The mule was so frightened that it backed away, almost overturning the mule cart.
Jiang Shuyue quickly grabbed the car door and leaned out to ask, "What happened?"
Watching the dark figure dart past, Qiu Ju, still shaken, patted her chest.
"It looked like a wild rabbit ran by, it scared me to death."
Looking at the dark figure disappearing into the grass, Jiang Shuyue looked at the dark forest and comforted Qiuju, saying, "Don't be afraid. What we should be afraid of now is people, people who have lost their humanity when they have nowhere else to turn."
“Miss is right, I think so too.” Qiuju wanted to say that she was afraid of ghosts, but she was afraid that saying it would frighten her mistress.
No! Miss seems bolder than before.
Qiuju calmed herself down, cracked her whip, and the mule continued walking forward.
As dawn broke in the east, the mule cart entered the second town.
Seeing that the breakfast stall was not yet open, Jiang Shuyue said to Qiuju, "Let's rest by the roadside for a while, and then go in and buy some hot food when the breakfast stall opens."
There were so many hot steamed buns in the space, she couldn't just take them out of thin air, lest Qiuju think she was a monster.
She still had some loose silver in her vanity case, enough to last her until she reached the next county town.
"Miss, let's not wait any longer, we need to get going." Qiuju picked up her water pouch and took a sip.
The water bag was also taken from the kitchen of the manor, and it was filled with spiritual spring water.
Jiang Shuyue helped Qiuju into the carriage and said firmly, "We can't go any further. We have to wait for the shops in town to open so we can buy two sets of men's clothing before we leave."
The two were dozing in the carriage. After some time, they heard footsteps approaching. Jiang Shuyue lifted the curtain and looked out, seeing pedestrians starting to appear on the street.
The master and servant found a shop selling steamed buns and soy milk at the street corner.
A steamer of six xiaolongbao (steamed buns) costs thirty coins, and a bowl of soy milk costs one coin—the unsweetened kind.
Jiang Shuyue ordered two steamers of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and two bowls of soy milk.
"These steamed buns are way too expensive!" Qiu Ju couldn't help but mutter under her breath.
The waiter, who was bringing over the soy milk, overheard this and said with a bitter face, "Ladies, you've just come from the capital, haven't you?"
"Some places are experiencing drought this year, resulting in no harvest. The price of rice and flour is changing every day, and it's considered good if we can even have something to eat."
The waiter pointed to the pedestrians on the street and said, "Look at those people carrying burlap sacks on their shoulders. They are refugees heading to the capital. They will definitely return the same way in two days."
Seeing that there were no other customers in the shop, Jiang Shuyue called out to the waiter and asked, "Brother waiter, do you know where the disaster occurred?"
"Lu County, I've heard there are robberies along the way, young lady, please don't go there," the waiter kindly warned.
Thank you.
After finishing their breakfast, the two went to a clothing store and bought two sets of the cheapest men's clothing.
Once outside the town, you'll see a wooden sign at the crossroads indicating the place name.
Jiang Shuyue saw a wooden sign that read "Zhuxi County".
"Qiuju, let's go to Zhuxi County." Jiang Shuyue pointed in the direction of Zhuxi County.
After walking for a while, the two put on men's clothing in the carriage, tied their hair up in a high bun, wrapped a gray scarf around their necks twice, and only their eyes were visible.
At first glance, they appear to be two frail scholars.
The master and servant took turns driving the carriage, and at noon they passed through a village.
Jiang Shuyue had Qiuju sit in the mule cart while she went to ask the villagers for water and to heat up the steamed buns.
Reaching a secluded spot, Jiang Shuyue slipped into the spatial dimension.
Jiang Shuyue looked at the items in the space, not even having time to tidy them up. She quickly lit the stove and started boiling ten eggs.
The steamed buns were still steaming hot. She was overjoyed. It was wonderful that the space even had an automatic heat preservation function.
Soon the eggs were cooked. Seeing that the firewood hadn't burned out, Jiang Shuyue put ten more eggs in to cook, waiting for the next opportunity to take them out to eat.
"Miss, you're moving way too fast."
Seeing Jiang Shuyue return carrying a water bag in one hand and a cloth bag in the other, Qiuju quickly went to greet her and took the cloth bag from her.
"Oh! Miss, there are piping hot eggs inside."
"The villagers happened to have boiled eggs, so I bought ten. Hurry up and sit in the carriage to eat them, it's windy outside, they'll get cold quickly."
After the master and servant had eaten and drunk their fill, they continued on their journey.
The two originally thought they would reach Zhuxi County before dark, but at dusk, Jiang Shuyue asked a woman and learned that they had only traveled halfway.
Having already passed through a small town, it was impossible to find an inn to stay in, and Jiang Shuyue was also afraid that the head of the manor would lead people to catch up and search for the inn.
She decided to ask a villager for lodging.
Perhaps because there were too many refugees passing by, not a single family was willing to let them stay.
Some villagers suggested they spend the night at the local earth god temple on the hillside in front of them.
Jiang Shuyue had no choice but to walk towards the Earth God Temple with Qiu Ju.
The local temple is small, consisting of only one room. The doors and windows are mottled, and the eaves are covered with cobwebs, indicating that no one has come to burn incense for a long time.
Qiuju went up and pushed open the door: "Miss, please sit in the carriage and rest. I will clean the room."
"I'm going to feed the mules." Jiang Shuyue unloaded the mule cart, led the mules, and headed towards the mountainside.
Seeing that no one was around, she had a thought, and a basin of spiritual spring water appeared in front of the mule.
Then he took out feed from his space.
After the mule had eaten and drunk its fill, Jiang Shuyue returned to the local temple, where Qiuju was carrying an incense burner and heading outside.
"Wait, what's this?"
"Miss, we haven't washed our faces for a whole day and night. This servant will borrow the incense burner from the local earth god to fetch some water."
“He won’t blame us. I’ve already kowtowed to him.”
Seeing Qiu Ju's devout expression, Jiang Shuyue suppressed a laugh and waved her hand, saying, "We don't need to wash our faces. It's safe just like this."
Looking at her young mistress's beautiful face, Qiuju suddenly realized: "Miss is so clever. When we set off tomorrow, you should put some incense ash on your face again."
Qiuju turned around, picked up the incense burner, and put it back.
There were straw cushions in the temple, so Qiuju went out and found some clean, withered grass to bring back.
Some of the withered grass was used to block the wind at night, and some was used to bake steamed buns and eggs.
The mule, exhausted from walking for a day and a night, lay down under the eaves and fell fast asleep.
That night, there was no moon in the sky, and it was pitch black outside.
Jiang Shuyue's space was filled with candlelight, which she had collected in the main courtyard of the manor.
Unable to find a reason to use it, the master and servant went to sleep in the dark.
Fortunately, there were enough straw cushions. The two of them spread out the straw cushions, used the bundles as pillows, and Qiuju surrounded the two of them with withered grass. She quickly fell asleep.
Seeing Qiuju snoring softly, Jiang Shuyue had a thought, and a blanket appeared in her hand.
She gently covered Qiuju with the blanket, then got up and walked towards the door.
With a flick of his sleeve, the mule and the mule cart vanished into thin air.
He turned around, locked the door, and took out a blanket to lie down.
It was around midnight.
A flickering lamp approached the earth god temple.
Two furtive figures moved around outside the earth god temple.
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