Not only the panic-stricken refugees, even Zhou Shi—the mother—was startled by Qin Suining’s gaze.
A few days ago, she would never have imagined her daughter would dare to kill.
And as for herself, she had just killed two people with a hoe—something she would never even have dared to think about before.
Only when things actually came to a head did she understand: if you didn’t harden your heart, you might as well just stretch your neck out and wait to be slaughtered.
At the very least, this way they had completely intimidated the crowd. No one dared to cause them trouble anymore.
Qin Suining swept her gaze across the crowd and let out a faint, mocking snort when she saw everyone lowering their heads in fear.
A bunch of cowards—yet they still dared to try murder and robbery.
She pointed at a thin, small man and called him over.
“I—I didn’t do anything! This has nothing to do with me…”
The man jolted in fear and immediately backed away, shrinking behind an elderly man with white hair and a beard.
The old man staggered slightly from being pushed, and only managed to steady himself with the help of a few middle-aged men.
“My lords, this is my nephew. He’s timid by nature and would never dare to do anything improper…”
The old man stepped forward and bowed.
“If he said anything offensive, I apologize on his behalf. Please show mercy—he’s been without parents since he was young…”
The surrounding relatives also reluctantly helped plead for him, glaring at the thin man in frustration.
“You’ve misunderstood,” Qin Suining said coldly. “I called him over so he could tell us exactly what happened tonight.”
Seeing their terrified reactions, she almost laughed.
She had clearly seen them discussing everything earlier without any attempt to hide it.
There was no way he knew nothing.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Pushed from behind, the thin man finally gave in and confessed everything.
It was simple—they had their eyes on the carriage.
“They said… you two have a carriage, so you must have food, water… maybe even silver…”
The man shrank his neck.
“And… even if you didn’t have valuables, there’s still the horse… it can be sold… and if things got really desperate… they said they could kill it for meat…”
With that confession, everything became clear.
Even those pretending ignorance could no longer deny it.
The women and children who had been crying were now too shocked to continue, only sobbing weakly about how fate had treated them unfairly.
No one paid them any attention anymore.
Everyone had mixed feelings.
They all knew escaping famine was dangerous—but none expected that on the very first night, before even running out of food, something like robbery and murder would happen… and fail, ending in counter-killing.
By the time everything quieted down, the sky had already begun to lighten.
No one wanted to stay any longer. They all packed up and prepared to leave.
Qin Suining and Zhou Shi had little to pack. After a quick check, they drove the carriage away first.
The others watched them leave in silence, none daring to make a sound.
As they moved forward, both mother and daughter understood something clearly.
In chaotic times, absolute strength was the foundation of survival.
“Mother, have you noticed something?” Qin Suining flexed her arm. “Our strength has increased a lot.”
Zhou Shi also clenched her fist thoughtfully.
“Now that you mention it… I was just about to ask you that.”
“Didn’t those immortals say the spiritual spring water could cure all illnesses? Did they say anything about increasing strength?”
Zhou Shi tested her grip again.
It felt like she could punch a cow to death.
Yet both of them looked delicate and weak—so much so that no one would believe it.
“No, they didn’t say that,” Qin Suining replied calmly. “But since we’ve changed so much already, isn’t it normal for strength to increase too?”
Hearing that her mother also had increased strength, Qin Suining relaxed.
In any case, this was a blessing.
The official road was flat, and their chestnut horse ran quickly.
As dawn broke, more travelers appeared—refugees carrying bundles, carts, and occasionally richer families with carriages or ox carts.
The road grew crowded, and their speed slowed.
Not long after, a man approached and spoke to Zhou Shi.
“Brother, are you heading to Yuezhou Prefecture?”
Zhou Shi glanced at him briefly.
“Yes.”
“Ah… could I ride along in your carriage? I’ll pay.”
He immediately pulled out his money pouch, full of expectation.
“Sorry, it’s not convenient. There are plenty of other carriages ahead—try asking them.”
Zhou Shi politely declined.
“Alright then. Sorry to bother you.”
The man didn’t insist and simply moved on, continuing to ask others.
From the carriage window, Qin Suining watched him approach each vehicle one by one.
Then faint voices of the mysterious “bullet comments” drifted through:
“He’s part of the female lead’s future crew, right?”
“Yeah, but not now. The plot says she saves him when he’s at his lowest.”
“And then he becomes her loyal dog, helping build her business empire…”
The voices continued, drifting into the chaos of the road ahead.