Chapter 88: The Painful Reality
“Then bring them along, but you’ll have to tie their hands. Are you willing to accept that? Also, we’re heading to the wilderness. Are you sure you want to follow us?”
Yu Zhengqing suddenly changed his mind and directly asked the two women. To his surprise, they didn’t hesitate at all and quickly nodded in agreement!
“Yes, we’re willing! Following you, even to the wilderness, we might still survive. But if we fall into the hands of other bandits, our lives would be at risk.”
Recalling the horrific days they had endured—being violated by over a dozen men each day—the two women had no reason to refuse.
“Why bring them along? They’re just two women—they’ll only slow us down!”
Chang Huilan and Lady Lan were already displeased. Unexpectedly, at the entrance of the cliff, Old Lady Chen suddenly spoke up in dissatisfaction.
“If we let them go, they might run to other bandit gangs and trade information about our route for protection. It would be better to keep them with us.”
Yu Zhengqing, as expected, thought further than most.
Just as everyone was admiring his foresight, Old Lady Chen added, “In that case, why not just kill them and save the trouble?”
Hearing this, the two women’s faces turned deathly pale again!
Everyone instinctively looked at Old Lady Chen, their eyes betraying a newfound wariness toward her ruthless nature.
“Why are you all looking at me like that? I’m just stating the facts! We’ve already killed the bandits; killing these two potential threats wouldn’t make a difference!”
“No, please don’t kill us! We’re just two women trying to survive. We don’t want to go back to the bandits—please, we beg you!”
Seeing the varied expressions around them and Yu Zhengqing’s silence as if he was considering Old Lady Chen’s suggestion, the two women were terrified. They immediately kowtowed desperately, pleading for their lives.
“I can kill men, but I’ve never stained my hands with women’s blood—except in battle.”
After saying this, Yu Zhengqing turned to Yu Xiaoran.
“Find some rope and tie their hands. We’ll untie them once we’re out of this mountain range.”
“Yes!”
As Yu Xiaoran went to fetch the rope, everyone else finished gathering the pots, bowls, and other supplies from the cave. To their delight, they also found a few more sacks of white rice and flour.
After packing everything onto the horses, the group lit torches and began their descent down the mountain.
Upon reaching a flat area, Yu Zhengqing looked up at the night sky, roughly estimating the time and direction.
“Let’s move a bit further. Later, Xiaoran and Zhang Yuan, we’ll go back to see if the tents are still there.”
“Zhengqing…”
The thought of her son leaving made Old Lady Chen anxious. Even though they were surrounded by people, only Yu Zhengqing could give her a sense of security.
Especially after Yu Luo had shot her with an arrow earlier, Old Lady Chen had wanted to make a big deal out of it, but her son hadn’t pursued the matter. That didn’t mean she wasn’t wary of Yu Luo’s family.
Now, if even Yu Zhengqing left, she was sure Yu Luo’s family would shoot a few more arrows at her—perhaps even kill her!
Hearing Old Lady Chen’s pitiful plea, Yu Zhengqing took a deep breath, turning back with a stern expression.
“Mother, Father’s whereabouts are unknown. I have to go.”
At this, Old Lady Chen was left speechless. If she told him not to go, it would imply she didn’t care if Old Man Yu was dead or alive.
“Husband, go ahead. We’ll take good care of Mother.”
Seeing Yu Zhengqing’s blood-covered face, Chang Huilan’s heart ached. Not wanting Old Lady Chen to burden her husband, she spoke with gentle understanding.
Yu Zhengqing nodded and continued to lead the way.
Meanwhile, Old Lady Chen secretly cursed Chang Huilan as a foolish woman who didn’t know her place. She swore that if they ever returned to the capital, the first thing she’d do was make Yu Zhengqing divorce that stupid wife!
After moving away from the bandit’s cave and walking for nearly half an hour, Yu Zhengqing spotted a dried-up stream with relatively flat surroundings and decided they should rest there. He, Zhang Yuan, and Yu Xiaoran then headed back towards the area they had previously camped at.
When the three of them finally reached the vicinity of the pond, they found the three tents still there—but there was no sign of Old Man Yu anywhere.
“How can this be? This doesn’t make sense!”
Yu Xiaoran’s eyes turned red as he frantically searched the area. But after combing through the surrounding forest, they found no trace of Yu Laotou—no body, no blood, not even evidence of wild animals.
He wanted to say that even if the bandits had killed him, there should at least be a body. But not a single drop of blood was found, making it impossible that wild animals had taken him. However, he dared not voice his suspicions, especially seeing the equally frantic and red-eyed look in his father’s eyes.
“Keep searching!”
This was his father—whether alive or dead, Yu Zhengqing needed to find him. His fists clenched tightly as he held the torch, expanding the search area further.
Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan, who had already packed up the three tents, couldn’t help but sigh as he watched the father and son stubbornly continue their search.
Another half hour passed with no results. Growing impatient, Zhang Yuan finally spoke up.
“Your Highness, we’ve searched everywhere with no trace—no blood, no body, nothing. We should go back. Don’t forget, your mother, wife, and children are still waiting for us, as well as my family. I can’t leave them for too long.”
Zhang Yuan’s words were blunt but true, forcing Yu Zhengqing to face the reality of their situation.
Hearing this, both father and son clenched their fists, their faces dark with grief.
After a long silence, just as Zhang Yuan was about to lose his patience, Yu Zhengqing suddenly dropped to his knees, bowing heavily three times towards the darkness.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaoran couldn’t hold back his tears any longer. He knelt behind his father, following suit with three deep bows.
The two men said nothing, but Zhang Yuan understood—they had accepted the bitter reality that Old Man Yu was dead.
It was a painful truth, but one they had no choice but to face.
The return journey was much quicker since the three of them could use lightness skills and had memorized the path.
From a distance, they saw faint smoke rising in the dawn sky.
When the three returned with only the three tents and without Old Man Yu, Chang Huilan and Lady Lan’s faces immediately changed.
“Where’s Grandfather? Father, didn’t you go to find him?”
Though they already understood the answer, Yu Yingying—the simpleton—still blurted out the question. Even though her concern was genuine, Yu Zhengqing only glanced at her coldly without a word, before sitting down by the fire and burying his face in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
