Su Nuan was feeling rather panicked at the moment. How could all the items she had collected just disappear?
She glanced at the distant stream and dashed across the grassland toward it.
However, before reaching the riverbank, she was thrown backward by an invisible force, landing flat on her back.
She scrambled to her feet and cautiously moved forward, only to encounter a transparent barrier. The stream was right there, yet she couldn’t fetch any water—how infuriating.
Setting aside the stream for now, Su Nuan turned back and carefully searched the interior of the house, hoping to find an entrance to a cellar.
Eventually, she spotted a golden circle beside the dressing table inside the house. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped onto it.
In the blink of an eye, she found herself inside a massive warehouse, where all the items she had previously collected were stored.
Seeing the physical objects, Su Nuan breathed a sigh of relief, her anxious heart finally settling.
Scanning the area, she noticed that fabrics, food, and furniture had all been automatically sorted.
The shelves she had brought in were neatly arranged against the walls, their contents clearly visible.
Scratching her head, Su Nuan muttered to herself, “I remember storing the house. Where is it?”
After searching around, she finally spotted several miniature houses on one of the shelves. So, the houses had turned into small models after being stored—this Space was truly miraculous.
Filled with doubt, she eventually took a pot, bowls, ladles, a carbon furnace, and an earthen pot before exiting the Space.
Outside, a few stars had already appeared in the sky, but they faintly glowed with a red light—an ominous sign.
Su Nuan suddenly recalled the weather from her previous life: on the third day after leaving the town, relentless heavy rain would begin, lasting a full month before stopping.
In such torrential rain, even traveling by carriage would be difficult, let alone on foot.
In the end, everyone had sought refuge in mountain caves, surviving on grass roots and tree bark.
Many had caught colds, and the weak had died from illness, only to have their ears cut off by soldiers and their bodies abandoned in the wilderness.
Carrying a burlap sack, Su Nuan felt heavy-hearted. Although she had collected many items, there were no common medicinal herbs. After all, one couldn’t just take ginseng for a common cold.
This town had been built for exiled convicts, so there were no pharmacies here, making it impossible to purchase medicinal herbs.
She sighed. Fortunately, there were many herbs for treating colds; she would have to see if she could gather some along the way.
With that, she slowly made her way back, carrying her belongings. The soldier at the entrance saw her return and immediately said, “Miss Su, our captain asked me to give this to you.”
Su Nuan suspiciously accepted a cloth-wrapped bundle. Without opening it, she smiled and said, “Thank you.”
She refrained from opening it in front of others and instead carried her things into the posthouse.
The people in the courtyard huddled together, unaware that roughing it outdoors would be the easy part—the road ahead was far more brutal.
She made her way through the narrow passage back to her quarters. Upon entering, she saw her mother-in-law pacing around the room, seemingly anxious about her late return.
A warmth spread in Su Nuan’s heart as she smiled and said, “I’m back.”
Hearing this, Xue Shi hurried over, scrutinizing Su Nuan from head to toe. Only after confirming she was unharmed did she relax.
Complaining, she said, “It’s already dark. I wanted to go look for you, but they wouldn’t let me leave.”
Su Nuan smiled and replied, “I was delayed while shopping. Mother, take a look and see if we’re missing anything. I’ll go buy it tomorrow morning.”
Only then did Xue Shi notice the large burlap sack Su Nuan had brought back. Astonished, she exclaimed, “How are you so strong?”
Su Nuan also found the matter quite miraculous and impossible to explain clearly, so it was better not to try.
She lowered her head and opened the item Cheng Feng had given her—it turned out to be a hardwood dagger. This type of wood was no worse than iron; as long as it wasn’t used to chop stones, it could easily handle cutting vegetables or meat.
Yet Su Nuan felt no joy, for this was given by Cheng Feng. His purpose in giving her the dagger was for her to eliminate the person who was dominating him.
In this world, there was no such thing as unconditional kindness—it was all about mutual exploitation.
She handed the dagger to Xue Shi. “Mother, take this. It can be used for self-defense.”
“From now on, we should appear disheveled and unkempt to avoid drawing unwanted attention.”
Xue Shi pushed the dagger back. “I’m already old. But you—a fresh, delicate young woman—need this for protection.”
Su Nuan firmly pressed the dagger into Xue Shi’s hands and said seriously, “Mother, I have strength. Ordinary men can’t overpower me. You keep it.”
Seeing Su Nuan’s determination, Xue Shi smiled gratefully. “I don’t need it. You should keep it.”
If she were ever faced with violation, she would rather dash her head against a wall and die. But having the dagger did bring her some peace of mind.
Still, her daughter-in-law’s safety was more important, so she remained unwilling to accept it.
Noticing her concern, Su Nuan pulled out a copper flat hairpin from her bosom. With some sharpening, it could become quite sharp.
“Mother, I have this. Don’t worry about me.”
Only then did Xue Shi nod in relief. With Su Nuan’s great strength and this flat hairpin, even an average man would be no match for her.
Su Nuan smiled. “Mother, tomorrow there will be a donkey cart. You should ride with Grandmother and Younger Sister to look after your husband. Don’t refuse this.”
Xue Shi opened her mouth to protest, feeling she still had the strength to walk.
But Su Nuan anticipated her words and said, “Mother, listen to me. This isn’t a normal exile. Cheng Feng only cares that we arrive alive—he doesn’t care how we get there.”
“Besides, the journey ahead is very unsafe. We must take care of ourselves. If anyone falls ill from exhaustion, it will burden the whole family.”
Xue Shi frowned and voiced her opinion. “Although I’m a woman, I’ve practiced martial arts since childhood to stay fit. How can a delicate young lady like you walk such a long distance?”
Su Nuan sighed helplessly and pointed to a sack on the ground. “Mother, try lifting that.”
Xue Shi walked over suspiciously and reached for the sack, but after three attempts, she couldn’t lift it.
Su Nuan said with some pride, “Mother, after my own mother passed away, my maternal grandfather feared I might be bullied. He secretly sent someone to teach me martial arts. So you needn’t worry about me.”
Xue Shi knew Su Nuan’s maternal grandfather was wealthy and could easily have sent someone to teach her martial arts. Finally reassured, she nodded.
“Alright. But we can’t ride in the cart the whole time—we must move around occasionally.”
Seeing her no longer resisting, Su Nuan smiled. “From now on, Mother, just follow my arrangements. I promise to make this journey comfortable for all of you.”
Xue Shi didn’t believe comfort was possible, but seeing her daughter-in-law so cheerful and optimistic eased her heart considerably.
Su Nuan took out a candle and lit it, then reached into the sack and pulled out an oilcloth package. Inside were twenty meat buns.
These buns had been collected from Su Mansion and were still slightly warm.
Xue Shi handed two buns to Su Nuan. “Eat quickly. We’ll save the rest for tomorrow morning. We just had some dried meat and aren’t hungry yet.”
Su Nuan didn’t decline either, taking it and eating immediately. This was no time for polite refusals that would only waste precious moments.
Xue Shi, not wanting to squander their light source, extinguished the candle as soon as Su Nuan finished eating and found a place to sit.
Before dawn the next day, urgent gong strikes sounded outside – the officers urging everyone to wake and resume their journey.
Su Nuan opened her eyes to see Xue Shi holding Tuan Tuan while wiping tears from her eyes. Her heart tightened – what had happened to Little Aunt?