In the end, Xiao Zelan couldn’t withstand Xiao Yu’s crying and soaked in another medicinal bath.
The swelling around his knee had already gone down considerably.
Bai Zhi helped him apply a medicinal plaster.
“Do you want to do moxibustion again?”
Xiao Zelan smiled gently.
“No.”
“You should get some rest.”
“We still have a long journey tomorrow.”
Bai Zhi didn’t argue.
The moxa sticks generated heat when burned.
Saving them for the road wasn’t a bad idea.
Deep in the night, all was silent.
Then came the faint sound of something cracking.
Very soft.
But Bai Zhi heard it.
Opening her eyes, she discovered that Xiao Zelan was no longer in bed.
A shadow sat beside the table.
In his hand was a sharp shard of broken porcelain.
He seemed to have finally gathered enough courage.
Slowly, he raised the shard toward his own throat.
Bai Zhi was about to speak—
When someone beat her to it.
“Brother…”
“Don’t leave me…”
“Waaah…”
“I’m really scared…”
Xiao Yu was crying again.
Bai Zhi sighed inwardly.
Wasn’t this supposed to be the great male protagonist of a power fantasy?
Why is he such a crybaby?
“Brother…”
Xiao Zelan lowered the porcelain shard.
Then he picked up his crutch and went to comfort the sobbing future protagonist.
Bai Zhi rolled over and promptly went back to sleep.
This would be the last night they spent in a warm room.
Sometime later, she heard a familiar sound.
Ding!
The system’s voice appeared again.
Mission Complete. Reward Issued.
New mission available. Accept?
Bai Zhi wanted to check the reward first.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t.
Only two options existed:
Yes
No
She tried pressing No again.
Nothing happened.
Fine.
She simply wouldn’t choose anything.
Apparently that wasn’t allowed either.
The interface remained floating directly in front of her face.
Barely half a meter away.
Impossible to ignore.
Finally, Bai Zhi gave up and pressed Yes.
Ding! Mission Accepted.
Objective: Protect the male protagonist until arrival at the place of exile.
At last, the interface changed.
Two new icons appeared:
Gift
Shop
Bai Zhi immediately opened the gift.
A detailed map appeared before her eyes.
And detailed didn’t begin to describe it.
Mountains.
Rivers.
Cities.
Official roads.
Forests.
Streams.
Villages.
Mountain trails.
Everything was clearly marked.
When Bai Zhi zoomed in with her fingers, she discovered something even more impressive.
The map recorded resources as well.
Every location listed what could be found there.
She examined a nearby river.
Not only did the map identify the river itself—
It specified the water quality.
The species of fish living there.
Even which fish were best suited to those conditions.
Bai Zhi was delighted.
Then she discovered another feature.
Navigation.
When she entered their destination in the northern frontier, a bright red route immediately appeared.
The optimal path.
This reward was far more useful than she had expected.
Next, she opened the Shop.
Every option was greyed out.
Apparently the feature wasn’t unlocked yet.
Bai Zhi felt disappointed.
She’d hoped for some sort of inventory system.
A storage space.
A dimensional pocket.
Something.
I transmigrated into another world and didn’t even get a cheat-space?
What kind of nonsense is this?
Grumbling inwardly, she forced herself back to sleep.
Tomorrow would be difficult.
She needed proper rest.
Early the next morning, Bai Zhi headed to the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yu helped Xiao Zelan put on all his winter clothing.
Six eggs remained.
Bai Zhi boiled all of them.
Then she filled three water skins with hot water.
The small iron pot from the kitchen met a different fate.
Using her metal ability, Bai Zhi flattened it into sturdy iron plates and strapped them around her lower legs.
Fortunately, her legs were thin.
Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to fit them inside her boots.
After testing a few steps, she grimaced.
The metal dug painfully into her legs.
If they got a cart, she’d definitely remove them afterward.
Carrying the eggs and water skins, she returned to the room.
Everyone deliberately drank as little water as possible.
Finding places to relieve themselves during exile would not be easy.
Everything was packed.
Everyone was dressed.
The three sat silently waiting.
Xiao Yu was the most nervous.
Being the youngest, he couldn’t hide it.
“What if there isn’t a prison cart?”
A shadow crossed Xiao Zelan’s face.
His voice became firm.
“If there isn’t…”
“We’ll repeat yesterday’s performance in the middle of the capital.”
Bai Zhi looked at him in surprise.
Perhaps he wasn’t as fragile as she had assumed.
“Repeat it?”
Xiao Yu looked ready to cry again.
Finally—
The gates opened.
A constable stood outside.
And behind him…
A prison cart.
The three of them released a collective breath.
“Xiao Zelan.”
“Xiao Yu.”
“Bai Zhiluo.”
“Come out.”
This time, Xiao Zelan could support himself with his crutch.
Xiao Yu walked beside him.
Bai Zhi hurried ahead and spread the thick mattress they’d made from two quilts onto the floor of the prison cart.
The constable’s expression changed immediately.
“What are you doing?”
“Think this is a sightseeing trip?”
Without hesitation, Bai Zhi slipped a silver ingot into his hand.
The constable accepted it and said nothing more.
Instead, he fastened Xiao Zelan’s shackles.
Bai Zhi helped him climb into the cart and passed the large basket inside as well.
The door was locked.
The journey began.
The constable drove the cart.
Bai Zhi and Xiao Yu jogged behind it.
Women and underage boys weren’t required to wear shackles.
That made travel somewhat easier.
The route from the western outskirts, through the capital, and out the northern gate took roughly four hours.
The constable was worried about delays.
Before they entered the city, he allowed Bai Zhi and Xiao Yu to ride on the back of the prison cart.
The northern wind howled relentlessly.
Even after applying thick layers of face cream, the exposed portions of their faces still stung painfully.
Bai Zhi had also mixed powdered cosmetic dye into her skin cream, darkening her complexion considerably.
At a glance, she looked naturally tanned.
Much less noticeable.
Once inside the city, the constable made them walk again.
He led the horse while pulling the prison cart behind him.
In truth, prison carts were profitable for the escorts.
A cart meant horses.
Horses meant feed allowances.
And allowances meant opportunities for corruption.
The city wasn’t like the dramas Bai Zhi had seen.
There weren’t crowds lining the streets.
Most people barely glanced at them.
Exile processions were apparently nothing unusual.
Soon they reached the northern city gate.
A much larger group was already gathered there.
Waiting for inspection.
The sight stunned Bai Zhi.
There had to be over a hundred people.
And among them—
A huge number of young women.
She leaned toward Xiao Yu and whispered,
“Are all those women the Crown Prince’s wives?”
Xiao Yu nearly choked.
“Of course not.”
“Crown Prince Brother only brought his principal wife and one secondary consort.”
“Three other concubines were formally divorced.”
“Once divorced, they didn’t have to follow him into exile.”
“The principal wife is registered in the imperial genealogy, so she couldn’t be dismissed.”
“The secondary consort stayed voluntarily.”
He pointed toward the front.
“That’s Crown Prince Brother’s family.”
Bai Zhi looked.
A family of five.
The Crown Prince.
His wife.
His secondary consort.
And two children.
One boy.
One girl.
Both looked older than Xiao Yu.
Before she could ask more questions, the inspectors arrived.
Xiao Yu quietly slipped one of them a piece of silver.
The man glanced into the basket, confirmed there were no weapons, and left.
He didn’t even bother opening the bundles.
Only squeezed them through the cloth.
As the man walked away, Xiao Yu began introducing the guards.
“That’s Li Yang.”
“And his twin brother Li Mu.”
“They’re neither particularly good nor particularly bad.”
He pointed toward a tall man at the front.
“That one is Wang Zheng.”
“Leader of the escort team.”
“He’s fairly upright.”
“The man beside him is Gao Wei.”
“He’s decent too.”
Then Xiao Yu lowered his voice.
He pointed toward two men inspecting the women.
“Those two are Hu Kai and Liu Huai.”
“They’re greedy.”
“And lustful.”
“Stay as far away from them as possible.”
Bai Zhi nodded.
The inspection concluded.
Six escort officers in total.
Four on horseback.
Two managing carts.
One cart carried Xiao Zelan.
The other contained food supplies and horse feed.
After traveling roughly five li, the procession halted at a crossroads outside the city.
A crowd waited there.
Family members.
People saying goodbye.
Crying echoed from every direction.
Bai Zhi remained indifferent.
Nobody had come to see them off.
Then—
“Zh’er.”
A young man of sixteen or seventeen stepped forward.
Bai Zhi’s pupils contracted.
For a brief moment, her heart stopped.
He looked exactly like the older brother from her previous life.
The one who had died from a zombie bite.
Of course, he also resembled her current body.
The similarities were obvious.
She immediately knew who he was.
Suddenly, her nose stung.
“Brother?”
“Mm.”
The young man’s eyes were red.
He handed her a bundle.
“Concubine Zhao and I prepared these.”
“Winter clothes.”
“And some food.”
“Mostly pastries.”
“They’ll keep longer.”
“Thank you…”
“Thank you, Brother.”
“And Aunt Zhao.”
For the first person who had shown her kindness after arriving in this world…
Bai Zhi felt genuine gratitude.
The young man leaned closer.
His voice dropped.
“There’s silver hidden inside too.”
“Keep it.”
“Don’t give it to anyone.”
“I know.”
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Whether they belonged to the original owner or herself, she couldn’t tell.
Perhaps it was simply blood ties.
They had only just met.
Yet standing before him, the normally resilient Bai Zhi suddenly felt wronged.
Fragile.
She leaned her forehead lightly against his chest.
The young man patted her head.
“Zh’er.”
“Wait over there.”
“I need to speak with His Highness.”
Bai Zhi nodded obediently and stepped aside.
Xiao Yu followed.
The young man bowed respectfully toward Xiao Zelan.
“Fifth Prince.”
“I am Bai Zhiluo’s elder brother.”
“Bai Mingxuan.”
Xiao Zelan immediately returned the salute.
“Brother-in-law.”
“Just call me Zelan.”
“There is no Fifth Prince anymore.”
“Only Xiao Zelan.”
Bai Zhi couldn’t hear the rest.
But she saw the two men exchanging several formal bows.
Eventually Bai Mingxuan returned.
“Take care of yourself.”
“Protect yourself.”
“Being selfish isn’t wrong.”
Bai Zhi nodded.
“Don’t worry.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Bai Mingxuan left.
One by one, the other family members departed as well.
Within a quarter of an hour, the procession began moving again.
In the frozen wilderness, beneath the winter sky, a line of more than a hundred exiles slowly made its way north.