Chapter 19: Chapter 19: The Vanishing Hunter

However, when introducing herself, Bai Junjun concealed the past glory of the Shi clans.

She simply said her surname was Bai, and that her parents and relatives had all died on the road fleeing the famine, leaving only the trio of siblings to rely on each other for survival.

Sasa had already spoken of this that morning, but hearing it again, one couldn't help but feel pained for these children.

After all, they were even younger than the youngest in her family. At such a tender age to lose their parents' protection and seeing them in tattered clothes, one could hardly imagine the hardships they had faced along the way.

Although Old Uncle Qiu's family was stricken with poverty, they were already much more fortunate compared to Bai Junjun and her siblings.

Especially Xiao Shan, his grandson, who on the road to refuge would sometimes dash forward and at other times would climb onto the cart to urge his second and third uncles to move faster. The eldest's wife, unable to take the chaos, had grabbed his waistband and spanked him several times to put a stop to it.

Throughout the half-day's walk, Xiao Shan, with his own efforts, turned the escape from famine into something resembling a spring outing.

However, Bai Junjun knew that this was not a good sign.

She was clearer than anyone about how harrowing the outside world could be.

Although they had temporarily avoided the large refugee group, many smaller groups still scattered in the mountains and wilds were lying in wait to ambush those fleeing from the city.

And though Old Uncle Qiu's family was agile, they were so carelessly unprotected that one might fear they would all meet their end before long.

Bai Junjun felt it was necessary to warn them to avoid capsizing out of negligence.

So Bai Junjun shared the stories of refugee groups exchanging children for food outside the city suburbs.

Not only Old Uncle Qiu but also Qiu Er and Qiu San were deeply shocked upon hearing this, their beliefs overturned.

"I've heard about the refugees, and it's said that not even a tiger would eat its cubs. I never thought the plight of the refugees would be much more terrifying than the rumors."

"The price of war, the living are smeared with charcoal, and that's all there is to it," Bai Junjun commented calmly.

Old Uncle Qiu, moved by the conversation, sighed helplessly.

"I'm not going to lie, we were forced to come down the mountain because we had no other way to survive."

...

Hunter Village, well-known for its hunters who were extremely nimble and skilled at hunting, had a dilemma on their hands.

For as long as they could remember, the villagers had lived by the mountain and hunted for their livelihood.

Only occasionally would they trade animal hides at the foot of the mountain to get essentials for day-to-day living.

But a month ago, all the hunters who went down the mountain never returned. The village sensed something was wrong and continuously sent their able-bodied men to search, but more eerily, everyone who went down the mountain disappeared.

They were all expert hunters, not the type to be taken down without a trace.

But that was exactly what happened; they vanished silently.

People in the Hunter Village became very anxious.

Eventually, a few brave wives went down the mountain in search of their husbands.

This time, they reached the city quite smoothly and, after much inquiring, learned that the Fifth Prince was gearing up for war with the neighboring Ninth Prince, and conscription was ongoing everywhere.

The men of the Hunter Village had barely appeared in the streets when they were detained and taken away by the government officials.

These days, they were desperately seeking strong men to recruit into the army, so when the men from the Hunter Village emerged one after another, the drafting officials were overjoyed.

The hunter's wives who finally learned the whereabouts of their husbands were shocked. Feeling completely out of their depth, they asked people around them, "My family has only one man; what do we do without him?"

"We paid the service exemption money this year already, didn't we?"

Hunting was an extremely tough livelihood. To hunt, people often lived in the mountains and forests, enduring harsh conditions, and were frequently attacked by poisonous snakes and fierce beasts. The hunters had many health issues and their numbers were never abundant.

Therefore, whether it was military or corvée labor, they could never spare men for service and had to pay service exemption money to be excused from corvée labor.

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