Meng Ping’an looked up at the teacher. This was the first time he had ever called her by name.
“Teacher, what about you?”
The teacher sighed.
“I suppose I’m going to the capital as well. They need scholars like us there!”
“Teacher, the journey to the capital is a long one. Please take good care of yourself. Ping’an wishes you a safe journey and hopes you reach the capital safely soon.”
“All right, all right! There are many books in the academy’s library. Most of them have already been taken by the students, but there are still some left. Go and see if there are any you like. Take whatever you want.”
The teacher looked regretfully at the library beside them.
So many books were being scattered in all directions in a single day. Only a few lonely books remained, lying on the floor, desks, and shelves.
“Is that really okay?”
Meng Ping’an looked excitedly at the teacher.
He was only in his thirties, yet overnight, he seemed to have aged more than ten years.
“Go ahead. Take whatever you can carry. If they stay here, they’ll only be ruined.”
Meng Ping’an bowed to him.
“Thank you, Teacher!”
The teacher waved his hand and walked wearily toward the back courtyard of the academy.
Tomorrow, he too would be leaving the place where he had lived for more than a decade.
There was so much reluctance in his heart, but he had no other choice.
Meng Ping’an went into the library beside them.
There were many books scattered messily across the floor.
All kinds of books were mixed together.
She picked them up one by one, brushed the dust off, stacked them neatly, and put them into her space.
After gathering all the books from the floor, she also put all the books on the desks into her space.
Finally, she turned to the books on the shelves.
She found a length of hemp rope and tied more than thirty books into two bundles.
She picked up one bundle in each hand and walked out of the library.
She glanced toward the back courtyard.
The gate was tightly closed.
Meng Ping’an sighed, then put the two bundles of books into her space.
She also casually took two sets of tables and chairs and stored them inside.
After leaving the academy, she closed the academy gate tightly from the outside and looked up at the plaque above the entrance.
The four large characters, “Qingcheng Academy,” were still as dazzling as they had been when she first arrived.
In the blink of an eye, she had spent three years here.
She looked back at the academy reluctantly and closed her eyes, forcing herself to suppress her sadness.
Looks like she would have to buy more things in town tomorrow.
By now, the prices of oil and grain were probably already rising.
Thinking about this, Meng Ping’an made her way back to the abandoned temple.
After returning to the temple, Meng Ping’an placed a table and chairs in the western room.
She had already repaired the roof over the western room.
At the very least, it no longer leaked whenever it rained.
She used this room as her study.
The eastern room was where she slept and rested.
Behind the house in the courtyard, she had also built a small thatched shed to use as a latrine.
The earthen house beside the abandoned temple had been turned into a woodshed.
Under its eaves was a simple kitchen, consisting of only a stove and a broken table.
She usually cooked and ate there.
Now that she no longer needed to beg at the temple, she would be cooking more often at home.
Tomorrow, she needed to go into town to buy some food and stock up on more grain.
Meng Ping’an entered her space and found the box where she kept her money.
The previous money jar was already full.
She now had a total of fifty taels of silver and copper coins.
This was what she had saved over the past few years.
Besides those fifty taels, she had also stocked up on three hundred jin of coarse rice, two hundred jin of polished rice, and around three hundred jin of coarse and fine flour combined.
She also had quite a bit of lard, salt, and seasonings.
She hadn’t counted everything carefully, but all the supplies in her space were enough to feed her alone for more than ten years.
The things stored inside the space wouldn’t spoil.
Meng Ping’an had tried clearing some land in the space and planting crops.
However, after she finished preparing the land one day, she found it had returned to its original state when she entered the next day.
It seemed that nothing could be planted in the space.
…
Ah!
But she wasn’t greedy.
If she couldn’t grow anything, then so be it.
The ability to preserve things alone was already perfect.
Whatever she put inside came out exactly the same as when she had stored it.
Meng Ping’an had even tried putting a live chicken into the space.
The moment it entered, the chicken became as still as if it were asleep.
When she took it back out, it was lively and jumping around again.
She had been incredibly excited about this.
She had initially worried that if living creatures could move around inside, they might destroy her food and supplies.
Apparently, she didn’t have to worry about that.
Any living creature placed inside would simply fall into a deep sleep.
There was absolutely no need to worry about them causing trouble.
After drinking spiritual spring water for several years, Meng Ping’an’s body had also grown very well.
She had shot up in height, and her body was much stronger than before.
Especially her strength.
She discovered that she was even stronger than some of the young servants at the academy who knew martial arts.
It was probably because she had been drinking spiritual spring water for so many years.
During her years at the academy, she had also learned some basic fighting skills from the young servants.
They should be enough for her to protect herself.
After all, she was strong.
If she encountered that group of beggars again, she probably wouldn’t be bullied so easily.
Now that she no longer needed to beg, she changed into clean clothes and neatly combed her hair.
At first glance, she looked like a clean and handsome young boy.
Early the next morning, Meng Ping’an cooked a pot of rice porridge and made several egg pancakes.
After eating and drinking her fill, she put the leftovers into her space to save for lunch.
She closed the door of the abandoned temple and prepared to go into town to see what was happening.
Along the way, she encountered many people.
They were all driving carts or dragging their families toward the eastern city gate.
She stopped a woman carrying a child.
“Auntie, are you leaving the city?”
“Child, Qingshan County has already been occupied. Qingcheng will be next. We’re going back to our hometown. This city isn’t safe anymore. You should leave quickly too!”
After saying that, the woman took her child’s hand and hurried toward the eastern side of the city.
Meng Ping’an was also hesitant about whether she should enter the town.
But seeing so many people leaving, she still wanted to go inside and see what was happening.
After making up her mind, she turned toward a less crowded area and entered the town through an inconspicuous little path.
Many of the shops in town were already closed.
Only a few remained open, yet there wasn’t a single customer inside.
Meng Ping’an first went to a rice shop.
She looked at the shop assistant sitting there blankly and asked,
“Brother, how much is coarse rice per jin?”
“Oh, you’re looking for rice? Coarse rice is four wen per jin. Want some? It’s actually one wen cheaper than usual. The shopkeeper is anxious to go home, so we’re selling everything at a discount.”
“If I buy all of it, can you make it even cheaper?”
Meng Ping’an looked at the shop’s remaining stock.
There were only two or three shi of grain left.
The shop assistant’s face immediately brightened.
“If you take it all, I’ll give you another wen off per jin. How about I have it delivered for you?”
Meng Ping’an thought for a moment.
“How about this? Pack everything up and deliver it to the road ahead. My family will come to pick me up later.”
“All right, all right!”
The shop assistant happily agreed.
Once everything was sold, he could return to his hometown early.
After Meng Ping’an paid, the shop assistant packed more than a dozen bags of grain and transported them all to a tree by the roadside.
Only then did he return to the rice shop.
Once he had gone far away and there were no pedestrians nearby, Meng Ping’an put all the grain into her space.
She used the same method to visit several other grain shops on different streets.
After making a complete round of the city, she had practically bought up all the grain in town herself.
She had just prepared to return to the abandoned temple when she suddenly heard shouting from a distance.
“The enemy army is here! Qingcheng has fallen!”
“Run! The enemy soldiers are killing people!”