Knowing that her hand was injured, Madam Liu told her second son and Jia Yan not to get close, so as not to disturb the crows that were foraging for food.

Seeing that the crows were about to spot them, Sun had no choice but to quickly take out a handkerchief and bandage Liu's hand.

The three then slowly retreated, afraid that their movements would alert the crows.

However, just as the group turned around, a pebble flew from behind them and struck the crow accurately.

Liu quickly turned around and saw Wen Xiuying pulling Zhu Zinan, who was still laughing and hadn't pulled up his pants, away from the bushes.

"Sister-in-law, run!"

The crows, startled, left the rotting carcass, spread their wings, their eyes red, and let out a piercing screech.

Zhu Chenfeng hurriedly reminded Liu Shi, who was still in a daze, and pulled Sun Shi away.

As Sun turned around, she also pulled Liu along and ran out of the bushes.

The three ran frantically out of the bushes, with crows circling behind them, cawing and flapping their wings as they attacked.

Startled, Xixi drifted off to sleep in her aunt's arms.

Once asleep, Xixi hurriedly swam towards the hidden door, anxiously waiting for it to rise.

As if sensing her anxiety, the door rose rapidly from the ground and then quickly opened the door she longed for.

Outside the gate, Liu, Sun, and Zhu Chenfeng were frantically running towards the edge of the bushes.

The crows above their heads let out terrifying cries, circling above the three of them, and it looked as if the crows were about to peck at Liu Shi.

Xi Xi became increasingly anxious as she looked around; there was simply no time to go to the armory to get weapons.

Left with no other choice, she ran towards the shelves, grabbed items haphazardly, and threw them at the crows in front of the door.

Startled by her powerful attack, the crows all changed direction and slowly moved away from Liu and the others, circling in mid-air.

Taking advantage of the crows' absence, Liu and the others jogged away from the bushes and raced towards the camp.

Only after her mother, aunt, and uncle had all safely left the forest did Xixi float weakly in mid-air, sighing wearily.

Xixi has had such a tough time, she needs to get some sleep!

After closing the gate, she yawned and flew towards the courtyard, where she entered the hot spring pool and fell fast asleep.

Wen Xiuying, who was hiding in the woods with Zhu Zinan behind a big tree, had seen the whole scene of the goods being thrown at the crows. She frowned and pondered.

"Mother, I'm hungry."

It wasn't until Zhu Zinan's voice rang in her ears that she snapped out of her daze and pulled Zhu Zinan toward the camp.

Back at the camp, Liu and the others, panting heavily, approached Old Lady Zhu in a panic.

"Mother, something terrible has happened! There are rotting corpses in the woods."

Old Mrs. Zhu pulled Liu and Sun to her side, handed them the water bags, and asked them questions in confusion.

"There's been a famine recently, and many refugees who have no food or water are dying in the forest. It's normal to see rotting corpses. Why are you so panicked?"

"Mother, not only are there rotting corpses, but also..."

Thinking of the rotting corpse she had just seen in the bushes, Liu couldn't help but cover her mouth and vomit.

Even Madam Sun frowned and kept feeling nauseous. She looked at Old Madam Zhu while suppressing her nausea and said, "Mother, besides the rotting corpses, there are also crows that eat the corpses. The eyes of those crows are all red."

"I read in a book that crows are envious because they mutate after eating the corpses infected with the plague."

At this point, Zhu Chenfeng nodded with a grim expression, "Mother, you didn't see those crows. They smelled of decay and looked terrified and frantic. It was absolutely horrifying."

These remarks immediately made Old Mrs. Zhu's eyebrows furrow, and she gasped sharply, her lips trembling involuntarily.

"Plague? Is a plague about to break out?"

"Hahaha, you cowards, a few crows scared you away."

Just as Old Mrs. Zhu was filled with fear and unease, she heard Zhu Zinan's mocking laughter behind her.

Thinking of Zhu Zinan's prank earlier, Liu was so angry that she suddenly stood up and slapped Zhu Zinan across the face.

The sudden slap startled Zhu Zinan. He stared blankly at his face for a long time before throwing himself into Wen Xiuying's arms and crying loudly.

Wen Xiuying was also shocked by Liu's actions. She stared wide-eyed, hugged Zhu Zinan tightly, and screamed wildly.

"Liu, what right do you have to hit my son?"

"On what grounds? Just because you knew those crows were aggressive, yet you still allowed your son to throw stones at them?"

The current Liu is no longer the person who let Wen Xiuya bully her. If anyone tries to hurt her, she will fight back without hesitation.

Even this seemingly harmless brat, who could only live one day at a time on the road to exile, why should she have to suffer for these things?

Wen Xiuying didn't think it was her fault. She shielded Zhu Zinan behind her and pointed at Liu Shi aggressively to refute him.

"Stop spouting nonsense! Don't think that just because your sister-in-law is flirting with the guard and has won his favor, you can act with impunity. Let me tell you, we're not afraid of you at all!"

Liu hated these people with their filthy minds the most. Her face flushed, she rolled up her sleeves, quickly stepped forward, grabbed Wen Xiuya's hair, and kept slapping her face.

"I'll teach you to spout nonsense and I'll tear your stinking mouth apart today."

The argument between the two attracted Zhu Yanyan, who rushed over upon hearing the commotion. Seeing her mother being bullied, Zhu Yanyan picked up a wooden stick from the ground and ran over.

Pei Sining, who was watching the commotion from a short distance away, quickly picked up a pebble and placed it on her slingshot after discovering that Zhu Yanyan was planning to ambush Liu.

Then, aiming at Zhu Yanyan's calf, he released his grip, and the stone flew through the air and accurately struck Zhu Yanyan's calf.

Zhu Yanyan originally ran over with a wooden stick, but she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground.

When she tried to get up, she saw Old Mrs. Zhu standing in front of Zhu Yanyan with her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson.

Zhu Yanyan glared fiercely, suppressing her anger, put down the wooden stick in her hand, and issued a stern warning.

"Grandma Zhu, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. I advise you not to push your luck too far."

"This is outrageous! Who's really outrageous here? Since the exile began, haven't you framed our family countless times? What? Now you're playing the victim, turning the tables and making us the ones who bullied us?"

Old Mrs. Zhu found Zhu Yanyan's words ridiculous. She had no intention of arguing with these people, but their repeated persecution forced her to become the villain.

Now, they are surrounded by wolves and tigers. If they show any weakness, they will end up as rotting corpses in the forest, left to be devoured by crows, their bodies left to rot.