Xin Nian nodded. “This old escort surnamed Zhang is in cahoots with the head escort Liang Guang, and probably doesn’t get along with that bearded fellow.”
“After all, your grandfather holds an important official position. With that backing behind you, Liang Tou probably doesn’t want to offend a daughter of the Xie family.”
Xie Ninglan nodded, pulling her daughter back to the group. Through the crowd, she made a reassuring gesture to Xin Wenyuan.
The escorts were constantly shouting for everyone to get moving, and the crowd erupted in another wave of lamentations.
The old escort quietly approached Liang Guang and whispered, “Sir, the Minister’s residence intends to come deliver some items tomorrow morning before we leave the official road. It seems they’re quite concerned about this girl.”
Liang Guang shot him a glance, and the old escort immediately understood. Chuckling, he moved closer and pulled a bulging package from his robe, pressing it into Liang Guang’s hand.
Liang Guang weighed it in his hand, feeling satisfied. “Tell them to make it quick when they hand things over privately.”
“Understood, sir.” The old escort grinned. “As for that bearded fellow, he’s reckless in his work – quick to use the whip at any moment. If that whip were to land on the Xie family girl, it would be disastrous. He nearly ruined things earlier…”
At the mention of the bearded man, Liang Guang’s expression darkened slightly. “Have Xiao Jia keep an eye on him.”
The old escort nodded. “Don’t worry, sir.”
“Oh, and one more thing – the heavy cangs must never be removed from those Dragon-Tiger Stronghold leaders. Assign more people to watch them closely. We can’t let them escape.”
These were all serious criminals. If any escaped along the way, none of them could bear the responsibility.
“Yes, sir.”
Whips cracked against the ground, raising clouds of dust.
The exiled convicts were herded like livestock, their chains and cangs clanking noisily. Everyone looked weary, swaying unsteadily and complaining incessantly.
Xie Ninglan and her daughter had both changed into the sheepskin-lined straw shoes specially made by the Minister’s residence. Following at the back of the crowd, they whispered to each other. “Mom, I’ve managed to grasp the basics of my dual supernatural powers. How about you?”
Before crossing over, her mother had been a highly respected senior doctoral researcher at the agricultural science institute, using her wood-type supernatural power specifically for cultivating new seed varieties.
Her mother had graduated from agricultural university, while her father had worked in civil engineering before the apocalypse. When the apocalypse broke out, initially none of their family of four had supernatural powers.
At that time, they relied entirely on her parents’ agricultural and construction skills to keep the family fed.
Later, they gradually awakened supernatural powers. Xie Ninglan’s wood-type power complemented her profession perfectly, and naturally their lives improved steadily.
“After all this effort, this is all I’ve achieved.” Xie Ninglan made a pained face and winked at her daughter, indicating for her to look at her fingers.
Xin Nian’s gaze dropped to see a small pink flower twining around her mother’s fingertip, and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“That fingertip flower is quite pretty.” Xin Nian didn’t hold back her praise. “It’s fine, that’s how it is at the beginning. I can’t mobilize much energy either. The natural energy here is rich and abundant. Once we fully integrate with these bodies, cultivation shouldn’t be difficult later on.”
Xie Ninglan was very unaccustomed to this body that grew breathless after just a few steps. She complained quietly, “The physical condition is no good. Just walking half the morning leaves me dizzy, seeing stars, and gasping for breath.”
“Can’t be helped. Ancient noblewomen were raised delicately in inner chambers since birth.” Xin Nian sighed. “We can only find ways to exercise gradually. Later I’ll try to convert some more energy and see if I can use my healing-type power to assist you a bit.”
“Focus on your own recovery first. There’s no hurry for me.”
This matter couldn’t be rushed; it all depended on how much their daughter could recover within a day.
Xie Ninglan had always held an inexplicable confidence in the girl. She believed that as long as the girl could recover, most of their problems would be solved!
“Reach the small post station on the outskirts of the capital before dark. If you’re late and end up sleeping in the wilderness, bear the consequences yourselves.” Several loud-voiced escorts were shouting again, their tones clearly tinged with impatience.
“Look at you all, we haven’t even completely left the official road yet! You’re already acting like you’ve lost your parents and can’t go on!”
“Let me tell you, once we leave the capital, the roads will only get harder. The more remote the place, the more difficult the journey!”
“Watch your hides carefully, all of you! Keep up, keep up, hurry up. You, kid, looking for a beating? Dragging your feet and dawdling, watch out for my whip—it doesn’t have eyes!”
Xie Ninglan and her daughter were chained together with the Old Madam, Xin Ruoyu, and Xin Mengxue. Listening to Xin Mengxue’s intermittent sobs, she couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
“What’s this girl’s name again? Why is she crying nonstop?” Didn’t crying take effort? And it wouldn’t solve their problems either.
Xie Ninglan was utterly perplexed.
Xin Nian almost laughed. “She’s the legitimate daughter of Third Uncle Xin Wenan, the fourth in line, named Xin Mengxue. The third branch only has two daughters—besides her, there’s also a fifth daughter, a concubine-born child named Xin Mengye.”
“What about the one in front?”
“That’s the second branch’s daughter, Third Sister Xin Ruoyu.” Xin Nian explained quietly, “Second Uncle is a sentimental man. Back when Second Aunt died in childbirth while giving birth to a daughter, he was so distraught he ran away from home.”
“From what I remember, Second Uncle has been wandering the martial world for eighteen years and never once returned to the Duke Manor. So Third Sister has always been raised by the Old Madam and is very close to her.”
“Ugh…” Xie Ninglan was speechless, gritting her teeth as she cursed, “What kind of lunatic is he? His wife went through hell to give him a child, and he just abandons the girl and runs off. Does that seem like a father?”
“And your father, from what your grandmother said, probably isn’t much better. On the day of the confiscation, he could still fight with his wife and even knocked me out!!” Xie Ninglan fumed, “I think this Duke Manor is full of lunatics.”
Xin Nian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “How is that my father? My father is up ahead, walking and looking back at us.”
“Right.” Xie Ninglan waved at Xin Wenyuan, “Your father couldn’t be that wretched fellow. Our Lao Xin is much more reliable.”
“Sigh, I wonder if we can buy something when we reach the small post station tonight. It’d be great if we could get a small pot to boil some hot water. We can’t drink cold water every day—our stomachs probably won’t handle it.”
“Mom, don’t let those cheap short dramas mislead you. Exile isn’t a vacation—they’re not going to let you buy things. Wishful thinking!”
“The water quality in ancient times must be better than back home. The groundwater we dug up there had to be filtered multiple times with purification tablets. This is definitely cleaner than the water resources after the apocalypse. At most, there might be some ephemera or animal droppings in it.”
Xie Ninglan didn’t want to talk anymore.
She missed the large bottled water stockpiled in her daughter’s space so much.
“This is just the beginning. Don’t worry, it’ll only get worse from here.”
Xie Ninglan: …
Shut up, girl! I don’t really like listening to you right now.
“Third Sister.” Xin Mengxue suddenly called out, turning to look at Xie Ninglan and her daughter, “Fourth Aunt, please help me support Third Sister.”
“What’s going on?” Xie Ninglan dragged his chains forward a few steps, reaching out to support Xin Ruoyu who was leaning against Xin Mengxue.
The moment he touched her forehead, he was startled.
“She’s running a fever!”
“It must be an infection from the wound on her back.” Xin Nian frowned.[1] jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1777719_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1777719_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });