Ning Lang blushed. Indeed, their skills, even those of his wife, were no match for Zhilan's.
Normally, he would never agree, but things are different now.
The third young lady said that health is the foundation of everything, and being free from illness is the most important thing.
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Miss Zhilan!"
Zhilan nodded, stopped talking, and began to close her eyes to rest.
As night falls, the world begins to quiet down.
Not everyone in the carriage was resting; at this critical juncture, if they slept too soundly, they probably wouldn't have a chance to wake up.
Ning Jin leaned against the car door, suddenly opened her eyes, lifted the car curtain with her hand, and looked outside.
Outside the carriage, it was pitch black and utterly silent.
Drought coupled with a harsh winter makes it impossible for people to survive, let alone animals.
But on nights like these, any movement becomes especially noticeable.
Ning Jin wasn't the only one who noticed the anomaly; the others who practiced martial arts with Ning Yao also noticed it.
"Is someone coming?" Madam Ning's heart was in her throat, and she reached out to touch the weapon that Ning Yao had given her.
"Don't be afraid, I'll go out and take a look." Ning Jin lowered her voice, afraid that the other party would discover them.
Be careful.
The carriage was parked in a ravine, and during the day it was partially obscured by tree branches.
If someone came during the day and observed carefully, they would definitely notice the unusual place.
But it's night now, and darkness can conceal everything.
Ning Jin got off the carriage and walked around to the side of the valley to observe the surrounding movements.
A sound came from below the ravine.
"Honey, let's rest for a bit before we go on," the woman's exhausted voice rang out.
The man's voice was somewhat hoarse, yet still fierce. He slapped the woman across the face: "Stop, stop! You've been causing trouble the whole way here, you old hag! Do you know how much time you've wasted? The two kids are more useful than you! Useless thing!"
The woman stumbled after being slapped, only regaining her balance when she touched a bare tree stump beside her.
She dared not retaliate, and could only hold her daughter in one arm, enduring the slap.
The son on her back was woken up by her parents' argument.
Without saying a word, she burst into tears.
"Hungry...Mom...I'm hungry..."
When the one on my back started crying, the one in my arms started crying too.
"Waaah...Mommy...Fen'er is hungry too..."
The woman ignored the pain on her face and began frantically trying to soothe the child.
One on their backs, the other in their arms, they were both extremely busy.
The more the man listened, the more agitated he became.
"Stop crying! If you keep crying, I'll eat you all up! You're worthless! You'd be better off as food to fill my stomach!"
The man's menacing voice was particularly clear in the quiet night.
It not only subdued the woman and the crying child, but also Ning Wenyi and the others in the carriage.
The scene she had witnessed two days ago flashed through Shen Cile's mind, and her face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Seeing that things were not going well, Madam Ning quickly pulled her into her arms and gently patted her back.
"He...he said he was going to eat them...Mother..."
Madam Ning lowered her voice and quickly coaxed, "Lele, be good, don't listen to the noise outside. Mother's here, it'll be alright. Go to sleep... you'll feel better when you wake up..."
Madam Ning's gentle voice kept reaching Shen Cile's ears, gradually drowning out the man's roar outside.
After an unknown amount of time, the woman's whimpering pleas and the man's constant swearing all disappeared.
Ning Jin also returned to the carriage.
"Can we leave now?" Ning Wenyi asked.
Ning Jin nodded.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Take a good rest. I'll be on duty tonight. Let's set off early tomorrow!" Madam Ning said to the father and son while patting Shen Cile.
Ning Jin glanced at Shen Cile and Madam Ning. Without asking any further questions, she knew that the man's shout had frightened Shen Cile.
The night remained silent, the darkness concealing much evil.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the Ning family began their journey.
Ning Lang and Ning Jin went ahead to scout the way, while Ning Wenyi and Zhilan each drove a carriage.
A moment later, the two hurried back, their lips white from the cold.
"So, are we ready to set off?" Ning Wenyi asked.
Ning Lang and Ning Jin exchanged a glance. Ning Jin said to Ning Wenyi, "That's fine. It's chilly in the morning. I'll drive the carriage. Father, you go to the carriage. I'll take over in two hours."
Ning Lang said the same thing to Zhi Lan, and then Zhi Lan went into the carriage.
Ning Wenyi was pleased that his son was sensible, so he handed the carriage over to him.
Ning Jin and Ning Lang exchanged a glance, both seeing the heaviness in each other's eyes.
The carriage slowly drove out and soon left the mountain valley.
The two kept their eyes straight ahead as Ning Lang's carriage followed behind.
Suddenly, Zhilan, who was in the carriage, lifted a corner of the curtain and saw a horrifying scene.
It was a pile of severed limbs, with chunks of bloody flesh scattered everywhere, and congealed blood sprayed onto the surrounding dead tree stumps.
The cold weather caused the meat to freeze quickly, preserving its original color; even the congealed blood remained bright red.
Zhilan suppressed the churning in her stomach, glanced into the corner, and saw a round object.
You can't see the front clearly, but you can see that it has hair growing on it and is tied with a red cloth.
The carriage suddenly began to turn, and the front of the round object slowly came into view.
Just from one side view, Zhilan could no longer hold back and was so shocked that she withdrew her hand.
The curtains were drawn, and she was breathing heavily, looking completely shaken.
The people in the car were startled by her, and Dongyue instinctively wanted to see what was going on.
Zhilan suddenly slapped away her hand that was trying to lift the curtain, and said sharply, "I'm fine! It's too cold outside. You haven't practiced martial arts, so don't catch a cold!"
Dongyue was stunned for a long time after being scolded, not knowing what to do.
Seeing this, Zhi Mei glanced thoughtfully at the window, then looked away and said to Dong Yue, "Zhi Lan is right. We have all practiced martial arts with the Third Miss, so our physical foundation is stronger. Now we are fleeing, unlike in the Prince's Mansion and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. We need to think twice before we act. If you get sick, you will only cause trouble for everyone. Please listen to Zhi Lan, okay?"
Dongyue finally came to her senses and nodded obediently: "Sister Zhimei, I understand."
Finally, she secretly glanced at Zhilan again.
Zhilan had her eyes closed, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
Dongyue moved closer to Zhimei, snuggling up next to her with her blanket.
Zhilan closed her eyes tightly, the scene from just now replaying in her mind.
The remains had irregular cuts, as if someone had smashed them with a blunt object, and there were also traces of someone gnawing on them.
The round object was a human head with several large bloody holes in it.
She had long hair and a red headscarf, so she was clearly a woman.
She seemed to know who it was.
She is the woman who was scolded by her husband last night.
Zhilan was heartbroken. Husband and wife are one, how could anyone be so cruel to their own wife!
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