Chapter 26: Second Brother, You’ve Been Hiding Your Skills All Along?
Just when everyone was relieved that nothing unexpected had happened during the night, trouble struck.
A sudden scream pierced through the grayish dawn, jolting the exhausted group awake. After a moment of chaos, a woman’s sobbing followed!
“What happened?”
“M-my boy fell down the mountain!”
The woman’s voice was choked with sobs. She was bound with ropes, and her family was behind her. She wanted to leap down without a second thought, but doing so would only drag her family into danger!
She stared desperately and fearfully down the gray mountainside, tears streaming uncontrollably as she pleaded with the soldiers, barely able to form words.
As soon as Wang Ying spoke, the guards’ expressions changed, and the members of the Yu family’s third branch grew increasingly anxious!
“Sir, can you untie me? My child fell down!”
Yu Yongcai, Wang Ying’s husband and the eldest son of Yu Qiang from the third branch, pleaded desperately. The boy who had fallen was their eldest son, Yu Xiaofeng.
To make it easier to descend the mountain, the children hadn’t been tied up. Ten-year-old Yu Xiaofeng had been holding his mother’s hand the whole time.
But just a moment of carelessness was all it took—Yu Xiaofeng stepped on a loose stone and tumbled down the steep slope.
Fortunately, he had let go of his mother’s hand, or else Wang Ying and the others behind her would have been dragged down as well!
In the dim morning light, Yu Xiaofeng disappeared without a sound after falling, leaving the third branch of the Yu family frantic with worry.
“You two, go down and take a look!”
Hearing Yu Yongcai’s plea, Wu Dahai did not agree to untie him but instead pointed to two young and sturdy guards.
“Yes, sir!”
“Everyone, keep moving carefully. Watch your step.”
After the guards went down first, Wu Dahai urged the group to continue cautiously descending.
“Sir, let me go down and take a look. I’ve been carrying my mother this whole time. If I untie myself and use lightness skills, I won’t delay the group.”
Panting heavily, Yu Zhengqing stopped in his tracks, still carrying the elderly Madam Chen on his back.
The descent was far more dangerous than the climb. One misstep could send the entire group rolling down the mountain.
Yesterday, dozens of prisoners were divided into three groups and tied together, including children over ten years old.
But for safety’s sake, Wu Dahai had ordered the group to be split into five smaller teams before descending. Children under twelve and Yu Luo’s family were not tied up like they were yesterday.
Although the mountain path wasn’t particularly steep, it was littered with tree stumps and rocks. With Yu Xiaofeng’s fall and complete silence afterward, the situation seemed dire.
Hearing Yu Zhengqing’s suggestion, Wu Dahai eventually nodded in agreement.
Although he himself knew martial arts, he couldn’t leave the group. The other guards only knew basic combat skills and had no lightness skills.
Especially seeing the two guards he sent down moving cautiously and nervously, Wu Dahai couldn’t bear to watch.
“Fine, I’ll make an exception. You can go down with your lightness skills.”
Then, Wu Dahai turned to Yu Haojie. “I trust you, but I don’t trust him. After all, he once led armies. You go down with him and keep an eye on him. If he tries to escape, don’t expect me to show any special treatment to your wife and child.”
Caught off guard, Yu Haojie was stunned. He didn’t want to get involved in this mess—whether Yu Zhengqing was rebelling or escaping had nothing to do with him!
But unexpectedly, Wu Dahai had gone straight to threats.
“Just go. That family seems really worried. Consider it a good deed. Besides, we’re being exiled; it’s not like we can avoid people forever. I’ve been watching these past two days—the third branch doesn’t get along with the main branch. The enemy of our enemy could be our friend. Making a few connections won’t hurt. And from what I see, the third branch seems decent—friendly and united.”
Ye Jiamai whispered into her husband’s ear, seeing the reluctance on his face.
Yu Luo raised an eyebrow at her mother, inwardly impressed. A woman with workplace experience really did know how to handle interpersonal relationships.
Her mother was right. Humans are social creatures. No matter how many resources they had, they couldn’t just shut themselves off and live as a family of three.
Even if the third branch were mere farmers, as long as they had good character, they could be worth befriending.
“Alright, I’ll go!”
Even without his wife’s reminder, Yu Haojie would have gone. Setting aside all other concerns, Wu Dahai was still the authority here—they were just prisoners with no right to refuse.
Yu Zhengqing’s face twisted with bitterness at Wu Dahai’s blunt words, but he understood it was the harsh reality.
At least using lightness skills would make the descent safer than carrying his mother on the treacherous path.
After being untied, Yu Zhengqing used his lightness skills to descend the mountain with Madam Chen on his back.
He had no real intention of checking on the child who fell. He just wanted to avoid carrying his mother down the mountain.
So, midway down, he didn’t even bother looking for the boy. He dropped Madam Chen at the foot of the mountain and prepared to head back up.
“Mother, there shouldn’t be any wild beasts here. I’ll leave you for now so I don’t have to carry you down the dangerous path. We’ll be down soon.”
“But I’m scared to be alone!”
Seeing her beloved son about to abandon her, Madam Chen clutched his sleeve, unwilling to let go.
“Mother, I’m only human too. Even though I know martial arts, carrying you on flat ground is one thing, but it’s too dangerous on the mountain. You wouldn’t want me to slip and drag you and the others down with me, would you?”
In the end, Madam Chen had no choice but to let go, reluctantly watching her son disappear back up the mountain.
By the time Yu Zhengqing returned, Yu Haojie had already found Yu Xiaofeng, unconscious but alive, about eighty meters down the slope.
“Why are you down here alone? Weren’t there two guards with you?”
Looking at the unconscious Yu Xiaofeng, Yu Zhengqing showed no concern. Even though the boy was a member of the Yu family, he had never interacted with him and felt no kinship whatsoever.
“I move faster than them, so I got here first. They should be down soon.”
As Yu Haojie crouched beside Yu Xiaofeng, checking his vital signs, Yu Zhengqing’s eyes grew darker with suspicion.
“Second Brother, have you been hiding your skills all along?”
