When Zhang Xuan finally crossed the German border into Denmark with Hepburn and her mother after countless hardships, bad news arrived: Germany was slaughtering Jews across the European Continent, and Little Mustache's insane policy of racial extermination had finally begun!
"Alex, what do we do now?" Ella held Hepburn as they hid beside a low wall. Her bright eyes cautiously peered outside, while worry filled her soot-stained face.
On the street, squads of German soldiers armed with submachine guns were escorting groups of ragged people—elderly men, women, and children. Their destination was Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. At this time, Auschwitz Concentration Camp's infamous reputation had yet to spread. There was only slight resistance on everyone's faces, not much fear.
They did not know that bloody death awaited them, but Zhang Xuan did. He dearly wanted to save them, but seeing the fully armed German soldiers all over the streets, he could only abandon that unrealistic idea.
Zhang Xuan's expression darkened as his mind raced. This small Danish town was filled with German soldiers, who were arresting people everywhere. It was far too dangerous to remain in town. Although Little Mustache's genocide primarily targeted Jews, in reality, he wanted to exterminate everyone who was not Aryan. If they stayed in town, they might be captured by German soldiers at any moment.
After days of nonstop travel, little Angel Hepburn was already exhausted and had dozed off lightly. The moment they stopped, Hepburn woke up. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she asked in confusion, "Why aren't we going?"
Zhang Xuan gave a bitter smile and said helplessly, "We can't go anywhere right now. We need to find a place to hide!"
"Okay!" In just a few days, Hepburn had become deeply dependent on Zhang Xuan. Whatever he said went; she would not object at all.
There was no way to hide in town. Zhang Xuan led Hepburn and Ella past the German soldiers along the way, escaped the town, and hid in the dense mountains outside it.
Denmark lay in Northern Europe, where the climate was cold. Although it was only September, nighttime temperatures had already dropped below freezing. The mountain forest was swept by biting winds, making it even colder. Even after the three found a cave to shelter in, they still shivered uncontrollably.
When he saw Hepburn sneeze again, her pert little nose frozen blue-purple and running with mucus, Zhang Xuan finally could not bear it any longer. He stood up with a pained expression. "We can't worry about that anymore. We need to start a fire!" At first, Zhang Xuan had refrained from making a fire because he feared the flames would attract German soldiers. But now he had no choice. He could not just watch Hepburn freeze.
"Wait for me," Zhang Xuan instructed before quickly running out of the cave. The moment he emerged, he used Teleportation, reappearing in the small town at the foot of the mountain.
Zhang Xuan had zero wilderness survival experience and did not know how to start a fire by rubbing sticks together, so he could only go into town to "borrow" some fire. It would be even better if he could find some hot food while he was at it. After days of traveling, none of them had eaten a hot meal.
Fortunately, night had only just fallen, and many families had just finished dinner. Zhang Xuan was lucky enough to find quite a bit of food: dark bread covered in a thick layer of butter, open-faced sandwiches with beef and vegetables, and a large platter of roasted pork with red cabbage. After leaving several US dollars behind, Zhang Xuan unceremoniously swept up all the food and took several thick leather coats with him as well.
Upon returning to the cave, Zhang Xuan draped the leather coats over Ella, who was holding the shivering Hepburn. He casually set down the food in his hands. "Eat something first. I'll find some dry firewood and get a fire going."
"Thank you, Alex!" Ella pulled the leather coat tighter around herself and turned to look at Zhang Xuan with gratitude on her face. "If it weren't for you, we would probably..."
"I should be ashamed. If it weren't for me, you and Hepburn would not have suffered like this." Looking at the groggy Hepburn, Zhang Xuan began to doubt whether his trip to Europe had been the right choice.
"If it weren't for you, we would probably have already been sent to a German concentration camp!" Ella was clear-headed and intelligent. Though they had endured hardship along the way, compared to remaining in German occupied territory and facing mortal danger at every moment, this suffering was nothing. Ella was deeply grateful to Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan smiled bitterly and shook his head before turning and running out of the cave. A moment later, he returned with a large bundle of dead branches and rotten wood in his arms.
After the fire was lit, the icy cave finally gained a hint of warmth. Some color returned to Hepburn's little face, and she slowly woke up while rubbing her eyes. "It's so warm!"
"Hepburn, this is for you!" Zhang Xuan pulled an aluminum lunchbox from his coat. When he opened it, it contained a full serving of spaghetti that was still steaming. Zhang Xuan knew that Hepburn especially loved spaghetti. He had searched the small town for a long time before finding this portion in a German officer's kitchen.
At the sight of it, Hepburn immediately jumped out of Ella's arms and eagerly took the lunchbox. She twirled up some spaghetti with her fork and stuffed it into her mouth, caring nothing for ladylike manners. Slurp, slurp—she ate with great delight.
"Audrey, have you forgotten what I taught you?" Seeing Hepburn eat in such an unladylike manner, Ella gave Zhang Xuan an embarrassed glance before putting on a stern face and softly scolding her.
Zhang Xuan smiled faintly and tried to comfort her. "Madam, Hepburn is still a child. You don't need to be so strict with her. Besides, she has truly suffered these past few days. Let it go."
Ella sighed and affectionately stroked Hepburn's soft, smooth hair. It pained her to let Hepburn suffer alongside her. Yet what Hepburn said next gave Ella the feeling that a grown daughter could no longer be kept at home.
Seeing that her mother was not blaming her, Hepburn grinned at Zhang Xuan and said proudly, "Thank you, big brother. Big brother is still the best to me!"
Before long, Hepburn had polished off the entire lunchbox of spaghetti. Wiping the meat sauce from the corner of her mouth, she rubbed her slightly bloated belly with a thoroughly satisfied expression.
After enjoying the meal, the three gradually fell into a deep sleep as they chatted in the warm cave.
The firelight in the mountains soon caught the attention of the German soldiers in the town below. Fortunately, Denmark's nights were simply too cold. Even the disciplined German soldiers were unwilling to come out. They all huddled in warm rooms, intending to go up the mountain to investigate after the sun rose the next day.
Because of the German soldiers' laziness, Zhang Xuan and the other two narrowly escaped disaster.
The next day, when Zhang Xuan woke up and remembered that he had fallen asleep without any guard the previous night, cold sweat broke out all over him. He silently warned himself, I have to be more careful in the future. I was lucky last night that no one came looking. I might not be so lucky next time!
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