Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

In the end, because Yun Shuixian was leaving, Li Yuzhi had no choice but to stay.

Du Shan glanced at Li Chang under the tree, said a few words to Tian Kaiwu, and then went to the river with Hu Si and Sang Ning and the others.

This place was originally a river two zhang wide, with lush river grass and flocks of wild ducks.

Du Shan had escorted prisoners through this place more than ten times, and he had never seen the river so completely dried up!

The soil was cracked like a tortoise shell, withered grass covered the ground, and dried, blackened fish carcasses were everywhere.

Several lonely large rocks stand in the middle of the riverbed, covered with withered yellow aquatic plants.

Their hearts sank to the bottom.

"Brother Du, it's all dry here. Will there be water upstream?" Hu Si asked.

Du Shan frowned and remained silent.

Sang Ning said, "When the small river has water, the big river is full; when the big river has no water, the small river dries up. Since there is no water here, the upstream area will naturally dry up as well."

The route they were going to take was upstream.

Sang Ning was unfamiliar with the terrain and only felt that moving forward would be more difficult.

However, Du Shan knew that if they followed the original route, they would never reach Liangzhou.

Because there's a stretch of desert in the middle. It used to be okay, there were oasis towns where we could rest, but now... that would be a death sentence.

They can no longer follow the original route!

“Let’s look for a stream first!” he said in a deep voice.

The ground was so dry it was hard; there were no fish to be found. Sang Ning went to lift some stones.

"Sang... Fourth Sister-in-law, why are you lifting the stones?" Huo Jingya asked curiously.

"After the river dries up, aquatic creatures will like to hide under the rocks to avoid being scorched to death."

It turned out to be the case.

Huo Jingya also went to lift the stones.

Du Shan looked at Sang Ning and felt that she was becoming increasingly unfathomable.

She's clearly a young lady from the Grand Commandant's mansion, how could she know things that only country bumpkins would know?

Yun Shuixian got angry when she heard Huo Jingya call her "Fourth Sister-in-law" and stared coldly at the two of them.

"I found it!" Huo Jingya shouted excitedly.

"It's a crab!"

Sang Ning also found a few crabs, all of them small.

"But it's so small, and there's hardly any meat on it, is it edible?"

“I can eat it!” Sang Ning said.

Spread some oil on it, bake it until crispy, sprinkle with salt, and it's delicious!

Hearing Sang Ning say that, Huo Jingya searched even more diligently.

A vibrant expression appeared on his face.

Sang Ning found another thick tree branch and began to lift the earth's crust.

The bottom of the exposed crust is semi-dry silt, with a small section of its tail sticking out.

"What is this? A fish? Can fish live without water?" Huo Jingya was even more surprised.

"This is a loach. During severe droughts, it burrows into the mud to protect itself."

Sang Ning was delighted to find loach here, meaning he could have an extra meal!

Let's have some stir-fried loach pieces!

She smashed the mud clod, and there were three big loaches hidden inside!

Huo Jingya and Yun Shuixian exclaimed in fright, "This thing looks like a snake, it's disgusting!"

"Sang Ning'er, how can you eat such disgusting things! You're even more barbaric than a country bumpkin!"

Yunshuixian is trying to get attention again.

"Huo Jingya, look at yourself! Do you still look like a young lady from a noble family? Even if we are exiled and face difficulties, we still have noble blood flowing through our veins. Don't debase yourself and become as lowly as commoners, okay?"

You're utterly disgracing your uncle!

Huo Jingya, her hands and face covered in mud, stared in astonishment at Yun Shuixian.

How could she have given up on herself like that?

Hu Si smacked his lips, his eyes turning sinister: "You lowly commoner, who are you talking about?"

Which of these people wasn't born into a lowly family?

I've always said I hate these self-important young ladies the most!

So noble, huh? He should be thrown to Li Chang and crushed to death.

Sang Ning laughed.

She wiped the mud off her hands, spreading it evenly, then stood up and leisurely strolled over to Yunshuixian.

If Yun Shuixian knew Sang Ning, she would know that she was truly angry!

But Yun Shuixian didn't know.

The silt smelled foul, and waves of stench filled the air.

Yun Shuixian covered her nose in disgust and backed away: "Stay away from me, you're smelly and dirty!"

"Dirty?" Sang Ning slapped him across the face.

"It stinks!" Another slap.

"You think you're so superior?" A slap.

"They only know how to enjoy themselves and don't know how to be grateful!"

"If you're so capable, go and challenge Li Changgang!"

Don't hide behind others!

"Don't drink the water I brought!"

"Don't be shameful to your mother while she's nursing!"

"Damn it! You brainless idiot! You're not even as good as a lowly commoner! You're just a parasite that feeds on other people's flesh and blood!"

He slapped her repeatedly until Yun Shuixian couldn't even scream.

With the final slap, he knocked her to the ground.

Standing high above, he exudes an aura of power.

"Remember this, I'm ignoring you just because I'm too lazy to bother with you. Don't take it as a sign of good temper. I'm someone you can't afford to mess with! Stay away from me!"

Yun Shuixian was like a frightened mouse, trembling and curling up, covering her face and backing away.

In just one instance, they subdued this cowardly bully.

Hu Si smacked his lips, feeling a surge of satisfaction as if he had done it himself.

Du Shan went to find the stream and was unaware of what was happening here. He called out from afar, "There's water over here, come quick—"

So, Sang Ning and Hu Si went over there.

Huo Jingya slowly squatted down.

Looking at Yun Shuixian's frightened eyes and her swollen, dirty face, he wiped her face with his sleeve with heartache: "I know you hate Sang Ning'er, but right now she is really protecting our family."

Yun Shuixian turned her head away, her eyes filled with hatred and humiliation.

"Huo Jingya, have you forgotten how my mother died?" She used all her strength to pronounce each word clearly.

Her cheeks burned with pain, a pain she had never experienced in her life.

She hated Sang Ning'er so much that she wanted to devour her flesh and tear her bones apart!

However, she was also afraid.

Sang Ning'er was too savage; she had no chance against her.

She also hated Huo Jingya.

They watched her get beaten, and instead of helping her fight back, they tried to persuade her.

This is the bond of sisters that has lasted for so many years!

Worthless!

“People can fake it!” she growled.

"Just like that vile woman, Aunt Feng, she pretended to be gentle and virtuous, and respected her mistress, but in the end she killed my mother!"

Sang Ning'er was faking it; she was just pretending!

She dared to kill, and her methods were so ruthless; how could she possibly be a kind person!

They, including my aunt, are absolutely stupid!

"I don't know if she's faking it. I've never been very smart," Huo Jingya said absentmindedly. "I only listen to my mother and fourth brother."

"They told me to follow Fourth Sister-in-law and diligently look for food."

After all, that's the most important thing right now.

Everything can only be planned once we survive to reach Liangzhou.

However, she herself had already leaned towards Sang Ning.

Just when she was in despair and waiting to die, Sang Ning appeared like a god and rescued her from the flames.

Narcissus had never experienced the despair of being utterly helpless and the relief of surviving a calamity, so she could not understand her boundless gratitude towards the person she saved.

Shui Xian thought Sang Ning'er was vicious.

She just felt relieved!

Those people deserved to die!