As soon as the little girl saw the bodies strewn across the ground, she froze for a moment before throwing herself onto her mother’s cold corpse and bursting into heart-wrenching sobs.
After crying for a long while, she suddenly turned around, her eyes red with rage, and shouted at Ye Qing.
“Big brother! You’re so capable, so why didn’t you save my mother? You could have beaten them! Why did you just stand by and watch her die?”
“It was you! You killed my mother! You killed them! You’re a murderer!”
“My mother said people like you, who look so powerful, are the most cold-hearted! Why don’t you just die? Give my mother back her life!”
As she cursed, she picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at Ye Qing.
“You’ll die a horrible death! You’ll get what’s coming to you! My mother won’t let you go even as a ghost!”
Ye Qing twitched the corner of her mouth, and the last trace of warmth in her eyes disappeared completely.
So young, yet unable to distinguish right from wrong.
A rotten seed through and through.
There was no reason to keep her alive.
Too lazy to waste words on the child, Ye Qing flipped her wrist. A flash of cold light gleamed from her dagger.
The blade rose and fell.
So fast that even the wind had no time to sound.
The little girl’s curses abruptly stopped. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she collapsed to the ground.
Before she died, only one thought remained in her mind:
This isn’t what Mother said would happen…
Ye Qing kicked her body over beside the others and said coldly,
“Since you can’t bear to part with them, stay here and keep them company.”
She dusted off her hands and turned to leave without looking back.
After some thought, Ye Qing decided to investigate the bandits’ hideout.
She didn’t have much food left, and it would still take more than half a month to reach the prefectural city.
Knowledge from her previous life echoed in her mind:
After a great drought comes great disaster.
Whether it was war, plague, or another natural calamity, lacking supplies was a death sentence.
She had to be fully prepared.
Following the tracks the bandits had left behind, Ye Qing searched her way through the mountains and finally, just before nightfall, spotted a small village hidden in a mountain hollow.
Seven or eight mud houses stood there, dilapidated and crooked, radiating an air of death.
The temperature in the mountains was slightly cooler than outside, but it was still sweltering.
Her clothes were soaked with sweat and clung to her back, but she ignored the discomfort and focused on observing the village.
Quietly, she climbed a large old tree nearby. The dense foliage concealed her figure perfectly, giving her a clear view of the entire village.
The village was eerily silent, not a single person in sight.
Yet a faint aroma of meat drifted through the air, mixed with the subtle scent of blood, making her stomach churn.
She didn’t even need to think about what they were cooking.
Absolutely inhuman.
She spent the night hidden in the tree, learning the habits of these monsters.
Just like her, they slept during the day and moved about at night.
At the break of dawn, she chewed on a few strips of jerky and silently slid down the trunk.
Suddenly, broken sobs and the lewd laughter of men came from the nearest mud house.
The despair and humiliation in that voice were unmistakable.
Ye Qing immediately crept toward the source.
The weeds outside the house had been trampled flat. Several strings of dried game hung from the eaves, covered in dust, as though no one had properly tended the place for a long time.
The moment her hand touched the wooden door, a muffled grunt came from inside, followed by a man’s angry curse.
“You little bitch, you dare bite me? Fine! Since you refuse the easy way, don’t blame us! Once we’re done playing with you, we’ll throw you into the mountains to feed the wolves!”
A series of dull thumps against a bed followed, mixed with the muffled cries of a girl whose mouth had been covered.
The sound made one’s teeth grind in anger.
A fierce light flashed in Ye Qing’s eyes.
She lifted her foot and kicked the door with all her strength.
Bang!
The door shattered instantly, splinters flying everywhere.
She darted inside like a ghost.
A flash of her dagger.
The throat of the nearest bandit burst open with blood, and he fell stiffly to the floor.
The room was dimly lit. A few rays of sunlight filtered through holes in the roof, illuminating the mess inside.
Broken bowls and cracked pots were scattered everywhere.
Bloodstained hemp ropes lay in one corner.
Several bundles of stolen goods were piled nearby.
Clearly, these monsters had been committing atrocities here for quite some time.
Ye Qing’s dagger rose and fell.
Her movements were as swift as the wind.
Within moments, all movement in the room ceased.
She sheathed her dagger, wiped the blood from her face, and turned toward the girl on the bed.
She was already dead.
From a large room next door came the sound of children crying.
Holding her dagger horizontally before her, Ye Qing cautiously pushed the door open.
The women and children huddled against the wall immediately shrank into a trembling ball.
They clung to one another, too frightened even to raise their heads. Their eyes were filled with fear and wariness as they looked at Ye Qing.
“You’re safe now. Leave.”
Her voice was utterly calm.
The women stared blankly for a long while before finally understanding.
Then, all at once, sobs erupted.
Holding their children, they knelt and repeatedly kowtowed to Ye Qing in gratitude before stumbling toward the door.
One braver woman suddenly rushed into the neighboring room.
A moment later, a heart-rending scream echoed out.
Her sixteen-year-old younger sister lay there, naked and covered in wounds, long since dead.
Like a madwoman, she picked up a machete and hacked at the bandits’ corpses again and again until the blade was chipped and dull.
Only then did she collapse to the ground.
With reddened eyes, she looked at Ye Qing and choked out,
“Th-thank you, young hero, for saving our lives.”
Ye Qing nodded slightly and stepped aside.
The woman dared not linger. After kowtowing once more, she disappeared into the forest.
Once all the captives had fled, Ye Qing walked over to the pile of scattered bundles in the corner and began sorting through them.
Most contained coarse clothing, dried flatbread, steamed buns, grain, and bits of silver.
One bundle held medicine and several bolts of fine cloth.
These were all things she could use.
She promptly stored everything in her space.
Looking at her modest haul, she thought,
According to that woman, there should be much more than this. I’d better search the other houses later.
The sky was still bright, and no one would be coming for a while.
So Ye Qing began searching every house one by one.
The mud houses contained nothing but broken tables and rotten stools.
A thick layer of dust covered the stoves.
It was obvious that the bandits had gathered all the useful supplies in one place, leaving only worthless junk behind.
However, the large iron cauldrons on the stoves were extremely practical.
She had been wanting a few big pots for boiling water and cooking.
The small pot she had taken from Old Chen’s house was only suitable for blending in with refugee groups.
Large iron pot—take it!
Solid wooden rack—take it!
Chopped firewood—take it!
Quilts and fur clothing—take them!
Even the vegetable seeds, farming tools, and seasonings were all swept into her space.
When she reached the last house, she noticed a stone slab near the wall.
There was a narrow crack around it, and the dried grass covering it was much thinner than elsewhere.
Such an obvious cellar entrance—how could she not investigate?
Ye Qing crouched down, brushed away the grass, and knocked on the stone slab.
Knock. Knock.
The sound was dull.
The space beneath was hollow.
“Could there really be treasure hidden down there? Then I’m about to get rich!”
“Please let it be water and grain—the more, the better!”
Rubbing her hands excitedly, she looked every bit the little miser.
[Ahem… pay attention to your image~]