That afternoon, Lu Wenzhi finally woke up, though he was still a bit dazed.

Seeing that he was injured, Lu Wenguang didn’t ask him to get down.

It wasn’t until evening that their group stopped at the foot of a mountain.

After walking the entire day, they were all exhausted.

Shen Qingwan fed the mule water and fodder before going to the cart to fetch some dry rations.

Since everyone was too tired, they simply ate whatever they had without cooking a proper meal.

Shen Qingwan handed some dried meat to the children as a treat and distributed a little to the adults as well.

There were quite a few refugees resting at the foot of the mountain with them.

That night, the village chief assigned people to keep watch.

However, perhaps because it was the first day of the journey, or simply due to sheer exhaustion, those on night watch dozed off at some point during the latter half of the night.

Shen Qingwan was suddenly awakened by a rustling noise, followed by the soft growl of a small dog.

Instantly alert, she opened her eyes and saw a sneaky-looking man untying the rope securing the mule cart.

She immediately got up to catch him, but he noticed her movement and bolted.

“Put that down!”

Looking around, Shen Qingwan saw that a group of refugees had somehow infiltrated their camp and were snatching food before running off.

She didn’t even know who to chase first.

The commotion jolted the others awake.

The moment they opened their eyes, they realized their provisions were missing.

“My food! Our food has been stolen!”

“Mine too!”

“All my dry biscuits are gone!”

“My money pouch was stolen!”

One by one, the villagers began checking their belongings, realizing that many things had been taken.

The three young men who had been on night watch—Lu Dawang, Lu Dachuan, and Li Shitou—lowered their heads in shame, not daring to look at those who had lost their belongings.

The village chief was furious.

He hadn’t expected these three to fall asleep.

It was his mistake as well—he should have assigned some older people to keep watch.

Lu Youfu smacked his own son’s head in frustration. “You useless brat! I entrusted you with this simple task, and you couldn’t even do that right? Now half a sack of our food is gone! This is just the beginning—how are we supposed to make it through the journey?”

Seeing Lu Youfu punish his son, the others refrained from blaming the boys too much.

After all, they were still young, and perhaps such an important duty shouldn’t have been given to them.

By dawn, the thieves were long gone, and the stolen goods couldn’t be recovered. All they could do now was be more vigilant in the future.

Shen Qingwan sighed helplessly.

She could only do her best to protect her own family.

There were too many people in the village, and she couldn’t possibly look after everyone.

She would help where she could, but that was the extent of it.

After the incident, no one could sleep anymore.

As the sky began to brighten, they packed up and prepared to leave.

Morning travel was much cooler than midday, making it slightly more bearable.

However, after walking for an entire day, even the strongest person would struggle to keep going.

Before long, the sound of children crying echoed through the group, complaining that they couldn’t walk any further.

The elderly, too, were panting heavily. “Just one more hour of walking, and we’ll reach Pingsha Town! Hold on a little longer!”

The village chief called out from the front.

Upon hearing they still had an hour to go, groans of protest spread through the crowd.

But there was no other choice—they had to keep moving.

After just a day and a half of walking, many people’s feet were already covered in blisters.

Lu Wenzhi, still complaining of a headache, lay on the cart, refusing to get off.

Lu Wenguang was drenched in sweat from pulling him along, and Shen Qingwan could no longer stand by and watch.

“Third brother, it’s your head that’s injured, not your legs. Are you planning to stay on the cart for ten days? Even Father and Mother are walking despite their age, and yet you’re fine letting Second Brother pull you?”

Lu Wenzhi had been lying on the cart with his eyes closed, but at her words, he immediately became indignant.

“Sister-in-law, aren’t you sitting comfortably in the mule cart too? This wooden cart is nothing compared to that! If you were truly filial, you should give your seat to Father and Mother.”

Lu Wenzhi was a scholar, skilled in verbal arguments.

He wasn’t afraid of Shen Qingwan’s sharp tongue.

Shen Qingwan let out a cold laugh and turned to look at Lu Wenzhi’s wife. “You have a point—Father and Mother should take the mule cart. Then I’ll trouble you both to get your children down and make room for them. I have an obligation to pull our parents along, but I don’t have any obligation to pull your children.”

She reached for the curtain of the mule cart, ready to act.

Seeing this, Lu Wenzhi angrily sat up. “Shen Qingwan, you’re too much! Second Brother is pulling me because of our brotherly bond, and now you’re threatening me by using the children? And Mingxuan and Minghao are your own nephews—do you really have no room for them?”

“Oh, you think I’m being excessive? Would you like to see something even more excessive?” Shen Qingwan smirked, her gaze sharp and unyielding.

For some reason, Lu Wenzhi felt a chill down his spine.

“Dear, if Sister-in-law is asking you to get off, then just do it.”

Li Qiujun, Lu Wenzhi’s wife, spoke up.

She hadn’t witnessed the events of that fateful night, but when she heard that Shen Qingwan had single-handedly slaughtered an entire courtyard full of men, she realized that Shen Qingwan was no longer the naive fool she used to be.

There was something different about her now—something unreadable.

Moreover, if Shen Qingwan hadn’t arrived in time that night, she herself might have suffered a terrible fate.

Seeing his wife also urging him, Lu Wenzhi reluctantly got off the cart.

With his weight gone, Lu Wenguang instantly felt much lighter.

Zhou Huiniang, their mother, cast a grateful look at Shen Qingwan, who simply smiled back.

An hour later, they finally reached Pingsha Town—only to be stopped at a checkpoint at the entrance.

Apparently, there was now a fee to enter.

While entrance fees for cities were common, this was the first time they had heard of a fee just to enter a town.

Clearly, Youzhou had fallen into chaos.

To make matters worse, the people collecting the toll were from the government.

Even if the refugees were unhappy, they dared not protest.

The village chief went to inquire and returned with bad news: the toll was ten copper coins per person. If they didn’t pay, they would have to take a detour through the mountains.

The mountain path was rough and filled with large stones, making it impossible for the mule cart to pass. Moreover, it would take an additional two to three hours to reach the other side.

If they couldn’t make it through before nightfall, they would have to risk encountering wild beasts.

Ten copper coins per person meant that a family of ten would need to pay a hundred coins—enough to buy several pounds of grain.

Upon hearing the price, the villagers were reluctant to pay. The village chief looked troubled, unsure of what to do.

Shen Qingwan stepped forward and whispered a few words into his ear. Moments later, the chief raised his voice.

“This side requires a toll of ten copper coins per person. Those who are willing to pay can follow me through. Those who don’t want to pay can take the mountain path. We will regroup at the second fork in the road ahead tonight.”