Naturally, Bai Zhi had no way of entering the city herself, so she raised her offer.
“Big Brother, what if I pay double?”
“You can sell the remainder separately in town.”
“You’ll definitely earn more than selling the whole thing to a restaurant.”
The hunter thought for a moment.
“How much do you want?”
“Ten jin of pork.”
“It doesn’t have to be very fatty.”
“That section there is fine.”
She pointed toward the pig’s hindquarter.
“Deal.”
“Thirty wen per jin.”
Bai Zhi agreed immediately.
“Good.”
“And give me a few ribs.”
“One wild chicken.”
“And one wild rabbit.”
The hindquarter wasn’t particularly fatty, but there was still a decent layer of fat beneath the meat.
Enough for her purposes.
The hunter helped remove the skin and cut the pork into large chunks.
The ribs were chopped into smaller pieces.
The rabbit and chicken had already been cleaned.
In total, the purchase cost less than one tael of silver.
Bai Zhi felt it was a bargain.
Dawn was approaching.
She was running out of time.
Raising her voice, she called out:
“Who’s selling grain?”
A nearby voice answered.
“No rice.”
“Want refined flour instead, little girl?”
“Yes.”
Bai Zhi quickly realized her mistake.
This was the north.
Most farming families didn’t grow rice.
Naturally, nobody sold it.
She purchased ten jin of flour and hurried back.
The sky was only beginning to brighten.
There was still time.
Or so she hoped.
Before she even reached the convoy, she heard shouting.
Her heart immediately tightened.
Picking up her pace, she ran.
Li Yang was standing in front of Xiao Zelan’s group, angrily questioning them.
Xiao Zelan, leaning on his crutch, appeared to be explaining something.
A crowd had gathered to watch.
“Speak!”
“Where did she go?!”
Before Xiao Zelan could answer, Bai Zhi hurried forward.
“Officer!”
“I’m back!”
Li Yang turned sharply.
“Where have you been?”
“What’s in the basket?”
Everyone’s eyes immediately shifted toward the large basket on her back.
Bai Zhi lowered her head.
“I…”
“Went to buy some things…”
“At the city gate.”
Her voice was barely audible.
She looked genuinely terrified.
“There’s a market at the city gate?”
Someone asked.
“What are they selling?”
Another chimed in.
“Maybe we should buy some things too!”
Soon more voices joined in.
“Quiet!”
Li Yang cracked his whip.
The crowd scattered instantly.
A member of the Zhu family shouted:
“Why is she allowed to buy things?”
“Yeah!”
“Why can she buy things?”
“We want to buy things too!”
The complaints spread rapidly.
Bai Zhi’s eyes turned cold.
The gold bracelet hidden beneath her sleeve had already transformed into thin metal plates protecting her forearm.
“Enough!”
Li Yang swung his whip again.
This time it struck the ground near the crowd.
Then, without warning, the whip changed direction.
Straight toward Bai Zhi.
“You’ve got some nerve!”
Instinctively, Bai Zhi raised her arm to block.
The metal hidden beneath her sleeve absorbed part of the impact.
Even so, the whip struck her shoulder and forehead.
Pain exploded across her skin.
Burning.
Sharp.
“And you dare block it?”
The whip came down again.
This time Bai Zhi simply closed her eyes.
But she felt no pain.
When she opened them—
Xiao Zelan stood in front of her.
His face was pale.
A bloody mark stretched across his neck.
The wound was horrifying to look at.
His voice trembled.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Sit down quickly.”
Xiao Yu rushed over and removed the basket from her back.
Then he saw the blood running down her forehead.
“Your face!”
He looked ready to burst into tears.
“I’m fine.”
“Quick.”
“Get the wound medicine from my bundle.”
Xiao Yu scrambled to obey.
Bai Zhi carefully pulled back Xiao Zelan’s collar.
The whip mark continued all the way down his neck and onto his back.
Fortunately, the cotton clothing had softened most of the blow.
The injury on his back was lighter than the one on his neck.
“I’m fine.”
“What matters is your face.”
“You’re a girl…”
Xiao Zelan’s eyes were red.
Bai Zhi shrugged.
“There won’t be a scar.”
“And even if there is, I don’t care.”
The casual response only made Xiao Zelan angrier.
Without another word, he sprinkled wound powder onto her forehead.
“Anywhere else?”
“Did your arm get hit?”
“My arm’s fine.”
“My shoulder got a little.”
As she spoke, Bai Zhi reached for her collar.
Xiao Yu instantly spun around and planted himself behind her.
His ears turned red.
Xiao Zelan carefully pulled back her collar instead.
The skin on her shoulder had indeed been scraped open.
Fortunately, it wasn’t serious.
He adjusted her clothing first.
Then he called for his own bundle.
Before Bai Zhi could react, he tore a strip from his clean undergarment.
Bai Zhi stared.
I have perfectly good cotton cloth in my bag!
Whatever…
Xiao Zelan applied medicine to her shoulder.
Then folded the cloth and covered the wound.
“It can’t be tied properly right now.”
“We’ll bandage it tonight.”
“Okay.”
Once Bai Zhi’s injuries were treated, it was Xiao Zelan’s turn.
Naturally, he refused to let Bai Zhi help.
Instead, Xiao Yu applied the medicine.
Bai Zhi: “…”
She ended up tearing a strip from her own white cotton cloth for him.
At this rate, if he kept tearing his undergarments, he’d eventually have nothing left to cover his waist.
With the treatment finished, Bai Zhi turned her attention to the basket.
The steamed buns were still warm.
She took a bite.
Cabbage.
Tofu.
Pork.
And not too much fat.
Delicious.
The three of them each ate two large buns.
Everyone looked satisfied.
“Those two whip strikes were actually worth it.”
Bai Zhi said exactly what she was thinking.
Xiao Zelan immediately frowned.
“You absolutely must not do something like that again.”
Bai Zhi nodded casually.
“Mm.”
“I won’t.”
At least not because she wanted to.
The guards wouldn’t give her the chance again anyway.
Xiao Yu grumbled quietly.
“Li Yang took our gold hairpin and still whipped you.”
Bai Zhi shook her head.
“He already showed mercy.”
“He didn’t confiscate our supplies.”
“Compared to what could have happened, that’s not bad.”
Xiao Yu thought about it.
She was right.
Still, he remained angry.
Suddenly, Bai Zhi remembered something.
“How did Li Yang know I was gone?”
“Normally they aren’t even awake at that hour.”
Xiao Zelan answered quietly.
“Someone probably saw you leave.”
“And reported it.”
He never named the culprit.
But his gaze drifted toward the Zhu family.
Bai Zhi followed it.
Her expression darkened.
Seeing that look, Xiao Zelan immediately warned her.
“Zhu Weiyuan used to be the General Who Pacified the Frontier.”
“Most of the men in his family are trained martial artists.”
“Don’t do anything reckless.”
“I know.”
Bai Zhi answered calmly.
Whether she actually intended to listen remained another matter.
When the convoy finally departed, Bai Zhi helped Xiao Zelan back into the prison cart.
The basket and a large bundle were loaded as well.
Li Yang frowned slightly.
Bai Zhi immediately stepped forward.
“Officer.”
“Thank you for today.”
Li Yang’s expression softened.
At least these people understood how things worked.
Then Bai Zhi handed him a small cloth package.
He opened it.
His eyes widened briefly.
Then he quickly tucked it into his sleeve.
A smile appeared.
“Get on the cart.”
As they resumed traveling, Xiao Yu whispered:
“What did you give him?”
“Gold melon seeds.”
Small gold nuggets.
Xiao Yu’s eyes widened.
“How many?”
“Five.”
“Five?!”
“That’s not a small amount!”
Bai Zhi shrugged.
“We deal with him more than anyone else.”
“The gift can’t be too light.”
Xiao Yu fell silent.
He couldn’t argue with that.
At noon, when the cornmeal buns were distributed, Bai Zhi noticed something.
Xiao Zeyan’s family had been reassigned.
They now fell under Li Mu’s supervision instead of someone else.
Most likely, Li Danqing had approached Li Yang.
Bai Zhi watched quietly.
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
She couldn’t understand Li Danqing.
Couldn’t understand how someone could do so much…
Sacrifice so much…
For another person.
Especially for Chen Wanning, the Crown Princess.
Yet somehow, Li Danqing kept doing it without hesitation.