Amidst the wails, Sheng Erlang declared with conviction, “That’s right, it must be Song the Jinx’s bad luck that has brought misfortune upon us all. If not for her, the refugees would never have targeted Dashe Village. Drive her out of the refugee caravan at once, or we’ll all die.”
Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.
All the hatred and hostile gazes converged on Song Jiaojiao.
She was taken aback.
This was what they called an unwarranted disaster!
“Song Jiaojiao just married into the family yesterday, and already she’s brought my mother and eldest brother to the brink of death. Isn’t that proof she’s a jinx?” The more Sheng Erlang spoke, the more convinced he became. Glancing at Song Jiaojiao again, he stumbled backward in fear, terrified of being tainted by her misfortune.
“Exactly, Song Jiaojiao even brought misfortune to her own parents, let alone others. It’s because of her that our grain was stolen by the refugees.”
“Drive Song the Jinx out of the refugee caravan—no, tie her up and burn her to death, so she can’t seek revenge on us later.”
“My two sons were killed by the refugees. A life for a life—burn Song the Jinx to death!”
The villagers, their faces twisted with rage, clamored as they surged forward.
They were no different from the refugees who had burned, killed, and looted the night before.
Sheng Erlang let out a cry of “Mother!” and fell to the ground, never expecting things to spiral out of control. He had only wanted to drive Song Jiaojiao away, not take her life.
But the villagers, driven mad by their loss of reason, lunged at Song Jiaojiao like frenzied beasts. Just as someone was about to grab her arm, a solid kick landed squarely on their stomach. Their body flew through the air, landing half a zhang away with a thud, face-first into the mud.
Another had their arm dislocated, letting out a scream like a slaughtered pig. Seemingly annoyed by the noise, Song Jiaojiao dislocated their jaw as well, pressing their head down to knock it against the ground.
The remaining villagers froze in place, silent as chickens.
No one had expected Song Jiaojiao to know martial arts.
Her moves were ruthless, her speed astonishing, and she didn’t even blink.
They were only brave when bullying their own, which was why they had been terrified of the fierce refugees and now, believing Song Jiaojiao to be an easy target, sought to burn her to vent their anger.
The boiling rage in their veins gradually cooled, and everyone held their breath, retreating in fear and trepidation. Soon, an area of about one zhang radius around the Sheng family was left empty.
Song Jiaojiao turned sideways, her sharp gaze falling on Sheng Erlang.
Hic—it was the sound of him hiccupping in terror.
“How embarrassing,” Mrs. Fang covered her face with her hand, once again disappointed in her husband. Taking a deep breath, she unconsciously adopted a respectful tone when addressing Song Jiaojiao: “Sister-in-law, we’ve been traveling all night, and the whole family is exhausted and hungry. Why don’t we rest here for a while and search the surroundings for something to eat?”
Song Jiaojiao pursed her lips slightly. At least there was someone in the Sheng family with a brain.
A faint smile appeared on her face, and her voice, originally soft and delicate, bore no resemblance to the ruthless demon she had been moments earlier. “Let’s split up. You gather firewood, and I’ll look for food.”
Before leaving, Song Jiaojiao first took stock of the supplies on the cart. The iron pot and water pouch were still there. To her delight, perhaps the refugees had mistaken the sweet potatoes for tree roots, as they remained untouched in the sack.
Finally, she discovered a small bag of millet on the cart, which Old Qian had hidden specifically for the sick Sheng Huaian. It weighed about five jin. Cooking the millet with sweet potatoes and wild vegetables would not only fill the whole family’s stomachs but also provide a decent meal.
“Third Brother, you stay and watch over our family’s belongings. Wait for me to come back and make something delicious. As for Second Brother, your husband is bleeding heavily. Go dig up some dandelions, crush them, and apply them to his wounds.” Song Jiaojiao counted on her fingers as she assigned tasks to the two Sheng brothers. How could Second Brother and Third Brother dare to refuse? They nodded like pounding garlic.
She remotely opened the Void Panel and, based on the arrow indicated on the map, determined the area with the most greenery. Then, carrying a water pouch, she turned and strode away.
Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
“She’s so capable. Even if she encounters refugees, she won’t be afraid. Since we’re from the same village, she probably won’t be so stingy as to not let us follow her to look for food, right?” someone timidly suggested.
The villagers exchanged glances and, without a word, chased after her. However, they didn’t dare to get too close, maintaining a distance of about two zhang as they followed from afar.
At first, everyone just wanted to seek protection, but gradually, they discovered that following Song Jiaojiao, they could always dig up a lot of wild vegetables along the way.
Since the famine began, this was the first time things had gone so smoothly.
One villager couldn’t help but sigh, “Song the Disaster Star doesn’t seem all that unlucky, after all.”
He was quickly refuted by another: “A blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse—maybe this place just hasn’t been hit as hard by the drought. The Song family has been unlucky for a full fifteen years. It can’t all be made up, can it?”
The sun grew stronger, and the group grew thirsty and tired. Fatigue combined with hunger began to cause signs of low blood sugar.
While no one was looking, Song Jiaojiao took a milk candy from the System and popped it into her mouth. As her body gradually regained strength, she began to check what good items were for sale in the Mall today.
Tsk.
She gasped: Damn, it’s so expensive!
The products were dazzling, all good stuff. However, the Points accumulated over two days totaled only 550, enough to buy just three of them.
Item One: Wild Chicken x1 (Special Price), value 250 Points.
Item Four: Mineral Water 1 Bucket, value 60 Points.
Item Five: Salt 500g, value 100 Points.
The drought had caused many plants to fail to grow, making the Points collection process incredibly slow. Song Jiaojiao bought all the items in one go and was planning whether to stew chicken soup or make beggar’s chicken when the System suddenly sent a notification:
[Ding! A large quantity of primitive Vibrio cholerae detected 100m ahead, value 10,000 Points. Collect?]
Wow, this was the first time she had encountered a task worth over ten thousand Points.
Chewing on the milk candy, Song Jiaojiao quickened her pace and crossed the mountain pass.
Ahead, there was a wide river.
Years of drought had nearly dried up the water flow, exposing large areas of the riverbed with cracks. Only in low-lying areas were there small pools of stagnant water, about thirty to forty meters in diameter.
“It’s a water source! Great, we’ve finally found water.”
“Heaven still favors us. I’m dying of thirst. Later, I’m definitely going to drink my fill.”
Everyone rushed forward in a swarm.
[Distance to mission target: 80m, 70m, 60m…]
As the numbers on the map changed, they drew closer and closer to the river. Song Jiaojiao observed her surroundings along the way, her brow gradually furrowing.
There were many animal corpses around and even on the riverbed. They didn’t seem to have been dead for long, which was clearly abnormal.
Others also began to notice this anomaly, but those driven mad by hunger hesitated briefly before some lunged for the fresher-looking small animals.
The scene was both bloody and heartbreaking.
[Ding! A large quantity of Vibrio cholerae detected within 1m, worth 10,000 Points. Collect?]
The System prompt repeated, and only then did Song Jiaojiao notice the densely marked mission points on the map, the panel glowing a vivid red.
And they were standing right in the midst of the bacteria.
Vibrio cholerae is the most common pathogenic bacteria in water. Mild infections cause diarrhea, while severe cases lead to shock or even death. It is typically found in stagnant water.
[No!!]
Song Jiaojiao’s scalp tingled with dread as she frantically tapped the reject button.
With the primitive medical standards of ancient times, contracting cholera was practically a death sentence. She had no intention of trading her life for ten thousand Points.
“The water here is teeming with bacteria—do not drink it,” Song Jiaojiao warned sharply, slowly backing away. “The riverbed here has only small cracks, and the soil beneath them is damp. Let’s follow the river upstream. We might still find another water source.”