Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 57

Chapter 57

When Ye Qing arrived at her residence, the two guards in front of Jiang Jinhuang’s door had long disappeared somewhere. She directly pushed the door open and entered Jiang Jinhuang’s room.

Jiang Jinhuang hadn’t slept at that moment. Ye Qing had previously emphasized several times while delivering food that she would help Jiang Jinhuang and Yangyang escape. Jiang Jinhuang guessed Ye Qing was waiting for this very opportunity, so she sat on the bed’s edge with the little one, resting and waiting for Ye Qing’s signal.

Jiang Jinhuang hadn’t expected Ye Qing to barge in directly. She hurriedly asked, “How did you get away?”

Ye Qing smiled at her and said, “Now isn’t the time to talk. We need to leave here first. Let’s go.”

As Ye Qing spoke, she took a large cloak out of her space and tossed it to Jiang Jinhuang. “Wear this outside and hide Yangyang under it. Otherwise, it’s too conspicuous.”

“Okay,” Jiang Jinhuang replied. She quickly put on the cloak, then picked up the little one and covered her with it.

The little one felt utterly confused. Hadn’t Sister Ye planned to marry someone else and abandon them? Why was she now taking them away?

The little one didn’t understand, but she obediently nestled in her sister’s arms.

Ye Qing led Jiang Jinhuang out the door, heading toward the stronghold’s east side. Ye Qing had scouted this area before. Beyond the laundry room, a short distance led to mountainous terrain with only one sentry post, which posed little threat. Additionally, a warehouse stood behind the kitchen, and the cattle and horse sheds were also nearby. Ye Qing had no intention of leaving those resources behind.

As they headed east, they encountered a few people clutching their stomachs and groaning in pain. Ye Qing didn’t stop when she saw them and continued walking east until they reached the laundry room.

Ye Qing casually pushed open a door and instructed, “You and Yangyang wait here for me. I’ll grab a few things, and we’ll leave soon.”

“Okay,” Jiang Jinhuang replied. She didn’t question Ye Qing and nodded lightly, then entered the room with Yangyang.

The room was pitch black. Jiang Jinhuang bolted the door and stood anxiously by it, waiting for Ye Qing.

Meanwhile, Ye Qing returned to the kitchen area. She walked down a narrow alley beside the kitchen and reached the area where the stronghold kept its livestock.

The bandits had previously plundered many horses, though they had eaten several in recent days. Ye Qing counted and found thirty horses still in the stable.

She promptly stored all the horses in her space. Then, Ye Qing went to the nearby cattle shed, where she found only two cows—one male and one female. The female could still produce milk. Ye Qing stored both cows in her space as well.

She didn’t see any pigs or sheep, but at the chicken coop, Ye Qing spotted fourteen chickens. Without time to check their genders, she stored them all in her space.

Looking at the now-empty backyard, Ye Qing felt immensely satisfied.

After finishing, she headed to the warehouse beside the kitchen.

The warehouse door was locked. Every morning, a designated person opened it, and after the kitchen staff took the day’s ingredients, the door was immediately locked again. The bandits guarded the food storage tightly.

However, because Ye Qing had administered an excessive dose of laxatives, no one could hold out, and the area was nearly deserted.

Just as Ye Qing took an axe from her space to break the lock, a man emerged from the main kitchen, clutching his stomach and heading toward the outhouse. He noticed Ye Qing standing at the warehouse door.

The man clutched his stomach and shouted, “Who’s there?”

Ye Qing turned to look at him, then quickly rushed toward him.

The man started to call for help again, but Ye Qing reached him first. She used the axe’s handle to strangle his neck, and moments later, he stopped breathing.

Ye Qing released the man and quickly returned to the warehouse door. She chopped the lock off with the axe and pushed the door open to enter.

The night’s dim light made Ye Qing wary of too much flour in the warehouse, fearing a dust explosion if she lit a candle or oil lamp. Instead, she emptied the entire warehouse into her space.

The warehouse held many items, but Ye Qing had no time to sort them. She simply took everything.

After finishing, Ye Qing circled back to the kitchen. She carried out barrels of oil, doused the surrounding buildings with it, and then set them ablaze.

Soon, the kitchen area erupted in flames.

Ye Qing wasn’t satisfied. Burning a few buildings and killing a few bandits wasn’t enough. The stronghold’s bandits were ruthless and would only harm passing refugees if left alive. Ye Qing wanted to eliminate as many as possible.

With this in mind, she carried a large barrel of oil toward the wedding venue. The closer she got, the more people she saw, but the bandits were like limp shrimp. Some squatted on the ground, unable to stand.

Seeing Ye Qing, they showed no reaction. The outhouse area was even worse—at least dozens of people crowded at its entrance. Most of the stronghold’s people were there.

Ye Qing poured oil on the surrounding buildings and even on the tables set for the banquet.

One bandit sensed something was wrong and asked, “Hey, what are you doing pouring oil here?”

Ye Qing smiled at him and said, “Nothing.”

She quickly emptied the barrel and tossed it aside, preparing to retreat and light the fire. But Wei Zicheng spotted her from a distance.

He ran toward Ye Qing like she was his lifeline. Noticing her wedding attire was gone, Wei Zicheng looked unsurprised and said, “Did you eat something bad and ruin your dress? Ye Qing, listen, this was an accident. I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect those idiots to mess up our wedding.”

Ye Qing stepped back, repelled by Wei Zicheng’s stench. “Fine, I get it. Just stay away—you stink. Where’s the stronghold leader? I need to find him. I think someone did this on purpose, maybe one of his close brothers.”

Wei Zicheng wore a complicated expression, then pointed toward the outhouse. “My dad and the others are over there. It’s crowded—you might not find him easily.”

“No problem. I’ll go look myself,” Ye Qing replied.

She walked toward a building she’d doused with oil, pulled a fire starter from her pocket, blew on it, and tossed it onto the oil-soaked area. Flames instantly roared to life, spreading along the oil’s path.

The buildings’ doors and windows were wooden, so the surrounding structures caught fire quickly, along with the banquet tables and chairs.

Many bandits froze in place. Some who could move scattered in panic, while others were consumed by the flames.

Wei Zicheng stood stunned in the courtyard. The tables behind him caught fire, igniting his clothes.

He screamed, trying to extinguish the flames, while looking at Ye Qing in disbelief. “Ye Qing? No, it can’t be!”

But the fire on him grew, and the surrounding buildings burned, filling the area with black smoke.

Ye Qing didn’t linger. She quickly circled to the outhouse, where even more people gathered.

She took out a bow and arrow she’d stolen from the old stronghold leader’s room. She tied an oil-soaked rag to an arrow, lit it with the fire starter, and shot it at the outhouse’s roof.

The roof was covered in dry straw. When the arrow hit, the outhouse’s top and sides caught fire instantly, with flames soaring. The surrounding bandits were quickly engulfed. In winter, their thick clothing fueled the fire’s spread, igniting clothes and hair as it passed from one to another.

Ye Qing thought it wasn’t chaotic enough. She fired four more flaming arrows. The bandits wailed as they burned. Some pushed and shoved to escape but couldn’t find their way in the thick smoke. Some were trampled to death, while others burned alive.

Ye Qing stood quietly in the shadows, watching until the smoke grew so thick she couldn’t see anymore. Then she ran toward the laundry room.

If any part of the stronghold remained unburned, it was the laundry room and the low-ranking bandits’ quarters. Ye Qing didn’t want to spend more time burning buildings. What she’d done tonight was enough to destroy the stronghold.

She jogged back to the laundry room, reaching the spot where she’d told Jiang Jinhuang to hide.

Ye Qing pushed the door but found it locked. She quickly called inside, “Jinhuang, it’s me. We need to go.”

Jiang Jinhuang heard Ye Qing’s voice and hurriedly opened the door. Seeing the distant fire, she asked, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing much. I set the stronghold on fire. Let’s go quickly,” Ye Qing replied. She scooped up the little one from the ground and jogged eastward, holding her.

Jiang Jinhuang followed closely behind Ye Qing. Soon, they passed the laundry room and reached the mountain. A sentry post stood nearby, with two bandits still stationed there. The post’s torches let Ye Qing faintly see them from below.

In the darkness, Ye Qing handed the little one to Jiang Jinhuang and gestured for silence, signaling them to hide.

Jiang Jinhuang obediently carried the little one a few steps away, crouched down, and minimized their visibility.

Ye Qing took out her bow and arrow. Her marksmanship had been excellent in the apocalypse, and archery came naturally to her. After practicing a few shots earlier, she felt confident.

The two bandits in the sentry post’s small shelter looked puzzledly at the stronghold. Their post changed every three hours, and they couldn’t leave unless someone escaped or an outsider intruded. In such cases, one could return to report.

One bandit said, “The stronghold looks like it’s on fire. Should we go check?”

The other replied, “Are you stupid? If they catch us leaving, we’ll be punished. I’ll go check. You stay here.”

“Fine,” the first agreed.

As one bandit turned toward the wooden stairs, an arrow sliced through the air, hitting his shoulder. Unprepared, he cried out in pain and, in panic, fell from the high wooden stairs, certain to die from the fall.