The night was as cool as water. Jiang Jingyue tightly grasped the young girl’s hand, her voice soft and gentle: “Chenghuan, my mood is passable at this moment. If we could have a lot of dry rations to solve this urgent crisis, my mood would be even better.”
As soon as her words fell, the familiar mechanical voice echoed in Li Chenghuan’s mind: [The heroine’s darkness value decreases by 3. Reward: 300 white flour steamed buns.]
!!!!!! It can actually work like this?
This golden finger discriminates too much! Usually, it completely ignores her, but when it switches to the heroine, she gets exactly what she wishes for instantly!
Actually, Jiang Jingyue wasn’t sure if doing this would be useful. She had even prepared for the worst; if it bore no results, they would first bring out the coconut water to cope for a bit.
But the change in Li Chenghuan’s expression gave her the answer she wanted. It turned out that as long as she relaxed her mood and thought about things that could make her happy, she could achieve her desires through the young girl’s divine powers.
“Do we have dry rations?”
Li Chenghuan nodded vigorously, “Three hundred white flour steamed buns.”
At the very most, there were only a hundred people in the group. One person could be allocated three steamed buns, which was enough to cope with the current situation.
Jiang Jingyue slightly curled her lips, her tone becoming increasingly gentle: “Chenghuan, I can’t think of anything happy anymore. Do you want to try coaxing me, to move me?”
Li Chenghuan: “…” It hasn’t even been two minutes, and there’s already nothing happy to think of. No wonder you turn dark.
The young girl furrowed her brows. Her appearance of thinking hard resembled a wrinkled little rabbit, somewhat cute.
[The heroine’s darkness value decreases by 3. Reward: 300 pieces of scallion-flavored compressed biscuits.]
Li Chenghuan: ??
Didn’t she say she couldn’t think of anything happy? Why did she quietly get happy again?
She looked at the person in front of her in astonishment. The woman’s lips held a faint smile. Her hair, neglected due to exile, was pinned up with only an uncarved wooden hairpin. The hair at her temples fell loose at the sides of her face, and a few slightly longer strands hung around her fair neck, giving her a sense of fragile, shattered beauty.
Yet her facial features were exquisite and deep. Compared to her usual cold, detached elegance, her smiling eyes and brows at this moment made her look as if the crescent moon from the edge of the sky had fallen through the clouds into the mortal realm. She was still magnificently moving, but lacked a bit of distance, making one want to pull her into an embrace.
No wonder she is the heroine. Put her in a historical costume drama, and with such peerless beauty, if you said she was a random extra, the audience wouldn’t be able to comprehend it.
Li Chenghuan gradually spaced out. The cold beauty sister-in-law was truly beautiful, making one intoxicated.
The young girl’s gaze was straightforward and infatuated, easily understood by anyone. Jiang Jingyue’s heartbeat inexplicably quickened. As if driven by ghosts and gods, she leaned closer, gently stroked the young girl’s cheek, and said in a low voice, “Chenghuan, why aren’t you coaxing me?”
[The heroine’s darkness value decreases by 8. Reward: 10 buckets of mineral water.]
Li Chenghuan fell into bewilderment. What happened? This is the first time the darkness value has decreased by so much!
In her trancelike state of mind, she murmured out loud: “How should I coax you?”
The cold beauty sister-in-law had clearly already been coaxed into happiness, but she hadn’t even coaxed her yet…
Realizing this, Li Chenghuan suddenly snapped back to her senses and looked at Jiang Jingyue with a face full of shock. “Sister-in-law, you coaxed yourself into being happy!”
What kind of god-level operation was this? The golden finger was too rule-breaking; it was basically giving the heroine a free pass all the way.
Jiang Jingyue was slightly taken aback, then suddenly smiled: “You were the one who coaxed me. Tell me, what is it this time?”
Li Chenghuan’s attention was diverted, and she nodded heavily: “A lot of water, and a lot of dry rations. At least enough to let everyone hold out for five or six days. If we save it, maybe we can hold out for ten days.”
Also, if the cold beauty sister-in-law found the trick and became good at coaxing herself into being happy, they wouldn’t need to worry about the issue of supplies at all.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but ask: “Sister-in-law, what were you thinking about just now? How did you coax yourself to be happy? Did you find any tricks?”
She was simply too curious. One second this woman was saying she couldn’t think of anything happy, and the next second she was rapidly farming rewards. It was simply too heaven-defying.
Jiang Jingyue pursed her lips, looked deeply at the young girl in front of her, and repeated that same sentence: “You were the one who coaxed me.”
As for how she was coaxed, she seemed to understand a bit now. It turned out that some feelings didn’t need anything to be said, and couldn’t be put into words anyway.
Li Chenghuan was completely dumbfounded, her expression extremely shocked. Had she already coaxed her and just suffered amnesia?
Jiang Jingyue didn’t explain much, saying concisely: “I roughly understand what is going on. Take out some steamed buns and water and leave them here; let’s head back first.”
Going too far is as bad as not going far enough; it wasn’t suitable for them to experiment too much right now…
Li Chenghuan nodded, thought for a moment, and took out a hundred steamed buns and a bucket of water. Truth be told, the golden finger was quite considerate. The steamed buns were packed in a bamboo basket—one large basket held exactly a hundred—and the water was contained in a wooden bucket.
They were all common items in ancient times, so there was no need to worry about being exposed.
Seeing Li Chenghuan take out the steamed buns and water with her own eyes, Jiang Jingyue still couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. The young girl’s divine power was so extraordinary; she needed to hold onto her even tighter. It seemed that matter had to be handled as soon as possible.
As the two walked back, Zhou Yuan, Boss Gu, and the others were craning their necks in anticipation.
“Why aren’t they back yet? They couldn’t have run away, could they?” Boss Gu said, worried.
Zhou Yuan pondered in silence, worry also hanging on his face. He felt they wouldn’t, but what if?
Hearing their words, Old Lady Li said crossly, “Nonsense. Chenghuan and my darling Yue’er are the most filial; they would never abandon an old woman like me.” Because the officials’ sabers were in her own hands, and the attitude of these two officials was exceptionally good, her courage had bolstered.
Zhou Yuan held up the torch and glanced at the old woman, but still didn’t say a word. Master Xu could even leave his own biological son behind; Jiang Jingyue and Li Chenghuan might not necessarily be tied down by the old woman.
Boss Gu, on the other hand, seeing Old Lady Li so confident, rolled his eyes in thought, and said with a smile: “Auntie, do you know how they managed to get water and rations?”
If they could find out the inside story, why would they need to beg others like this? It was only reassuring when the saber was held in one’s own hands.
Old Lady Li feigned profundity and said: “Naturally, it is with the help of a paramount expert of immense capabilities.” Hehe, did they think the old woman was stupid? She wouldn’t tell them. Of course, she didn’t know either.
However, borrowing the tiger’s skin to serve as a grand banner to intimidate the two officials a bit was still doable. Darling Yue’er had said that in the future they would rely on her to deter scoundrels, so she couldn’t hold them back.
Little did she know, hearing about the help of a paramount expert, Boss Gu and Zhou Yuan were both stunned. They couldn’t help but think of the tragic deaths of Hu Er and the other three. The expert who killed Hu Er and the others couldn’t be the same group as the expert helping to get water and rations, could they?
The two exchanged a silent look, both reading the meaning in each other’s eyes: They were afraid it really was!
Just then, Old Lady Li shouted: “They’re back, darling Yue’er is back.” Hmph, the unlucky granddaughter came back along with her too.
Boss Gu and Zhou Yuan hurriedly stepped forward a few paces to welcome them. Because they were overly expectant, and simultaneously very worried their hopes would be dashed, they momentarily didn’t know what to say.
Jiang Jingyue didn’t let them remain anxious. She gave a slight nod and said: “You two, come with us. Chengle, you come lend a hand too.”
Old Lady Li hurriedly responded: “Quickly, go help your sister-in-law, and be sharp about it.”
Before long, the few of them returned to the place where the steamed buns and water were placed.
“This is what you got!” Boss Gu widened his eyes, looking at the bamboo basket, and then at the wooden bucket, gasping sharply.
Without waiting for anyone to answer, he lunged forward, grabbed a steamed bun, and took a bite. Then he quickly filled his water skin with water, drank several mouthfuls with satisfaction, and swallowed it whole while saying, “I’m not dreaming! Damn it, heaven is not letting me die!”
The white flour steamed buns were fragrant and soft, the clear water quenched his thirst upon entering his mouth; it was all real.
Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, handed the torch to Li Chengle behind him, and followed suit, eating a steamed bun and drinking some water. Only then did the stone in his heart completely fall to the ground.
Calming down, he hurriedly stood up, cupped his fists, and gave a solemn bow to Jiang Jingyue and Li Chenghuan: “You two have shown immense righteousness. On behalf of these hundred lives, I thank you.”
At this moment, he felt incomparably fortunate in his heart that he hadn’t misjudged the people, nor had he bet wrong.
Boss Gu, having now eaten his fill and drunk enough, belatedly offered his thanks. As for any ulterior motives, he didn’t even dare to think about them anymore.
Damn it, who knew how many experts were following them in the shadows, and their hidden weapons were so terrifying—hitting a person left a bloody hole. Even if he were lent eight hundred courages, he wouldn’t dare think of doing anything like burning bridges after crossing the river.
Jiang Jingyue, however, pulled Li Chenghuan and stepped aside, not accepting this bow, and said sternly: “There is no need for thanks. We also have conditions, you two shouldn’t have forgotten, right?”
Zhou Yuan nodded repeatedly: “We haven’t forgotten, we haven’t forgotten. Miss Jiang, please speak frankly, we will definitely agree.”
He could tell that these few people all followed Jiang Jingyue’s lead. Jiang Jingyue’s meaning represented the meaning of these few people, as well as the attitude of the expert behind them.
Jiang Jingyue steadied her mind and said unhurriedly: “The lockdown of Youlong County means the world is about to fall into chaos, or is already in chaos. But where the chaos started, and to what extent it has reached, is still unknown. Am I right in saying this?”
Zhou Yuan and Boss Gu nodded successively. From the current look of things, this was indeed correct.
Jiang Jingyue continued: “If the chaos is only temporary, we still need to arrive in the North on schedule. If the chaos is difficult to quell, to the point that the royal court is overthrown, our going to the North would just be asking for trouble. Am I right in saying this?”
The two nodded again. Although these words were correct, they sounded too terrifying. If the royal court was overthrown… just thinking about it made their hearts pound in fear.
Jiang Jingyue continued further: “No matter which situation it is, it is no longer suitable for us to show ourselves with the identity of exiled convicts. I have two conditions.”
Zhou Yuan and Boss Gu looked at her in unison, listening quietly.
“First, everyone must take off their prison uniforms and unify our story: changing from exiled convicts to refugees fleeing from Youlong County. Second, we can continuously provide water and rations, and the group will outwardly remain under the command of you two, but in private, everything must be approved by me.”
Zhou Yuan and Boss Gu exchanged silent looks, waging a battle of eyes and brows.
Boss Gu: What do you say, kid?
Zhou Yuan slowly shook his head: We are all relying on their water and rations to save our lives right now; we can only obey.
Boss Gu: What does shaking your head mean? Not agreeing?
Jiang Jingyue waited quietly for a moment, then asked calmly: “Have you two thought it through?”
Boss Gu hurriedly spoke up: “Anyway, I agree to all of it. If Brother Zhou is unwilling, that’s his own business.” She had a paramount expert with immense capabilities backing her up. This kid’s guts were too big, wasn’t he afraid of getting bloody holes in his body!
Zhou Yuan glared at him wordlessly, and hastily explained: “It’s a misunderstanding. I also agree to all of it. From now on, we will entirely rely on Miss Jiang.”
Boss Gu rolled his eyes inwardly and glared back with an unfriendly look. You agreed yet shook your head, who were you trying to screw over? Luckily, I’m sharp.
Jiang Jingyue nodded in satisfaction, her tone softening a bit: “Since that is the case, I believe we should immediately change our route and head into the mountains, to avoid any further unexpected changes in Youlong County that might involve us.”
Heading into the mountains was the best choice. For one, they could avoid the chaotic world; for another, they could continue moving north. It was suitable for both advancing and retreating.
Li Chenghuan stood to the side with starry eyes. The cold beauty sister-in-law truly lived up to being the heroine; easily manipulating them.
Zhou Yuan and Boss Gu naturally had no objections. In the end, the two of them lifted the bamboo basket together, Li Chengle, having great strength, directly carried the water bucket, and Li Chenghuan held the torch, walking in front with Jiang Jingyue.
The group returned to their original spot. Just as they put down the bamboo basket and the water bucket, they saw Lu Chongzhi running over.
After Master Xu had left, under Zhou Yuan’s instruction, he had quietly followed after him.
Lu Chongzhi ran up panting and out of breath. Before he could speak, he first saw the white steamed buns in the basket and the water in the bucket. He blinked his eyes in disbelief, instantly forgetting what he wanted to say.
So hungry, so thirsty… really want to eat, really want to drink…
Boss Gu had already taken his saber back. Seeing this, he gripped the hilt of his saber: “What are you looking at? If you keep looking, I’ll dig your eyeballs out! Quickly tell us, what is the matter?”
Lu Chongzhi shivered, forced his gaze away, and said dryly: “Master Xu has entered the city. This was shot down from the city gate tower.”
With that, he took out a letter from his chest pocket and handed it to Boss Gu.
Boss Gu looked at it for a few glances, and was about to hand it to Zhou Yuan. Halfway there, his hand stiffly changed direction, and he smiled brazenly: “Miss Jiang, you take a look first and make a decision.”
Zhou Yuan uncomfortably retracted his hand, inwardly cursing Boss Gu for being a slippery fellow who sailed with the wind. Only you have good judgment, how showy of you.
Jiang Jingyue calmly took it over. After reading it, she furrowed her brows in silence.