Luo Jian's newly set arm was bumped by Zhang Yue and broke again.
"A'jian, A'jian, what's wrong?" came the anxious cries of Luo Jian's mother from inside the house.
Luo Aman twitched her lips, her voice carrying a hint of schadenfreude. "His arm was broken by Sister Zhang Yue. But don't worry, I'll have Great-uncle set it for him again."
Saying this, she shouted loudly toward next door, "Great-uncle!"
Luo Zhong, who lived next door, sighed and came out with a faltering step. "Coming."
Luo Zhong looked to be about sixty years old. He had a full head of white hair, was emaciated to the bone, with deeply sunken cheeks and a face full of weathering.
Behind him followed a girl who was equally gaunt. The girl panted with every two steps she took; she was truly too hungry and weak. She had no strength left, but worried about her grandfather, so she followed him out.
Zhang Yue finally reacted, explaining delicately, "Cousin Luo, I... I didn't mean to. I just... boohoo... I was just in too much pain."
Luo Jian had recovered from the initial shock of pain. He forced a stiff smile. "No, I don't blame you. I... Great-uncle will help me set the bone again, and it will be fine."
With that, he lowered his head and stopped looking at Zhang Yue. Truthfully, her face made him lose his appetite; it had completely lost its usual charming and adorable look.
Zhang Yue, unaware of his thoughts, looked at him with teary eyes until Mother Luo's voice came from inside again, "What on earth happened? A'jian, come in and let Mother take a look."
At this time, Luo Zhong and the little girl arrived in the courtyard. "Let's go inside. I'll take a look at you."
Luo Jian nodded and endured the pain in his arm as he entered the house.
Zhang Yue hurriedly followed him inside.
Luo Aman twitched her lips and said to her parents, "Come on, let's go inside to talk."
The family of four quickly entered the house and closed the door.
In the room next door, a woman in her forties stood by the window watching all this. She couldn't help but mutter, "The daughter is grown up now. Her face was stung like this, yet she only cares about others."
On the ground behind her lay a torn straw mat, on which two people were lying.
One was a man in his forties, and the other was a boy of six or seven.
The man asked casually, "What was A'yue stung by?"
The woman sat gently on the straw mat. "It should be a hornet. It looks like she was stung badly; her face is completely ruined."
The man's face was sickly pale. "Alright, why worry about this? What's the big deal about a hornet sting? Luo Jian will definitely get her some herbs later."
"Oh right, have Luo Zhong come over later to look at my leg. Why do I feel like my leg has been hurting more these past two days?"
The woman sighed, looking at her hand covered in dark green herbal poultice. "I'll have him look at my hand too. It's a piercing pain."
"You know, it's really strange. Ever since we got here, we're always either getting injured or falling sick."
She looked with a face full of heartache at the sleeping boy.
The boy's face showed an unnatural flush.
She touched his burning hot forehead. "Is Luo Zhong's medicine actually working? Why are our injuries and illnesses never getting better?"
The man closed his eyes and lowered his voice, "Just be content. If it weren't for A'yue wrapping Luo Jian around her little finger, who knows where we would be right now."
In the main room, Luo Aman placed the wild vegetables and grass roots she had gathered from her basket onto the table and asked, "Why are there so many people across the river?"
The three people in the room stayed far away from her. Her mother, Li Qing, looked worried. "Yeah, they're probably planning to spend the night on the opposite side."
Her father, Luo Shan, also sighed. "Fortunately, those people don't look like vicious folks, otherwise how would we survive?"
Luo Aman thought for a moment and said, "When I came back, I saw that they were sturdy and strong. They must have a lot of food and supplies. Why not let Brother go and buy some food from them?"
They had been out of food for a long time, and the fish in the river had also been eaten clean by them. Recently, they had relied almost entirely on digging wild vegetables, tree bark, and grass roots from the mountains to fill their stomachs. Everyone was emaciated and sallow.
The young man who had been with her on the mountain earlier retorted, "Why should I go?"
His name was Luo Adi, the son of the couple in the room and Luo Aman's older brother.
Luo Aman rolled her eyes. "Then do you think it's appropriate for me to go? Wouldn't that be returning kindness with ingratitude?"
The three people in the room actually had nothing to say in rebuttal.
Thinking of food, Luo Aman couldn't help but swallow her saliva. "I'll go with you. We have to try. We saved hundreds of copper coins before. It would be best if we could buy some. Even if they refuse to sell, they wouldn't kill us just for asking a couple of questions, right?"
They had money but didn't know where to buy food. They didn't dare enter the city, afraid they wouldn't be able to come out once inside.
Yun Chengxuan didn't catch any fish, and he was a bit unhappy. "How come there are no fish in such a big river?"
Jiang Jin comforted him. "They were probably caught by people."
There was famine everywhere, and there were a few households living in the village across the way. It would be a miracle if any fish were left.
The reason they could hunt wild hares and pheasants in the mountains was because there were tigers, wolves, and other wild beasts deep in the mountains. Ordinary people didn't dare enter the deep mountains, otherwise there wouldn't be any left for them to catch either.
As the two were talking, Jiang Jin saw the siblings, Luo Adi and Luo Aman, walking over from the opposite bank of the river.
Seeing Yun Chengxuan standing in the river and then looking at Jiang Jin standing on the opposite bank, Luo Adi suddenly felt timid and restrained, not daring to speak.
Luo Aman, who was following behind him, really couldn't stand his dawdling. She took two steps forward and shouted to Jiang Jin.
"I am a farmer from the village over here. I wanted to ask if we could buy some food from you? Any kind of food is fine."
Jiang Jin shook her head. "Not selling."
She had money, and there was plenty of food in her spatial storage, but it depended on how many people needed to be fed. In chaotic times, food was the most important thing. So no matter how much they offered, she had no intention of selling.
When it really came down to running out of food, even a few grains of rice could save a life.
To her, the lives of her own people were naturally more important than those of strangers. She was very clear about this distinction.
Luo Aman pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and asked again, "What about herbs? Can we trade them for food?"
Jiang Jin's eyes lit up. "What kind of herbs?"
Although she had collected some medicinal herbs, it was far from enough.
Medicine and food were equally important; both were things that could save lives.
Luo Aman's face showed joy, but she didn't actually know what herbs they were. She was actually asking on behalf of Luo Zhong.
She hurriedly said, "There is a healer in our village. I'll go ask. Can you... can you wait for me?"
Jiang Jin naturally had no objections. She was idle anyway.
Luo Adi immediately ran back to the village to find Luo Zhong.
At this time, Luo Aman saw the people on the opposite bank of the river starting to practice martial arts.
Suddenly her eyes widened. She discovered that there were actually women in the training squad!
She blinked twice to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She asked uncertainly, "You... you have women training? Are they female guards?"
Jiang Jin smiled and said, "Yes."
Luo Aman faintly had an idea. Feeling excited and thrilled inside, she took two steps forward. "Where is my lady heading? What are the requirements to be taken in as a female guard?"
Jiang Jin looked her up and down. "You want to be a female guard?"
Luo Aman didn't hide it either. "Yes, I want to."
She really wanted to. She remembered when she was little, the village planted crops, and every autumn it would be a vast expanse of lush green and golden yellow.
Even though there were all kinds of taxes, and her father had to do corvée labor every year, and they didn't have enough to eat or wear, at least everyone was alive back then, and there were many people in the village.
It was nothing like now, where the villagers had either died or fled. In such a large village, only a few of their households were left, struggling to survive.
Every time the bandits swept down from the mountains, every time the wandering mobs plundered, every time the barbarians raided the village, she would hide in the mountains, in the cellar, or anywhere else she could conceal herself.
Each time, she would think to herself: if only she had the strength, if only someone would come to protect her, her family, and her village.
But it was always a foolish hope. No one ever came to her rescue.
Now, a sudden opportunity had presented itself. She thought that as long as she learned the skills, she could finally take up a blade to protect herself, her family, and the people she cared about. How could she not be thrilled and excited?
Jiang Jin saw the deep yearning in her eyes. After a brief silence, he said, "This is no ordinary guard duty. You will have to kill."
A flash of joy appeared on Luo Aman's face, but it quickly gave way to hesitation as a sudden thought crossed her mind. Just as she was about to speak, the sound of approaching footsteps came from behind.
