocao gently pushed away the vines that covered the entrance of the cave and revealed a pitch-dark and bottomless hole. The entrance of the cave could only fit a person who was bending down. Thus, Princess Consort Jing got off the sedan with Meixiang’s help. Yu Xiaocao, who had a short stature, got a torch from the basket that her uncle was carrying and lit it up.

Seeing this, Princess Consort Jing hastily told Meixiang, “The entrance of the cave is narrow, so it’s not safe to use a torch. Meixiang, take out the luminous pearl and give it to Xiaocao.”

‘Luminous pearl? Luminous pearls really existed?’ Yu Xiaocao widened her eyes with curiosity. Meixiang carefully took out a circular object wrapped in silk from her small bundle. After she unwrapped it, a white object, similar to a frosted crystal ball, was revealed. She handed the luminous pearl to Xiaocao and said, “Miss Yu, this luminous pearl is the love token that His Imperial Highness gave to Her Highness, so you must be careful and not break it.”

“So talkative!” Princess Consort Jing glared at her, and then said to Xiaocao, “Don’t listen to her. Just take it, and you can keep it if you like it. Anyway, I have a lot of these things at home and will give them to my family’s Little Three!”