At dawn the next day, when the sky was only beginning to brighten, the Lin family had already left the village and resumed their journey, hoping to cover more distance before the sun rose high.
Before daybreak, Madam Li had cooked two large pots of rice to serve as provisions for the road. She had been worrying about how to pack them onto the cart when Lin Zhiyue got up and rolled the rice into plump rice balls, wrapping each one in scraps of cloth.
The cloth scraps had already been boiled and sterilized earlier when they were stored in her space.
After passing this village, there would basically be no more villages suitable for resting ahead.
According to the information Old Man Lin had gathered yesterday, it would take another four to five days by carriage to reach the next town.
Lin Zhiyue was a little worried. If the drought continued for another three days like this, then even on the surface, they would soon face shortages of both water and food.
She could only hope the land ahead was less dry, giving her a chance to take out the water stored in her space without it seeming too suspicious. Lin Zhiyue silently prayed in her heart.
“Huh? Someone’s there.”
Lin Dian stopped the mule cart. By the roadside lay a middle-aged man.
The carriage behind them also stopped, and Pei Guang got down to take a look.
“He’s dead.”
“Beaten to death,” Pei Guang said after only one glance.
The man’s face was swollen and covered in blood. There was a large hole smashed into his head—clearly caused by a rock.
Hearing this, Madam Li and Old Madam Lin both became nervous and frightened. What exactly had happened here?
“Ah Dian, Zhishu, you two be careful up ahead,” Madam Li called anxiously.
“Don’t worry, Mother.”
Lin Zhishu had already placed his machete somewhere within easy reach.
After traveling another two li, they saw a group of people ahead.
There were over twenty of them, with eleven or twelve adult men. Two mule carts carried their belongings, while the smaller children sat on handcarts.
As the Lin family’s carriage passed by, the group stopped walking. Pairs of vicious, greedy eyes stared openly at them.
“Grandpa, did you notice? All their children are boys. Not a single girl,” Lin Zhiyue said after the carriage had passed them.
“They don’t look like good people at all. Best stay far away from them.”
Old Man Lin frowned deeply.
The family did not stop again the entire way, only finally resting around noon.
“Dad, we haven’t seen anyone else all day. I think something’s wrong,” Lin Zhiyue whispered while pulling Lin Yan aside.
“Mm. We’ll need to stay alert tonight.” Since they couldn’t avoid them, they would have to face them.
They couldn’t possibly force themselves and the animals to rush on without rest just to avoid those people. The horses and mules wouldn’t be able to endure it.
After eating rice balls, they distributed water among the family members, yet everyone claimed they weren’t thirsty.
Without anyone really noticing, the task of handing out water had naturally fallen to Lin Zhiyue.
Everyone watched as she gave water to the horses and mules. After all, the hot-water bags and water skins were only so large.
Lin Zhiyue found herself troubled. She didn’t know how to persuade everyone otherwise. Was she supposed to boldly tell them to drink freely because she had as much water as they wanted?
After Pei Guang taught them a few more combat moves, night fell.
Pei Guang lit a fire, and the oilcloth was packed away instead of being spread out.
Sure enough, just as everyone had expected, that group of people caught up to them.
The moment they saw them, everyone felt an “as expected” sort of realization. The atmosphere instantly became tense.
“Boss, let’s rest here tonight,” one of the men said to a sturdily built man nearby.
The burly man nodded silently, though his gaze repeatedly swept toward Pei Guang.
The man was named Chang Er, an enforcer from a gambling house in Jincheng who knew a bit of martial arts.
The man speaking earlier was the eldest son of the old woman who had tried to abduct Lin Zhixing outside Yiyang City.
“Er Gouzi, look—it’s that man.”
The old woman jerked her chin toward Lin Yan, watching him sideways.
Through the firelight, Lin Yan recognized the two of them as well.
Seeing them stare at him, he returned the gaze fearlessly.
As for Pei Guang, he paid no attention at all to Chang Er’s scrutiny. He simply watched the fire and occasionally tossed in more firewood.
“Boss, what should we do?”Er Gouzi crouched beside Chang Er and whispered.
“Forget this one. That man looks difficult to deal with.”
Chang Er motioned toward Pei Guang with his chin.
“What’s there to be afraid of? We’ve got so many people. Even if that man’s dangerous, he’s only one person. The old and weak ones are all in the carriage. As long as we grab one of them, how could they refuse to cooperate?”
Er Gouzi continued to fan the flames.
“Yeah, Boss. They’re obviously fat sheep. What a waste if we let them go.”
One of Chang Er’s lackeys spoke up. Earlier he had noticed Madam Li and thought she was quite pretty.
“The hell do you know? With your pathetic skills, you wouldn’t even survive one kick from him.”
Having grown up on the streets, Chang Er had a decent eye for people.
At that moment, seeing her eldest son unable to persuade him, the old woman stepped forward herself.
“That family has food and water in their carriage. They’ve even got several hundred taels of silver.”
“How do you know?” Chang Er glanced at her.
“I ran into them outside Yiyang City before. That little girl wanted to buy water from me—she said it herself,” the old woman lied smoothly.
Chang Er’s eyes flickered.
They didn’t lack food or water.
Along the way, they had robbed many water skins. Most people carrying water were refugees from Yiyang City.
But silver—that was something he was always short on.
The total amount they had robbed so far was only a little over twenty taels. Once they reached Jiangzhou, they would still need money if they wanted to live well.
Five or six brothers were following him. That amount of silver wasn’t enough.
Er Gouzi stared at Chang Er, waiting for his decision.
Originally, his own family and his cousin’s family had been traveling with villagers from their home village. Along the road, they encountered Chang Er, whom they had known from town before.
Together with Chang Er and his men, they robbed the villagers clean—killing or selling them off—before joining Chang Er’s group.
Ever since then, aside from large traveling groups or wealthy families with guards, any lone travelers or small parties they encountered had fallen victim to them.
So far, they had never failed.
“We’ll need to plan this carefully.”
In the end, Chang Er still couldn’t resist the temptation of silver.
Hearing this, the old woman’s spirits lifted. Her vicious eyes swept toward the carriage where Lin Zhiyue sat.
Little bitch. Once they caught her, she would make sure to torture her properly.
Inside the carriage, Lin Zhiyue took out a dagger and an electric baton from her storage compartment.
“First Aunt, take this dagger. If anyone climbs into the carriage, stab them. Remember what Guard Pei said—just aim for vulnerable spots. If a hand reaches in, stab the hand. If a head comes in, stab the head.”
Madam Li accepted the dagger with trembling hands. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath.
“Mm. Yueyue, don’t worry. Whoever comes in, I’ll stab them.”
Things were no longer like before.
For her sons, for her daughter, for the sake of her family—
She could not afford to be timid anymore.
She could not be cowardly.
At a critical moment, hesitation could cost lives.
While silently encouraging herself, Madam Li tried to calm her pounding heart.
Outside, Pei Guang sat at the edge of the carriage shaft, one foot on the ground and the other bent up.
He hummed a little tune while casually wiping down his saber.
On the other side, Lin Yan’s palms were drenched in sweat. Hidden beside his hand was a machete Lin Zhishu had given him.
There were three machetes total—exactly one for each of them.
At that moment, Chang Er walked toward Lin Dian and Lin Zhishu.
“Brothers, got any extra water? We’d like to buy some.”
Chang Er smiled as he spoke to Lin Dian, while secretly sizing the two of them up.
“Hey, you. If you’ve got something to say, come talk to me.”
Pei Guang pointed his saber at Chang Er in annoyance.
“It’s nothing serious. We just wanted to buy some water.”
Chang Er bent slightly and spoke deferentially toward Pei Guang.
“Water? How about you sell some to me instead? That excuse is laughable. You’re not just here to see whether we’re easy targets, are you?”
Pei Guang had never cared for beating around the bush.
“Hey! What kind of attitude is that?!”
One of the lackeys rushed forward angrily, only to be immediately pulled back by Chang Er.
“Haha, brother, you must be joking. Just joking.”
Still talking, Chang Er slowly retreated.