Chapter 42: Mental Breakdown

"We traveled almost all day yesterday and only slept for two or three *shichen*. Now we have to keep going."

"Exactly, this is too much suffering. It's like they don't care about our lives at all."

Several convicts muttered complaints in the back, but when Old Zhang, the bailiff, shot them a glance, they immediately fell silent.

"Pushing you to hurry is for your own good!" Xiao Jia sneered, his voice rasping. "If we don't reach the Far North within the time limit, the punishment will be execution for everyone. Hah, then you'll all behave!"

Old Lady Wang, the mother of the second-ranked scholar Wang, sat on the ground with a loud "Sigh~" and began wailing, "Day after day, all we get is half a coarse grain pancake. We eat and eat but never get full, and we still have to walk such a long way! Why is my life so bitter!"

Seeing Old Zhang and the others approaching, Wang Bangyan and his wife rushed forward to pull at the wailing old woman, lowering their voices to persuade her, "Mother, stop wailing. If the officers come over and whip us, none of us will come out well."

The old lady kicked her legs, her face full of stubbornness, "I'm not walking today! Why is it that other old ladies have people to carry them every day, but I don't? I'm much older than them!"

Wang Bangyan glanced at the several gazes coming from the Xin family's direction and looked embarrassed. "Mother, they have money."

"Why don't you have money! How did I give birth to such a useless coward? Oh, heavens, at my age I'm still being forced into exile in the Northern Wastelands."

"I won't walk, I won't walk! I can't walk any further!"

Wang's wife hurriedly said, "Mother, stop making a scene, the bailiffs are coming. Husband, why don't you carry Mother again?"

The thin-framed Wang Bangyan swayed his body, nearly entering a state of torrential weeping...

If he could, he would be the first to want to die! He had carried his mother for most of the journey yesterday, and now he couldn't even straighten his waist.

And he had to do it again today??

Wang Xiaomei incited him from the side, "Brother, you're a man. If you don't stand up for yourself at a time like this, what will happen to our family? Besides, it's because of your mess that we're being banished to the North! Mother can't walk anymore; she's old, we can't really force her to her death!"

Old Lady Wang slumped on the ground, slapping her thighs, tears streaming down her face.

With a look of grim resignation, Wang Bangyan forced himself to comply. "Fine, fine, fine. Come, come on, then!"

He crouched down, and the old lady nimbly scrambled up from the ground. With the support of her daughter-in-law and daughter, she immediately climbed onto her son's back, even using her two short legs to scramble upward with effort.

Many onlookers were speechless, but when the bailiff saw that the old lady was no longer making a fuss, he merely glared at them and left, cursing under his breath.

Earlier, during the earthquake, a middle-aged man had run wildly from the crowd, shouting and kowtowing in plea. Now, he burst out of the crowd again like a madman, screaming deliriously, "The sky is darkening, a sign of a great disaster! Everyone, kneel and kowtow quickly to beg for Heaven's mercy!"

The crowd was startled by him. Some looked up at the dark, heavy sky and felt a sudden pang of dread.

Just a moment ago, there was still some light, but now the sky had suddenly turned as black as ink, like a sign of an approaching storm, making people feel uneasy.

"What is wrong with all of you? Can't you just keep moving? Do you all want to die?" It had only been a few days, and several people had already gone mad!

The accompanying bailiff felt both indignant and exhausted. He drew his whip and lashed the back of the crazed middle-aged man.

The man's family rushed over, repeatedly greeting and begging for mercy, blocking the bailiff from striking him.

Standing beside Xin Nian, Physician Cheng looked at the madman and sighed, "That man was originally an imperial merchant, surnamed Zhao. His family was once so wealthy they could rival nations, possessing everything. Alas, after the house was confiscated, everything was gone, and he collapsed into madness. Pitiful."

He shook his head, speaking from emotion, "It will take another two or three months to reach the North. Those with weak mental fortitude will likely all go mad."

Xin Nian glanced at the crazed Merchant Zhao as he kowtowed and prayed, then withdrew her gaze with an indifferent expression.

Physician Cheng turned to her with a smile. "It is truly not easy for your brother to remain lucid on the road to exile. Little girl, did you truly learn your medical skills from a wandering physician?"

The reason he had approached her was to observe the third son of the Xin family up close.

He had seen Xin Sanlang's symptoms before. He had been fighting someone in a brothel, rolled down the stairs, and hit his head, developing a fever that very night.

Although the fever was eventually controlled, the boy had never regained consciousness.

He hadn't expected the sixth girl of the Xin family to have such skill; after a few doses of medicine, she actually woke her brother up.

What was strange was, if the little girl had such ability, why had she kept it hidden at home? Why only come to save her brother on the road to exile?

What was she doing all this time? Physician Cheng was puzzled.

But though he was curious, he did not dare ask too much. He knew well that some matters did not require outsiders to understand too clearly.

"Something like that. However, that physician has a rather eccentric temperament. He said my aptitude is dull and that I haven't fully completed my apprenticeship, so I shouldn't show off easily," Xin Nian offered a casual excuse to remain polite to Physician Cheng.

Physician Cheng was instantly enlightened. Though he said nothing, his mind began to construct a series of scenes where a hidden master encountered a young girl and gave her guidance.

That wandering physician must be a rare talent encountered once in a hundred lifetimes!

It was just that the girl was young and didn't understand the deeper meanings; she thought she had merely met an ordinary physician and learned some trivial skills, so she didn't dare reveal them easily.

A master is truly a master; having a temper and many rules was quite normal.

On the other side, Xin Mengxue wiped her swollen eyes and followed behind the group, supporting Lady Zhuang, walking with heavy, dragging steps.

Lady Zhuang felt a surge of resentment. "That dead girl has such a sharp tongue and is so fierce; she will surely face the retribution of her words sooner or later."

At the thought of the little girl lifting her chin arrogantly and calling them "poor and pretentious," Lady Zhuang's chest ached with anger!

"How is she like a completely different person? Before, she would only look for her mother when things happened, but now she can even stand in front of Lady Xie and scold people!" Lady Zhuang couldn't help but mutter, "Mengxue, what do you think?"

"I..." Xin Mengxue bit her lip aggrievedly. "I also think she is strange. Her behavior these past few days has been too sharp and abnormal."

"No, but come to think of it, her mind has always been a bit slow. It's not as if she hasn't had such intense outbursts before."

Lady Zhuang seemed to remember something and froze. "Are you saying, a few years ago?"

Xin Mengxue gave a weak affirmation.

"Now that you mention it, I seem to have a sudden impression." Lady Zhuang furrowed her brows, thinking deeply.

"It seems there was such an occurrence." Lady Zhuang stamped her foot. "Yes, yes, yes! At that time, she was like a hedgehog, pricking anyone she saw. She even got into a fight with the second son of the Marquis of Dingxing's house next door and beat him so badly he couldn't get out of bed for half a month! Right??"

"Mhm." Xin Mengxue nodded, still feeling a lingering fear.

Her own memory was a bit blurry, as she had only been eleven or twelve at the time, usually kept indoors, and heard many things through the adults in the family.

Lady Zhuang let out a small gasp. "Good heavens, that little calamity has returned."

(End of Chapter)