It was nearing noon, and the sun was blazing overhead.
The temperature had warmed considerably, probably reaching over twenty degrees Celsius.
After walking for several hours on empty stomachs, everyone was exhausted. The wrists of their hands, locked into the wooden cangues, had been rubbed raw, with tiny beads of blood seeping from the wounds.
Yet they continued forward, their legs feeling as heavy as lead, gritting their teeth and forcing themselves onward.
Wei Ning’s forehead and face were beginning to break out in a cold sweat, and her vision kept going dark in waves.
“Everyone, rest here for half an hour!”
The younger escort officer shouted.
Everyone immediately collapsed onto the ground as though their strength had been completely drained.
The wooden cangues around their necks still could not be removed.
After drinking the water from their water pouches, they finally recovered a little.
The two escort officers still hadn’t provided them with any food.
Instead, they sat not far away, eating white-flour steamed buns and dried meat.
After drinking water, everyone’s stomachs began to growl even more loudly.
They were even hungrier.
“Yan’er, come here. Take these steamed buns and give them to Zhao’er and Yuan’er.”
Grandmother called out to Wei Yan, who had just put Wei Zhao down.
Wei Yan nodded.
He rummaged through Grandmother’s bundle and found a grayish-black steamed bun.
He broke it into two pieces and handed one to Wei Zhao and the other to Wei Yuan.
The two children looked at everyone else, who had nothing to eat, and didn’t touch the food.
Only after everyone urged them to eat did they cautiously begin nibbling.
Not far from where they were resting was a small river.
After everyone had drunk some water, Wei Yan went back and filled the water pouches again before sitting down to rest.
Wei Ning rummaged through the wild plants she had collected in her cloth bag.
After a while, she picked out several types of grass.
She rinsed them casually, then put them into her mouth and chewed them until they were crushed and released their juice before swallowing them.
Wei Xiao stared in surprise.
“Ning’er, you’re eating grass? Be careful. It could be poisonous.”
“It’s fine. None of these are poisonous.”
Wei Ning casually explained.
She picked out a few more, washed them, and chewed them thoroughly.
Then she removed the white cloth wrapped around her forehead and pressed the mashed herbs onto her wound.
“Hiss.”
A sharp pain shot through the wound.
Wei Ning inhaled sharply before slowly wrapping the cloth back around her head and tying it securely.
Wei Xiao, sitting nearby, was stunned for a moment before asking quietly,
“So that’s what you’ve been picking along the way. They’re medicinal herbs for treating wounds?”
“You know medicine?”
Wei Ning had studied clinical medicine at university.
She only knew a limited number of medicinal herbs.
Later, she had changed majors and transferred to a police academy.
She had wanted to become a police officer who caught criminals, but she had ultimately been assigned to work as an assistant in the forensic department because of her medical background.
They had told her that even though she was working in an administrative position, she was still technically a police officer.
“I don’t know much. I can only identify some medicinal herbs.”
Wei Ning answered calmly.
“I have a low-grade fever. These dandelions and bupleurum can be boiled into a medicinal drink to reduce fever.”
“But we can’t boil anything right now, so I can only eat them raw and hope they help.”
Hearing this, Wei Xiao moved closer.
He pressed his forehead against Wei Ning’s.
The scorching heat immediately passed over.
Wei Ning hadn’t expected Wei Xiao to do that.
She froze for a moment before instinctively moving backward and creating some distance between them.
“Your forehead is burning. I’ll go find Mother. We need to give the escort officers some money and exchange it for medicine.”
Wei Xiao sounded anxious as he started to get up.
Wei Ning quickly grabbed him.
In a voice only the two of them could hear, she said,
“Don’t go. The escort officers won’t give us any medicine. Not even if we pay them.”
Wei Xiao turned back suspiciously and stared at her.
“The injuries my brother and I have were caused by them. Didn’t you notice that one of the escort officers is missing?”
Wei Xiao was shocked.
“What exactly happened? This morning they said that Escort Officer Zhang had contracted some serious illness and died last night.”
“Keep your voice down. Keep your expression natural. Don’t attract attention.”
Wei Ning glanced toward the escort officers in the distance.
One of them had just turned around and looked in their direction.
Wei Xiao immediately restrained his expression.
He subtly raised his head and glanced around.
Only he and Wei Ning were sitting close together. The others probably hadn’t heard their conversation.
“Last night, they drugged everyone with sleeping medicine. The three escort officers dragged me outside and tried to assault me.”
“They didn’t expect my brother and me to have skipped the steamed buns last night. We were both awake.”
“My brother tried to save me, but they pinned him to the ground.”
“I… defended myself. I pulled the knife from one of their waists and killed the older escort officer.”
Wei Xiao’s pupils widened.
His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.
His knuckles cracked.
Yet he desperately controlled his expression, keeping his face almost emotionless.
After a moment, the words burst from between his clenched teeth.
“Those beasts. They deserved to die. You’re only thirteen! I want to slaughter those bastards.”
Wei Ning gently placed a hand on Wei Xiao’s thigh and patted it lightly.
“If those guards from the Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn’t stopped at the temple last night, my brother and I might not have survived.”
“Do you really think the escort officers would sell us medicine after something like that?”
“Wei Xiao, calm down. Don’t act impulsively. Right now, they’re the officials and we’re the prisoners. We can’t do anything to them.”
“Once they complete the handover with the Yinzhou Garrison, they won’t be responsible for us anymore.”
“Then we can settle the score without dragging the rest of the family into it. Understand?”
Wei Xiao lowered his head and looked at Wei Ning’s calm face.
There was a chill hidden within her moist, deer-like eyes.
“I understand. Sometimes you have to endure a little now in order to accomplish something bigger.”
“Second Brother will listen to you. When we settle the score, count me in. I’ll beat those two bastards to death.”
Wei Xiao looked at his younger sister, who seemed completely different after only one night.
He felt that he liked this version of her much more.
She was no longer the timid, delicate girl who would remain silent for half a day without saying anything.
As the adults often said, difficult circumstances forced people to grow.
“Okay.”
Wei Ning nodded.
“Don’t tell the others. There’s no point making them worry.”
“I need to rest for a while.”
Wei Ning’s eyelids were drooping heavily.
Wei Xiao straightened his back and raised the wooden cangue slightly, exposing his crossed legs.
“Ning’er, lie down on Second Brother’s lap. The ground is hard.”
Wei Ning didn’t refuse.
She tilted her head, found a comfortable position, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Wei Xiao lowered his head and looked at Wei Ning’s pale little face and the white cloth wrapped around her forehead.
A raging fury churned in his eyes.
How dare any random bastard bully my little sister?
Are they tired of living?
I’ll remember this debt very, very well.
After sleeping for about half an hour, Wei Ning was awakened.
She felt much more refreshed.
Everyone packed up again and continued their journey.
Finally, toward evening, they arrived at Yinzhou City.
The city gates of Yinzhou were magnificent.
Towering walls surrounded the city, with sentries wearing armor and carrying long spears standing guard atop them.
Soldiers with large blades hanging from their waists continuously patrolled the area.
Outside the city was a wide moat.
To enter Yinzhou City, they had to cross the large bridge and the iron-plated drawbridge lowered at the city gate.
This was the southern gate of Yinzhou City, facing the heartland of the Great Qi Empire.
Security here was relatively less strict.
After their travel documents were inspected, they were allowed into Yinzhou City.
Once inside, both sides of the main street were lined with shops made of gray brick and tiled roofs.
The streets were paved with large blue-gray bricks.
But if one raised their head and looked farther away, they could see that most of the houses behind the shops were simple structures made from thatched roofs and mud walls.
The alleyways were merely dirt roads.
The farther they went into the city, the better the houses became.
Most were large residences built from gray brick and roof tiles, surrounded by courtyards.
After walking for nearly half an hour, they finally arrived at the Yinzhou Garrison Office in the center of the city.
It was a large compound with gray brick walls and tiled roofs.
Above the reddish-brown main gate hung a plaque bearing four large characters:
Yinzhou Garrison Office.
Two tall, stern-faced armored guards stood on either side of the entrance, each holding a large saber.