At this point, Zhao Tieniu looked worse than a stray dog.
His guard uniform had been reduced to tattered strips.
Not a patch of exposed skin remained intact.
Every inch of his body was covered in bloody gouges carved by his own fingernails, dark blood oozing from the wounds.
Yet he seemed incapable of feeling pain.
Or perhaps the bone-deep itch tormenting him had long since drowned out every other sensation.
“Goddess… merciful savior…”
Like a rotting worm, Zhao Tieniu dragged himself through the cold mud.
A long trail of blood followed behind him as he crawled to the edge of the rise.
His eyes were locked on Sang Wanwan.
More precisely…
They were locked on the bubbling black clay pot in front of her.
The rich aroma of braised pork and caramelized sauce was like a hooked brush scraping through his very soul.
“I was wrong…”
“I really was wrong…”
He slammed his blood-covered forehead against a sharp rock.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Within moments, his forehead split open.
Blood streamed down his face.
“Please…”
“Please show mercy and give me the antidote!”
“Just one bite of meat!”
“One bite!”
“I’ll do anything!”
The vicious guard captain who had brandished a barbed whip earlier that day and threatened to make Sang Wanwan suffer a fate worse than death…
Was now crying like a child.
Pathetic.
Broken.
Reduced to dust.
Cold wind howled across the rise.
Sang Wanwan didn’t even glance at him.
It was as though the bloody figure groveling at her feet didn’t exist.
Calmly, she picked up a piece of perfectly braised pork belly with her chopsticks.
The glossy red sauce shimmered beautifully in the firelight.
She blew gently on the steaming morsel.
“Ahhh—”
Zongzheng Zhan obediently opened his mouth wide like a baby bird waiting to be fed.
His clear peach-blossom eyes were filled with nothing but anticipation for food and complete trust in Sang Wanwan.
She placed the piece of braised pork into his mouth.
“Chew slowly. Don’t burn yourself.”
“Mmm!”
“It’s delicious!”
“So delicious!”
He happily chewed away, his words coming out muffled.
His eyes curved into crescents of pure satisfaction.
The warm and harmonious scene above…
And the miserable begging below…
Created a contrast so sharp it bordered on cruelty.
Nearby, among the rocks, Dowager Consort Shen and the old nannies stared at Zongzheng Zhan with bloodshot eyes.
Their stomachs churned from hunger.
Saliva pooled endlessly in their mouths.
“That cursed woman…”
“She was hiding food like this all along!”
“She’d rather feed a fool than share with her elders!”
“Utterly unfilial!”
Dowager Consort Shen gritted her teeth and cursed under her breath.
Of course, she only dared curse silently.
One glance at Zhao Tieniu’s miserable state was enough to remind her not to push her luck.
Even if she had ten extra lives, she wouldn’t dare throw her weight around anymore.
Just as Zhao Tieniu was reaching the point where he was ready to bite off his own tongue rather than endure the torment any longer—
Sang Wanwan finally stopped feeding Zongzheng Zhan.
She took out a clean handkerchief and carefully wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth.
Only then did she slowly turn her gaze downward.
Her eyes were cold.
Indifferent.
As though she were looking at a pile of garbage.
“Want to live?”
Her calm voice cut through the night wind.
“Yes!”
“YES!”
Zhao Tieniu nodded so hard his neck nearly snapped.
It was the last lifeline he had left.
A playful smile appeared on Sang Wanwan’s lips.
Her sleeve shifted slightly.
A small black pill appeared between her fingers.
Then she picked up a soft white steamed bun.
Right in front of Zhao Tieniu, she pressed it deep into the rich braised pork sauce.
The bun immediately soaked up the thick red broth.
A devastating fragrance of meat, fat, and carbohydrates filled the air.
Zhao Tieniu’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
His throat bobbed frantically.
Drool dripped from his mouth and splattered into the dirt.
“You want the antidote.”
“You want food.”
“That’s fine.”
She casually twirled the sauce-soaked bun between her fingers.
Her tone was lazy.
Yet impossible to disobey.
“I’m a reasonable person.”
“I believe in equal exchange.”
“From this moment forward…”
“This exile convoy answers to me.”
Her gaze pierced straight through him.
“My word is law.”
“If I tell you to go east, you will not go west.”
“If I tell you to beat a dog, then even if you only see a chicken, you’d better break its legs before chasing it away.”
“If you’re going to be my dog…”
“Then learn how a dog behaves.”
With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the black pill and the sauce-soaked bun onto the ground in front of him.
The bun rolled through dirt and grass.
To Zhao Tieniu, however…
It looked like food from the heavens.
“Agree, and eat them.”
“Refuse, and keep scratching your bones for entertainment.”
Zhao Tieniu didn’t hesitate for even half a second.
Like a starving mad dog, he lunged forward.
Grabbing both the pill and bun, he shoved everything into his mouth.
He didn’t even bother chewing.
Tilting back his head, he forced it all down.
The bun lodged briefly in his throat, nearly choking him.
His eyes rolled back.
Still, he swallowed desperately.
The instant the pill entered his stomach—
A cool sensation spread throughout his body.
The horrifying itch that had tormented him for hours retreated like a receding tide.
Gone.
Just like that.
The wounds still hurt.
But compared to the torture he’d endured before…
This felt like paradise.
Most importantly, the bun soaked with braised pork sauce settled the violent cramps in his stomach.
He was alive.
Actually alive.
Zhao Tieniu had clawed his way back from the gates of hell.
Suddenly, he flipped over and dropped to his knees.
Ignoring the blood streaming from his forehead, he slammed his head against the ground three times.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The force shook the earth beneath him.
“Lady Master!”
His hoarse voice exploded into the night.
“From this day forward, you’re my ancestor!”
“You point, I hit!”
“Anyone who dares upset you, I’ll chop them in half myself!”
His shout echoed across the wilderness.
The remaining guards stared in stunned disbelief.
They looked at one another.
Every face carried the same expression.
Shock.
Their Master.
The man who had bullied and extorted everyone for years.
Had just knelt down and called someone his ancestor.
But very quickly, reality won.
Hunger.
Fear.
And Sang Wanwan’s terrifying methods crushed whatever pride they had left.
If even their captain had surrendered…
What exactly were they holding out for?
Continue resisting?
Forget meat.
Soon they wouldn’t even have moldy buns.
The guards exchanged glances.
Then, as if rehearsed beforehand, they threw down their sabers and batons.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
More than a dozen grown men dropped to their knees.
“We’re willing to follow Lady Master!”
“Lady Master forever!”
“Unify the martial world!”
In their desperation for food, they even started shouting ridiculous lines stolen from opera plays.
Looking at the sea of kneeling guards below, Sang Wanwan nodded in satisfaction.
Excellent.
Her free armed security force had officially been acquired.
With a casual motion, she pulled out a coarse burlap sack from her space.
Inside were dozens of cold mixed-grain buns.
These were the leftovers she’d collected from the lowest servants’ kitchen in the Marquis Zhen Guo’s Manor.
“Catch.”
She tossed the sack down.
It landed right in front of Zhao Tieniu.
“Perform well and there’ll be meat in your future.”
“Perform poorly…”
“This will be your last meal.”
The guards nearly cried with joy when they saw the sack.
Like starving wolves, they pounced on it.
The coarse buns they normally wouldn’t even glance at now seemed like priceless treasures.
While stuffing food into their mouths, they repeatedly thanked Sang Wanwan.
Meanwhile, the women of the Ninth Prince’s Residence watched in complete despair.
They had hoped the guards would punish Sang Wanwan.
Instead…
The guards had become her followers.
Out here in the wilderness, food and force were everything.
And Sang Wanwan controlled both.
The women could only huddle together in the cold wind, enduring their hunger in silence.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning.
As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the mist covering the wasteland, the exile convoy resumed its journey.
But the atmosphere had changed completely.
The ordinary prisoners still trudged forward in heavy shackles.
Their exhausted groans occasionally drifted through the air.
At the very front of the convoy, however, an absurd scene unfolded.
A large supply wagon had been transformed.
Its bed was covered with thick layers of hay.
Several clean blankets confiscated from the guards had been spread on top.
Sang Wanwan reclined comfortably among them, eyes closed, resting.
Beside her sat Zongzheng Zhan.
Like an obedient giant puppy, he happily played with a foxtail grass stem he’d picked up somewhere.
And pulling the wagon?
Not a horse.
Not a mule.
But Zhao Tieniu.
The former guard captain had a harness strapped across his broad shoulders.
His fleshy face was plastered with a flattering smile.
As he pulled the wagon forward, he frequently turned back to seek approval.
“Lady Master, is the ride comfortable?”
“If it’s too bumpy, I’ll slow down!”
The refugees and prisoners they passed stared at the scene as though they’d seen a ghost.
This didn’t look like exile.
It looked like a crime Master touring her territory in disguise.
The convoy continued onward.
Then suddenly—
At a bend in the road ahead, two sharp sounds rang out.
Rustle!
The nearby bushes shook violently.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Two small figures covered head to toe in mud burst out from the roadside brush.
They charged directly toward the wagon.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Without the slightest deviation.
Then they spread their tiny arms wide.
And firmly blocked Zhao Tieniu’s path.