She feigned hesitation for a moment, then tentatively voiced what was on her mind: "Shopkeeper, you're in such a hurry to transport grain—has something happened in this town?"
The shopkeeper hadn't expected a girl of only twelve or thirteen to be so alert. Hoping to close the deal, he said, "You two young ladies don't know yet—this town gate could close at any moment. Once it does, you won't be able to get out. There are more and more refugees on the streets, and once hunger drives them mad, there's no telling what they might do. You'd best flee now. That ox cart of yours will draw too much attention on the road. Better to sell it to me for grain—you might just survive that way."
Though the shopkeeper was nominally after the ox cart, his words rang true. Traveling with young girls on the road to escape famine was too conspicuous.
"Well…" Gu Xiao feigned hesitation for a moment before relenting. "I can sell you the ox cart, but can you wait while my sister and I find something to haul the grain with?"
Seeing Gu Xiao agree, the shopkeeper gestured for a helper to lead the ox cart away. Without wasting words, he said to Gu Xiao, "You seem like an honest girl, so I'll give it to you straight—the town gate will be locked tonight. They're likely conscripting men for the battlefield. We're loading up and leaving right away. Have your family take as much as they can carry, then lock the house up for us before you go and get out of town quickly."
By the time he finished speaking, all the carts were loaded and ready. The shopkeeper hurried off without even closing the door.
The sky gradually darkened. Far from being afraid, Gu Xiao felt a flicker of excitement. If the town gate was locking tonight, wouldn't that be the perfect chance to fish in troubled waters and scavenge supplies?
…
The two entered the room, and the little girl looked around, filled with curiosity.
They found the kitchen without trouble. Its contents clearly hadn't been packed up in time—all sorts of utensils were still there, along with several bundles of vegetables and three large vats of water.
The two had just bought buns to eat, so they weren't very hungry.
Gu Xiao planned to boil some hot water and take a proper bath. The original body she inhabited looked like a little beggar—if she kept fleeing like this, she'd turn into a mud figure.
Gu Wan watched her elder sister calmly start boiling water, seemingly ignoring everything else, and couldn't help but feel anxious at the shopkeeper's earlier words. "Elder Sister, that shopkeeper uncle said the town gate is closing. Aren't we leaving?"
"Wan'er, let me ask you—do you trust your elder sister?"
Seeing Gu Xiao's unruffled composure, Gu Wan gradually stopped panicking and nodded without a trace of hesitation. "I trust you, Elder Sister."
"Then don't ask, and don't worry." Seeing the little girl's solemn expression, Gu Xiao smiled tenderly. "You boil the water—we'll have a proper bath in a bit."
While the little girl boiled water, Gu Wan organized the grain in the house. Fine grain was less plentiful than coarse—twenty-eight sacks in total. There were still over fifty sacks of coarse grain, plus five hemp sacks of soybeans, one sack of peanuts, six sacks of black beans…
There was also a bundle of oiled paper and quite a bit of cane sugar… All of it went into the Kongjian, not a single grain left behind.
The only disappointment was the lack of meat, which irked Gu Xiao. She'd see if she could find a butcher shop later!
After that, Gu Xiao climbed onto the roof and spotted many carts rushing toward the town gate in haste.
Near the entrance, soldiers had already begun stopping people. Cart after cart was being held up, and chaos reigned at the gate.
The little girl finished boiling the water. Gu Xiao brought out a wooden tub that looked like it was for washing clothes, took out soap from the Kongjian to substitute for scented soap, and produced a scrubbing cloth, claiming she'd found it in the house.
The little girl had quite a few bloody scratches on her body. Gu Xiao only dared to wipe her down gently before applying medicine.
Throughout the whole process, the little girl remained perfectly quiet, not even uttering a single word of pain. Seeing her endure so stoically, Gu Xiao felt as if her heart were being squeezed, aching dully.
After washing the little girl, she bathed herself. In total, it took a full two hours, leaving one pot of hot water remaining.
She had been truly filthy—it took three scrubs with the cloth to get clean. Her tangled hair was combed straight, and her whole body finally smelled fragrant.
She took a careful look at the original body's features. They resembled the little girl's—both had oval faces, delicate brows and eyes, high noses, and a refined beauty tinged with a hint of spirited boldness.
The only problem was that she was too thin, leaving her complexion sallow. With proper nourishment, she'd surely become a beauty.
…
Gu Wan had never known her body could smell this good. She kept sniffing herself. "Elder Sister, I smell so nice! So this is what scented soap smells like—but this scent is even better than Sister Ping'er's."
Gu Ping'er was the second uncle's youngest daughter, two years older than Gu Wan, and the most favored girl in the family. Scented soap wasn't cheap—the cheapest kind cost at least one tael of silver.
That scented soap had actually been bought with the money left by the original body's parents, and even then, it was a defective piece.
Gu Ping'er, however, had no shame. Every time she bathed, she'd flaunt it in front of the original body and Gu Wan.
"This scented soap will last a long time. Once we settle down, we'll bathe with it every day—I promise you'll be the sweetest-smelling little girl around," she said, scrubbing the leftover grime from the tub with a brush.
Only when it was completely clean did she put it back into the Kongjian.
After her bath, Gu Xiao was already hungry. She made a quick stir-fried vegetable dish in the kitchen and opened a can of premium meat from the Kongjian.
She had eaten premium meat every meal during the Moshi, but after being re-cooked, paired with fragrant, sweet, and soft rice and vegetables, even Gu Xiao managed to eat two full bowls.
The little girl was practically ready to lick the plate clean. Her bright eyes turned to Gu Xiao: "Sister, Wan'er must be dreaming, right? I have new clothes, new shoes, I washed with fragrant soap, and today I even ate meat buns and rice!"
"You're not dreaming. It's all real."
"Wan'er thinks fleeing the famine is better than being at home," Gu Wan said with the unguarded honesty of a child.
…
After dinner, it was completely dark outside, and the glow of fires and chaotic noises had already begun to rise.
The show was about to begin. Gu Xiao unhurriedly stored all her remaining supplies into the Kongjian, packed up her basket, and led Gu Wan to hide in a poor family's courtyard.
Outside, the soldiers and refugees fighting over grain had already descended into chaos. Many beggars had also joined in, looting and robbing. The grain shop's sign was too conspicuous, and it quickly attracted the attention of the refugees.
She settled Gu Wan down and fed her a Dali Wan that would last two hours. Then she took out a Miwu Zhadan from the Kongjian and tied it to the door handle—anyone who touched it would be poisoned to death.
With everything arranged, she swiftly scaled the wall and slipped away, skillfully storing everything she saw into the Kongjian, sweeping through like a plague of locusts, leaving nothing behind.
The medicine shop—no one there to collect!
The pawnshop—no one there to collect!
The cloth shop—no one there to collect!
She had just reached the butcher shop when she saw it was packed with people. Gu Xiao could let go of everything else, but not meat. Killing them would be easy enough, but the meat would fall to the ground and get dirty!
Helpless, Gu Xiao decided to move on to another shop. Just as she was about to leave, a woman's scream suddenly came from the neighboring courtyard.
"Help! Let go of me…"
Gu Xiao immediately stopped in her tracks and swiftly vaulted over the wall. What met her eyes were three or four refugees pressing down on a teenage girl who was barely clothed.
"Scream… the louder you scream, the more I like it. Let me have some fun with you."
The men watching were also impatient, tearing at the girl's clothes.
"Animals!"
Gu Xiao took out a meteor dart from the Kongjian and hurled it.
"Whoosh!"
She put all her strength into it, her body and arm lurching forward with the throw.
"Ah…"
The man on top of the girl let out a miserable cry and collapsed instantly.
The sudden turn of events sent the remaining men into a panic, screaming in terror.
"K-killing… someone's been killed…"
Killing… aren't you all the same? If you can do such things, you must bear the consequences.