Xiaohei suddenly flapped his wings and flew up, perching on a tree branch. My goodness, it was terrifying. A single eagle like himself couldn’t defeat so many wolves, especially in a place unfavorable for flying.
"Xiaobai." After showing some affection to Xiaobai, Yang Ruxin patted his head, "My mother has been kidnapped, and I’ve come to ask for your help..." Saying this, she took out a piece of Xun Hui’s clothing that had been worn recently and had not yet been washed.
Xiaobai sniffed it, followed by his two underlings who also took a sniff.
"Do you know where she was taken?" Yang Ruxin put the clothing away.
Xiaobai rubbed Yang Ruxin’s hand and then ran off towards the left.
Yang Ruxin hurriedly followed, torch in hand.
The mountains were difficult to traverse. Although Yang Ruxin was quick, she was still flesh and blood and couldn’t compare to the animals of the forest. Therefore, Xiaobai had to stop and go; after all, he hadn’t reached maturity yet, his strength and speed hadn’t peaked. He couldn’t carry Yang Ruxin like his mother could, so he could only lead her by stopping and going.
They didn’t know how far they had traveled, but the sky in the east had begun to lighten. Only then did Xiaobai stop, emitting a few soft whimpers.
Yang Ruxin took a breath, then hurriedly leaned on a large rock. Only then did she realize that in front of her lay a valley, and there were some houses scattered within it, some of which had begun to emit smoke from their chimneys.
This was a village in the mountains.
Xun Hui had been taken to a village in the mountains, and Yang Ruxin knew she had been sold.
Mountain families were poor, and many of them couldn’t afford to marry a wife, so most purchased brides to have children and carry on the family line with a son.
Even for many families, it took all their resources to buy a single bride. What to do? The men in the family shared her; this so-called communal wife practice came about from such circumstances.
Of course, what’s worse is that in some families, it might be grandfathers, fathers, and sons all sharing one woman. Values and morals meant nothing in these places.
That’s why many outsiders looked upon mountain people with horror and disdain.
Because there had been an incident where a woman, sold by her parents into the mountains, managed to escape back. She told of her misfortunes, but society outside did not pity her; instead, they felt she was tainted. In the end, the woman was seized and taken back by the mountain people and died the same day.
Naturally, these stories were all told by Aunt Hehua and the likes, all too real.
However, not all parents were willing to marry off their daughters into the mountains for a mere dowry, so traffickers thought up ways to deceive, kidnap, and trick women into the mountain villages.
Typically, any woman taken into the mountains ended up dead or crippled, although most went insane.
Xun Hui had been taken into the mountains, and even if nothing happened to her, the damage to her reputation was already done. This was why Yang Ruxin didn’t make it public but instead controlled Yang Ruyu in private.
Yang Ruyu was still unconscious in her space, and once Xun Hui was found, she planned to give that wonderful cousin a super-sized gift.
Of course, she also hoped that after this ordeal, Xun Hui might change a bit. She didn’t expect a complete transformation, but even a slight increase in resilience would make Yang Ruxin’s risky venture into the mountains worthwhile.
"Thank you." Yang Ruxin stroked Xiaobai’s head. "I’ll enter the village by myself in a bit; you guys better not come over." Even though it was a mountain village, the inhabitants still had rules. Wild beasts wouldn’t normally visit the village unless there was no other choice or they were truly looking for trouble. It was a basic principle of peaceful coexistence.