A faint smile appeared on Lin Xiazhi’s lips as she looked at Lin San as though he were an idiot.
“So just because you say I was with them means I was with them?”
“What relationship do I have with them? Why would I be with them?”
“…”
Lin San was left speechless.
Lin Er had finally recovered enough to speak. His lips were pale as he weakly said,
“Third Brother, calm down. Maybe Mother and Eldest Brother went into town to seek treatment. Right now, finding the thief and recovering our money and belongings is more important.”
Noticing the growing impatience in Lin Xiazhi’s eyes, Chen He’s heart skipped a beat.
He immediately raised the cleaver in his hand and began smoothing things over.
“This matter is too big for me to handle. My own house was robbed two days ago, and that still hasn’t been resolved.”
“You should report it to the authorities.”
“Stop causing trouble here.”
“But Village Chief, you’re just going to ignore this?”
Chen He waved his hand impatiently.
“Catching thieves is the yamen’s responsibility, not mine. I can’t do anything about it. Go, go, go. Don’t delay me from cooking.”
“!!!”
Lin San stared at Lin Xiazhi in disbelief.
“Your family has servants. Why is the Village Chief cooking himself?”
“…”
Chen He immediately realized he had let something slip.
His expression darkened at once.
To cover up the truth, his gaze became fierce.
“Are you leaving or not?”
“We’ll leave! We’re leaving!”
Not daring to anger the Village Chief, Lin Er grabbed Lin San and hurried out of the courtyard.
The morning was already slipping away.
Lin Xiazhi also prepared to leave.
After taking two steps, she turned around and fixed Chen He with a warning look.
“When my mother wakes up, give her some soup and rice porridge.”
“She is not allowed to eat anything else.”
“I won’t be back at noon.”
“If I discover you’ve done anything behind my back, don’t blame my blade for being merciless.”
Chen He wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed repeatedly.
“Yes, yes. I’ll remember.”
Then Lin Xiazhi turned to Lin Qingbei.
“Qingbei, stay home and take care of Mother.”
“You don’t need to do chores like serving tea or fetching water.”
“Make the Chen family do everything.”
“If they dare slack off or refuse, remember every single thing they do.”
“When I return, I’ll deal with them myself.”
“Huh?”
Lin Qingbei looked so shocked that he wondered if he’d heard wrong.
“!!”
Chen He felt cold sweat soaking his back.
Even the injured arm that had just begun to recover started aching again.
How could he possibly offend this little ancestor?
He could barely manage to serve her carefully enough as it was.
As Lin Xiazhi passed by Mu Zheng’s house, she slowed briefly before continuing onward.
What had happened yesterday…
And before that, forcing medicine on him and then sleeping beside him…
She didn’t like owing people favors.
As for how she would repay him…
Yesterday, she had briefly examined his left leg.
The bone had been broken years ago.
Without proper treatment, it had healed in a deformed position.
Although it appeared mostly normal, it affected his ability to walk.
That was why Mu Zheng limped slightly.
All it would take was breaking the bone again and setting it correctly.
Then it could heal as good as new.
There wasn’t enough time today.
She would deal with it after returning.
No sooner had Lin Xiazhi left than members of Chen He’s third branch of the family came knocking.
Chen He was dragged out once again and subjected to a barrage of accusations.
“Big Brother, give me back my wife!”
“My Zhaodi died trying to help your wife!”
“You owe me an explanation today, or this won’t end here!”
“Calm down, calm down. It was an accident. We never expected Zhaodi to fall into the river…”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Just tell me how much compensation you’re paying.”
“…”
The moment money was mentioned, Chen He’s expression darkened.
“How much do you want?”
Chen San held up one hand.
“Fifty taels.”
“Are you robbing me?!”
Chen He immediately turned around and disappeared into the kitchen.
When he emerged again, he was carrying a cleaver.
Without hesitation, he chased them out of the courtyard.
“Go, go, go!”
“Your sister-in-law and I need to discuss it first.”
“I’ll give you an answer this afternoon.”
The road was empty.
Lin Xiazhi released Naidou from her space so he could stretch his legs.
“Naidou!”
“Woof! Woof!”
The moment he appeared, the giant dog excitedly pounced toward her.
When he stood upright, he was already as tall as she was.
Lin Xiazhi couldn’t help feeling dissatisfied with her current body.
Too short.
Too weak.
Patting Naidou’s head, she smiled.
“Go play for a while. You’ll have to go back into the space later.”
“Awooo~”
The moment he heard he would be returning to the space, Naidou bolted away.
The bell around his neck jingled softly until the sound gradually faded into the distance.
Lin Xiazhi wasn’t worried at all.
Back in her previous life, she had often walked dogs this way.
Naidou would never get lost.
When she reached the outskirts of town, Naidou suddenly burst out from somewhere nearby.
He sat obediently in front of her.
A dead bird hung from his mouth.
Lin Xiazhi laughed helplessly.
“Hunting for food again?”
“Go eat it inside the space.”
“Woof!”
After wandering around town for quite a while, Lin Xiazhi purchased a large quantity of supplies.
Food, clothing, daily necessities, she bought almost everything she could think of.
Through inquiries, she eventually located a property broker.
Given the current instability, houses were selling for pitifully low prices.
The two rural houses fetched only thirty taels of silver.
The house in town sold for a bit more.
Seventy taels.
A full one hundred taels altogether.
Enough to buy a tremendous amount of supplies.
Afterward, she continued browsing the shops along the street.
“Move aside! Move aside!”
Suddenly, a commotion erupted near the town entrance.
The sound of galloping hooves rapidly approached.
A cavalry unit raced through the streets at full speed, kicking up clouds of dust behind them.
The townspeople panicked and hurriedly got out of the way.
Lin Xiazhi was pushed toward the innermost edge of the crowd and couldn’t clearly see what was happening outside.
But she knew the riders were heading toward the government office.
After a brief silence, the crowd suddenly exploded into discussion.
“Have you heard?”
“The enemy army continued their advance last night. They’ve already reached the outskirts of Zhou County!”
“What?! Then aren’t we in danger?”
“Of course we’re in danger!”
“We need to run while we still can!”
“I heard those soldiers burn, kill, and loot wherever they go. If they break through, it’ll be too late to escape!”
Someone cried out anxiously,
“But where do we run?”
“North!”
“I heard the war hasn’t spread to the north yet. It’s still safe there!”
“But the north is freezing…”
“Better to be cold than slaughtered by enemy troops!”
“As long as we’re alive, there’s still hope!”
“Then what are we waiting for? Hurry home and prepare!”
At someone’s loud shout, the crowd instantly scattered in all directions.
Everyone rushed off in a panic.
Standing where she was, Lin Xiazhi carefully considered whether the rumors were true.
If they really had to head north, she would need enough supplies to survive the winter.
Suddenly, a sheet of paper appeared in front of her.
Her expression tightened.
Looking up, she found Mu Zheng standing there.
“You’re haunting me like a ghost.”
For once, Mu Zheng looked completely serious.
He pushed the paper closer.
“This is a route map leading north.”
“It contains detailed information about every prefecture and county along the way.”
Lin Xiazhi quickly accepted it and examined it carefully.
As Mu Zheng had said, the information was remarkably detailed.
“How do you have something like this?”
“Don’t ask.”
“I recommend heading north.”
“You can eventually settle in Weilong Town, Daxian County, Rongzhou.”
“The terrain there is extremely complicated. It’s surrounded by deserts and barren flats.”
“An invading army would never be able to break through.”
“You mean… Great Sheng is going to…”
Lin Xiazhi narrowed her eyes.
She already knew the ending.
She possessed knowledge of the story.
The Great Sheng Dynasty would ultimately fall.
But not because of foreign invasion.
It would be destroyed by a mysterious prince’s successful rebellion.
So how did Mu Zheng know?
“I originally planned to join the army.”
“But because of my leg, I was sent home.”
“Still, I’ve never stopped caring about the battlefield.”
“For the past three years, I’ve been gathering intelligence and studying the movements of various forces.”
Mu Zheng glanced at the route map and smiled.
“This map marks what I believe is the last truly safe place.”
Lin Xiazhi rolled up the map and looked at him coldly.
“Why should I believe you?”
“The south has only a tiny safe corner left.”
“And even that place is about to fall.”
“Other than the north, you have no choice.”
“As for the place I recommended…”
Mu Zheng shrugged casually.
“If you don’t believe me, you can settle somewhere else.”
Though he appeared relaxed, his dark eyes remained fixed on the girl standing before him.
He hoped she would choose that place.
If she did…
Then one day, he would be able to protect her.
Lin Xiazhi remained silent.
The north was unavoidable.
As for where she would settle afterward…
That could wait.
“Thank you.”
“To repay the favor, I’ll fix your leg.”
“Stay home tonight and wait for me.”
Ignoring the astonishment on Mu Zheng’s face, she brushed past him and disappeared into the crowd.
She then entered the largest textile shop in town.
There, she purchased twenty thick cotton quilts weighing ten jin each, along with winter coats, cotton shoes, and other cold-weather necessities for three people.
Unfortunately, the shop didn’t have enough stock on hand.
The order would take three days to prepare.
Lin Xiazhi decided they would depart in three days.
She only hoped Zhou County’s walls could hold out until then.