Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 134: Cooling Down

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Cooling Down

After Chi Sheng left, Nanzhi looked up at the sky.

She wasn’t sure why, but she had a nagging feeling that something was amiss.

"It’s getting late. Let’s continue our journey tomorrow morning," said their mother. She directed her sons to park the mule carts. Only when all the carts had gathered together did she nod in satisfaction.

"Everyone should sleep inside the carts tonight and avoid spreading mats on the ground, lest it hails again."

At night, Nanzhi lay in bed with Shen Zhiyu in her arms, but no matter what, she couldn’t fall asleep.

"Mother, can’t you sleep?" The little one huddled in Nanzhi’s embrace, looking up at her and speaking softly.

"Zhiyu, do you miss your father?" Nanzhi fanned Zhiyu with a fan, her voice husky.

"Yes." The little boy’s voice was muffled. He only uttered the word ’yes’ before slowly drifting to sleep.

Nanzhi gazed out through the small window next to the cart, at the smattering of stars in the sky. While fanning her sleeping child with one hand, she propped up her head with the other and fell into a daze.

Why did it have to be her?

Harboring this one question in her mind, Nanzhi eventually fell into a deep sleep.

In the middle of the night, she suddenly felt cold. Shivering, she reached out for the blanket.

Her hand found nothing but air, which prompted her to suddenly open her eyes.

Cold?

Why was it cold?

Before sleeping it was exceptionally hot...

Nanzhi sat up in the darkness. As soon as she lifted the cart curtain, a blast of cold air hit her, causing her to sneeze.

She quickly put the curtain back down. Still not fully understanding what was happening, Nanzhi tentatively extended her arm outside again. Only when she felt the icy wind did she regain her senses.

She hurriedly covered Zhiyu with his blanket before putting on her coat and getting out of the mule cart.

The cart’s curtain fluttered irregularly. The two chickens in the basket fluffed themselves up, huddling closer together for warmth due to the chill.

Stepping out of the cart, Nanzhi saw her two brothers sitting nearby, seemingly lost in thought.

"Brother? Ercheng?" Nanzhi called out in a soft whisper.

"Nanzhi, you’re awake?" Lin Yicheng responded and motioned for her to come over.

"What’s happening this morning? It’s so refreshing." Nanzhi rubbed her eyes, sitting down next to her brothers.

"By the calendar, today is the sixth day of the tenth month. It’s about time for the season to change."

As he spoke, Lin Ercheng found himself growing somewhat worried.

Even though they brought padded jackets and cotton quilts to protect against the cold, the refugees at the base of the mountain had nothing.

If the temperature dropped suddenly, the situation at the foot of the mountain might not remain peaceful over the next few days.

Nanzhi had also considered these points, and her heart clenched anxiously.

The three siblings just sat blowing in the wind for a little while before returning to their cart. They had to resume their journey early the next morning.

However, there was a commotion on the main road at the foot of the mountain.

Xiaoqi, huddled under a tree with his sister, fixated on the crowd in front of them that seemed to be fighting over the clothes of the dead bodies. He did everything in his power to shield his sister.

"Yueyue, don’t be afraid. Brother will protect you. Just be good and stay quiet."

Xiaoqi watched them vigilantly, speaking softly.

Being kept safe from the cold wind in her brother’s arms, Yueyue knew they were in danger, so she just nodded gently.

The tree trunks were already stripped of bark, and Xiaoqi slowly moved his feet, preparing to take his sister into the groves for cover.

Because Yueyue had been suffering from tuberculosis, he was afraid that the bumpy journey would cause her discomfort, so he had prepared a piece of clothing for her to cushion her body before they had to flee from their home.

Although Wang Jingzhi had taken the cart and left, he had left that piece of clothing behind.

Quietly noticing that nobody was paying attention to them, Xiaoqi untied the clothing from his own waist, cautiously covered his sister with it, and whispered, "Yueyue, be good and go to sleep. Brother is here watching over you, there’s nothing to be afraid of."

The little girl was sick, and she had been scared by the scene they had just witnessed, so only after hearing her brother’s words did she hold onto his hand and fall asleep.

Seeing his sister’s grimy little face tightly pressed against his body, Xiaoqi lifted a hand to wipe the tears from the corners of his own eyes.

The man outside the crowd was looking around, he had definitely seen those two little brats just a moment ago.

No one could take care of anyone else now, this was the perfect opportunity for him to act.

After looking for a long time without seeing a trace of those two little brats, the man was somewhat annoyed and only rubbed his arms, cursed under his breath, and went to rest on the side.

All day today he had not seen them eat anything. Even if they ran away, they surely couldn’t have gone far. It would not be too late to look for them in the morning.

The crowd had been looting for a while until the bodies on the ground were stripped bare and only then did they disperse.

When they fled, they were just thinking about settling in Xin City, and the weather had been too hot at that time, so no one had brought warm clothes. Previously they only needed to find a way to fill their stomachs, but today there had been a hailstorm, which had also lowered the temperature significantly.

The first one to start stripping the dead of their clothes was an old woman, who only managed to secure a strip of cloth to wrap around her neck.

The chilly wind blew through the night, and Xiaoqi, holding Yueyue, hadn’t dared to sleep. It wasn’t until dawn approached that he finally dozed off for a bit, unable to stay awake.

Less than an hour later, the young boy was awakened by intermittent breaths and groans.

Fearing that his sister in his arms would be frightened, Xiaoqi covered her ears with both of his hands, while he quietly peeked outside.

With the break of dawn, the refugees began to pack their sparse belongings and continue their journey forward with their shaky steps.

Their eyes were lifeless, they looked like empty shells.

Many naked bodies lay scattered on the ground. Some had already become extremely weak due to prolonged malnutrition, and yesterday’s hailstorm had inflicted many injuries on them. Those who were barely clinging onto life had also died last night due to the sudden drop in temperature and having their clothes stripped away.

Seeing those corpses, Xiaoqi’s face turned pale.

Because he saw a woman’s thigh with a large flesh wound.

Although the corpse had been deliberately turned away, Xiaoqi, hiding in the tree groves, had seen everything clearly...

Thinking of one possibility, Xiaoqi felt his stomach churn, wanting to vomit but he hadn’t eaten anything all day so there was not even any stomach acid to vomit.

By mid-mountain, both the Lin family and the Shen family were also awake.

"How strange, why is it still so chilly today?" Aunt Guihua said, rubbing her arms.

She usually wished she could just wear a thin undershirt, so why was it that she was still feeling cold even after wearing a thin gown?

"Mother, you should put on another layer of clothes." Shen Miaomiao said, digging out two thicker pieces of clothing, handing one to her sister-in-law and the other to her mother-in-law.

The temperature had dropped, and Nanzhi had a better sleep last night. Upon waking up, she felt cheerful.

The cooler weather would allow them to speed up their journey.

After feeding bits of pancake to the two hens, Nanzhi collected the eggs into the carriage.

They now had sixteen eggs. Even if they had more people, one egg per person would be enough.

Thinking of this, Nanzhi did not hesitate. They might not find an opportunity to cook the eggs once they descended from the mountain. So it would be better to distribute and eat one each before they set off to replenish their energy. Shortly after, she set up a small pot and the eggs were ready in fifteen minutes.

Zhiyu also used her clothes as a sack to hold the eggs and distributed them, which moved the Shen family greatly.

Their journey was slowed down by the Lin family, as the legs of the Lin family’s mule were longer than their own donkey’s, so they had to slow their pace for them.

After breakfast, the group started their shaky journey down the mountain once again.