Chapter 29 – Past Life: Attacked During the Refugee Journey

Heading south felt somewhat more familiar, and once there, she could survive by relying on her embroidery skills.

But things would never go so smoothly.

After traveling for a few days, while the group stopped to rest at night, two men crept over from the side. They covered their mouths and tried to drag them away.

The two women fought desperately. Lady Song pulled out the wooden hairpin He Yanxin had made for her and stabbed the man next to her with all her strength. Lady Wu frantically bit the man holding her.

Woken by the noise, Wu Xiaolang rushed to help his sister. The two younger children also ran over—one bit the man’s thigh, and the other grabbed at his mother.

“You crazy bitch! You don’t know what’s good for you!”

One of the men yanked Lady Song’s hair backward and kicked He Chengze off his leg.

A woman’s scream, a child’s crying, and a man’s cursing—these sounds in the middle of the wilderness at night were so abrupt. Yet the people nearby acted as if they heard nothing. The surroundings were dead silent.

Lady Song’s heart went cold. It seemed this kind of thing happened often.

No wonder when she tried to speak with some of the younger women in the group, they never responded and even looked at her with fear.

What she didn’t know was that it wasn’t that no one wanted to stand up or speak out. It was just that as soon as someone tried, they were quickly pulled back and silenced by those next to them, shaking their heads.

Those two attackers actually had six more companions. They even had several blades of unknown origin.

Compared to these weapon-wielding thugs, the truly defenseless refugees stood no chance. Over time, these eight had become the de facto leaders of the group.

The two who grabbed Lady Song often did such things. The refugees dared not voice their anger, because those who did had already died under their blades.

The leader of the gang, though not interested in women, had even crueler preferences. No one dared provoke him easily.

Still, having them around wasn’t entirely without benefit. At least they provided some security during the journey. Other refugees wouldn’t dare mess with them.

“Anyway, it’s none of my business.” Many refugees lowered their heads and numbly thought, “We just want to survive and reach the south.”

“Enough! Didn’t I tell you to wait a few more days?!” The boss, disturbed from his sleep, impatiently scolded the two.

Their rations were running out. If tonight’s incident scared people off, what then?

Though a few weak women and children couldn’t outrun them, having to chase them down would still be a hassle.

And where could they even run to? Deep mountains, unknown dangers everywhere. Anyone with a brain would know that staying was the safer bet—just like the others had done.

Reluctantly, the two men let go, still unwilling, but returned to sleep with one last shove at their victims.

Lady Song, ignoring her own injuries, rushed to pick up He Chengze, who hadn’t gotten up since being kicked.

“Dabao… Dabao, are you okay? Yanlang…” she cried in a trembling voice.

Lady Song felt like she was on the verge of collapse. She was still young, and everything that had happened recently had pushed her far beyond her limits. She couldn’t help but think: If only He Yanxin were still alive…

At the same time, He Yanxin, now in a ghost-like state, was also going mad. Watching the family he loved most fall into danger and being unable to do anything was driving him to the edge.

What did I do wrong to deserve this kind of torment from the heavens?!

He hadn’t even caught what that man said during the chaos. It took him a while to piece together the meaning.

No… no, Qingniang, run! Run!

He Yanxin shouted as loud as he could, hoping Lady Song could hear or see him again like before.

But last time she saw him, she had simply thought it was a grief-induced hallucination.

This time, Lady Song gave no response. She just pulled the four children close to her, using her frail body to shield them from harm.

He Yanxin was desperate. What could he do? All he could do was scream like a madman, repeatedly throwing himself at the attackers.

But no one noticed. No one was affected.

When things finally calmed down and the camp was filled again with snoring, a thin man lying near Lady Song’s group quietly crept over.

Wu Xiaoniang shuddered, leaning against Lady Song’s back. Lady Song clutched Song Chengsi and the recovering He Chengze tightly, her eyes wide like a mother wolf staring at the man.

The man made a silent gesture not to scream and mouthed clearly: Run! Run! Run!

Lady Song recognized him—he was the one who had helped carry a child earlier that day. After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to trust him.

They kept low, even covering the mouth of little Song Chengsi, and quietly slipped through the group, heading for the perimeter.

A few people were awakened and opened their eyes to see them. Lady Song froze in place, but seeing that they did nothing, she continued on.

Soon, a few coughs sounded from the camp, conveniently covering the sound of their footsteps.

But the pace of a few women and children was too slow—especially with injuries. Before long, a few of the men had caught up and dragged them back.

“Well done! We’ll give you two extra portions of meat tonight,” the leader said, nodding at the two men who had just returned.

Meat? In times like this, someone could still afford meat?

“Who said you could leave, huh?” one man sneered as he pressed a knife to Lady Song’s back, forcing her to kneel. She said nothing.

The informants had already revealed who had helped and who had turned a blind eye.

But the leader understood the principle of not punishing everyone. If too many were implicated, it would cause backlash. After all, he had once been a constable in town.

Still, they couldn’t be let off. With a chilling smile, he decided to make an example of them.

“I thought you were smarter than that. Tsk, what a pity.” As he spoke, he picked up little Song Chengsi.

The child finally broke down in fear and began to cry.

“Mmm… top-grade rations. So tender!” The man pinched the child’s skin as he spoke.

Lady Song, already on edge, saw her son being picked up and heard those words. What does he mean? Her lips trembled and her whole body shook.

“What are you doing?! Give me back my child!” Somehow, she mustered the strength to grab a knife from a man behind her and charged.

The man tried to block the wild slash with his arm, and blood spurted instantly.

Furious, he threw Song Chengsi hard. The child hit a rock and convulsed a few times before falling still.

Lady Song lost her mind. Her hands were already bloodied from when she stole the knife. She didn’t know how to fight, but she swung it with all her might.

“Are you all dead?! Don’t just stand there—help!” the man screamed as he clutched his bleeding arm, unable to draw his waist knife in time.

Soon, Lady Song looked down and saw a blade piercing out of her own abdomen. Blood foamed at her mouth.

Yanlang… it hurts so much…

She collapsed, eyes wide open in death. Her last thoughts were about what would happen to the children.

Without her protection, the children were like helpless cubs in the wild—completely at the mercy of others.

Wu Xiaoniang, unable to bear the shame, bit her tongue and ended her life. Wu Xiaolang and He Chengze… they didn’t survive either.

They were just half a month away from leaving Qizhou. The eight men worried that someone might report them to the authorities outside. Qizhou was hell—but the outside world wasn’t, and wouldn’t tolerate them.

So they took it a step further and made everyone eat a piece of the “ration.” That way, everyone was an accomplice.

Some had wanted a share from the start—like the two informants. Some choked back nausea and swallowed, prioritizing survival. But others refused to eat—like the man who had tried to help Lady Song’s group escape.

He had once been the kind to think, “It’s none of my business.” But until the beast bit you directly, you’d never know how much it hurt.

When his ten-year-old daughter was taken by those men, he still clenched his teeth and said nothing.

But it was then he realized how unbearable it was when no one stepped in to help.

So this time, he chose to silently give a warning.

He already bore the unbearable guilt of not saving his own daughter. If he ate that meat, he would never redeem himself.

He didn’t resist—he just closed his eyes and waited for death. That was the greatest courage he could muster.

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(End of Chapter)