Chapter 6: Going Up the Mountain, Collecting Supplies

A flash of cold mockery crossed Xiao Jin’s eyes. She had truly gone to great lengths to get close to him back then; even he hadn’t realized she was a martial artist. With such a useful pawn, how could Xiao Jue ever easily let her go?

Xiao Jin glanced sideways at Dabao, who was sleeping soundly in Su Ying’s arms, and suppressed the murderous intent in his eyes. Since Su Ying wanted to put on an act, he would take this time to recover from his injuries. It wouldn’t be too late to take her life once she finally showed her true colors.

Thinking of this, he slowly closed his eyes again.

To make progress, the group did not stop at noon. The bailiffs were ultimately worried that the prisoners would all be dead before they even left the border, so after the sun set, they found a place to stay at the foot of a mountain and distributed dry rations.

Su Ying also went to collect her rations to avoid drawing suspicion when she ate later. She wasn’t afraid of these people, but she didn’t want to invite unnecessary trouble.

The mountain behind them was tall and the forest dense. To prevent attacks from wild beasts, she didn’t look for a spot under the large trees at the foot of the mountain to rest. Instead, she found a patch of grass with a relatively open view, untied Xiao Jin and Dabao from her back, and settled them on the grass.

Su Ying was tired too, but she had to take care of Erbao first.

Erbao had followed along the whole day. Several times on the road, she had been so tired she wanted to cry, but she kept her little mouth pursed and stubbornly refused to let the tears fall.

Su Ying pulled her into her arms and reached out to take off the little embroidered shoes, which had lost their original color, to treat the blisters on her feet.

Erbao was already too exhausted to move; as she leaned against Su Ying, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

"Be good, Ling'er, don't sleep yet. Eat something first." Su Ying brought the dry rations she had taken from her space to her lips.

The little milk-baby was both hungry and sleepy. Smelling the fragrance, she instinctively opened her mouth to eat. Before she could even swallow the last bite, she fell fast asleep.

Watching her pouty-lipped, sweet sleeping face, the cold light in Su Ying’s eyes softened.

After sticking a heating patch onto Erbao, she laid her down on the soft grass and stood up to check on Dabao.

Dabao had been unconscious for a day. She had already given him two anti-inflammatory injections during the day, but he still had a low-grade fever.

Su Ying took out glucose replenishment fluid and fed it to Dabao bit by bit to maintain his bodily functions. She also fed him some medicine to reduce swelling and pain before finally walking over to Xiao Jin.

Just as she reached out, she suddenly met those eyes that were as deep as a cold pool.

Her hand paused in mid-air. With a flick, she placed the rations, medicine, and water bag to the side.

"Since you're awake, that's perfect. It saves me the trouble of feeding you."

After saying this, she ignored him and went straight back to sit beside the two children, taking out her own rations to eat.

Su Ying had used medicine on Xiao Jin today. After taking it, he had slept soundly for a day, and his spirit had improved somewhat. He propped himself up to a sitting position, glanced at the black pill and the rations on the ground, and then picked up the food to eat without a ripple in his cold, frozen eyes.

Seeing him eat out of the corner of her eye, Su Ying paid him no more attention.

After eating her fill, Su Ying sat cross-legged and focused her energy on her *dantian* to regulate her breathing. This method of cultivation had been taught to her by a comrade from a family of ancient martial arts. Her current body was too weak and clumsy; as a decisive warrior from the apocalypse, she couldn't accept that she couldn't kill a cow with a single punch!

As the night deepened, the surroundings fell into a dead silence.

Su Ying slowly exhaled the turbid air from her body. After regulating her breathing, she felt even more refreshed than if she had slept.

She gazed at the mountain behind them in the moonlight. It wasn't particularly high, but the vegetation was extremely dense; there had to be plenty of game in the forest.

Thinking of fresh, delicious meat, Su Ying subconsciously licked her lips.

In the apocalypse, there had long been no normal poultry to eat. Wild game had become the most coveted trophy after battles between military factions. Now that there was a mountain full of game right in front of her, how could Su Ying miss this opportunity to fill her space?

After all, she wasn't familiar with the terrain of the Chu Kingdom; it was very likely that an opportunity like this wouldn't come twice.

Su Ying stood up, patted the three of them, and then took out medicinal powder from her person, sprinkling a circle around the father and children. This powder was poisonous; whether it was a human or a beast, anyone who approached would surely die. She had patted them to ensure they inhaled the antidote.

Having made her preparations, Su Ying took advantage of the thick night to avoid the patrolling bailiffs and slipped into the mountain behind them.

She didn't notice that the moment she left, Xiao Jin opened his eyes.

His gaze, dark and unreadable, followed the direction in which Su Ying had disappeared. *Su Ying, you really couldn't wait to show your true colors.*

"Achoo!"

Su Ying, who had just entered the mountain, let out a sudden sneeze. She wondered who was talking about her in the middle of the night.

She triggered the mechanism on her bracelet to enter her space, took a sharp dagger, a tranquilizer gun, and a flashlight from a storage shelf on her right, and then exited the space.

The further she went up the mountain, the lower the temperature became.

Using the light from her flashlight, she discovered the tracks of a brown bear under a tree. She followed the tracks all the way down until she reached the mouth of a cave.

The tracks disappeared at the entrance; the brown bear was likely hiding inside.

Su Ying picked up a stone from the ground and threw it toward the cave entrance.

The "clatter" sound startled the brown bear inside.

Soon, a foul, fishy stench wafted through the air.

Su Ying’s lips curled up. The prey was out. She turned off the flashlight, hid behind a large tree, and raised the tranquilizer gun, aiming at the brown bear as it slowly lumbered out.

Before the bear could react, with a "hiss," the tranquilizer dart buried itself into its body.

"Three, two, one."

*Thud.*

The brown bear collapsed with a crash.

Su Ying walked out, satisfied, the dagger in her hand flashing with a stinging silver light in the night.

Su Ying efficiently bled the bear, peeled its hide off in one piece, and then butchered it into eight pieces before putting it into her space.

Time in the space was frozen, so there was no risk of the raw meat rotting or spoiling.

By the time she finished cleaning up the bear, it was already late into the night. Su Ying caught a few more wild rabbits and pheasants in the mountain before heading back down.

Just as she reached the foot of the mountain, she heard a disturbance from behind a large tree ahead.

"What are you doing?"

"Heh, what are we doing? Helping the bailiffs save rations, of course. Kill him."

"You... you were sent by Xiao Jue! Ugh!"

Su Ying hadn't wanted to meddle in other people's business, but she stopped in her tracks when she heard the name "Xiao Jue."

Xiao Jue was the scumbag who had used her. If she hadn't been deceived by his honeyed words, she wouldn't have been stupid enough to plot against her own husband. Although "she" was the one who had been foolish first and couldn't blame others, this Xiao Jue was definitely no good either.

Su Ying turned and went behind the tree, where she saw two men raising stones in their hands, ready to smash them down onto the person on the ground.