“Heavens above! We’re being driven to our deaths!”
“Stop robbing us, I’m begging you! Leave a little food for the elderly and the children!”
All around were screams, curses, and the clashing of swords and wooden clubs.
So noisy!
A splitting pain throbbed through Lin Yueru’s head. She forced her eyes open and looked around.
Firelight lit up the pitch-black night as bandits set fires, killed, and looted.
She had clearly fallen off a cliff and died while on a mission. How had she ended up in this godforsaken place?!
“Oho, there’s a beauty hiding here!”
Lin Yueru narrowed her eyes and looked up. A burly man holding a thick club had already spotted her and was approaching them with a lecherous grin!
“Yes, yes, yes! She’s fair-skinned and pretty, and she’s still a virgin!”
Before Lin Yueru could react, the woman beside her suddenly shoved her forward, sending her staggering!
“I’ll give her to you! Take her back up the mountain and do whatever you want with her!”
With that, the woman scooped up her child and scrambled away into the distance without looking back even once!
Watching the woman flee, Lin Yueru felt her anger surge.
What a vile woman, helping those bandits do their dirty work!
She deserved to be thrown onto the mountain to feed the wolves!
Unfortunately, now was not the time to settle scores. Otherwise, even if it cost her life, she would drag that woman down with her!
The burly man was already right in front of her, reaching a thick, greasy hand toward her chest!
Suddenly!
“Get lost! Get away—”
The man beside Lin Yueru shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, slamming his shoulder into the brute’s stomach!
He caught the brute off guard, knocked him to the ground, and pinned him down tightly with both hands!
Furious, the brute punched the man so hard that blood appeared at the corner of his mouth!
“You blind bastard! How dare you spoil your grandpa’s fun? I’ll kill you!”
His eyes bloodshot, the man held the brute back with all his might and turned to shout at her:
“Wife, run! Go find Mother!”
Lin Yueru instantly snapped out of her shock.
Though she still wasn’t sure who this man was, she couldn’t just stand by and watch him be beaten to death for saving her!
She sprang to her feet, picked up a wooden club, and brought it down hard on the back of the brute’s head!
Steady, precise, and ruthless—her entire sequence of movements was clean and decisive!
The brute stopped punching at once. His eyes rolled back, and his body went limp as he collapsed, blood spreading across the ground.
Only when the brute fell did the man release his grip in disbelief. He panted heavily and turned his reddened eyes toward her.
When Lin Yueru finally saw his face clearly, she couldn’t help being surprised.
Sword-like brows, eyes bright as stars, a high nose bridge, and slightly parted thin lips—what a handsome young man!
After staring at each other for a few seconds, Lin Yueru guiltily turned her face aside. “You…”
Before she could finish, he suddenly pulled her into his arms.
“Wife, I thought we were going to die…” he sobbed like a child. “Waaah, I don’t want you to die. I still want you to play with me…”
The moment he opened his mouth, Lin Yueru sensed that something was wrong!
Why did this man seem… not quite right?
It was maddening that her mind was completely blank, without a single memory belonging to the body’s original owner!
“Old geezer, you dare hide grain? Are you tired of living?!”
“This broad is pretty! Get Old Second to tie her up and take her back up the mountain!”
Nearby, the bandits’ curses still mingled with the refugees’ cries. Lin Yueru didn’t dare linger.
She pulled free of the man’s embrace, intending to find somewhere to hide first.
“Wife, where are you going?”
She had only just taken a step when the man hurriedly stood up and caught her hand, afraid they might be separated.
Lin Yueru’s heart softened. “I’m going to find a place to hide. Do you want to come with me?”
“Yes!”
He nodded without hesitation, his eyes innocent and full of unquestioning trust in her.
Lin Yueru took his hand decisively and ran into the distance, avoiding the crowd.
She didn’t stop to catch her breath until they had run so far that she could no longer hear any noise.
“Wife, are you tired? Do you want me to carry you on my back?”
The man bent down to look at her, his breathing completely steady.
Resting her hands on her knees, Lin Yueru turned her head and studied him in astonishment.
After running so far without stopping, wasn’t he tired at all?
He reached out toward her. “Wife, why aren’t you talking? Didn’t you used to love it when Yanqing carried you on his back?”
Yanqing?
Lin Yueru suddenly swayed, and a splitting headache struck her!
A flood of memories, at once unfamiliar and strangely familiar, surged into her mind at the sound of that name.
Her head spun and throbbed as though it were about to burst!
Clutching her head, Lin Yueru crouched down and hurriedly absorbed the memories one by one.
Han Yanqing was startled. He crouched beside her in a panic, giving her scattered, gentle pats.
“Wife, are you dizzy? Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. I’ll pat you.”
Lin Yueru had no attention to spare for him.
A short while later, she finally sorted through the jumbled memories, her face showing a complicated mix of emotions.
The good news: She had transmigrated and gotten her life back!
The bad news: The body’s original owner had been a fool, and her husband, Han Yanqing, was a fool too!
According to the Han family, though, Han Yanqing hadn’t been a fool since birth.
He had trained under an old master since childhood and become highly skilled in martial arts. Unfortunately, four years ago, he went to the county seat with playmates from his village and was seized and forcibly conscripted into military service.
He didn’t reappear until a year ago.
Uncle Zhang from the village found him at the village entrance one morning while heading out to work in the fields. Han Yanqing was covered in blood. The sight frightened the old man so badly that he turned and ran to tell the Han family.
By the time Han Yanqing woke up, he had lost his wits.
With two fools together, they were bound to be shunned both at home and around the village.
Yet in the original owner’s muddled memories, Han Yanqing had always rushed forward just as he had today, shielding her firmly behind him.
The Han family was now fleeing famine together. On the way, they had encountered bandits who robbed them. The original owner had been frightened to death on the spot, giving Lin Yueru the chance to take over her body.
Seeing her open her eyes, Han Yanqing asked quietly, “Wife, are you still feeling bad?”
Remembering that he had the mind of a five- or six-year-old, Lin Yueru softened her voice even more. “I’m fine now. What about you?”
“Yanqing is fine too!”
Seeing that she was all right, the man immediately became cheerful again.
Just then, shouts came from the distance: “Yanqing! Old Fourth! Where have you run off to—”
The Han family had shouted themselves hoarse.
After the bandits left, they gathered everyone together, only to discover that two people were missing!
And of all people, it had to be the two foolish children they worried about most!
No one stopped even to catch their breath. They hastily gathered what belongings remained and set off to look for the missing pair.
Calling out and asking people along the way, they searched until Old Lady Han grew so anxious that a blister formed at the corner of her mouth.
She had been careless! In all that chaos earlier, she should have kept the two children right by her side!
At the back of the group, a woman tugged at her child, rolled her eyes, and muttered:
“Only you Han folks would treat two fools like treasures! If you ask me, losing them is for the best. It would save some rations, too…”