“What are you doing? Why are you smashing our carriage?!”
Shen Jianping was a burly man. He grabbed the middle-aged troublemaker and yanked him away from the carriage, glaring fiercely.
“We’ve been moving along properly with everyone else. You came up and started hitting our carriage. Explain yourself!”
The man shrank back slightly.
“You’re blocking the road! Look at all the people behind you. You’ve got everyone stuck. Are you even going to let people pass?”
Not wanting trouble, Shen Jianhua tried to reason with him.
“What do you mean we’re blocking the road? We’re moving normally. The people in front are the ones causing the jam. How are we supposed to get through?”
“Why waste words on him? He’s obviously looking for trouble.”
Lin Xiazhi strolled over while casually twirling Bonebreaker in her hand. Her gaze swept over the man with open disdain.
He had a narrow face, shifty eyes, and a sleazy appearance. One look was enough to tell he wasn’t a decent person.
“I’ll give you one chance. Leave now.”
The man’s eyes landed on the blade in her hand, thin as a cicada’s wing.
He swallowed nervously.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then his eyes shifted.
There were so many people around. Surely she wouldn’t dare do anything in broad daylight.
Bolstering his courage, he straightened his chest and pointed toward his own donkey cart behind him.
“You are blocking the road! My cart can’t get through because of you. If you’re not moving, then get out of the way!”
Shen Jianping snorted.
“Was this road built by your family? Why should we move?”
He gave the man a casual shove.
To everyone’s surprise, the man immediately collapsed onto the ground and began rolling around dramatically.
“Ow! I’ve been hit! My chest hurts so much! Somebody help! Is there no justice left in this world? They’re beating people to death!”
People nearby gradually gathered around.
They glanced at the man crying in pain, then looked strangely at Lin Xiazhi and the others.
Finally, their gazes settled on the horse carriage.
Understanding flashed across their faces.
“A horse carriage? They must be rich people.”
“No wonder they’re bullying honest folk. Just because they’re wealthy, they think they’re above everyone else.”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. What if they hear you? You don’t want to get beaten too.”
The speaker quickly covered his mouth.
“Oh dear, this loose tongue of mine almost got me into trouble. Let’s go, let’s go!”
“…”
For the first time in his life, Shen Jianping found himself wrongly accused.
His anger shot through the roof.
“I only pushed you lightly! How could you possibly be injured? You’re trying to scam me!”
The man smirked provocatively.
His expression practically screamed:
That’s right, I’m scamming you. What are you going to do about it?
“Uncle, go drive the carriage. I’ll handle this.”
A mocking smile appeared on Lin Xiazhi’s lips.
She slowly crouched before the man.
Bonebreaker spun elegantly through her fingers before stopping against his throat.
“If you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish.”
“!”
Shen Jianping had been about to leave, but her actions rooted him to the spot.
The man’s face turned pale.
With a blade pressed against his neck, he trembled uncontrollably.
“You… you… you… what are you trying to do?!”
He only wanted to extort some silver.
He certainly hadn’t expected things to escalate to murder.
“What am I trying to do?”
The young woman raised an eyebrow.
“Exactly what you’re thinking.”
The moment the words fell—
The blade flashed.
“Urgh…!”
The man’s eyes widened.
Before he could even cry for help, the razor-sharp edge sliced clean through his throat.
Blood erupted in a crimson spray.
It splashed across Lin Xiazhi’s face.
“Ahhh! Murder!”
“Someone’s been killed!”
Terrified screams erupted from every direction.
The surrounding refugees turned deathly pale and fled while dragging their belongings behind them.
In the blink of an eye, the area within thirty feet of the carriage was completely empty.
Lin Xiazhi casually wiped the blood from her face as though nothing had happened.
Then, in full view of everyone watching, she grabbed the corpse with one hand and tossed it into a foul-smelling roadside ditch.
Ignoring the horrified stares around her, she climbed back into the carriage.
“First Uncle, Second Uncle, take that man’s donkey cart. We’re continuing our journey.”
“!!!”
Shen Jianping and Shen Jianhua stood frozen in place.
Only after staring at the bloodstains on the ground for several seconds did they recover their senses.
Their little niece had actually…
Actually killed someone.
That was…
Incredible.
Shen Shi, however, found it much harder to accept.
He opened his mouth to scold her.
“Girl, how could you… mmph!”
Before the words killed someone could leave his mouth, both of his sons clamped their hands over it.
Shen Jianping quickly regained his composure.
“Father, Lin Xiazhi became like this because of everything the Lin and Chen families put her through. You need to understand her.”
Shen Jianhua nodded vigorously.
“That’s right. Honestly, she’s pretty normal now.”
Shen Shi’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Normal?!
What part of this is normal?!
Inside the carriage, Xu Fenlan and her two daughters-in-law had heard everything through the curtain.
All three women were so frightened that their minds went blank.
Like quails hiding from danger, they hugged their children tightly.
Their lips trembled, and fear practically radiated from their bodies.
Lying down inside the carriage, Shen Ying hadn’t witnessed the killing herself.
But seeing her mother and sisters-in-law shaking so badly, and hearing people outside shouting about murder, she couldn’t help becoming nervous too.
“Xiazhi, what happened out there?”
“Nothing, Mother.”
Lin Xiazhi smiled gently.
“Just a few pieces of trash blocking the road. I dealt with them peacefully and easily.”
To Lin Xiazhi, killing a person was no different from slaughtering a chicken.
Peacefully?
Xu Fenlan and the others bit their lips hard.
At that moment, their image of Lin Xiazhi as a sweet and obedient young girl was completely shattered.
Mu Zheng’s lips twitched.
He could only laugh helplessly.
Shen Ying remained completely unaware.
“Then why did I hear someone say a person died?”
Lin Xiazhi’s smile grew even softer.
“You heard wrong, Mother.”
“Hyah!”
The carriage resumed its journey.
With the crowd now keeping a wide distance from them, their progress became much smoother than before.
The road ahead was practically unobstructed.
Lin Xiazhi couldn’t help feeling a little regretful.
If killing one person worked this well, she should have used someone to clear the way much earlier.
However, after traveling another ten li, traffic ground to a halt once more.
There was no point getting anxious.
Lin Xiazhi stuffed the whip into Mu Zheng’s hand and leaned against the carriage, closing her eyes while whistling absentmindedly.
Mu Zheng smiled and accepted the whip.
Every now and then, he lightly flicked it against the horse’s rear.
At the same time, his thoughts wandered back to the blood sample from the previous night.
Since Lin Xiazhi hadn’t brought it up herself, he hadn’t dared ask.
Sensing his gaze, Lin Xiazhi curled her lips.
“I know what you’re thinking. The blood analysis is finished.”
Mu Zheng’s heart skipped a beat.
He straightened immediately.
“Well? Can it be cured?”
“You were indeed poisoned, but the poisoning isn’t severe. It can be treated.”
The poison had been administered when Mu Zheng was only two or three years old.
After thirteen years, a significant portion had already been naturally metabolized by his body.
The blood analysis showed that the poison would once have left him infertile.
Now, however, that outcome was no longer certain.
Lin Xiazhi frowned almost imperceptibly.
Her rough little hand drifted unconsciously to her lower abdomen.
Surely it couldn’t be that accurate…
One hit and pregnant?
A disdainful snort escaped her.
With the original owner’s frail body that looked ready to collapse whenever the wind blew, how could pregnancy happen so easily?
That would be giving her far too much credit.
Mu Zheng had no idea what was running through her mind.
He was completely immersed in the joy of hearing that his condition could be cured.
“That’s good. Then I’ll probably have to trouble you again.”
Lin Xiazhi closed her eyes.
“There’s no rush.”
Mu Zheng paused.
Only then did he notice the unusual mood in her voice.
What’s wrong with her?
Around noon, Shen Jianping and Shen Jianhua pulled out some dry rations and tossed them into the carriage.
“Mother, you must all be hungry. Eat something.”
Then Shen Jianping handed some to Lin Xiazhi.
“Girl, make do with this for now. Once we stop somewhere tonight, your uncle will cook something delicious for you.”
Lin Xiazhi accepted the food with a sweet smile.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
“We’re family. No need for thanks!”
Seeing that familiar smile, Shen Jianping finally relaxed.
The knot in his chest loosened.
After solving the immediate issue of food, Lin Xiazhi stared ahead at the clogged roadway and gradually became irritated.
They had traveled for most of the day.
On either side of the road were either mountains or rivers.
There was no possibility of taking a detour.
“At this rate, the enemy army will catch us before we even leave Zhou County.”
She pulled out the route map Mu Zheng had given her and studied it repeatedly.
The road was correct.
But…
“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with this map?”
Mu Zheng answered without hesitation.
“Absolutely not.”
“Kill!”
“Kill them all!”
“Charge!”
Suddenly, thunderous battle cries echoed from the distance.
The sound was so overwhelming that everyone froze in terror.
Refugees stopped where they stood, unsure whether to advance or retreat.
Lin Xiazhi’s expression darkened.
“I really do have a crow’s mouth.”
The enemy had arrived far sooner than she expected.