Lu Wenzhi was genuinely worried that Shen Qingwan wouldn’t be able to find the children and, in her rage, would kill his entire family.

That’s why he ran away.

In truth, their escape was exactly what Shen Qingwan wanted—after all, killing their son in front of the elderly Lu couple would have been rather inappropriate.

When Shen Qingwan arrived under the large pagoda tree, she found no sign of the human traffickers.

Upon inquiry, she learned that they had already collected a full cart of children and had left.

After asking about their direction, Shen Qingwan sprinted after them.

This time, Bai Yongan truly couldn’t keep up, so he simply stayed behind and waited.

When Lu Dajiang and the others arrived, they saw Shen Qingwan running like the wind toward the distance and were momentarily at a loss as to how to pursue her.

Bai Yongan, panting, waved his hand and said, “Don’t bother chasing. That girl is too fast—you wouldn’t catch up anyway. She knows some martial arts, and those traffickers might not even be her match. If we follow, we might not be of any help.”

Lu Wenguang watched worriedly as Shen Qingwan’s figure disappeared from sight.

Shen Qingwan had not gone far when she saw two children running toward her, hand in hand.

She immediately recognized them as Xiaoyu and Xiaochen.

She had never expected the two of them to escape on their own.

“Wuu… Mother, Xiaochen was so scared! Third Uncle was going to sell me and Sister!” Xiaochen, upon seeing Shen Qingwan, rushed into her arms, sobbing pitifully.

Xiaoyu, on the other hand, was holding back tears, though she was clearly frightened as well.

“Mother, Third Uncle tricked us, saying he was going to buy us buns, but instead, he sold us! Fortunately, the traffickers didn’t take away our hidden weapons. We waited for the right moment and used our silver needles to strike them, which allowed us to escape.”

Shen Qingwan gently embraced Xiaoyu and comforted her. “Xiaoyu, you’re amazing. Not only did you save yourself, but you also protected your brother.”

Hearing her mother’s praise, the little girl blushed shyly.

However, thinking about the other children who had been taken, the smile on her face slowly faded. “Mother, those children were so pitiful… but I couldn’t save them.”

Those children had been tied up, and it had taken all of Xiaoyu’s strength just to free herself and her brother.

She simply didn’t have the strength or time to help the others.

Her mother had once told her that being struck by a silver needle wouldn’t kill someone—it would only make them unconscious for a short while.

She was afraid that if she tried to help the others, neither she nor Xiaochen would have escaped.

That’s why she had to make the difficult choice to leave them behind.

Shen Qingwan stroked her head and reassured her. “Silly child, by not freeing them, you actually saved them. Their own families already sold them—if they escaped, they’d likely just be sold again. If they don’t return home, they would be wandering refugees. The outside world is full of dangers, and they wouldn’t be able to survive on their own. In the end, their fate might be even worse. So, following the traffickers might actually be their best chance.”

Xiaoyu suddenly understood and nodded obediently.

Shen Qingwan took the two children back to the large pagoda tree, where Bai Yongan and the others were still waiting.

Seeing that she had safely returned with the children, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“As long as they’re safe, that’s what matters,” Bai Yongan said.

Lu Wenguang also finally relaxed. Shen Qingwan thanked them before taking the children home.

Meanwhile, at the Lu household, Zhou Huiniang was crying bitterly while holding her daughter, Xiaojun.

“That heartless Third Brother-in-law! He stole all our money! Father, Mother, how are we supposed to survive now?”

Lu Wenguang had just arrived home and was shocked to see his wife in tears. “What happened?” he asked immediately.

Old Lu sighed. “Your Third Brother ran away—and he stole your sister-in-law’s mule cart. He also took all the flatbreads from our handcart.”

Zhou Huiniang sobbed even harder. “Husband, the bag of money you gave me, along with all our savings, is gone! That bastard stole everything!”

The bag Lu Wenguang had brought back contained more than a hundred taels of silver, plus various pieces of jewelry.

Altogether, it was worth at least a hundred taels. And now, it was all gone.

Lu Wenguang was stunned.

He hadn’t expected his younger brother to steal everything and flee.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingwan’s expression darkened upon hearing that the mule cart was also stolen.

Fortunately, all of her valuables were stored safely in her personal space.

The mule cart only contained some jerky, dried food, and water. Still, she wasn’t about to let those two scoundrels off the hook so easily.

With the children safely recovered, everyone finally felt some relief.

Due to the high prices of food and water in Changping County, most people hadn’t bought extra supplies.

However, Shen Qingwan warned them that food would only become more expensive in the future.

She advised them to stock up while they still could. She also suggested that families could share water to make it last longer.

Although Shen Qingwan used to have a bad reputation in the village, her recent actions had changed many people’s opinions of her.

Some villagers chose to take her advice and buy extra supplies, but most still hesitated due to their poverty.

Once everyone had finished restocking, the village leader led them onward.

Without the mule cart, Shen Qingwan and the children had to walk.

Zhou Huiniang wiped her tears while hurrying along with her daughter.

Old Man Lu and Old Madam Lu, ashamed of their son’s actions, kept their heads down, too embarrassed to face Shen Qingwan.

Luckily, Lu Wenguang’s handcart wasn’t too full—it only carried the extra food and water they had bought in Changping County.

This meant that when the children got too tired to walk, they could take turns resting on the cart.

As they traveled, more and more refugees appeared along the road.

Occasionally, they encountered people robbing others for food. Families traveling alone were particularly vulnerable, often becoming easy targets.

At first, the villagers were outraged and even tried to help.

But after witnessing too many such incidents, they gradually became numb.

They were struggling just to survive themselves.

As the sun set, painting the sky in hues of orange and red, the weary travelers finally stopped for the night.

With no villages or towns nearby, they had no choice but to camp in the wilderness.

As the villagers lit their campfires, the surroundings darkened.

People toasted their hard, dry flatbreads over the fire to soften them for their children.

Once, they ate two meals a day.

Now, they were down to one meal—and only half a flatbread at that.

Their weight visibly dropped, their faces gaunt from hunger and malnutrition.

Yet Shen Qingwan’s family looked almost the same as before, except for a slight tan.

In fact, she seemed even fairer than before, and the two children appeared noticeably healthier and rounder.

It was clear that Shen Qingwan truly cared for them now.

“Woof, woof!”

“Awooo~ Awooo~”