The next day, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan appeared on the street just past the hour of Mao.
The two of them were hurrying to buy things on the street with a mule cart. At this hour, very few shops were open, mostly small stalls and stores selling food. The other shops were still closed, and there weren’t many pedestrians on the street. The sky hadn't fully brightened yet, and lanterns were still lit in some places.
When the mule cart reached a steamed bun shop, Xi Weilan took out a gold melon seed and handed it over. “Auntie, we want to buy all the steamed buns you have ready,” she said.
The bun-selling auntie froze for a moment. Had she heard that right?
Looking up, she saw a mule cart stopping in front of her stall, driven by two children. And the one speaking was a child of just two or three years old.
“All... all of them?” the auntie asked again in disbelief, but her gaze shifted to Xi Qingyue.
A three-year-old child said she wanted to buy all her steamed buns, and was holding out a one-tael gold melon seed. There were hundreds of buns ready. So she could only look to the slightly older Xi Qingyue.
Seeing the auntie hesitate without taking the gold melon seed, Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded at her.
With Xi Qingyue’s nod confirming it, the auntie took the gold melon seed and hurriedly started packing the buns for them.
Xi Qingyue thoughtfully pulled a large bucket out from the cart and handed it over, telling the auntie to just pour all the buns into it.
They still had to buy other food, so there was no need to waste time on wrapping the buns.
After the mule cart left with the change of silver, the auntie was still smiling. What a smooth start to the day.
Not long after, two young men on horseback arrived at the stall.
“Auntie, thirty meat buns and twenty vegetable buns, please,” one of them said.
The auntie shook her head apologetically. “Young masters, all the ready buns are sold out. I haven’t started steaming new ones yet.”
Hearing this, Luo Ling found it strange. “Auntie, it’s only the hour of Mao, and your buns are already sold out? Your steamer is still steaming,” she said, pointing at the steamer in front.
Afraid of being misunderstood, the auntie lifted the lid to show them. “They really are sold out. Two children on a mule cart came just after they were steamed, and they bought every last one. They just left a little while ago.”
Hearing it was two children on a mule cart, Luo Ling fell silent.
Lu Qianning smiled and pointed ahead. “Let's go. There are plenty more places ahead. We don’t need that many anyway. A few sesame cakes will be enough to last us a few days.”
The two of them rode toward the stalls ahead. But the sesame cakes there had also been completely bought up.
Then, one stall after another—all bought clean, all by two children.
A few food items were still available, but since they were traveling and couldn’t carry much for later, they didn’t buy those.
Just as Luo Ling thought they’d have to switch streets, they finally found a stall that hadn’t been cleaned out.
Delighted, she quickly bought a few dozen buns and took a bite the moment she got them.
The taste nearly made her cry.
Lu Qianning gave her a strange look. “Seriously? A steamed bun gets you this excited?”
With that, she picked up a bun and ate it herself. After finishing it, she said only one thing: “Those two really are gluttons.”
Then she promptly led Luo Ling to switch to a different street.
After leaving the city, Luo Ling was still muttering. “I really wonder how those two little brats knew exactly which places to hit. They left out the worst-tasting food on that street and bought everything else. And how much did they buy? Enough to last a month? Do they really eat that much?”
Lu Qianning was also puzzled, and the more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
She looked ahead and chuckled to herself. “If you want to know, just follow them. They left the city too. Since we’re on the same road, we’ll run into them eventually and see if they’re really eating nonstop.”
Driven by curiosity, they sped up on horseback. But after half an hour, they hadn’t even glimpsed the mule cart.
Luo Ling wiped sweat off her forehead and grumbled. “That’s not right. We’ve already ridden twenty li. Why haven’t we seen anyone yet?”
Lu Qianning shook her head. “Forget it. Let's just stop worrying about them. While there’s still time, let’s pick up the pace, or we won’t be able to move later.”
Though Mirror City had restricted refugees from entering the city, there were no restrictions on those hiding in the forests along the official road.
At the same time, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan were already seventy li outside Mirror City, pushing their speed as high as possible.
This time, Xi Qingyue swapped the three-wheeled cart for a four-wheeled mini electric car.
Xi Weilan was now in the driver’s seat, gripping a small steering wheel in front of her, with Xi Qingyue sitting beside her on the right.
Xi Weilan stood excitedly at the driver’s spot as she held the small wheel, her little face beaming with joy.
Xi Qingyue couldn’t help but smile watching her. The little girl had been standing for half an hour without complaining once. Luckily, Xi Qingyue was nearby to watch the road and hit the brake if needed—otherwise they would have crashed into a tree by now.
“Sister, let’s drive this car from now on. I love this little round thing,” Xi Weilan said.
“Alright, but you’ll need to practice well.” Xi Qingyue nodded in agreement. To her, the difference wasn’t big.
After about another half-hour, seeing that there were more people getting up and packing along the roadside, Xi Qingyue turned into an empty spot, went in quickly with the car, and vanished.
When she reappeared fifteen minutes later, she had swapped to riding alone on a horse named Tafeng, with Xi Weilan already asleep in the storage space.
She wore a large hat, carried a sword at her waist, and continued along the official road on horseback.
The road was still lightly traveled at that hour, and it was easy for her horse to keep a solid pace.
As she rode, Xi Qingyue also observed the scene on both sides of the road. Most campers were packing up for the day, but a few unfortunate souls woke up to find their food had gone missing during the night, wailing in despair.
She was used to seeing such scenes. If no one stayed on guard during the night, theft was certain.
At times like this, offering help was dangerous. Once you gave even a little charity, you’d become a target. Most people understood enough to not risk it.
Xi Qingyue didn’t step in either. If she didn’t help, these people wouldn’t starve to death in the short term. If she gave a little, countless others would eye her supplies, and in the ensuing chaos, she’d end up killing more. The moral ledger between helping and killing couldn’t be balanced.
Of course, there was also the chance the cries were a trick, staged just to steal from others.
Ignoring the commotion, she continued on. More and more people started filing back onto the road from both sides.
She rode faster now, easily twice the speed of the mule cart from before.
Some tried to tail her, but no group of travelers could catch up.
But as she went further, Xi Qingyue began to notice something odd. Fewer people were on the road ahead.
About two quarters of an hour later, a chaotic mob suddenly spilled onto the road from a side path, shouting madly as they ran. “Run! The officials are grabbing people! If you don’t leave now, they’ll force you into hard labor!”
The one shouting was a bearded, middle-aged man whose voice sounded desperate—as though losing even a single second meant losing his life.
Upon hearing this, the townspeople were filled with terror. They had barely managed to make it this far; being captured now would spell disaster.
"Don't panic, everyone. Let's head into the mountains—the soldiers won't venture there to hunt us down."
A middle-aged man gestured toward the wooded slopes on either side, offering his advice. The others followed him as he dashed off in the direction of the forest.
