After all that commotion, most of the night had passed. Xiang Wan found a place to rest, and Feng Yulian wanted to start a fire, but Xiang Wan stopped her. A fire would be a very obvious target at night, and without something to shield it, it would quickly attract the attention of those people.

Even while resting with her eyes closed, Xiang Wan didn't forget to lower her guard. She kept her dagger by her side, ready to fight at any moment. Leaning against the tree, she couldn't help but think about her future.

After the original owner returned, she was imprisoned, the reason for which remains unknown. Going back now, aside from the long journey, wouldn't end well either. And Feng Yulian was still by her side, seemingly trusting her completely.

Whether Feng Yulian knows what the Zhao family intends to do to her is currently unknown. These armed men have kidnapped so many women and children; they must have ulterior motives. If she can't return to the Zhao family, she might as well follow these people and investigate; eventually, she might find the hidden story behind the original owner's wrongful conviction.

As for Feng Yulian, if she wanted to follow, then so be it. Keeping her by his side would allow him to monitor her every move. If she made any improper moves, Xiang Wan could take the opportunity to get rid of her. If she wanted to leave, to prevent her from revealing her whereabouts, he would have no choice but to strike first.

The morning dew dripped onto her face, instantly waking Xiang Wan. She opened her eyes and glanced around, only to find that Feng Yulian had also just woken up.

"Good morning, Captain Zhao."

"Um."

As evening approached, he got up, wiped his face haphazardly with his hands, and did some warm-up exercises. He then heard a loud commotion in his stomach, like the beating of drums and gongs.

"Team Leader Zhao, let's go find something to eat."

"Okay, let's act together."

The two got up and walked deeper into the dense forest. Along the way, they heard birds chirping. Xiang Wan wanted to knock one down with a stone, but Feng Yulian disagreed.

"Captain Zhao, the birds are so cute! As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. Considering how hard they work, let's not kill them, okay?"

She's another saintly white lotus flower. If we follow her logic, then all animals are forbidden to eat, and the two of them would only starve to death.

"I've only ever heard the saying that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I'm starving to death, and if birds can save me, then it's a worthy death, and I'll have accumulated merit to be reborn into a better life. Do you want to stop them from accumulating merit?"

"Should we kill them, or should we do them a good deed?"

"As the saying goes, Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. It exists so that those who eat it can survive. If it doesn't sacrifice itself, how can we continue to live? Moreover, why does it make its cries when we are hungry? It's to remind us that it has arrived and we should take action."

"Captain Zhao, I... I still feel a little reluctant."

"Alright, I'll roast the bird meat later, and you can find some fruit to fill your stomach."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiang Wan swiftly threw a pebble, and a long-tailed colorful bird fell to the ground at her feet.

Xiang Wan grabbed the bird by the neck, picked it up, and held it in front of Feng Yulian: "Look, this bird was born at the right time. It's just the right size for my appetite and can only be used to feed one person. If you feel sorry for it, you can pluck all its feathers. That would be a way to fulfill your kindness."

Feng Yulian was startled when she suddenly saw the bird with its head drooping in front of her. After hearing Xiang Wan's explanation, she was at a loss for what to do and her face turned pale.

Xiang Wan sighed inwardly: This kind of person is either too naive or too good at acting, not revealing even the slightest flaw. It's really strange.

"I, I, I dare not, Captain Zhao, I really..."

“I wasn’t expecting you to clean it up,” Xiang Wan said, taking the bird back and tying a vine around its neck, which she then hung around her waist. “Look around for a stream. If we don’t eat birds, we should at least eat crabs, fish, and shrimp, right?”

It wasn't that Xiang Wan was being kind; she just wanted to see if Feng Yulian was truly as unwilling to harm small animals as she appeared. If she could then be fairly certain of Feng Yulian's identity.

In this vast forest, you can determine direction by the tree canopy; the side with the most leaves and straightest branches is south. Finding water is even easier; wherever the vegetation and trees are lush, just follow that direction, and you'll always find a water source. Even if you don't find one, the ground is often damp.

The original owner was familiar with things related to completing missions, but knew very little about basic survival skills. She was only able to escape this dense forest by sheer chance, or perhaps misled by Feng Yulian, which led her to that predicament. Xiang Wan, on the other hand, had studied geography and biology, so basic common sense was no problem for her.

They found a babbling brook and placed the bird on a large rock, first plucking its feathers. Once the feathers were gone, they used a dagger to cut open its belly and threw its contents into the brook.

"Captain Zhao, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Here we go again. While cleaning up, Xiang Wan brainwashed Feng Yulian: "As the Buddhists say, if I don't go to hell, who will? Since it's here to save me, why be afraid of being disemboweled? The punishments in hell are a thousand times more cruel than these. Since it has accumulated merit, it will be exempted from punishment. Do you still want it to go down there to continue suffering the torment of being fried and boiled in oil?"

"That's not how it works. We live in this world, and everything has its own way of surviving. Forcibly ending their lives is not a good deed, but an act of malice."

“Then tell me,” Xiang Wan plunged the dagger into the nearby soil, washed the blood off her hands, and looked up to ask, “Big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp, shrimp eat insects—these animals all have their ways of survival. Insects are the most innocent, yet the shrimp takes their lives—that’s malicious. The little fish avenges the insect by eating the shrimp—that should be considered a good deed, right? But the big fish maliciously interrupts the little fish’s way of survival—isn’t that utterly evil? The bird eats the big fish—that’s avenging the little fish, right? But it also eats the little fish. Can you tell me, who is acting good, and who is acting maliciously?”

Feng Yulian stood there stunned, clearly bewildered by Xiang Wan's words.

Xiang Wan kept busy, cleaning the bird and then finding some dry twigs and plucking some dry down from the bird's nest in the tree, intending to start a fire by rubbing sticks together. However, her arm was still injured and she was not suitable for such physical work, so she turned her attention to Feng Yulian.

If there's free labor available, it would be a disservice to her verbal instruction not to use it.

"Stop standing there like an idiot. Instead of thinking about all those other things, think about the person in front of you who is starving. Get to work! If I starve to death, you'll be forcibly cutting off my means of survival, and you'll be punished by heaven."

"Where in this world is there divine retribution?"

"Believe it or not, I can act on behalf of Heaven to uphold justice?"