Xi Qingyue murmured to herself, "Precious, yet abandoned—her identity must be unusual. No wonder she has such an extraordinary temperament. The key thing is, this girl has a really good disposition."
Based on her understanding of noble families, when a young woman is accidentally injured on first meeting, she'd usually curse and threaten verbally. But this girl wasn't angry at all; instead, she looked gentle and kind.
Of course, this only showed that the girl was broad-minded or clever and wise—it had nothing to do with her family background.
Xie Qingyue lowered her head and continued eating watermelon. At the same time, she freed one hand to hand over a hat. "Lan'er, put this on."
"Okay, Big Sister." Xi Weilan took the hat and immediately put it on her head.
She felt she had finally been helpful, and now she was utterly delighted.
A quarter of an hour later, Xi Qingyue came out of the carriage, holding a strange object in her hand.
She sat beside Xi Weilan, fastened the gun holster around her waist, and instructed: "Take this for self-defense. This way, it'll be convenient and safer to use."
After fastening it, Xi Qingyue explained in detail how to put it in and draw it out, and even made her practice the motions a few times.
Xi Weilan was already very familiar with guns, but usually after hunting and target practice, they were put away.
Now, being able to carry it at her waist made her overjoyed. She hugged Xi Qingyue's waist happily, "Thank you, Big Sister!"
Xi Qingyue rubbed her head and reminded her in a low voice, "This is for self-defense, not a toy. If anything happens, Big Sister will handle it. You need to keep it hidden, understand?"
Xi Weilan looked up with confusion. "Big Sister, why do we need to hide it? I've practiced my marksmanship really well. I can hit the target almost every time."
Xi Qingyue sighed inwardly. She didn't really want a child so young to know about killing, but she had to prevent accidents.
Although staying in the space was safe, they couldn't stay inside forever—just like now, Xi Weilan was happy driving the cart outside, as children always love being around people and excitement.
Besides, she only wanted to keep a low profile, not hide away entirely. That wasn't necessary.
She smiled at Xi Weilan and explained, "You need to stay low-key and keep your skills hidden. That way, in critical moments, you can catch others off guard. If you reveal everything all at once, that won't be good. We have to hold something back—it's called our trump card."
"Mm, Big Sister, I understand."
Xi Qingyue pointed toward the carriage and smiled at her. "I left you some watermelon inside. Go eat."
Hearing there was food, Xi Weilan nimbly scrambled back into the carriage. When she saw the half-watermelon, she happily picked up a spoon and began eating.
Xi Qingyue swept her gaze across the surrounding crowd. Many eyes were fixed on their mule cart, but she pretended not to notice.
The road was incredibly crowded and congested. She didn't know whether these people had fled earlier due to the drought from the famine or after the war, but she knew there would only be more people as time went on.
She was still far from the place she wanted to go and could only move forward slowly like a turtle.
Whether riding in a carriage or walking, the speed was about the same—they simply couldn't go fast. The same was true for the convoy ahead.
The sky gradually darkened, and Xi Qingyue planned to find a less crowded place to stop.
By now, both sides of the official road had no forests, only a few rocks. The land was cracked yellow earth, with only occasional trees. It appeared desolate, even more arid than the Baiquan County area.
There wasn't even a village in sight. After looking around, everyone had no choice but to stop and rest where they were.
Xi Qingyue didn't want to stop here. Without dense woods for cover, she couldn't put the cart into her space. If they went inside the space to rest at night, someone might notice they weren't in the carriage—and plenty of people were looking to rob and kill.
If they stayed in the carriage, she'd have to kill quite a few people tonight. That would be troublesome.
After thinking it over, she still stopped.
As soon as the mule cart stopped, Luo Ling approached with a smile.
She came to Xi Qingyue's side and spoke politely, "Miss, my mistress said you showed her kindness by giving her medicine. She asked me to see if you needed help tonight. If you're willing, you can stay with us for the evening."
Upon hearing this, Xi Qingyue didn't answer but asked instead, "So, between the beasts in the deep mountains and humans, which do you think is more dangerous?"
Luo Ling paused for a moment, then understood her meaning. She couldn't help but smile. "Little girl, beasts may be fiercer than humans, but humans are more cunning than them. You two are being watched by quite a few people."
Xi Qingyue calmly shook her head and smiled. "It doesn't matter. I'm a lucky person; I'm sure to turn danger into safety. Go back and thank your mistress for her kindness. And tell her that her leg injury was caused by us, and the medicine was for treating her—so she doesn't owe us anything."
Upon hearing this, Luo Ling said no more and went back to report.
Xi Qingyue turned and climbed into the carriage. Inside, Xi Weilan was sitting there eating grapes from the table.
"Lan'er, what would you like for dinner? After we eat, will you go to your room obediently and sleep by yourself? Big Sister has to stay in the carriage tonight, or someone might steal our cart."
"Big Sister, can I stay with you? I can help fight the bad guys too." Xi Weilan looked up seriously.
Xi Qingyue smiled and shook her head. "No need. You rest well. They're just a bunch of riffraff—I can handle them alone."
Even though a child should see a bit of the evil in people's hearts, it didn't have to be right now.
Before the troublemakers showed up, she took Xi Weilan into the space, where they had a hearty dinner.
After seeing Xi Weilan go to bed, she left the space and returned to the carriage.
Xi Qingyue lifted the curtain and stepped out. The sky was now completely dark, but under the moonlight, she could faintly make out the scene.
Many people were still outside cooking over fires, while others took out dry rations and water from their packs to fill their stomachs.
Not far away, a man with triangular eyes was staring at her mule cart. When he saw her come out, he immediately went to report to his crew.
The leader was a scar-faced man. He had a burly build and a fierce expression—clearly someone who had shed blood before. He was followed by over twenty strong men.
"Big Brother, they're just two little kids. They probably don't have much good stuff. After we take the cart, should we rob others? That merchant caravan ahead is loaded—they must have several carts of grain alone."
A subordinate pointed ahead to where the caravan had stopped, suggesting this. The others nodded in agreement.
Scarface glanced in the direction of the caravan and shook his head. "There's only a little over twenty of us—too few. The caravan has dozens, and some know martial arts. If they put up a fight, we won't come out ahead. We'll come up with a plan and go after them later. The two kids are easy. We'll take their cart for ourselves, and as for them..."
He paused here, licked his lips, and let out a malicious grin. "The little one—she looks tasty. The older one's not bad either. The brothers haven't had any meat in a few days."
Hearing this, the others' eyes lit up with greed, each of them filled with excitement.
Although their voices were low, someone still overheard them. With her wind and earth elemental powers, Xi Qingyue could easily discern what these people were saying. A cold sneer curled at the corner of her lips.
"Fine. First they try to rob me, and now they harbor such vicious intentions—they’re utterly inhuman."
The sister she cherished and protected like a treasure had been described by these people as a piece of fat meat. Tonight, she would deliver justice in heaven’s stead.
Shrouded by the cover of night, Xi Qingyue fed the mule a large bowl of spirit spring water. She gently stroked its head and murmured softly, "Wind-chaser, keep your wits about you tonight. One fallen enemy under your hooves, and you get a bowl of water. No upper limit—I’ll settle the score right away and let you drink your fill."
In the next instant, the mule let out an excited bray and gave its tail a vigorous swish.
Xi Qingyue understood. Smiling, she unhitched the mule from the cart, eager to see just how formidable the creature had become.
