She quickly realized that in chaotic times and natural disasters, ordinary people had to use every means to survive.

However, this method goes against natural law and morality.

The carriage continued its journey forward.

The group could only choose to take the side paths, as taking the main roads would attract too much attention.

Refugees don't care who you are.

Their most important thing is to survive.

While taking the back path ensured a certain level of safety, the path was narrow, steep, and very slow.

Outside Pingyang City, Ning Yao, dressed in coarse cloth and with soot smeared on her face, disguised herself as a man.

She changed her clothes after leaving the capital.

Originally slender, she now looks more like an underdeveloped teenager.

Ning Yao stopped outside Pingyang City.

Pingyang City is the closest city to the capital. Ning Wenyi had just passed through here two days ago.

Similar to the situation two days ago, refugees gathered outside Pingyang City, and the dead and the living were in a chaotic mess.

Ning Yao stopped at the edge of a withered grove of trees about a mile from the city gate.

The prolonged drought caused vegetation to lack water, and the refugees ate the tree bark, causing the trees to wither and die.

Ning Yao casually chose a spot to sit down and rest.

She had neither a horse nor a carriage prepared, and wanted to catch up with the main group as soon as possible, so she used her light-footed skills to travel.

They rest during the day and travel at night.

With her lightness skill, she should have caught up with Ning Wenyi and the others long ago, but a small problem occurred halfway, which delayed her progress.

Ning Yao leaned against a tree trunk, closed her eyes to rest, but in reality she was looking for something to eat in the secret realm.

Looking at the steaming hot meat buns and the fragrant rice porridge, Ning Yao could only swallow her saliva.

"So annoying! I can only look at it but not eat it!" Ning Yao was furious just thinking about that scoundrel.

"If I had known it would delay my meal, I wouldn't have saved her!"

With people around her, she couldn't enter the secret realm in her physical body, and even if her consciousness entered, she couldn't eat; she could only drool over the delicious food.

After dawdling for a long time, he finally only took out half a cornbread, pretending it was the dry food he had prepared in advance, and he didn't dare to take more.

Ning Yao opened her eyes and took out the half-eaten steamed bun from her bosom.

Just as I was about to put it in my mouth, I felt a strong gaze.

The frustration that had just been suppressed suddenly surged back into my heart.

She looked up and gazed across the street.

A woman was sitting about five or six meters away from her.

The woman wasn't petite; she was taller than Ning Yao.

His clothes were tattered and torn, and his original short jacket and skirt were no longer recognizable.

His black hair was disheveled and draped over his back, with a few strands of dry grass mixed in.

His face was filthy, even dirtier than Ning Yao's face, which could be smeared with black paint, making him look like he had escaped from a refugee camp.

Only those eyes were unusual; when they looked at Ning Yao, they had a captivating power.

The woman hugged her knees, staring longingly at Ning Yao, or more accurately, at the steamed bun in Ning Yao's hand.

Noticing Ning Yao's gaze shift over, the woman quickly met her eyes.

Ning Yao covered her forehead to block the other person's gaze, thinking to herself: Here we go again!

Ning Yao saved her in the first place because Ning Yao was staring at her like that; on a whim, she decided to play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress.

The woman noticed Ning Yao's actions, looked away with a hint of grievance, and tightened her arms around her knees.

Ning Yao sighed, broke the cornbread in half, and threw one half to the woman: "Hey! Eat up, or we'll go our separate ways, understand?"

The woman took the steamed bun and started eating it, without responding to Ning Yao's instructions.

Ning Yao ignored her and continued eating, her thoughts drifting back to two days ago.

At that time, she was focused on catching up with the main group. She used her lightness skill to fly for a long time and happened to find a dilapidated temple, where she decided to rest.

Before long, the sounds of men laughing and cursing, and women sobbing came from outside, growing closer and closer, seemingly also heading towards the dilapidated temple.

Ning Yao, believing it was better to avoid trouble, did not want to get into trouble in this chaotic world, so she planned to leave quietly.

"Let the guys have some fun first, then we'll kill this little wench. What are your ideas?"

"Big brother, I want some soup!"

"Drink some soup! There's no water, where would the soup come from? I think we should just grill it. It's cold, so at least it'll warm us up! This tender meat must taste even better than the old lady's food we ate the other day!"

The men burst into laughter, while the woman kept pleading for mercy in a low voice.

But she did not gain any sympathy; in fact, she aided their lust.

Ning Yao listened to the foul language outside, but her heart remained unmoved.

She wasn't surprised that they ate people.

In chaotic times, the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest—is even more brutally evident.

With a loud bang, the dilapidated temple door was kicked open, and three men dragged a woman inside.

Upon seeing a young man inside the dilapidated temple, the leader frowned and then shouted, "Get out of here, kid! This place has been requisitioned by us!"

Ning Yao was just about to leave when she overheard this and couldn't wait to hear it.

A fawning smile stretched across her face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot: "Alright, alright, I'll get going right away!"

Looking at her dark face and white teeth, the boss couldn't help but mutter, "Damn, she's so dark!"

Ning Yao thought to herself: "Black is so nice!" At the same time, she increased her speed.

Just as she was about to step across the threshold of the dilapidated temple, the woman, with strength from who knows where, broke free from the man holding her and rushed towards Ning Yao.

She kept calling out, "My little husband, I've finally found you!"

Ning Yao's heart skipped a beat, and she turned around and yelled, "Holy crap! Who the hell are you?!"

When Ning Yao met the woman's eyes, she was momentarily stunned.

In that instant, the woman lunged forward and clung tightly to Ning Yao, refusing to let go, while repeatedly saying things like, "I've been looking for you for so long."

By the time Ning Yao came to her senses, it was too late.

Only then did she realize that this woman was unusually tall.

She is 15 years old and 165 cm tall, making her an outstanding person among her peers.

But this woman was not only a head taller than her, but also incredibly strong. If she didn't use some skill, she probably wouldn't be able to break free.

Before Ning Yao could make a choice, the three men objected.

"So you're all in cahoots! You're still pretending not to know me? What a coward!"

Instead of being on guard, the men began to tease Ning Yao.

"Why don't you stay here, and I'll show you around and have some fun?"

Ning Yao narrowed her eyes, not wanting to stay.

"I appreciate your kindness, sir, but I truly don't know this woman. I won't spoil your fun any longer. Farewell!"

Ning Yao secretly exerted her strength, trying to break free from the woman and leave as soon as possible.

She had absolutely no interest in anything, no matter what it was.

"You ungrateful wretch! Since you don't want to enjoy yourself, then go and keep her company! Arrest them both!"

At the leader's command, two henchmen immediately rushed forward to grab Ning Yao.