The old man drew in a sharp breath. Under Zhao Hanzhang’s gaze, he still forced out a smile, reached out to accept the head, and nodded, saying, “Many thanks, heroine.”

Everyone looked on in confusion.

The old man’s gaze swept over the agitated crowd, and he said solemnly, “Shi Lei’s army is brutal and immoral. We people of the northern lands have always avoided them. Wu Sanlang was not ashamed of this but proud, even falsely using Shi Lei’s army’s name to bully and humiliate the common people. He was truly a disgrace to Guangzong. Today, fortunately, this heroine eliminated violence and brought peace. I, Li, thank you here!”

Someone from the Wu clan protested indignantly, “Elder Li, when we left Guangzong, we all depended on Yongfu’s leadership. People can’t be ungrateful, can they?”

The old man’s expression grew grave. “We did rely on Wu Sanlang when leaving Guangzong, but among the seven clans and seven surnames traveling together, who hasn’t contributed?”

“From Guangzong to here, we’ve walked for eighteen days. How many have died, and how many of them died needlessly because of his actions?” the old man said loudly. “Not to mention my Li family—what about the Zhang family and the Zong family? Even your Wu family has lost dozens of sons! When we left Guangzong County, we had a total of one thousand two hundred and eighty-six people. Look how many remain now?”

Before the old man finished speaking, sobbing sounds already emerged from the crowd. When he finished, the area near the fire where women and children huddled together was filled with weeping.

A Wu clan man irritably shouted toward them, “What are you crying about? This is fleeing disaster—how can there not be deaths? If not for Yongfu seizing all this food, everyone would have starved to death!”

The old man said nothing, but his eyes swept over his youngest son. Li Sanlang proved perceptive indeed, immediately spitting and saying, “Bullshit! Does my Li family lack that bit of grain, or does the Zhang family? Even the smaller surnames dependent on us traveling together—if everyone conserved a bit, we could all reach Yuzhou. If not for him wasting grain, using our supplies to recruit those hoodlums, would everyone’s provisions be so tight?”

He glanced at Zhao Hanzhang and quickly continued, “Moreover, today’s matter was entirely his own doing. He insisted on provoking them, stealing the couple’s armor and possessions—that would have been one thing. But he had to humiliate them. It wasn’t the people who took him, it was heaven that took him!”

“You!” The Wu clan man was about to continue when the old man suddenly said, “Let us separate.”

The Wu clan man choked, and everyone immediately fell silent, not daring to speak further.

But the old man continued, “Since discord has arisen, continuing together will only create more trouble. How about the Li and Wu families part ways here?”

The Wu clan members’ faces showed a range of expressions, momentarily speechless. The hoodlums Wu Yongfu had recruited immediately jeered, “Separate then—we’re not afraid of you!”

Though they jeered this way, the Wu clan members didn’t dare actually separate.

With Wu Yongfu gone, they couldn’t provide provisions for these men or control them. If they truly traveled with these people, the Wu clan would likely be devoured without even bones remaining.

Traveling with Elder Li, all going together, at least they were from the same place, with family connections, and more people—not fearing these hoodlums would rebel.

Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang sneered inwardly, knowing the old man’s position was secure. She clasped her fists toward the old man: “Please, old sir, restrain your own young people. We won’t pursue the rest of this matter. Farewell.”

The old man bowed slightly in thanks and no longer mentioned having the Wu clan people leave. Only after Zhao Hanzhang departed did they resume discussing the matter of selecting a new leader.

The Wu clan members watched Zhao Hanzhang’s party depart with resentful eyes, quite unwilling.

But Wu Yongfu’s head was still warm—no one dared stop Zhao Hanzhang to seek revenge.

Zhao Hanzhang casually took Wu Yongfu’s blade with her. Passing by Shi Lei, she raised her chin toward Shi Hontu and the others. The three understood and immediately stepped forward to lift Shi Lei.

Fu’an followed closely behind, belatedly realizing, “My lady, this is, this is…”

Zhao Hanzhang turned back and made a “shh” sound at him, signaling him not to speak aloud.

Fu’an held it back, looking at Shi Lei being carried like a dead pig with a strange expression. The other party’s face was pale, looking almost like a corpse.

Zhao Hanzhang was looking around for a good place to settle when a familiar-looking young man hiding nearby waved at them.

Fu Tinghan didn’t recognize him and stood still. Zhao Hanzhang glanced at him and pulled Fu Tinghan forward. “From Wusui County?”

The young man: “…My name is Awei. I’m seventh in my family. You can call me Seventh Young Master.”

Zhao Hanzhang nodded, smiling as she called him “Seventh Young Master,” then asked, “Why are you looking for me?”

The young man first looked behind them, then said in a low voice, “I know a place that’s sheltered from the wind with few people—a good place to spend the night.”

Zhao Hanzhang observed him for a moment. After weighing the options, she deemed him trustworthy and followed him.

The place Awei mentioned wasn’t far from where his family had stopped. There was a small field ridge blocking the wind, with only two groups of people lying nearby. At a glance, one group had only about five or six people. Compared to most refugees huddled together, this place was indeed sheltered and spacious.

The only drawback was that there wasn’t even a fire here, and it was somewhat distant from the crowd. If they encountered bandits, they could cover one’s mouth and drag them into the darkness without anyone knowing.

Or perhaps, even if people knew, the refugees wouldn’t care.

If dragged away from within the crowd, there might be some righteous soul who would intervene.

So the crowd was both dangerous and safe.

Generally, those who would avoid the crowd and choose such a place would be like Zhao Hanzhang’s group—capable and with secrets.

The young man Awei felt they had great secrets, which was why he had run far ahead to find them, only to witness an exciting confrontation.

His blood was still boiling now. Looking at Zhao Hanzhang with shining eyes, he wished he could insert himself between her and Fu Tinghan to speak with her.

He enthusiastically ran back to his family’s position, gathered an armful of firewood they had collected, and built a fire for them. “Heroine, would you like food? My family has bean cakes.”

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at his enthusiastic face and wasn’t polite, directly nodding, “Sounds good.”

The young man immediately ran back to get the bean cakes, though this time it wasn’t so smooth—he didn’t return for quite a while.

Awei was blocked by his brothers, who earnestly tried to persuade him, “Giving firewood is one thing—it’s early autumn now, we’re not desperate for firewood, we can gather some along the way. But this grain is life-saving. Our family doesn’t have much—how can we give it to others?”

The young man said, “She’s not someone else, she’s my benefactor! Brother, you didn’t see it, but she was amazing. That tyrant from the Wu family—she killed him without hesitation and even cut off his head. The Wu family couldn’t harm a single hair on her head.”

Someone so formidable personally saying he had great prospects—wasn’t that a benefactor?

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t mind whether the young man returned or not. Wu Yongfu had injured her, so she tore open the clothing at her shoulder to let Fu Tinghan examine her wound.

—