Transmigrated into the Scum Female Consort - Chapter 28

Within a moment, the raindrops connected into continuous lines.

When Yun Chi and Ye Xuejin returned to their resting place, they saw the constables shouting loudly.

“Hurry, everyone come back!”

“Are all accounted for? Do not scatter!”

Yu Lu shielded his forehead with his hand, looking worriedly at the sky. Although he had a slight knowledge of celestial phenomena, the shifting weather in the mountains was another matter entirely.

Fortunately, while the rain had intensified, it was less severe than the previous night, and no uncontrollable disaster occurred.

However, if they delayed any longer, they did not know when they would finally leave this area. Furthermore, with Magistrate Cai possibly lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity, this journey was bound to be difficult.

As if the heavens had heard his silent plea, the rain stopped slowly after half an hour.

Everyone sighed in relief; it was good that the rain had stopped.

But as the night deepened, the temperature in the mountains dropped sharply, and many people could no longer bear the cold. Without the constables needing to say anything, the prisoners instinctively huddled together to keep warm.

Yun Chi and Ye Xuejin were no exception; they embraced each other in the darkness.

“I will hold you tighter.”

Feeling the person in her arms shiver twice, Yun Chi said this and tightened her embrace, pressing their bodies closely together.

Ye Xuejin did not speak. She shivered because the rain had soaked her clothes, and the water had touched the wound on her chest, causing a sharp, stinging pain.

Now, tightly embraced, their bodies were pressed seamlessly together, and they could feel each other’s warmth even more distinctly. Ye Xuejin felt the pain in her wound gradually subside, but a strange sensation emerged.

The wound on her body felt as if it had been scalded by the other’s body heat—warm and tingling, making her heart flutter.

Unconsciously, she wrapped her arms around Yun Chi’s lower back and snuggled deeper into her embrace.

“Are you still cold?” Yun Chi asked again.

Ye Xuejin paused. She couldn’t tell if it was coldness. It was a sudden feeling of emptiness, as if a piece had been stolen from her body, creating an urgent longing. An urgent desire to be filled, yet unsure how to achieve it, she only instinctively nestled further into Yun Chi’s arms. She had never experienced this feeling before.

“Fù Mǎ.”

“Hmm?” Hearing the soft call next to her ear, Yun Chi lowered her head.

Ye Xuejin lowered her gaze, her voice even softer: “Fù Mǎ… hold me tighter.”

The husky, gentle voice carried a subtle, delicate cadence. To Yun Chi’s ears, it was like a playful kitten extending a paw and scratching at her heart.

She involuntarily shivered, causing Ye Xuejin to tremble as well.

Both froze simultaneously, as if they had touched some taboo, remaining silent for a long while.

Yun Chi felt somewhat awkward. One person shivering was fine, but two people shivering while holding each other so tightly felt a bit uncomfortable. After all, they had only known each other for six days, or just a month if counted from the day the original host caught the embroidered ball.

Yet, holding hands now felt like a daily routine, and the embrace just now had unfolded naturally. She wondered if this was because they were trapped in dire circumstances and had no choice but to rely on each other.

Yun Chi thought uncertainly, and her awkwardness faded. She took the initiative to break the silence: “Are you warmer now?”

Ye Xuejin was still surprised by the surge of emotion moments ago—strange yet fierce, leaving her heart in disarray and robbing her of composure.

Seeing her remain silent, Yun Chi smiled: “Is this the first time you have been held this tightly? Do you feel uncomfortable?”

Ye Xuejin raised her gaze, regaining her composure: “Do you feel uncomfortable, Fù Mǎ?”

Yun Chi blinked: “A little.”

Ye Xuejin pursed her lips, her voice dropping lower, like lovers whispering in each other’s ears.

“We have already performed the marriage rites, and we shall accompany each other through the years to come. Fù Mǎ, you need not feel uncomfortable.”

After she spoke, she quietly took a breath, though her breathing carried a hint of uncontrollable trembling.

Yun Chi was stunned. She did not intend to remain the Fù Mǎ. If Ye Xuejin managed to secure that position later, she certainly would not stay. She did not want to be trapped in the deep palace for life, competing with many others for cheap favor. But Ye Xuejin’s words clearly showed she hadn’t considered divorce, which was unacceptable.

“You promised me two requests, correct?” She only wanted a clean separation, and she only wanted real gold and silver.

Ye Xuejin’s emotions settled, and her tone became composed: “Yes. Fù Mǎ, state your requests whenever you wish, as long as I can fulfill them.” She did not know why Yun Chi suddenly brought up the two requests, but she knew she would definitely not refuse.

“My first request is—”

“Someone has fainted!”

“My Lord, someone has fainted!”

“Master, Old Man Ma has fainted!”

Yun Chi’s sentence was interrupted by several cries of alarm. The person who fainted was a Zhou family servant named Ma, the oldest among the Zhou servants, already over seventy years old.

With the distraction, Yun Chi and Ye Xuejin stopped their conversation and quickly looked toward the commotion.

In the deep, dark night, the constables blew on their tinder several times before they managed to light a torch.

Yu Lu signaled for everyone to move aside, allowing Old Imperial Censor Zhou, the only person in the group who knew medicine, to examine the man.

The moment Old Imperial Censor Zhou touched Old Man Ma’s wrist, his face changed. He hurriedly reached to check his breath, followed by a moment of silence. Everyone vaguely understood what had happened, and the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. A few servants who were around Old Man Ma’s age could not help but quietly wipe away tears.

Yu Lu opened his mouth, his voice softer than usual: “What was the cause of death?”

“Perhaps he froze to death.”

“He must have starved to death.”

“We haven’t eaten in over ten hours, not even a sip of water.”

“We weren’t full last night either. I think it’s been over twenty hours…”

The Zhou family servants spoke scattered remarks. They wanted to hold on, but they simply couldn’t endure it any longer. They were too hungry, and their eyes were swimming.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou opened his mouth, his voice full of self-reproach: “Indeed, it was hunger, and he couldn’t bear the cold. This is my fault.” Clearly, as the oldest person present, Old Man Ma had held on, not wanting to trouble his master even in death.

Yu Lu fell silent. Then, he walked toward his horse. The mountain road was already difficult. The horse could not be ridden and required constant care; he had to make a sacrifice.

This time, Xiao Gao did not try to dissuade him, as the constables also hadn’t eaten tonight and were starving.

Everyone watched in silence as Yu Lu stroked the horse’s face, watched him draw the knife from his waist, and some turned away.

After a few neighs, the air filled with the smell of blood.

“Xiao Gao, you bring men to cut… cut the meat. I will go find dry firewood to start a fire,” Yu Lu called out, then walked away alone, holding the torch.

“Yes,” Xiao Gao mumbled, rubbing the corners of his eyes.

Old Imperial Censor Zhou looked at his son: “Da Lang, lead men to help your father find some broken stones.” They needed to build at least a stone grave to comfort the departed soul.

The cold wind occasionally blew past, and faint snores could be heard later in the night.

Having eaten the roasted horse meat, the night was not as unbearable, and everyone managed to get some sleep, however brief.

At dawn the next day, Yu Lu immediately urged everyone to set off quickly. He quietly said something to Shi Niang, then took two constables and went ahead to scout the path.

Shi Niang subsequently moved the young women to the center of the group and took her position at the very rear of the procession.

Through their time together, Mei, Lan, Zhu, Ju, and Song (Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, Chrysanthemum, Pine) had developed deeper trust in Shi Niang and had gained more composure, unlike their initial state of panic after escaping. Shi Niang also understood them better and was confident they could each utilize their strengths and would not become a burden on this journey.

Now, without the constables rushing them, the prisoners voluntarily increased their pace. If it rained again, or if they couldn’t get out of the forest before dark, not only could they not conjure a second horse, but being exposed to the wild and enduring another night of freezing cold and hunger would break their bodies. By then, who knew how many more would follow Old Man Ma’s fate.

After walking for half a day, Yu Lu returned. He instructed the constables to find more dry firewood and then walked toward Shi Niang at the rear.

“There is a boundary marker not far ahead. Once we pass it, we will be out of Zhenshan County’s jurisdiction.”

Shi Niang’s heart tensed, and she quickly asked: “Is there any sign of human habitation ahead?” Leaving Zhenshan County meant that if their previous suspicions were correct, Magistrate Cai could strike at any moment.

Yu Lu nodded, though his expression was far from relaxed: “I saw a few small villages, but I estimate the nearest one is still thirty or forty li away through the mountain paths.” Given the prisoners’ current pace, they could cover at most forty li of mountain road in a day, and half a day had already passed.

Shi Niang frowned slightly: “You intend to travel at night.” Her tone was affirmative.

“Yes,” Yu Lu lowered his voice. “Did you find anything?” They had been delayed for a day by the heavy rain, but they had also covered several dozen li. If no one was guiding them, it wouldn’t be easy for Cai to catch up. Now that the rain had stopped, if someone was truly following them, Shi Niang should have been able to find some clues with her skills.

Shi Niang shook her head: “There are no tails nearby.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely certain.”

Shi Niang was very confident. Throughout the half-day, she had climbed trees more than once to observe carefully, and she had seen no one behind them.

Yu Lu was perplexed: “Could we have been overly worried?” But Magistrate Cai’s words had been clearly insinuating, and the way the city gate was closed felt suspicious—it definitely seemed like he would not give up.

Shi Niang also couldn’t understand: “No one coming is a good thing, but we cannot lower our guard.”

Yu Lu pondered for a moment: “I need you to be especially vigilant going forward.” Since there were no tails behind them, even if the enemy came, they couldn’t catch up during the day. Although they would need torches to travel at night, so would the enemy. As long as the enemy’s torches weren’t close by, he was confident he could react in time.

“As long as it’s daytime, I can handle it,” Shi Niang touched her nose, her eyes full of confidence. She came from a security escort agency, trained in martial arts since childhood, and traveled extensively as an escort later on. After her troubles, she was meticulously trained by the Prime Minister’s residence for several years, making her reconnaissance skills comparable to military scouts.

Yu Lu felt slightly relieved, silently grateful that he had encountered Shi Niang on the road. Otherwise, in a situation like this, he truly would not have anyone reliable to depend on.

Little did they know, just seven or eight li behind them, over twenty masked men were rapidly pursuing them. These men had been chasing since the rain stopped at dawn, moving without pause, and the distance between them and the exile group was rapidly shrinking.

Upon encountering a fork in the road, each man pulled out a dark, block-shaped object from his clothes, bent down, and felt the ground, searching for something.

“Leader, it is this way.”

One man stood up first, holding up the block object, which was covered in fine iron filings.

The leading masked man walked over. After confirming it was correct, he waved his hand and signaled: “Go this way.”