Chapter 6: Departure

As they neared the entrance of the village, Wang Li tucked the silver coins into her space and left only two empty trunks in the cart.

She drove the cart to the front door and didn’t let anyone else help. Instead, she had Han Ya carry the trunks into the house.

The Liu family had already prepared lunch. They simply made do with what they had and ate a little.

Wang Li instructed, “Aunt Liu, make arrangements. We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow. From now on, just call me Meizi. Things are chaotic out there right now—the world’s in turmoil.”

“Alright then, Madam… Meizi.”

That afternoon, the servants began packing. Wang Li asked Aunt Liu to go to the kitchen and make extra flatbreads.

She also had Han Ya take her up the mountain to search for things the Laoye had hidden away.

They found two caves, both filled with food supplies—about fifty sacks in total. In one of the caves, they also discovered a box.

Wang Li told Han Ya to keep watch outside while she stored the goods into her space. Once done, they prepared to descend the mountain.

Han Ya looked at Wang Li and asked, “Madam, aren’t we taking any food? We’ll go hungry on the road if we don’t.”

Wang Li chuckled, “Oh, look at you, Han Ya! Good girl, reminding your aunt. I almost forgot.”

“You wait outside, Auntie will bring it out for you.”

Wang Li entered the cave and slipped into her space. She poured out two and a half sacks of rice—one and a half sacks for each of them. Any more would’ve been too heavy to carry.

By the time they returned home, it was dinner time. After a bowl of porridge, Wang Li told everyone to rest.

She then bolted the door and slipped into her space.

Lately, things had been left in disarray—her space was a mess. Once they were settled, she’d have to take time to organize it properly.

That night, she sorted through everything she had collected since transmigrating—both money and items.

From selling the house and land, she had earned twenty thousand taels. Including the storage at home and in the space, there were a total of 150 sacks of grain. There were likely more in the house, which she’d let them take. She needed to ensure they had enough food on the journey. In the cellar trunk, she had stored 200 gold bars, 300 silver coins, and two large vats of copper coins. Tucked behind the bed legs and under the bed was even more—quite a hoard altogether.

There was also a small box. Curious, she opened it and found a deed to a Courtyard property in the provincial capital, and two more in the Shanghai concessions—one small two-story building and another housing unit. She kept flipping through the papers until she dozed off.

In a daze, she heard the sound of rummaging—boxes being overturned and a chair falling over. Thankfully, she was sleeping inside her space; otherwise, she could’ve been in danger.

Peering out from her space in secret, she saw a man rummaging through everything, opening all the boxes on the ground.

It seemed someone had caught wind that her household had money. This kind of person couldn’t be allowed to live.

She’d take the silver from selling the house and head to the provincial capital. If the Laoye was still alive, she’d just say she was scared and sold the property. If the money went missing on the road, so be it.

If anyone saw the empty trunks, word would get out, and everything would be ruined.

Someone who came to steal was surely a scoundrel anyway. With so many people dead in the village, one more wouldn’t matter… right?

She hesitated for a long time, wondering whether to attack from the front or the back. In the end, it didn’t matter—if she couldn’t kill him, she’d just retreat back into her space.

She gave herself a pep talk: “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Come on, you can do this. I’ve got the soul of a fifty-year-old woman—there’s nothing I haven’t seen. It’s okay.”

As the man turned around, she suddenly rushed out and stabbed him in the chest, then quickly darted back into her space.

“Ahhh! Aaaah—!” His cries, pig-like in their agony, echoed throughout the Courtyard. Clutching his stomach, the man collapsed onto the ground.

Afraid he might survive, Wang Li rushed out again and slit his throat.

Moments later, he stopped breathing. Wang Li quickly closed the boxes.

Han Ya, Aunt Liu, and the tenant’s family all came running into the house.

Everyone began talking at once, asking:
“Madam, what happened?”
“Madam, are you alright?”

Wang Li’s hands were still trembling—it was her first time killing someone, and the fear was overwhelming.

“I’m fine. I was sleeping when this man suddenly barged in and started tearing the place apart. I don’t know what he was looking for. He held a knife to me, asking where the money was. I ran and he chased me. I don’t even know how it happened—somehow, the knife ended up in his chest. He pulled it out and tried to kill me, so in my panic, I snatched it back and killed him.”

“Do any of you know who he is?”

“Madam, I’m so sorry. That was Lai Zi (Erlai). If I’d known he was this kind of person, I’d never have let him stay. Well… he’s dead now, and that’s that,” Aunt Liu said, her voice still shaking.

“Alright then. Han Ya, go to the dining hall and wake everyone up. Pack up everything and load it onto the cart. Sanniu, you and Aunt Liu’s son go bury Lai Zi and that child up in the mountain. Once you return, we’ll eat and head out. Bring all the cooking tools too—put them on the cart.”

After eating, they looked at the cart—it was already piled with sacks of grain, bedding, clothes, and a bunch of odds and ends.

Wang Li had Han Ya load the two boxes containing silver coins as well. Inside, she placed a rock and locked them up.

The tenant farmer’s name was Zhao Sanniu. His wife was Zheng Wu Ya. They had two children: a fifteen-year-old son named Zhao Shitou and a twelve-year-old daughter named Zhao Qingcai.

The couple carried shoulder poles, each with two baskets full of their belongings. Their son had a large basket strapped to his back, filled to the brim.

According to Han Ya, they had gone to the village to search for things. The daughter also had a cloth bundle on her back.

Aunt Liu also carried a basket on her back, and her son balanced two large baskets across a shoulder pole.

Wang Li took one last look at the house they had lived in for the past few days.

Then, facing the outskirts of the village, she called out, “Let’s move out!”

Zhao Sanniu and his wife turned back every few steps, reluctant to leave.

Zhao Sanniu couldn’t bear to part with the land he had cultivated for so many years—he kept looking back again and again.

The group of eight set off: some driving carts, some riding, others walking—all heading toward an uncertain future.

“We’re on our way.”

From ancient times to now, whether visiting relatives or fleeing from famine, no journey ever went smoothly. If you didn’t run into some trouble along the road, you couldn’t even call it traveling. Just look—there wasn’t even a ghost on the road right now. Best to close your eyes and rest for a bit.

Under the scorching midday sun, they trudged forward, step by step. Even the handcarts hadn’t been spared by the bandits.

As for ox carts or horse-drawn carriages—those had long since been looted.

They passed through a small town and had been walking for about an hour.

“Madam, let’s rest a bit. We didn’t sleep well last night because of that mess with Lai Zi,” said Aunt Liu to Wang Li.

“Alright. There’s a pavilion just ahead—let’s stop and rest there,” Wang Li said, pointing toward it.

Hearing they were about to rest, everyone pushed themselves a little harder to reach the spot. Once there, Han Ya jumped down from the cart, unhitched the horse, and led it to a nearby stream to drink.

Wang Li looked around and gave some instructions.

“Let’s eat some dry rations and drink a bit of water for now. We’ll cook at the next stop.”

Everyone responded in unison,
“Alright.”

Wang Li took a sip of sugar-salt water. She had prepared some for everyone before they left.

Sitting down, she pulled out a map—the one she had found in the Laoye’s study.

Studying it, she said, “There’s an abandoned temple up ahead. Let’s push through this afternoon and reach it—we can rest there for the night.”

“It’s been a long day. Tonight, let’s cook something good and get some proper rest.”

From now on, they’d only cook one dish per meal.

“No need to stand out—let’s all eat together.”

After resting for a while, everyone ate some flatbread and drank water.

Wang Li briefly explained the plan for the coming days, and then they resumed their journey.

She stayed on the cart and pulled Zhao Sanniu’s daughter up with her too—the girl’s shoes had torn, and her feet were blistered and raw, causing her to limp along the road.

“Stop right there! This mountain is mine, and so is this tree. If you want to pass, leave your toll!”

A loud shout startled Wang Li awake.

Startled, she looked up and saw an old man in his sixties standing ahead with hands on his hips.

Wang Li thought to herself, Does this old man have a few screws loose?

Before she could respond, another voice came from behind.

“Father! What are you doing? Why’d you run off so fast?” A young man ran up to them.

“Son, the donkey just kept walking, so I followed. When I saw so many people, I got scared and wanted to spook them.”

The young man gave an embarrassed smile and turned to Wang Li, “I’m sorry. My father’s mind is a bit like a child’s.”

“I’m Liu Juntao, and this is my father, Liu Hu. His mind isn’t quite right—apologies again,” he said, raising a hand politely to Wang Li.

Wang Li waved it off, “It’s fine. Who doesn’t have a mischievous elder in the family?”

Seeing that Wang Li wasn’t taking offense, Liu Juntao finally relaxed. After all, these people outnumbered him, and wealthy folks were usually hard to deal with. If things got physical, it would be a problem.

He quickly urged the donkey cart forward. Earlier, he had gone into the village to buy some grain. When he got to the village entrance and saw that his father was missing, he left the grain and rushed after him. He just hoped the grain hadn’t been stolen—it was their last bit of money, and they had spent it all on food. If it was gone, they’d be going hungry.

As for Liu Laoye’s little episode, Wang Li didn’t concern herself with it. Instead, she was thinking about how to convince these people to follow her to the provincial capital.

Before she could come up with a plan, they had already arrived at the abandoned temple. Other than those two oddballs, they hadn’t encountered another soul on the road.

By then, the sun had already dipped westward, casting the entire land in a golden glow.