Chapter 42: I’ve Taken a Liking to That Girl Shen Qian

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“He might be making a move soon.”

Song Jiuyuan’s gaze was deep as he cast a glance at Xu Wei, then turned to give Jiang Wan instructions:

“If anything really happens, just run. Don’t worry about me.”

Right now, he was basically a cripple. Bringing him along would only slow them down.

“That won’t happen.”

Jiang Wan gave him a quick glance, then quickened her pace to catch up with Ren Bang. Ren Bang’s expression wasn’t good—at this moment, no one dared speak to him.

He was staring blankly ahead, walking like a man in a daze.

Little Deng quietly reminded Jiang Wan, “Sister Jiang, our captain is still blaming himself. He said that if he had listened to you from the beginning, none of this would have happened.

If there’s anything you need, just talk to me. He probably doesn’t want to talk to anyone right now.”

“I know. But this is really important.”

Jiang Wan spoke seriously. Just as she finished, Ren Bang’s eyes shifted and he looked at her, asking hoarsely:

“Miss, is something wrong?”

“Big Brother Ren,”

Jiang Wan cast a wary sidelong glance at Xu Wei before speaking, “The hunter who came to our abandoned temple last night was suspicious.

Big Brother Ren, you need to keep an eye on him. We can’t afford any more trouble.”

Of course, Jiang Wan wasn’t afraid for herself—but Song Jiuyuan’s health wouldn’t allow any more chaos.

“Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

Having suffered a setback once already, Ren Bang now fully trusted Jiang Wan. After she walked away, he stopped overthinking and occasionally glanced at Xu Wei as they traveled. Since it had just rained, the road was muddy and hard to walk on, so the group moved slowly.

The mud on the road was slippery. They watched as Shen Qian fell again, only to be gently helped up by Xu Wei. Jiang Wan’s eyes darkened even more.

Everywhere showed signs of having been washed by rain. Ren Bang meant to wait until they reached the village before taking a break. So even though everyone was complaining inwardly, no one dared speak up. They just dragged their heavy bodies and followed obediently.

“Xu Wei seems to be waiting for someone.”

Song Jiuyuan calmly voiced his analysis, startling Song Jiuchi and Song Jiuli.

“Huh?”

Song Jiuli nervously wrung her hands. “If he’s a bad guy, what’s he planning to do?”

“What should we do?”

Though Song Jiuchi had a stubborn personality, he wasn’t very mature. He panicked a little in serious situations.

Jiang Wan said steadily, “Whatever his goal is, we just need to stay alert.

Even if he’s a bandit, we’ve got a bunch of people—what’s there to be afraid of?”

Though the group was mostly old, weak, sick, and injured, with no fighting ability, Jiang Wan didn’t want to show weakness.

They walked a bit more. Seeing the village up ahead, Song Jiuli grew nervous, her eyes filling with tears.

“We’re almost there.”

“Once we’re in the village, maybe we’ll be safe.”

Song Jiuchi sighed in relief. Jiang Wan and Song Jiuyuan exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing: if the enemy didn’t act even after reaching the village, then that village itself was probably the problem.

Contrary to Jiang Wan’s expectations, even after they entered the village, nothing happened. Ren Bang even began to suspect he’d misunderstood Xu Wei.

“Thank you, Officer, for taking me in. This is my home village, Xu Family Village. I’ll go call the village head—my grandfather.”

Xu Wei let go of Shen Qian’s hand and jogged into the village. Jiang Wan narrowed her eyes but didn’t speak.

Sure enough, after a short while, Xu Wei came out with someone. It was an elderly man. “Greetings. I’m Xu Wei’s grandfather.

Thank you for taking him in and giving him a place to stay.”

So the village head was Xu Wei’s grandfather. Shen Qian felt a flicker of secret delight in her heart.

“No need to thank us.”

Ren Bang kept a stern face and sized up the old man before having a brief exchange and leading the group into the village.

Jiang Wan walked among the crowd. This time, they weren’t put into a big communal hall but were assigned to stay with different households in the village.

The village had quite a few people. Some were placed with local families, while others were housed in vacant buildings.

Jiang Wan’s group was placed in an abandoned house. It wasn’t in great condition, but she preferred it over squeezing in with others.

The Song family, however, because of Shen Qian’s connection to Xu Wei, was placed directly in the village head’s home.

It wasn’t far, and Jiang Wan could clearly see Shen Qian’s smug smile. That girl had clearly forgotten her past wounds, bouncing around like a flea.

“Sister-in-law, let me clean the room.”

Song Jiuli was becoming more sensible. Though clumsy with chores, she was at least willing to learn. Jiang Wan nodded.

“Mm. There are only two rooms—we’ll just make do.”

It was only for one night. No need to go overboard. Just clean the sleeping area.

“I’ll help too.”

Song Jiuchi awkwardly set Song Jiuyuan down, rubbed his waist, and began tidying up.

“You two handle this. I’ll go have a look around.”

Jiang Wan still felt uneasy. She stepped outside—and instantly saw Shen Qian chatting and laughing with Xu Wei.

Jiang Wan: …

She rolled her eyes. She couldn’t even stand to look. Turning away, she walked in another direction and ran into Song San’s wife in the middle of a bitter tirade.

“Eat, eat, eat. All you know is how to eat. Your father’s dead, and you still have the appetite to eat?”

She scolded while raising her hand to hit Song Yang. Once doting, Song San’s wife now seemed like a completely different person.

Madam Song chased after her. “Third daughter-in-law, stop this! What does Third’s death have to do with Yang-er?”

“I gave birth to that boy. I’ll do what I want. You old hag, get lost!”

Song San’s wife had really lost her mind—showing no mercy even to her mother-in-law. Just thinking about how she, a legitimate daughter, had married a concubine’s son and now had to suffer exile, she felt nothing but hatred—hatred for everyone in the Song family, even her own child.

“Grandmother, she’s going to beat me to death! Come help me!”

Little Song Yang ran frantically, legs flying, all while shouting, “Kill her! Someone kill her! She’s trying to kill me!”

Already so young and talking like that—it was clearly the adults’ failure. Jiang Wan only watched for a moment before losing interest.

She found a quiet spot and slipped into her space. It was dark inside, but that didn’t stop her from finding what she needed.

Since they were staying separately tonight, they could eat better than usual without anyone noticing. Jiang Wan wasn’t about to miss this chance.

She picked through the ingredients, choosing a fresh fish along with some fine rice and vegetables.

Before leaving, Jiang Wan even fired up a small stove in the space and made herself a royal feast prepared by imperial chefs.

Mmm… It lived up to the reputation of palace cooking. She didn’t overeat—just got about half full—then carried the food and exited the space.

Outside, it was already getting dark. As she was walking back to the house they were temporarily staying in, she suddenly heard Xu Wei’s voice.

Curious, Jiang Wan moved quickly to a nearby window. Looking in, she realized this was the village head’s house.

Inside, she heard Xu Wei’s familiar voice:
“Grandfather, I’ve taken a liking to that little lady Shen Qian. You need to keep her for me.”

“No!”

It was the village head’s voice—his tone tinged with helplessness.
“Keeping her is a liability. We must send her away with the rest.”