"Looks like this kid's waking up?"
"Water..." Tang Yichen murmured hazily.
"Quick, give him some water."
A waterskin was brought to his lips.
Gulp, gulp...
Tang Yichen drank greedily. This wasn't an act; he really was thirsty.
Only after drinking his fill did he slowly open his eyes, staring at the strangers before him with terror on his little face.
"Who... who are you?!"
The bearded man explained with a smile, "Don't be scared, kid. We're honest merchants. We saw you passed out earlier and stopped to help..."
Tang Yichen played along for a bit, then began thanking them. His well-behaved manner pleased everyone.
"Kid, why were you out in the wilderness alone? Where's your family?"
Faced with their questions, Tang Yichen told the lie he had prepared beforehand. He wasn't just the cleverest child in Empress Village; he was also its best liar.
"My family's all dead. Mutated beasts attacked our village... waaah..."
He suddenly burst into tears, sobbing bitterly.
At first, there was still some acting involved, but once he started crying, he couldn't stop. Images of the frozen Empress Village, his sister, and the captured villagers kept flashing through his mind.
This seven-year-old boy had endured a disaster no child his age should have had to bear.
Now he cried so hard he could barely breathe, as though trying to let out all his hurt and fear.
Seeing how pitiful he was, the bearded man and the others hurried to comfort him.
"You poor child. Do you have any family left? Do you have somewhere to go? If not, why don't you come with us?"
The bearded man's heart softened. He had no children and had been thinking about retiring to the countryside when he happened to meet Tang Yichen. Perhaps, he thought, this was fate's gift