“There’s no mistake.” Cheng Yao nodded firmly. “Both of these are tubers buried underground. They can fill our stomachs and also help replenish our strength and blood. Once we dig them up, we can roast them directly or grind them into powder to eat on the road. Either way, they’re a hundred times better than chewing tree bark and grass roots!”
She looked around at everyone, her voice softening with encouragement. “I know you’re all exhausted and starving, with no faith in what lies ahead—and many of you are injured. But that’s precisely why we have to be strong! Every bit more food gives us a better chance of surviving. Anyone who can still move, come with me and dig! I’ll teach you how to identify these plants and dig them up without damaging the roots. That way, whenever you see them on the road, you’ll know they can save your lives!”
The instinct to survive was ignited, and the crowd began to stir. Their lifeless bodies seemed to regain a little vitality.
That was right. The dead were already dead. The living still had to carry on!
Seeing Cheng Yao once again become everyone’s pillar of support, Feng Xianxian, who had been standing there with a gloomy expression, could no longer hold back.
She pointed at the bodies scattered around them, her voice choked with tears and accusation. “Sister-in-law, our clansmen haven’t even been laid to rest. They’re lying right here—how can you have the heart to dig in the dirt? Is it because none of the dead are from your branch of the family, so you don’t feel any pain? Or is your heart made of stone?”
Her words were like a basin of cold water, dousing the spark of hope that had just been kindled in everyone’s hearts.
That was true. Their loved ones had died. How could they possibly eat at a time like this?
Many people looked at their dead relatives on the ground, wishing they could die and join them. They were exiled convicts, and whenever someone died, the escort officers had to record the death and report it to the local authorities. Only after government officials came to inspect and verify the bodies could they be buried.
Cheng Yao turned around and faced Feng Xianxian directly.
“A wound doesn’t hurt unless the needle pierces your own flesh. I admit, I don’t feel much pain for you people. But I do feel heartbroken. This disaster could clearly have been avoided, yet you chose to believe a wet-behind-the-ears little girl. I watched it happen with my own eyes, but I was powerless to stop it. Do you know what it feels like to be devastated and yet utterly helpless?”
Feng Xianxian froze. Her mind seemed to react half a beat too slowly, and she stammered, “Th-that still doesn’t mean we should be digging right now. It’s so heartless. No one’s in the mood…”
Cheng Yao’s voice was clear and composed. “Then tell me, what should we do? Sit here in a circle and mourn over the bodies? And then what? Set out tomorrow on empty stomachs, collapse on the road because we can’t walk anymore, and add several more corpses to the ones lying here? Should the living give up their chance to survive because they’re grieving and go to their deaths together? Is that what it means to be passionate? To be righteous?”
She paused, then swept her sharp gaze over everyone. “The dead are gone. We mourn them, and we remember them. But the living must keep moving forward!”
Her voice carried a power that shook the heart, striking every person there.
Their blood began to surge. They felt that if they didn’t pull themselves together, they would be letting themselves down!
Even the hidden guards were stirred to the depths of their souls.
They had been wrong. Their madam’s eloquence was far more formidable than their master’s!
In the future, whenever their master needed to recruit men or train them, he should simply leave it all to madam. She was sure to make everyone obey her completely.
“Everyone, listen to Hao Ting’s wife!” Fifth Grandfather shouted. “Digging for Chinese yams and kudzu roots isn’t about indulging our appetites. It’s about staying alive—and making sure our people didn’t die in vain!”
Zhan Mang’s eyes were bloodshot. “Fifth Grandfather is right! Everyone, pull yourselves together!”
The one-armed man also struggled to his feet and shouted hoarsely, “I… I can still move. I’ll go dig!”
“That’s right! Let’s go dig!”
“We can’t just wait to die!”
More and more people responded. The way they looked at Cheng Yao was filled with trust, along with the dependence of those who had finally found someone to lead them.
Seeing her clansmen regain their desire and determination to survive, Cheng Yao felt slightly relieved.
The road ahead was still fraught with danger, but at least they had taken the first step toward saving themselves.
Feng Xianxian’s face flushed red, then turned pale. A deep sense of helpless despair rose within her.
Every time she tried to pick a fight with Cheng Yao, the other woman struck back from an impossible position, and the result was always the opposite of what she wanted.
Why was that wretched Cheng Yao so blessed? Why did everyone adore and trust her so deeply? Why was Feng Xianxian treated like a rat crossing the street, with everyone turning against her the moment she opened her mouth?
Then she looked at her own husband. His eyes kept following Cheng Yao, filled with admiration and affection that seemed ready to spill over.
But he had once said that Cheng Yao was dull and vulgar!
Jealousy churned inside Feng Xianxian. Her chest tightened with suffocating pain, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Do you hate her?” A weak voice drifted over from beside her.
Shao Yutong sat on a large rock, leaning against a tree trunk. She looked as if she might die at any moment, yet her eyes glittered like bright stars.
Feng Xianxian gave a cold snort.
She disliked Shao Yutong just as much and had no interest in speaking with her.
Shao Yutong didn’t mind. She continued, “Have you ever thought about fighting back? Making her lose the people’s trust bit by bit?”
Feng Xianxian shot her a sidelong glance. “Would fighting back even work?”
“That’s because you’re the one doing it.” Shao Yutong took a breath and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “If you trust me, the two of us could join forces…”
Feng Xianxian cut her off, her manner arrogant and dismissive. “I don’t trust you.”
She turned and walked away.
Shao Yutong was so furious that she couldn’t catch her breath and nearly passed out.
She hadn’t even let her finish speaking!
Both of them were equally disliked by everyone. What gave Feng Xianxian the right to act so high and mighty?
Cheng Yao led everyone into the woods outside the ruined temple, and the escort officers followed them out as well.
Their provisions had been poisoned and thrown away. At this moment, they were just as hungry and in need of food.
In the forest, everyone put all their strength into digging. Using wooden sticks, stones, and even their bare hands, they unearthed the wild Chinese yams and kudzu roots Cheng Yao had pointed out.
Zhan Mang dug the fastest. In no time, he crouched down and yanked a root thicker than his arm from the pit, his face alight with delight.
“It’s alive! We can eat it!”
Fifth Grandfather smiled through his tears. “You silly boy. The vines are still bright green. If they weren’t alive, what would they be—dead?”
Several clansmen laughed.
“He’s just too excited to think straight.”
Nearby, Zhan Yunpeng immediately untied the worn coarse-cloth towel from his waist and used it to pad his palm as he scraped away the dirt.
The rough soil tore his skin, and blood seeped between his fingers, but he only dug faster and faster. At last, a section of kudzu root, damp with the scent of the earth, broke through the soil. It was no smaller than Zhan Mang’s.
Its yellow-brown skin was covered in fine rootlets, yet it radiated vitality in the winter air.
“Grandfather, look!”
His mud-smeared smile shone brighter than the sun.
“Yunpeng, you did well too.”
“Keep digging!”
Everyone was encouraged and worked even faster.
The thought that they would be able to dig up food like this to fill their stomachs along the road made them feel that life finally had something to look forward to.
Zhan Jinmo set aside the lofty pride of a scholar and took turns digging with Second Master Zhan. Before long, they had unearthed three or four arm-thick kudzu roots, which lay in a heavy pile on the ground.
“Don’t forget the Chinese yams!”
Someone pointed toward a low slope not far away.
Although the vines of several Chinese yams there had withered, the roots had left swollen mounds beneath the soil.
They were the plants Cheng Yao had pointed out earlier and marked for everyone.
“Chinese yams can strengthen the body and support the spleen and stomach. You can eat plenty of them.”
Remembering what she had said, many people hurried over.
“The yam roots are small, so be careful when you dig,” Cheng Yao reminded them again.
The people switched to using thin pieces of wood to scrape away the soil carefully, afraid that they might pierce or break the tender Chinese yams.
When the first yam was finally pulled free in one piece, Zhan Yunpeng couldn’t resist taking a small bite. It was slightly sweet, and after taking another bite, his spirits rose even higher!
This was their hope of survival!
