Chapter 14: On the Road

They had way too much stuff to carry. In the end, it was Han Ya who took the large bamboo basket, while Wang Li carried the smaller one. They stuffed everything into the baskets, then went to the front desk to check out before walking out of the inn.

It was still early—dawn hadn’t fully broken. The two of them, backs burdened with their loads, held hands tightly as they walked. Han Ya insisted on holding hands, afraid of getting separated.

There were already a few people on the road: workers heading out for the day, vendors setting up for business—everyone busy and hustling for a living.

They passed a meatball soup stall that had already opened for the morning. In these times, making a living wasn’t easy. Next to it, someone was already selling wontons. Wang Li quickly dug out a bamboo tube and bought a tube of meatball soup and another of wontons. They’d drink it later when they rested—for now, their priority was to leave the city and find the railway tracks.

(Don’t think I’m trying to kill myself—I’m only looking for the railway so we won’t get lost…)

They also bought lunch while they were at it.

The two of them strode confidently through the city gates. Their timing couldn’t have been better—the gates had just opened, and there weren’t many people around yet. Just five or six others with baskets on their backs, probably also heading out of town. Any earlier and they’d have had to wait; any later and they’d be caught in a crowd. Their luck was unbeatable today.

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Meanwhile, elsewhere in the city…

Inside a large house on Dongmi Market Street, the place was in chaos. People were sprawled on sofas and beds, a dozen or so in total.

Suddenly, someone burst through the door.

“Boss—Black Dog and Black Ox went out yesterday, and they still haven’t come back.”

This was the hideout of a local gang, mainly involved in robbery and human trafficking. The gang leader’s older brother was a captain in the puppet army.

Not long after, a woman came rushing in.

“Someone saw two bodies in an alley near the lake this morning… Might be them.”

The gang members turned serious.

“Boss, what do we do? Should we go check?”

“No rush,” the leader said calmly. “They’ve done this plenty of times and never messed up. Let’s eat first. Tell the others it’s time for breakfast.”

After the meal, two people were sent to investigate. The rest went out to scout for their next potential victim. As they wandered, they snatched a bun from one vendor, a flatbread from another—stealing casually as they went.

By the time they finally located the two bodies, it was nearly noon.

But by then, Wang Li and Han Ya had already walked more than ten miles from the city. They’d found a wind-sheltered spot to rest and were happily eating warm corn cakes and hot wontons.

Han Ya giggled, “Auntie, this food’s so good I’m getting sleepy, hehe…”

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Back in the city, once the bodies were confirmed, the gang boss flew into a rage. After questioning around for half the day, they still had no idea who killed Black Dog and Black Ox. The gang leader went to his brother, who in turn went to the Japanese authorities. Soon, the city gates were sealed and soldiers started scouring the streets. The entire city was thrown into chaos.

So much so that Liuzi and his gang didn’t even dare step outside anymore. Even underground resistance activity had to halt. Old Wang couldn’t stay in Taiyuan either—spies were now searching for him with photographs in hand.

In the end, they had no choice but to disguise Old Wang and send him, along with the radio transmitter, to Shanghai. No one knew whether he would make it safely.

At that moment, Old Wang had just been spotted by enemy agents. As the train pulled away from the station, he bolted—still clutching his suitcase. Fortunately, a bathroom door was open as he ran past, and without hesitation, he jumped out of the window.

His leg was injured in the fall—possibly fractured. Still dragging the suitcase and limping in pain, he crawled into a patch of bushes. The agents fired a few shots after him, but none of them dared jump out of the moving train.

Only after the train had long departed did Old Wang climb out of the thicket, find a wooden stick to use as a crutch, and begin making his way into the forest.

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Wang Li and Han Ya, having rested and packed up, resumed their journey. Luckily, they had a map to follow. They stayed close enough to the railway to maintain their bearings, but not so close as to risk being shot at by patrols.

They walked and walked, until the sky began to darken. The road was empty—not a soul in sight. Still, it was clear others had taken this route before them: a narrow footpath had been trampled into the earth.

The two of them walked together until they reached a large tree. Only then did Wang Li say, “Han Ya, this walking is too exhausting. Let’s just eat something simple and take a rest.”

Han Ya replied, “Auntie, let’s make some porridge. We haven’t eaten properly all day. You’ve never walked this much before—don’t wear yourself out.”

Wang Li said, “You’re right, I can’t go on anymore. I’ll lie down for a bit. I’m so tired I won’t even wash my face. My hair’s a mess like a bird’s nest.”
Han Ya took out a towel, poured a bit of water, and gently wiped Wang Li’s face. “Auntie, wipe off a bit, it’ll help. You sleep—I’ll cook some porridge and boil an egg for you.”

Wang Li was so tired she didn’t even want to speak. She just raised two fingers to signal something, then drifted off to sleep.

By the time she woke up, Han Ya had already finished cooking the porridge. The two of them each drank two bowls and ate a boiled egg. Han Ya had just given the egg a quick rinse before throwing it into the porridge to boil. At this point, fleeing for survival meant hygiene was a luxury they couldn’t afford.

Wang Li said, “Girl, you should go to sleep. I’ll keep watch the rest of the night. I just woke up and can’t fall asleep again.”

Han Ya mumbled, “Auntie, be sure to wake me later,” and fell asleep almost instantly. She was utterly exhausted. Her basket was bigger than Wang Li’s, and she still had to cook. Wang Li realized her new body was weak and unskilled, and all she could do was sit there, lost in thought until daybreak.

Seeing that Han Ya was still asleep, she let her rest. Wang Li went to dig up some wild vegetables nearby. After gathering a few, she snuck behind a boulder and entered her space to wash them clean. She also pulled out two bamboo tubes of boiled water and two bowls of porridge. After adding more water to the pot and tossing in some firewood, she finally called Han Ya to wake.

The porridge had been brought from the modern world.

When Han Ya woke up and saw everything was already done, she looked ashamed and was on the verge of tears for forgetting to take her turn at night watch.

Wang Li smiled, “It’s okay. I wasn’t sleepy last night anyway. Just take the shift tonight.”
They finished their meal and resumed their journey.

Wang Li was a little frustrated—why hadn’t they seen a single person along the road?

Just the two of them alone was starting to feel scary. Today’s path was especially rough—full of potholes. She wondered why the road was in such a terrible state.

It was nearly July, and it was still scorching hot. Compared to Henan, Shanxi wasn’t so bad—at least people weren’t starving to death.

Before she transmigrated, she had seen a movie about the Henan famine. That was truly tragic. Everything edible and drinkable had been looted by the Nationalists, and what little remained was bombed to pieces by the Japanese. Even young girls had to sell themselves to survive.

Thinking about all that gave her strength again. She cheered herself up—Let’s try to walk thirty li today.

Suddenly, Han Ya cried out, “Auntie, there’s a dead person lying next to that tree ahead—I’m scared!”

Wang Li thought, I’m scared too, but she had to keep up appearances.

She said, “Don’t be afraid, girl. See if there’s anything on him we can use. Come on, let’s find a place to set our things down. You go up the slope to check if there are people nearby. If there’s no one around, we’ll take his stuff.”

Han Ya ran up the hill to scout. Wang Li stared at the man—he looked vaguely familiar. Had the original owner of this body known him? She wasn’t sure. Either way, better check if he was alive.

She reached out to feel his pulse—it was still beating.

She had thought they’d found a windfall, but instead, it turned out to be a burden. Feeling his forehead, she realized he had a fever. She quickly helped him up and forced an amoxicillin and a fever-reducing pill into his mouth. His teeth were clenched tight, so she pinched his nose until he opened his mouth, then poured the medicine and water in.

After that, she left him alone. Han Ya returned and said, “Auntie, there’s no one around—just us two. Should we rob him?”

Wang Li almost burst out laughing. This girl… If Han Ya had managed to get on the train back then and left her behind, Wang Li would’ve likely died of boredom. The kid was too funny.

Despite panting from exhaustion, Han Ya still found ways to joke and keep things light.

Han Ya had already started prepping a fire.

Wang Li quickly said, “Don’t light a fire! Look, his leg’s injured—there might be others hiding nearby. If they see our smoke, they’ll find us.”

“Let’s just eat rice balls and drink some water.”

As the two of them were about to eat, the man woke up. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw his friend’s stepmother.

What a coincidence, he thought. Every time I’m in trouble, I run into her saving me. What kind of fate is this?