While Captain Wang retreated, more arrows flew toward them, many of them flaming. A soldier who was struck cried out in agony instantly.
Immediately after, countless torches were hurled at them from all directions. The soldiers raised their blades to deflect them, but many were still hit.
The moment the torches landed, their clothes caught fire. Soldiers screamed in pain, beating at the flames or helping each other put them out. A few fell to the ground and rolled, trying to extinguish the fire, only to be trampled by others. Then more torches struck them, and their cries grew even more harrowing.
Captain Wang dodged the arrows and deflected the torches. He managed to escape the burning zone—only to be impaled through the chest by a spear.
“Corrupt dog, die!” Ding Su thrust the spear forward with force. Captain Wang coughed up blood again.
Beside him, a refugee seized the moment and swung a blade at Captain Wang’s neck. Blood sprayed everywhere, and he collapsed, drained of all strength. He had never imagined he would die at the hands of refugees.
Other panicked officers and soldiers were intercepted by refugees emerging from all directions, and the two sides clashed once more.
Some refugees charged into the burning ranks of soldiers, hacking at them with their weapons. The soldiers, still screaming in agony, were easily slain. But there were exceptions—a few soldiers gritted their teeth through the pain, grabbed nearby refugees, and held on with all their might, dragging one down with them even in death.
This time, none of the several hundred soldiers escaped alive, but the refugees also suffered losses. The battle was brutal.
What had started as a few tents in the middle now had the entire area ablaze.
Ding Su wiped the blood from his face and looked grimly at the refugees. “We can’t stay in Bozhou now. The city gate is guarded by no more than a hundred men. We’ll break out through the gate, but first, we need to get our belongings back and grab some food and water.”
Though they had killed many soldiers, they had no idea how many troops Bozhou truly held. If the city’s common people turned against them, their small group wouldn’t stand a chance.
“Brother Ding is right. We’ll only be safe once we’re outside the city. Let’s get some food and water, then travel through the night—the farther, the better,” someone said.
Many refugees nodded in agreement. Unless they left the city, they would never feel secure.
Once the plan was set, they rushed to the area where the soldiers had stored supplies—a large mansion nearby. Their oxcarts and other belongings had been taken there.
Xi Qingyue did not follow them. She had already placed a large amount of food there, enough for all the refugees, no matter how many.
Xi Weilan tilted her head and asked, “Big Sister, when are we leaving the city?”
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue picked her up and headed toward the city gate. “We’ll leave tonight. This place is worthless—completely devoid of humanity.”
She felt nothing but disgust for everyone in Bozhou. Many soldiers were locals, and their families knew what they had done. Anyone who disapproved had long since left.
When she reached the city gate carrying Xi Weilan, she flew straight up to the wall.
The guards on the wall were startled by the sudden appearance of two children, but before they could shout, wind blades slashed across their throats.
Xi Qingyue killed only the soldiers on the wall. She left the ones below untouched—they were nothing the refugees couldn’t handle.
After traveling a few miles outside the city, Xi Qingyue stopped.
Back in her dimension, Xi Weilan pouted. “Big Sister, we did good deeds but left no name behind.”
Xi Qingyue chuckled. “Lan’er, which good deed are you talking about?”
“Big Sister, we gave them weapons, helped them kill soldiers, left them a ton of food, and even took out the guards on the wall. And they don’t even know we helped! Isn’t that a loss?”
Xi Qingyue patted her head. “Lan’er, those weapons were useless to us, but they helped the refugees survive danger. We killed soldiers by our own choice. The food was free for us to take, and we couldn’t eat it all anyway. Since the officials had already seized their supplies, giving them a little didn’t cost us anything. None of this matters enough to leave our names.
Besides, we killed a lot of soldiers. If we left our names, wouldn’t we be admitting to murder? Do you still want to travel freely? I was planning to take you sightseeing everywhere. You wouldn’t want to be hunted down by the authorities every time we enter a new town, would you?”
Xi Weilan nodded vigorously. “Right, right! I still want to travel with Big Sister.”
Then, as if remembering something, she said, “Big Sister, that official isn’t dead yet.”
Xi Qingyue immediately knew who she meant—the governor of Bozhou.
Earlier, she had considered making him write a confession detailing everything he had done in Bozhou and posting it on the city wall. But she changed her mind.
Posting it seemed pointless. It couldn’t serve as evidence, so why waste the effort?
She took Xi Weilan’s hand and said, “Come, let’s go see that corrupt dog.”
They arrived at a row of stables inside the dimension, where the governor was thrown. He was still unconscious.
Xi Qingyue slapped him awake. When the governor woke and saw his two enemies, fury erupted.
“Who sent you two? I have no grudge against you—why target me?”
After speaking, he looked around and realized this was a strange place. Not a single one of his guards was in sight. His anger quickly turned into panic.
Xi Qingyue shook her head at him. “No, your own soldiers invited us into the city. You should have just fled on your own—why did you have to complicate things? If you wanted the refugees to block the enemy for you, you could have just said so openly. If you had given them food and shelter, they might have volunteered on their own. Even if you had treated them decently, it would have been fine. But abusing women and cooking and eating children—that’s just beastly behavior.”
As a girl herself—even in an eight-year-old’s body—she couldn’t stand by when she saw such things. And these people specifically targeted children for cannibalism. It was utterly inhumane.
When she had no power, she prioritized self-preservation. But when she had the strength to kill those beasts, she showed no mercy.
Gao Teng listened to her words, his heart trembling with fear and dread. This child was too calm—far too calm for her age.
Xi Weilan understood perfectly what Xi Qingyue meant. She knew exactly what “cooking and eating” meant.
Furious, she stepped forward and punched Gao Teng straight in the chest. A crack and a pig-like scream rang out simultaneously as Gao Teng spat out a mouthful of blood.
He could not believe a mere child possessed such force—several times that of an adult.
It took Gao Teng a long time to recover. He writhed on the ground in agony, his clothes soaked through with sweat.
Xi Qingyue pulled Xi Weilan close and patted her head. “It’s all right. He will never harm anyone again.”
As she spoke, she shot a sharp glare at Gao Teng and tossed a pen and paper in front of him. "Write down every crime you committed in Bozhou, who your accomplices were, whose orders you followed—everything. When you’re done, sign it and press your fingerprint."
She was definitely going to kill him, but she might as well keep a record. It wouldn't take up much space anyway.
Gao Teng let out a cold laugh. "Why should I write that for you? You’re going to kill me. I’m not stupid—unless you promise not to."
"Fine, I won’t kill you." Xi Qingyue agreed without hesitation.
Xi Weilan was still chuckling when Gao Teng pointed at her and said, "And you can’t kill me either." He wasn't foolish enough to believe the kid who had nearly beaten him to death would spare him.
Xi Qingyue gave Xi Weilan a small nod of approval, and Xi Weilan nodded in turn. "Fine. If my big sister says she won’t kill you, then I won’t."
Then she silently added to herself, "Other than me and my big sister, there’s still Tafeng."
