Aunt Cuihua's panicked shouts were like cold water thrown into a sizzling oil pan, instantly making the two people inside the dilapidated house tense up.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Xuan Mo quickly exchanged a look, seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes. Xuan Mo immediately contained his aura, resuming his appearance of being severely injured and weak, while Lin Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, suppressed the unease in her heart, and quickly walked to the door.
As soon as the door opened, she saw Aunt Cuihua's face was pale, sweat beading on her forehead. She grabbed Lin Xiaoxiao's wrist, her voice urgent and flustered: "Xiaotou! This is bad! The village head sent me to tell you quickly, the officials demanding labor conscription have arrived in the village early. They're taking names and ordering all the men to gather at the village entrance. You, your cousin…"
Lin Xiaoxiao's heart sank. Early?
Wasn't it supposed to be ten days?
"How could it be early?" Her voice tightened.
"They say there's been heavy rain upstream, and they fear flooding, so the government is pushing them!" Aunt Cuihua stomped her foot. "What do we do now? With your cousin like that, isn't sending him there like sending him to his death?"
Just then, the village head, Liu Daniu, also walked over with a grim expression. He glanced in the direction of the house and said to Lin Xiaoxiao in a low voice: "The officials are at the village entrance, there's no hiding it. I'll try my best to negotiate for you, saying your cousin is gravely ill. The officials reluctantly agreed to a three-day grace period."
"Three days?!" Lin Xiaoxiao cried out in disbelief, her face instantly turning pale. Ten days reduced to three – this was like a bolt from the blue!
Liu Daniu frowned, his tone undeniably stern: "Only three days! After three days, even if he has to crawl, he must crawl to the village entrance to be counted! Otherwise, it's considered evading labor conscription, and that means jail! And I, as the village head, will also be implicated!"
He paused, his sharp gaze sweeping over Lin Xiaoxiao: "Girl, I know it's hard for you, but rules are rules. After three days, I'll come to take him!" With that, he said no more and turned to leave hastily, clearly needing to notify other families.
Aunt Cuihua gave Lin Xiaoxiao a sympathetic look and also sighed before following him.
In front of the dilapidated house, only Lin Xiaoxiao was left standing in the bleak autumn wind, feeling ice-cold all over.
Lin Xiaoxiao numbly returned to the house and closed the door. Leaning against the door, she slid to the floor, the immense pressure almost crushing her.
"Three days…" she murmured, her eyes vacant.
"Three days is enough," came Xuan Mo's calm, almost cold voice from the heated brick bed.
Lin Xiaoxiao's head shot up to look at him. "Enough? Your injuries…"
"I won't die," Xuan Mo interrupted her. His deep eyes showed no panic, only rock-solid composure and a hint of the decisiveness of someone accustomed to handling crises. "The plan must be advanced. That mountain bandit is the key."
His words were like a splash of cold water, waking Lin Xiaoxiao from her panic. Yes, now was not the time to fall apart!
She immediately forced herself to calm down, her mind racing: "That's right! We must immediately launch the 'reverse recruitment' plan! Two prongs approach – on your end, maximum recovery; on his end, we must persuade him within two days!"
She stood up abruptly, regaining the resolute state of a top student of Agricultural University facing a deadline. She strode to the edge of the bed and looked at Xuan Mo, speaking rapidly:
"**Your KPI has been upgraded:** Within one day, your wounds must stop bleeding and you must be able to sit up on your own. Within two days, you must be able to stand with the aid of a tool. Within three days, you must complete basic walking camouflage! Diet, medication, and training, intensity doubled!"
Xuan Mo watched her instantly enter her zone, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly, a silent acknowledgment.
"**My mission:** Go back up the mountain immediately to deal with that mountain bandit! At the same time, find more food and materials to make splints for your leg injury!" Lin Xiaoxiao grabbed the broken sickle and the last of the wild vegetable dumplings that could serve as a "gift," her eyes shining as if she were heading into battle.
By the time Lin Xiaoxiao arrived outside the mountain cave again, it was already afternoon. She cautiously did not approach immediately but hid in the bamboo forest to observe.
Heavy panting sounds came from inside the cave. The man was awake!
He was struggling to sit up. The injury to his leg made his movements difficult, and cold sweat covered his forehead. Seeing the water skin and wild chicken eggshells by his hand, his eyes were filled with vigilance and confusion.
After confirming there was no danger around, Lin Xiaoxiao deliberately made some noise with her footsteps and walked over.
"You're awake?" she said, standing in the well-lit entrance of the cave so her face was clearly visible, her tone calm.
The man suddenly looked up, his eyes fierce like a wounded trapped beast. He instinctively reached for the woodcutter's ax beside him: "Who are you?! Did you save me?"
"Just passing by. Saw you weren't dead, so I lent a hand," Lin Xiaoxiao said concisely, throwing the wild vegetable dumplings in her hand to him. "Eat some if you can, to regain your strength."
The man eyed her warily, then looked at the dumplings. Ultimately, unable to resist hunger, he grabbed them and wolfed them down.
After he finished eating, Lin Xiaoxiao spoke, cutting straight to the chase: "Are you from Black Wind Stronghold?" She had dealt with mountain bandits before and remembered the name.
The man's body stiffened, and his eyes instantly became extremely dangerous as he gripped the woodcutter's ax: "Who exactly are you?!"
"The one who saved your life, and also the one who can give you a way out," Lin Xiaoxiao met his gaze without fear, her voice steady. "Black Wind Stronghold fell a few days ago, didn't you know? Your second-in-command fled with the remnants, nobody knows where. If you go back now, you'll be a lone ghost, or captured by the government as a rebel."
All of this was Lin Xiaoxiao's deduction based on her previous encounters and Aunt Cuihua's gossip, but judging by the man's reaction, she had guessed correctly!
The man's expression flickered, and he finally dejectedly put down the woodcutter's ax, saying hoarsely: "…My name is Tie Zhu. You spoke of… a way out?"
"Work for me," Lin Xiaoxiao stared at him. "I need people to clear land and farm. Food and lodging will be provided. Once your injury heals, you'll be credited with work points… that is, merit, and later rations and money will be distributed according to merit. But the premise is, you have to obey me and follow my rules."
She employed a mix of kindness and authority: "Since I could save you, I can also make you disappear without a trace. The choice is yours."
Tie Zhu looked at this thin but imposing young girl, then at his bandaged wound and the remaining dumplings. He was silent for a long time. He had nowhere else to go, was severely injured, and seemed to have no other choice.
"…Alright!" he exhaled heavily. "My life, Tie Zhu, was saved by you. I'll work for you from now on!"
Having initially secured Tie Zhu, Lin Xiaoxiao breathed a slight sigh of relief. After leaving some herbs and the task of finding splint materials, she hurried down the mountain.
She had to race against time.
However, as she returned to the vicinity of the dilapidated house, dragging herself with weariness but also a hint of excitement, she faintly heard Xuan Mo's voice from inside, suppressed with anger, cold to the extreme:
"…They dare to use the 'Shadow Guards'? It seems they are convinced This King is doomed!"
This King?
Shadow Guards?
Lin Xiaoxiao's footsteps instantly froze, her blood seeming to congeal at that moment.
Who… exactly… was Xuan Mo?!
**Chapter 9 (End)**