Li the chief constable finished gnawing the beef bone in his hand, tossed it casually out of the lean-to, and clapped his hands, ready to leave.

Ye Qin stared blankly as the bone traced an arc in the air, landing in the grass several meters ahead of him. He fixed his gaze on that piece of bone, not daring to move. As long as this group of constables didn't leave, he had no intention of showing even a sliver of his face to them.

Otherwise, if just one of those dozen-plus men took a dislike to him and delivered a kick, it would be enough to leave him half-dead. His current weak, small frame couldn't withstand any blow. One kick, and tomorrow he might ache too much to move a single finger. The day after, both he and Da Niu would starve to death in this desolate wilderness due to lack of food.

Half a year of constant wandering had taught him that such risks absolutely could not be taken.

Without Ye Qin restraining him, Cheng Da Niu sobered up a little and poked half his head out from beside the nest of grass. This time, however, he clearly saw a group of constables. Da Niu knew they were trouble and dared not move rashly. He could only sniff desperately at the scent of wine and meat, trying to sate his craving.

Chief Constable Li, having eaten and drunk his fill, didn't say much else, leading the satisfied constables back on their journey. The cost of the wine didn't trouble Chief Constable Li; several younger constables casually tossed some broken silver onto the table.

The constables shouted, drew their sabers, found their path, and resumed tracking the bandits.

The old man running the tavern saw that the silver on the table was barely enough to cover his costs. Fearful, he didn't dare say much, merely cursing his bad luck inwardly while packing up the tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks from the lean-to. The waiter busied himself collecting the leftover wine, meat, and tea, along with the meat bones and scraps of meat on the ground, intending to haul it all back to feed the pigs. In this time of severe drought, grain and meat were scarce; not a single scrap could be wasted, especially for small business owners like them.

Cheng Da Niu watched so intently that he was nearly drooling.

Ye Qin held Da Niu back, preventing him from moving forward. They had been hiding here for nearly half a month and already knew that the old tavern keeper and the waiter were stingy misers who wouldn't spare a drop of wine or a morsel of meat. If the two of them went over now, Ye Qin feared the old man would immediately swing a rotten broom to chase them away.

Fortunately, the waiter was only cleaning inside the lean-to and hadn't ventured into the wild grass outside. All the valuable belongings were loaded onto an ox-cart, and the old man and the waiter drove the cart slowly along the post road toward the distance.

Ye Qin watched the ox-cart move further away. Finally. He scrambled rapidly toward the pile of dead grass. Pushing aside the dry, tangled weeds, he searched for the beef bone discarded by Chief Constable Li.

Soon, Ye Qin found a bone as thick as his forearm, still clinging with shreds of un-gnawed beef, emanating an alluring fragrance. He stuck out his tongue and licked the slivers of meat stuck to the bone.

Cheng Da Niu slowly crawled over too, his face covered in mud, gazing pitifully at the piece of meat bone in Ye Qin's hand.

Ye Qin brought the bone to his lips but hesitated. In his heart, he knew that compared to himself, Da Niu needed this bone more. Da Niu had been very uncomfortable since being injured last night, and today he could barely eat anything, yet he desperately craved meat right now—a good sign. Perhaps eating meat would help his injury heal. In his hometown, hunters who were injured always ate meat to replenish their strength.

Of the companions who set out with him, only he and Da Niu remained. He absolutely would not allow Da Niu to die.

"Here, Da Niu. You were bitten by a wild dog yesterday; this will help restore your strength. I'll see if there's anything else edible left on the ground."

Ye Qin pressed the bone into Cheng Da Niu's hand. After saying this, he moved inside the lean-to, taking advantage of the fading light, and carefully searched every spot inside and out on the ground, occasionally picking up a grain or two of rice from the mud and popping it into his mouth.

Cheng Da Niu took the bone, his eyes growing red, a sharp ache rising in his chest.

"Brother Qin!"

He wiped his reddened nose with a piece of blackened, ragged hemp cloth and began to gnaw silently on the beef bone. This wasn't the first time. Of the four or five companions who had set out to find food, Brother Qin, being the eldest, had looked after them for most of the past six months. But Brother Qin couldn't look after everyone, and in the end, several had died.

Da Niu himself didn't know how many times he had nearly died. Often, he felt like a burden and thought it best to just die. But if he died, only Brother Qin would be left; what would Brother Qin do alone? Brother Qin also refused to let him die. He could only try his best not to become a burden and to make his injuries heal quickly so he could help find food.

That night, the moon hung high.

In the crude bamboo shack, Ye Qin laid down a thin layer of dry grass on the cold, earthen floor. A small hole in the corner of the shack was firmly blocked with a large stone and branches. The old wild dog from last night had squeezed through that small hole and bitten Da Niu. After eating the beef bone, Da Niu’s spirits were much better that night. In the only broken water jar inside the shack, they found a little less than half a bowl of leftover water. Da Niu drank some and was already fast asleep on the grass mat.

Ye Qin lay on the dry grass, resting his small hands behind his head, quietly pondering the words he had overheard from the constables.

"The Gathering Herb Hall in Zhuqi County Town is openly recruiting a batch of herb-gathering boys under the age of twelve!"

Zhuqi County Town—he and Da Niu had visited it two months ago, staying for several days, but couldn't manage to stay and had fled.

This was because the town was occupied by a gang of local beggars who monopolized all the begging spots and places with any scraps, showing intense hostility toward itinerant beggars and driving them away.

That might have been manageable; with more diligence, they could always find half a meal, which was far better than the desolate wilderness.

But what Ye Qin couldn't endure were the thugs and ruffians in the city who tried to use them to steal valuables from wealthy households. Though still young, he knew that if caught stealing, they would inevitably have their hands chopped off by the victims or be whipped bloody. Under duress, he found an opportunity to take Da Niu and quickly escape the county town, coming to this wilderness over ten li away to search for food.

Ye Qin had indeed heard the name Gathering Herb Hall from the townspeople and knew it was a powerful, prominent establishment in the county, but he hadn't paid it much mind.

An established house like the Gathering Herb Hall owned countless estates and land, with servants and disciples swarming the streets; they, as wandering little beggars, would never have any connection with them. Even if they openly recruited herb-gathering boys, it surely wouldn't fall to the likes of the two of them.

Yet, Ye Qin felt a flicker of unwillingness.

Since he had heard this matter from the mouths of the constables, if he didn't try, how could he pretend he never heard about it? If they weren't recruited, it would just be a wasted trip. But if they actually were taken on, they wouldn't have to wander hungry in the wilderness anymore. If he didn't try, he wouldn't even have that tiny chance of being recruited.

Late into the night, restless tossing could occasionally be heard from the bamboo shack.

Hiss! Hiss!

The sound of a wild beast panting came from outside the shack.

That damn old wild dog, the relentless spirit, had returned. The sound of its claws scraping the stone, its angry snarls and strange cries, the sound of it biting branches—it all caused panic in the pitch-black night, always fearing the brute would squeeze in again.

It tormented them for most of the night until, near dawn, the old wild dog finally left, whining reluctantly.

Ye Qin's desire to go to the county town grew even stronger.