Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Ye Qing didn’t care about the curious stares around her. It was good for those people to see that she dared to kill. That way, she could intimidate those who were itching to cause trouble.

Ye Qing tossed the bloodied knife aside and placed the little one on the blanket, speaking softly, “It’s still dark. Go back to sleep for a bit.”

“No, no, I want to stay with Sister.” The little one’s eyes were red from crying. As if remembering something, the little one hugged Ye Qing tightly, “Thank you, Sister Ye, for saving my sister.”

Ye Qing patted the little one’s back gently to comfort her, “No need to thank me. We’re family.”

She then touched the little one’s head, “Yangyang, be good. I’m going to clean up around here. Stay with your sister for now.”

Li Erniu lay dead not far away. Ye Qing planned to drag him farther to avoid the smell of bl00d spreading everywhere.

The little one obediently let go of Ye Qing and went to find her sister.

Ye Qing dragged the unconscious Li Daniu into the woods. Then she returned to the camp and found a piece of tattered cloth from the cart. Sitting down, Ye Qing began to wipe her knife.

Jiang Jinhuang had calmed the little one down by now, coaxing her to lie down again. The little one obeyed but couldn’t sleep. Her big eyes darted between Ye Qing and her sister.

Jiang Jinhuang sat beside Ye Qing. Her posture was still upright, but her hands, usually so proper, were now fidgeting together.

She couldn’t understand why Ye Qing would worry about her. After all, the old Ye Qing used to beat and scold her. But there was no denying that Ye Qing had saved her.

After holding it in for a while, Jiang Jinhuang finally spoke, “Thank you for saving me just now.”

“No need. Since I brought you all along, I’ll make sure to get you safely to the south. Is your neck okay?” Ye Qing’s gaze fell on Jiang Jinhuang’s neck.

A red mark stood out on Jiang Jinhuang’s delicate neck, especially vivid under the firelight.

Jiang Jinhuang touched her neck. The memory of what happened was still fresh, and her body shivered instinctively, “It’s fine.”

Ye Qing nodded faintly and said, “Go lie down and rest. I’ll keep watch tonight.”

Jiang Jinhuang, shaken by what happened, didn’t refuse Ye Qing’s kindness. She nodded to Ye Qing, “Alright, thank you for tonight.”

“No trouble.” Ye Qing smiled at her and tossed another piece of wood into the fire.

While they were talking, Li Daniu and Li Erniu’s sister, Chunhua, came looking for them. Their camp was some distance from Ye Qing’s, but Chunhua and her parents had heard Li Erniu’s cries for help.

By the time she arrived, Ye Qing’s camp was calm again, with only a pool of bl00d on the ground.

Chunhua stared at Ye Qing, stunned. After a moment, her gaze fell on the long knife beside Ye Qing. Trembling, she pointed at Ye Qing, “You, did you kill my two brothers? Where are my brothers?”

Ye Qing looked at Chunhua coldly and stood up, saying, “Your two brothers were no good. They attacked us first. If I hadn’t killed them, I’d be the one dead now. I’m not some kind-hearted person. You’d better leave before my patience runs out.”

Chunhua hadn’t expected Ye Qing to admit it so openly. She stumbled back a few steps, pointing at Ye Qing and crying loudly, “Help! Murder! Someone help me, my brothers were killed!”

Chunhua’s cries pierced the quiet night, but no one responded.

Such things were too common on the road of escape. No one wanted trouble, and some even found Chunhua’s shouting annoying, disturbing their peace.

Chunhua didn’t like her brothers, and she knew they didn’t like her either. But without their protection, as a Kunze, she couldn’t safely get her parents to the south.

Chunhua didn’t try to fight Ye Qing. Instead, she followed the bloodstains and found her brothers’ bodies. She dragged them, trying to move them back to her camp.

Ye Qing’s heart remained calm, untouched by the scene. She had seen and experienced too much of this in the apocalypse. If she hadn’t acted, they would’ve been the ones dead. So Ye Qing didn’t regret killing those two male Qianyuan at all.

She never liked leaving loose ends.

Ye Qing glanced at Jiang Jinhuang and saw she wasn’t asleep either. Without saying much, Ye Qing stood up, took off her bl00d-stained outer dress, and threw it away. She grabbed a new outer dress from the cart and put it on.

As she sat back down by the blanket, the system’s notification sounded, “Congratulations, dear. The female lead Jiang Jinhuang’s favorability +20. Current favorability: -130.”

Ye Qing let out a big sigh of relief. This night hadn’t been a waste. The last time she used favorability points, she only had one chicken and three and a half bowls of rice left. Without these 20 points, Ye Qing would’ve been worried about food. But now, she didn’t have to.

With these 20 favorability points, she could exchange for a decent amount of food.

Ye Qing had the system open the exchange panel. The panel refreshed daily, and the items this time were different from before.

From left to right, the items were: five apples, a packet of cabbage seeds (50 seeds), a donkey, five pounds of fresh pork belly, two pounds of venison, a watermelon, a long-handled axe…

In short, the system’s panel had food, tools, and livestock, but each required different points.

Ye Qing’s eyes went straight to the donkey. It needed 50 points. Her lips twitched—50 points? That was a tall order. She had just saved Jiang Jinhuang and barely earned 20 favorability points, far from 50.

Their food reserves were low, and they still needed to eat. Ye Qing decided to use 10 of the 20 points to exchange for supplies and save the other 10. She really needed a donkey. They had just started their journey, far from the south, not even at Huaicheng yet. A donkey cart would speed them up and save her energy for other tasks.

With that in mind, Ye Qing acted. She scanned the panel and settled on a few items she wanted.

[Use 1 favorability point to exchange for 10 eggs.]

[Use 2 favorability points to exchange for five pounds of pork belly.]

[Use 2 favorability points to exchange for six bowls of rice.]

[Use 5 favorability points to exchange for a packet of cabbage seeds (50 seeds).]

The 5 points for the seeds were squeezed out painfully. Planting seeds in the space’s black soil would yield lots of cabbage, far more cost-effective than exchanging for food directly. With these 50 seeds, Ye Qing’s group wouldn’t worry about vegetables for a month.

The other foods were essentials too. Ye Qing picked the most cost-effective options to ensure balanced nutrition.

Her consciousness entered the space, and Ye Qing sowed the 50 cabbage seeds in the black soil, then watered them with spiritual spring water.

After that, she checked on the carp she had placed in the spiritual spring. Last time, she put in 17 small fish and hadn’t checked since. She wasn’t sure how to fish them out, so she tentatively gave the spring a command. The next moment, a carp over two pounds jumped into her arms.

Ye Qing looked at the carp, a rare smile spreading across her face. The spiritual spring was amazing. The small fish had grown so big in just a few days. If she kept them in the spring, each could grow to five or six pounds.

With that thought, Ye Qing tossed the carp back into the spring.

Her consciousness returned to her body. After checking her supplies, Ye Qing stood up and filled the gourd on the cart with spiritual spring water. Then she sat back by the fire.

That night, Ye Qing watched the fire quietly. She could faintly hear Chunhua and her parents crying.

Jiang Jinhuang didn’t sleep well either. It was nearly dawn when she finally dozed off.

Ye Qing, afraid of getting sleepy, walked around the camp early, moving her body to stay awake.

At 8 a.m., Jiang Jinhuang woke up. Her neck still stung. Seeing the daylight, she hurriedly got up.

“Sorry, I overslept.” Jiang Jinhuang noticed other refugees had already packed and were ready to move. She quickly sat up from the blanket.

The little one rubbed her eyes, poking her head out from the blanket. She clearly hadn’t slept enough, her hair a mess, but it only made her look cuter.

Ye Qing shook her head, “No rush. We’ll leave a bit later today. We’ll eat breakfast and lunch together, then go. I’ll sleep for a bit. Wake me around noon.”

Ye Qing hadn’t slept all night and was feeling dazed. Rushing now would wear her out, and the journey to the south was long. So she decided to rest first.

“Alright. What about lunch? I can cook. Where did you put the stuff? Can you tell me?” Jiang Jinhuang, worried Ye Qing might not trust her with the food’s location, asked.

Ye Qing thought for a moment, then went to the cart. She pretended to dig through a bag but took half a bowl of rice and three eggs from the space. The chicken was better saved for when they camped by a stream or lake. The cabbage seeds were just planted, so lunch would be rice porridge with eggs.

Ye Qing handed the rice and eggs to Jiang Jinhuang, saying, “Let’s eat this for lunch. I have other food, but it’s not convenient to cook now. We’ll do it when we get the chance.”

“Okay, go sleep.” Jiang Jinhuang took the items and urged her.

Ye Qing smiled, then went to the bedding, grabbed a blanket, and covered herself.

Since they were outside, Ye Qing didn’t fuss. She just covered herself and slept. Jiang Jinhuang bit her lip—Ye Qing was using the blanket she had just used.

Her lips pursed, but she said nothing. At a time like this, sharing a blanket with a Qianyuan was unavoidable. Besides, if not for Ye Qing last night, she’d be dead.

With that thought, Jiang Jinhuang sat by the fire. She covered the food with the iron pot and started helping her sister wash up.

Chunhua’s family was gone. The surrounding refugees were gradually packing up to leave. In the end, only Ye Qing’s group remained.

Ye Qing slept soundly, woken by the smell of rice porridge.

When she got up, Jiang Jinhuang had already cooked the porridge.

“Wash up and come eat,” Jiang Jinhuang said, already serving the little one a bowl.

Ye Qing stretched, went to the cart to get the water gourd, and washed up. When she returned to the fire, her lunch was already set aside by Jiang Jinhuang.

Ye Qing ate on her own. It was noon, and the weather wasn’t cold. A bowl of porridge warmed her up.

After finishing, she got up to move around. They hadn’t set out yet, so Ye Qing planned to walk longer in the afternoon.

After lunch, Jiang Jinhuang helped Ye Qing tie down the cart’s items. Ye Qing lifted the little one onto the cart, while Jiang Jinhuang steadied her.

The stream of refugees was endless. Ye Qing’s group soon joined the crowd heading south.

They stood out. Ye Qing, a good-looking female Qianyuan, had Jiang Jinhuang, a pretty female Kunze, by her side, plus the little one on the cart. This combination easily drew attention.

Ye Qing knew it herself. Incidents like last night would likely happen often. They’d need to be more careful.

They walked for two hours without stopping. Sweat covered Ye Qing’s face, dripping down her cheeks, but she didn’t rest.

It was getting dark soon, and she wanted to cover more ground.

Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t faring much better. Her face was covered in sweat too. Continuous walking was tough for a Kunze with low stamina.

Finally unable to go on, Jiang Jinhuang turned to Ye Qing and said softly, “Ye Qing, can we rest? I really can’t walk anymore.”

Seeing Jiang Jinhuang’s dazed state, Ye Qing quickly pushed the cart to the side, clearing the road for others.

Jiang Jinhuang leaned on the cart, too tired to care about etiquette. She wiped the sweat from her face and neck with her sleeve.

Ye Qing did the same, wiping her face with her dress. Then she grabbed the gourd, opened it, and handed it to Jiang Jinhuang.

Jiang Jinhuang didn’t refuse. She took it, first giving her sister a few sips, then drinking several herself. The spiritual spring water helped her recover, and she handed the gourd back to Ye Qing.

Ye Qing took it naturally and drank a few sips.

Jiang Jinhuang’s gaze lingered on the gourd. Her lips had just touched it, and now Ye Qing’s did too. She quickly looked away, telling herself not to overthink. They were fleeing—there was no room for fussiness.

Still, her ears turned red. She turned her gaze away from Ye Qing.

Just as Ye Qing finished drinking and put the gourd away, a few people on the road stopped. One male Qianyuan seemed to lose control, and a fishy, salty smell spread out.

The Kunze passing by were affected. Some barely stood, while others collapsed, legs weak.

Those with Qianyuan companions were luckier—their Qianyuan’s scent protected them. But those without were hit hard, some entering their dew period early. The road descended into chaos.

Ye Qing instinctively peeled off the patch on her neck, letting the scent of green grape wine pour out, enveloping Jiang Jinhuang.

Jiang Jinhuang had caught a whiff of the fishy smell, but soon she was surrounded by a familiar scent.

She had smelled it before—Ye Qing’s Qianyuan scent. She turned to look at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing nodded to her, “Let’s go. We need to get out of here fast.”

An early dew period on a crowded road like this was bound to cause trouble. Chaos was coming.

With that, Ye Qing pushed the cart again, using her scent to shield Jiang Jinhuang until the fishy odor was gone. Only then did she stop releasing her scent.

But it drained much of her energy. She pulled the cart to the roadside, leaning on it to catch her breath.

Jiang Jinhuang pursed her lips, looking at Ye Qing. She didn’t understand—was Ye Qing’s possessiveness making her so protective, ensuring no other Qianyuan’s scent touched her?

Regardless of Ye Qing’s reasons, she had helped. Jiang Jinhuang disliked Qianyuan scents, but Ye Qing’s green grape wine smell wasn’t as annoying as Ye Qing herself. It was actually pleasant.

Jiang Jinhuang coughed lightly, pushing away her jumbled thoughts. A尚书’s daughter like her, thinking a street thug like Ye Qing’s scent was nice? It was only because Ye Qing helped her.

Comforting herself, she saw sweat on Ye Qing’s face. After hesitating, she stepped forward, “Are you okay? Thanks for earlier.”

Ye Qing knew what she meant. She didn’t need verbal thanks—she just hoped Jiang Jinhuang’s favorability would rise. That was practical. But when she checked with the system, it replied coldly, “Dear, the female lead’s favorability is still -130. No change~”

Ye Qing sighed, resigned. As expected, a woman like Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t easily swayed. Normal care and help didn’t move her.

Ye Qing wiped her sweat with her sleeve and checked the sky. It was almost dark. “We’ll have to camp outside again tonight. Let’s push the cart into the woods.”

Sleeping near the road was less safe at night.

“Alright.” Jiang Jinhuang nodded.

As Ye Qing’s group prepared to settle, other refugees also stopped to set up camp.

Ye Qing, as usual, found a sturdy tree for a backrest. She used a long stick to prop up a blanket behind the tree to block the wind. She spread another blanket on the ground for rest and grabbed two more for covering later.

While Ye Qing set up, Jiang Jinhuang skillfully lit a fire, gathering nearby branches for firewood.

As dusk fell, several groups settled within ten meters of them. Ye Qing frowned but couldn’t say much—it was the wilderness, and she couldn’t control where others camped. They’d just need to be extra cautious tonight.

They had been eating porridge for days, and Ye Qing felt weaker pushing the cart. She decided to cook two pounds of the pork she’d exchanged for. Without proper food, they might get sick before reaching the south.

The meat’s smell might attract attention, but Ye Qing figured they were already noticeable. Even without good food, they’d likely be targeted, like last night. Better to eat well and have energy for the night watch.

The only issue was explaining the pork’s origin. She was always with Jiang Jinhuang—sudden meat would raise suspicions.

But they couldn’t keep eating plain porridge. Ye Qing’s mouth had no taste left, and her body was weaker than at the start. They needed energy.

With that, Ye Qing took out the iron and clay pots. Tonight, she’d splurge!

Jiang Jinhuang was puzzled when Ye Qing brought out the iron pot. Hadn’t they run out of vegetables? She thought they had little rice left too, but she didn’t ask.

Ye Qing set down the pots and rummaged through the cart, actually pulling a bowl of rice and two pounds of pork from the space.

She coughed lightly, feeling a bit guilty, but steeled herself and walked to the fire.

The little one, wrapped in a blanket by Jiang Jinhuang, looked even rounder. Seeing the pork in Ye Qing’s hand, she nearly drooled. Pointing at it uncertainly, she tilted her head, “Meat?”

Ye Qing smiled at her, “Yup. I’ll make braised pork for you. Want some?”

“Yay! Sister Ye is the best! I love Sister Ye!” the little one said sweetly, her big eyes glued to the pork.

Jiang Jinhuang heard her sister fawn over Ye Qing and gave a helpless smile, tinged with bitterness.

Back in the capital, whatever they wanted was eagerly brought to them. Now, her sister had to sweet-talk Ye Qing for a bit of meat.