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

The constables had just drawn their swords when they discovered that everyone had vanished!

Besides losing two burdens, I was also kicked all over and my whole body ached!

He immediately launched into a tirade of curses.

The Huo family members weren't seriously injured, which suggests that the refugees weren't truly evil; they were just after food.

One of the bundles was missing—the one containing the food.

Now, even the black cornbread that the yamen runners were supposed to give out is gone!

The elderly, weak, sick, and disabled are even more disheartened, their eyes lifeless, their expressions numb, like withered husks that have long lost their souls.

"What terrible luck! How come there are more and more refugees!"

The constable who had been kicked by Sang Ning cursed, then lifted his clothes to let his companion apply medicine.

"Damn it! Who's so sneaky, kicking me right in the waist! Hiss—"

Sang Ning: I'll kick you in the kidneys! That way you won't be looking at people with those thieving eyes every day, and you won't even try to rip her clothes off!

Only then did Sang Ning have time to see everyone.

Including her, the Huo family has a total of ten members.

The matriarch, Madam Yang; eldest sister-in-law, Li Yuzhi; third sister-in-law, Xie Yurou; younger sister-in-law, Huo Jingya; Huo Dalang's son, seven-year-old Huo Jintang; and Huo Erlang's daughters, two three-year-old twin girls.

There was also a cousin named Yun Shuixian who grew up with the old lady.

Then there's her husband, Huo Chang'an.

The nineteen-year-old boy had been moved by Li Yuzhi to lean against a tree trunk, staring blankly at the sky.

His eyes were long and narrow, slightly upturned, and were very alluring phoenix eyes, but at the moment they were covered with a layer of gray.

Among the few fragments of Sang Ning'er's memory, the most vivid one was the scene of the two embracing in the Imperial Garden.

His youthful charm was captivating; his eyes seemed to smile even when he wasn't, and his voice, half-drunk and languid, touched the heart.

Sang Ning was certain that the original owner of this body had fallen for him.

As she recalled it now, her heart pounded twice.

The boy's face was exquisitely beautiful, as if sculpted by a knife, with sharp angles, thin lips, and a straight nose—the standard features of a handsome man.

Now, however, his left cheek is completely destroyed, like a fine porcelain piece smashed into a puddle of stinking mud. The black flesh is turned outwards, and yellow pus is oozing from the charred edges.

How precious!

This must have been burned by a soldering iron.

It hurts to look at it.

His legs were unnaturally twisted, likely due to a broken lumbar vertebra, rendering his lower body completely useless. He was dressed in prison clothes, stained with blood.

My fingernails were also pulled out, and all ten fingers were black.

I really don't know how he managed to climb on top of her that day, protecting the dignity of the Marquis's mansion.

Perhaps because Sang Ning's gaze lingered for too long, the boy turned his head slightly, his gray eyes looking over.

Sang Ning's heart skipped a beat.

Those eyes, once brimming with starlight, are now nothing but endless desolation.

The wilderness was lush and desolate, stretching endlessly.

Once a dashing and unrestrained prodigy, now fallen into obscurity.

Sang Ning was, after all, a model citizen raised under the red flag, with a kind heart. Even if it was a stranger, she would feel sorry for him, let alone this person who had protected her.

She gave a friendly smile, but before she could even fully open her mouth, the boy turned his head away in disgust.

Well, everyone hates me.

Sang Ning pouted and looked away.

"Let's get going! We need to reach the next town before dark!"

The constable finished tidying up and came over with his whip.

The old lady, Madam Yang, quickly shielded her two trembling granddaughters, while the others stood up, either in shock or numb.

Li Yuzhi called out softly, "Fourth Brother..."

Huo Chang'an couldn't exert any strength in his waist, so Li Yuzhi helped him lie flat and then draped the rope from the raft over his back.

During this time, he remained motionless like a puppet, not even blinking.

Just as the yamen runners were swaggering around, brandishing their whips and herding people like livestock, Yun Shuixian let out a piercing scream.

Then he was whipped by a constable: "What are you yelling about! You scared the hell out of me!"

Yun Shuixian's clothes suddenly tore open, revealing her fair skin on her shoulder.

A fanatical glint appeared in the eyes of the constable.

Yun Shuixian was a cousin of the Huo family who had been raised since childhood. She was the daughter of the old lady's sister. Originally, she was to be married to Huo Chang'an when she came of age, but Sang Ning'er intercepted her marriage.

She wasn't a member of the Huo family and could have been exiled, but for Huo Chang'an's sake, she was forced to go into exile along with him.

She was the most beautiful and fairest-skinned among them, and with Huo Jingya protecting her all the way, she never suffered a single lash.

Today, this is the first lash I've received.

"Narcissus!" The old lady quickly shielded her.

"Aunt, Aunt, Brother Chang'an's leg...leg...ugh..." Yun Shuixian pointed at Huo Chang'an's leg in horror, unable to stop herself from gagging.

What happened to your leg?

Huo Chang'an rolled his dazed eyes, stared at Yun Shuixian's expression for a long time, then a self-deprecating smile appeared on his lips, and he closed his eyes.

Even my cousin, who always insisted she wouldn't marry anyone but him, finds him disgusting...

The women of the Huo family all turned pale, staring in horror at Huo Chang'an's legs.

His legs had been tortured; in some places they were beginning to rot and emit a foul stench.

Despite the daily cleaning by the elder sister-in-law and the old lady, the condition continued to worsen day by day due to the lack of medicine, clean water, and a doctor scraping away the necrotic tissue.

And now, because Huo Chang'an is unconscious and motionless, maggots have actually grown in his rotting flesh!

Those milky-white worms, writhing their fat bodies, terrified the women, leaving them pale, horrified, and feeling both distressed and nauseous.

The old lady, who was used to seeing all kinds of storms, forced back the tears in her eyes, took the shriveled water bag, poured some water on the rag, wiped it, and then took the tip of a wooden hairpin to pick at it.

"Fourth brother, bear with it, your mother will clean you up."

After the old lady finished speaking, her heart skipped a beat.

My youngest child has lost all feeling in his legs, what are we going to do to bear it!

Huo Chang'an finally broke his indifference. Looking at the old lady's hair that had turned white overnight, his long-dry eyes suddenly stung with pain.

"mother……"

Never mind, never mind, just let our son go!

He so wanted to say that.

But seeing the group of women who were all alone and helpless, he dared not close his eyes.

How could he bear to leave?

But what could he do? He was a cripple!

We can no longer protect them; we will only become a burden to them.

I closed my eyes again, but not a single tear came out.

"Stop! Don't pick!" Sang Ning grabbed the old lady's dry, bloody hand.

"Sang Ning'er! What are you doing now! He's your husband! Do you want to watch him die a filthy death?!" Huo Jingya cried out.

“My brother Chang’an is very clean…” Yun Shuixian sobbed.

"Mrs. Sang, let go." The old lady's voice was still strong, but it was all bark and no bite.

After all, she was getting old, and her body was already putting up a lot of strain.

"Um... Madam." Sang Ning hesitated for a long time, but still couldn't bring herself to call her mother.

However, no one cared about what she was called.

“You can’t clean it like that. This isn’t a maggot. Although it looks like a maggot, its mouthparts are clearly visible and red, and its body is longer than a maggot.”

"This kind of thing is called silkworm erosion. It usually hides in the bark of trees. These must have crawled into Silang's body when he was resting under the tree."

"Its mouthparts contain toxins and are very easy to break off. If you pick them out like this, they are likely to break off inside the flesh. The toxins will seep into the blood and gradually cause organ failure. By the time you realize something is wrong, it will be too late!"