The sky had only just begun to lighten when the fishing village stirred to life.
Several bold women walked together toward the rocky beach, each carrying a battered wooden basin from home. They moved very slowly, stopping every few steps to look around and make sure there was no movement from the strange shelters before continuing on.
The woman at the front was the same one who had spoken with Pei Du while holding her child yesterday. Her name was Xu Sanniang.
Today, she had not brought her child. Instead, she had tucked the last bit of soapberry pods in the house into her clothes.
Several campfires were still burning on the rocky beach.
The Northern Garrison Army had already risen for the day.
A few soldiers were cooking porridge, moving with practiced efficiency.
The fragrance of rice drifted over on the sea breeze. Xu Sanniang and the others swallowed, then unconsciously quickened their pace.
Feng Chunya was squatting by the shore, washing her face.
Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw several women standing timidly not far away, wooden basins in hand.
She shook the water from her hands.
Then she stood and called out cheerfully, “Aunties, you’re all here? I’ll have someone bring out the dirty laundry for you.”
As she spoke, she called toward the camp.
“Little Wu!”
Before long, two soldiers came running over with a bundle of clothes in their arms. They set it on the ground. Most of the clothes were cotton, still fairly clean, with only some sweat stains and spots of mud.
“These are the ones,” Feng Chunya said, pointing at the clothes. “Just wash out the stains. Don’t scrub too hard; it would be a shame to damage them. Bring them back in three days, and you’ll get a sack of rice. As promised, we won’t short you a single grain.”
Tears nearly welled up in Xu Sanniang’s eyes again. She quickly lowered her head and crouched to pick up the bundle.
The other women hurried forward as well, each taking a stack of clothes. They handled them with the utmost care, as if they were not dirty garments but precious treasures.
Xu Sanniang summoned her courage and asked, “General Feng, if we finish washing these clothes tomorrow and bring them back, could you give us more dirty laundry?”
At a rough estimate, the Northern Garrison Army had at least ten thousand men. There was no way this was all the dirty laundry they had.
Xu Sanniang guessed that the female general, surnamed Feng, was showing consideration for them by giving them only a small portion.
She felt both touched and anxious.
More than sympathy, what everyone wanted was the chance to earn more food. The Northern Garrison Army would leave sooner or later, and once they were gone, the women would no longer be able to exchange laundry work for grain.
“If you can wash all of this in one day, I’ll pay you for three days’ work anyway. Once you’re finished, just come here and find me for more.”
Feng Chunya answered without hesitation. Her gaze swept over the women’s hands, their fingers covered in chilblains, and she added, “The weather is cold and the water is freezing. If you want to heat water to wash the clothes but don’t have enough firewood, we’ve chopped plenty over here. Just come and take what you need.”
The women stood there, stunned.
They had lived for decades, but this was the first time anyone had worried that their hands would grow cold from washing clothes—and even offered them firewood.
After a long moment, the women finally thanked Feng Chunya, then turned and left the camp with the laundry in their arms.
*
Wuling City was not far from the fishing village.
Yun Shu remained invisible as she carried Little Fox south along the coastline for seven or eight li, then crossed a stretch of desolate rice fields.
At last, she saw a gray, drab city wall standing two or three zhang high. It was cracked in many places, with dead grass growing from the gaps.
Five or six soldiers stood listlessly at the city gate. Their armor was battered, their spearheads rusted, and their faces were utterly numb.
Whenever someone entered the city, they would lazily stop them, pick a few vegetable leaves or half a cake of bread from the person’s basket, and only then wave them through.
Yun Shu walked past them.
Not one of them noticed her.
Inside the city, the streets were even more desolate than the outskirts.
The main street was still fairly broad, but most of the shops on either side were closed. Their doors leaned crookedly, and thick layers of dust had gathered beneath the eaves.
In the few shops that remained open, the shopkeepers dozed behind their counters. The shelves held only scattered supplies of coarse salt and old cloth, all marked at outrageously high prices.
Yun Shu walked unhurriedly. Little Fox lay in her arms and could not help speaking up to complain, “Host, Wuling City is way too run-down! Any village in the north is better than this.”
“In recent years, the cities in the south have suffered one war after another, with no order at all. On top of that, natural disasters have followed in quick succession. The people can’t grow enough food, merchants have no grain to buy, and food prices naturally keep rising, creating a vicious cycle.”
Her gaze fell on a street corner.
A child was curled up there, perhaps seven or eight years old, so thin he looked like a withered branch. His clothes had been reduced to strips of rag, exposing ribs that stood out one by one.
He was curled into a ball, both hands wrapped around his knees, his head bowed very low. He looked as though he were asleep—or as though he had already stopped breathing.
Yun Shu crouched down and checked his breath.
It was extremely faint, but he was still alive.
“Host, he fainted from hunger,” Little Fox said. “I just scanned him. He hasn’t eaten any proper food for at least five days. His stomach contains nothing but tree bark and grass roots.”
“Give me a steamed bun.”
Yun Shu tore the still-warm steamed bun in her hand into small pieces and placed them by the child’s mouth.
His eyelashes trembled. Unconsciously, he opened his mouth, took in a small piece, and swallowed slowly.
Only after feeding him the rest of the bun did she stand and continue on.
The farther into the city she went, the more desolate the scene became.
Beggar after beggar could be seen along the streets. They held chipped bowls and pleaded weakly, “Please, have mercy. Give me something to eat. Please, just give me something to eat…”
“Host, I found out that the governor of Wuling City was actually a good official. Unfortunately, good people never live long. Some time ago, rebel troops stormed the city. They not only seized the city’s granary but also slaughtered all seventy-two members of the governor’s family!”
Little Fox grew angrier as it spoke. “That rebel leader, Chen Chao, is truly vile. After taking Wuling City, he didn’t even try to manage the people’s lives properly. Instead, he allowed his soldiers to burn, kill, loot, and prey on the common people!”
“Yesterday, he assaulted a boy and beat him to death. When the boy’s parents went to demand justice, Chen Chao had them beaten to death as well!”
Little Fox secretly ground its teeth. “Host, you absolutely must not let scum like him off. You have to send him straight to hell!”
In the past, its mind had been filled entirely with winning over male leads. Even after coming to this world countless times, it had never paid attention to the common people living at the very bottom.
It was only after being bound to Yun Shu that it noticed how painfully these ordinary people struggled to survive in chaotic times.
If it were in their place, it would rather die than live a life with no hope forever.
“In times of chaos, without the restraint of law, people can easily turn into beasts devoid of humanity.”
Yun Shu’s expression remained unreadable.
“Lil’ Sys, go notify Little Blue. We’re moving the plan up.”
Little Fox nodded and darted toward the city outskirts.
Yun Shu, meanwhile, lightly tapped the ground with her toes and used Wan Liuyun to fly to the tallest building in the city.
Then she took out the Dream-Entering Bell.
The instant the bell rang, countless sheets of white paper began to rain from the sky.
