Until the Xiongnu finally left, Samuel Harris still didn’t dare to move. The pounding hooves that had just loomed ever larger before his eyes were almost suffocating. Fortunately, the spot where the hoof landed was just a little distance from Samuel Harris’s head—otherwise, the ground would now be splattered with red and white from a shattered skull. Even so, Samuel Harris’s face, shielded only by dry grass, was stung painfully by the sand kicked up.

About five minutes later, the world returned to silence. Samuel Harris hunched his body and sat up in a squat, then crawled up from the ground using both hands and feet. He made his way to where Matthew Cooper and the others were hiding, found the spot, and dug fiercely at the yellow sand. Soon, his fingers touched burlap; he quickly plunged his hands into the sand pile and pulled the person out entirely...

Except for John Morgan, the ones Samuel Harris dug out from the sand—Matthew Cooper and George Baker—had both already lost consciousness. When it came time to dig out David Clark, Samuel Harris’s hand felt a damp sensation in the sand, which startled him. What he unearthed was a corpse: David Clark’s back was caved in, blood poured from his mouth and nose, and there was no sand in his nasal cavity, indicating he had died during the trampling. His half-open eyes were filled with sand.

John Morgan gulped in air, breathing heavily. The moment Samuel Harris dug him out of the sand, he was about to burst into tears, but Samuel Harris quickly covered his mouth—who knew what might have happened otherwise. Once John Morgan calmed down, he saw Samuel Harris unearth David Clark’s corpse. Having escaped death, he couldn’t help but exhale a heavy breath. He was secretly glad to be alive, and even felt happy about David Clark’s death—one less burden. But when he saw Matthew Cooper and George Baker lying motionless on the ground, his relief vanished.

Samuel Harris reburied David Clark’s body in the yellow sand. He looked sadly at a pendant he had untied from David Clark’s neck—a small stone tied with hemp rope. In his memory, David Clark had desperately wanted to live, but in the end, he still died.

He couldn’t help but think, “If those dozen or so people hadn’t drawn the Xiongnu’s attention, wouldn’t we all be dead by now?” To him, this kind of disguise was simply terrible.

Chapter Five: Selfish Desires

Samuel Harris went over to John Morgan and asked in a low voice, “What should we do now?”

Actually, he didn’t like John Morgan very much; he always felt there was something gloomy about John Morgan’s gaze. But now, John Morgan was the only one awake and able to talk. Samuel Harris was unfamiliar with this place and couldn’t make the right decisions on his own.

“Abandon the unconscious Matthew Cooper and George Baker, and let’s keep fleeing northeast. Once we reach the Zangshui River near Dai Commandery, we’ll be safe,” John Morgan suggested without hesitation.

Samuel Harris didn’t answer right away. He needed to clean his wounds first. The cut on his left rib was full of sand and kept throbbing with pain. If he didn’t clean it soon, it would definitely get worse. He took a small first-aid kit from his front pocket, pulled out a roll of gauze and placed it on his thigh, took off his shirt, felt around to examine the wound, then unfastened the canteen from his belt and, gritting his teeth, began to wash the wound...

In the darkness, John Morgan had no idea what Samuel Harris was doing. When he heard the sound of water, he thought Samuel Harris was drinking and couldn’t help swallowing, but then realized that wasn’t the case. “How can you waste such precious water like that!”

Samuel Harris still didn’t answer. He muttered to himself, “No light to use disinfectant, I just hope the wound doesn’t fester.” But he didn’t think the odds were good. With the current conditions, he couldn’t fully clean the sand from the wound, and in this heat, an unsterilized wound was bound to fester sooner or later.

He brought the canteen to his lips and took a few sips, then handed it to the still-complaining John Morgan. “You’re right, the best plan is to abandon them and escape alone. But I can’t do it. Since they entrusted their lives to me, I have a responsibility to get them to safety. After that... it’s out of my hands.”

“Such foolish compassion!” John Morgan didn’t return the canteen to Samuel Harris, but gripped it tightly. Living on the frontier, everyone knew how precious water was. “So what do you suggest? The Xiongnu will surely come back this way soon. Are we just going to wait here to die?”

Samuel Harris hesitated for a moment, still unwilling to abandon the unconscious Matthew Cooper. Since arriving here, aside from the old man, Matthew Cooper had spoken to him the most. Trying to survive in a completely unfamiliar environment was impossible without companions. Among this group, John Morgan was self-serving and gloomy—not a good partner. Samuel Harris didn’t know George Baker well, and only Matthew Cooper’s straightforward nature made him the ideal companion.

“If you want to go alone, fine, but you have to leave the water!” Samuel Harris said firmly. He knew, of course, that they couldn’t stay here for long.

“You!” John Morgan instinctively clutched the canteen tighter, thinking of what to say, but before he could react, he was tackled to the ground. He felt a sharp pain in his wrist as the canteen was snatched away, and in the darkness, a pair of piercing eyes stared at him. “What are you doing!?”

“Nothing.” Samuel Harris said as he crawled over to Matthew Cooper, checked Matthew Cooper’s breathing and found it very weak. He wanted to pull out the arrow still lodged in the left arm, but without enough light, he had to give up. “Either carry George Baker and escape together, or go by yourself.” As he spoke, he had already lifted Matthew Cooper into his arms, ready to leave as soon as John Morgan made his choice.