Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The street was in chaos at the moment, with refugees only thinking about leaving as soon as possible. No one dared to meddle in others’ affairs.

Ye Qing chased after him, and the short man from earlier seemed terrified by her. Though he had run some distance, in that short stretch, he was so scared that he stumbled and fell three times, seeing Ye Qing catching up.

His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees, kowtowing to Ye Qing.

“Ye Qing, every wrong has its cause, and every debt has its debtor. It was him who wanted to trick you. Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.”

Seeing that Ye Qing didn’t speak, just looking at him coldly, the man was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. Tears streaming down, he pleaded, “Don’t do anything. I’ll return your silver, I’ll return your silver, isn’t that enough?”

Ye Qing stretched out her hand toward him. “Where’s the silver?”

“The silver is at my house. I’ll take you there to get it,” the short man sobbed.

“Fine, let’s go now. I advise you not to try any tricks. I have a bad temper, and if you deceive me, you know the consequences.” Ye Qing gave him a kind smile.

The short man, however, was scared witless, crying as he scrambled to his feet. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. I’ll take you there right now.”

Fearing Ye Qing would attack him, he hurriedly led the way, weaving through twists and turns. Ye Qing followed him to a secluded alley.

The short man pointed to a courtyard ahead, trembling. “It’s right there.”

“You go in first.” Though Ye Qing thought the man had no fighting skills, she had to be cautious on his turf.

The short man, shaking, walked inside. He led Ye Qing into a room, not daring to meet her eyes. Pointing to a cabinet, he said, “The silver’s hidden in there. I’ll get it.”

Ye Qing didn’t respond. The short man, trembling, shuffled to the cabinet and slowly opened its door, a glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes.

Suddenly, he pulled a long blade from the cabinet, one that looked like it had been privately forged by a blacksmith.

Brandishing the blade, the short man charged at Ye Qing. “Ye Qing, you think you can kill me? When I was killing people, you didn’t even know where you were. Give me your life!”

With that, he swung the blade down at her.

Ye Qing dodged slightly to the side. She could tell at a glance that the short man was weak, his legs soft and powerless, clearly untrained.

With one kick, Ye Qing sent him sprawling to the ground, the blade falling from his hand. He tried to grab it, but Ye Qing stepped on his chest.

Then came a flurry of punches. Ye Qing held nothing back, and after a few blows, the man was dazed, bl00d oozing from his mouth and ears.

Ye Qing stood up to catch her breath, grabbed a stool nearby, and smashed it down on the short man’s head. His body convulsed a few times before going still, lifeless.

Ye Qing picked up the long blade. The more chaotic the times, the more she needed such things for protection. She found a clean bedsheet in the man’s wardrobe, wrapped the blade in it, and slung it over her back.

She began looking around the short man’s place. Since she had nothing now and the man was gone, she might as well stock up here.

With that thought, Ye Qing got to work with enthusiasm. In the apocalypse, her favorite thing was hoarding supplies. Only with enough resources did she feel secure.

Ye Qing opened the wardrobe first. As expected of a thug, the short man had far more than the original owner of her body.

In the wardrobe, she found a pouch containing a silver ingot. Ye Qing weighed it in her hand—about five taels. There were also fifty copper coins in the pouch.

Ye Qing stored the pouch in her space, then rummaged through the wardrobe again. Though she found no other valuables, there was a new quilt inside.

She pulled it out, inspected it, and sniffed it a few times to confirm it was indeed a quilt before storing it in her space. With a famine ongoing, things like quilts would definitely come in handy.

After checking the wardrobe, Ye Qing crouched to search the man’s body. She found another hundred and twenty wen, which she added to the pouch and stored in her space.

She searched the room but found nothing else useful, so she went out to the courtyard. Ye Qing checked the other rooms, all abandoned guest rooms, clearly long uncleaned, with spiderwebs hanging inside.

She didn’t bother rummaging through them and went straight to the kitchen. In ancient times, households usually had separate kitchens. Ye Qing headed for the rice jar and, thankfully, found about two large bowls’ worth of rice.

She found a cloth sack in the kitchen, poured all the rice into it, and stored it in her space.

Searching the kitchen further, she found five potatoes, two heads of cabbage, and nearly three bowls’ worth of dried corn kernels. Ye Qing didn’t mind and stored them all in her space.

Worried she might have missed something, she searched again and found half a bag of salt, a bottle of something like soy sauce, a bottle of strong liquor, and two flint stones. She stored all of these in her space as well.

Feeling quite pleased, she thought, with these, she wouldn’t starve at least.

On her way back, Ye Qing passed several groups of people heading out of the city. The streets of Linzhou City were visibly desolate.

She quickened her pace toward her small courtyard. Once there, she stored the blade she’d been carrying in her space.

After a few steps, she heard faint crying coming from Jiang Jinhuang’s room. She stopped and walked over.

Without hesitation, Ye Qing knocked lightly on the door twice before pushing it open.

Inside, she saw Jiang Jinhuang wiping Jiang Jinyang’s face with hot water.

Jiang Jinhuang kept calling Jiang Jinyang’s name, as if afraid she’d fall asleep.

Hearing the door, Jiang Jinhuang glanced at Ye Qing with red-rimmed eyes before looking away, continuing to wipe Jiang Jinyang’s flushed face.

Ye Qing approached and saw that the little one’s face was bright red, likely from a fever.

Jiang Jinhuang, watching her sister suffer, gripped the cloth tightly, her nails nearly digging into her flesh.

After a moment, as if making up her mind, she looked at Ye Qing with tearful, pleading eyes.

“Ye Qing, Yangyang is burning up. If we don’t get a doctor soon, she might not make it. I’m begging you, please save Yangyang. Don’t you want me? If you help save Yangyang, I’ll give you everything. Please.”

Jiang Jinhuang looked at Ye Qing with tear-filled eyes, her tone humble, devoid of the pride of a noble lady. To save her sister, she was willing to give up anything.

Seeing Ye Qing didn’t respond, Jiang Jinhuang clenched her teeth and knelt before her, grabbing the hem of Ye Qing’s skirt and shaking it. She was out of options. Even knowing Ye Qing wasn’t a good person, she clung to her like a lifeline. “Please, Ye Qing.”

Ye Qing had been looking at the little one and hadn’t responded right away. She hadn’t expected Jiang Jinhuang to kneel. She quickly helped her up. “Don’t panic. Let me check first.”

Ye Qing gently placed her hand on Jiang Jinyang’s forehead, feeling intense heat. She looked at Jiang Jinhuang and said, “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

As Ye Qing turned to leave, Jiang Jinhuang grabbed her skirt.

With red, teary eyes, Jiang Jinhuang looked at Ye Qing, her beauty almost ethereal. “Where are you going? I meant what I said. If you save Yangyang, I’ll be yours. Whether you want to consummate or bond, I’m willing.”

Her body trembled as she spoke, humbling herself for her sister, feeling like a shameless woman, far from the proud noble lady she once was.

“Let’s not talk about that now. I’ll be back soon.” Ye Qing pulled her hand free and hurried out.

Back in her room, she took the new quilt and the bottle of liquor from her space, then carried the quilt back.

Jiang Jinhuang’s room had broken windows, and with the little one feverish, she couldn’t risk her catching a chill. It was better to bring her to Ye Qing’s room.

With that, Ye Qing carried the quilt back to their room. Seeing her return with it, Jiang Jinhuang felt a bit relieved, terrified Ye Qing might have left.

“Let’s take Yangyang to my room. This one’s too cold for her recovery.”

Ye Qing walked over, lifted the little one from the thin blanket, and wrapped her in the thick quilt.

Carrying her, Ye Qing left the room, with Jiang Jinhuang following closely behind.

In Ye Qing’s room, she placed the little one on the bed, covered her properly, and turned to Jiang Jinhuang. “This bottle has strong liquor. Use a cloth to dab some on Yangyang’s palms and soles. It’s a local method to bring down the fever. I’ll go find a doctor.”

Jiang Jinhuang hadn’t expected Ye Qing to genuinely help. She assumed her earlier words had worked.

Her body felt cold. A minister’s daughter reduced to begging with her body. Her face grew paler, but at least she was useful, and there was hope to save her sister.