Transmigrated Into an Ancient Famine Novel as a Scumbag Alpha (ABO, GL) - Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Ye Qing smiled at Jiang Jinhuang. She carried her items and walked to Jiang Jinhuang’s side.

“Jinhuang, look what I found. Those guys had half a bag of mixed grains and a pack of dried pork,” Ye Qing said. She showed the items to Jiang Jinhuang eagerly, like presenting treasures.

Jiang Jinhuang raised her lips slightly. She snapped a stick in her hand and tossed it into the fire.

Ye Qing saw Jiang Jinhuang break the stick. She felt a chill down her spine. She gave Jiang Jinhuang an awkward smile repeatedly.

Jiang Jinhuang looked up at her. “Oh, done chatting with that girl?” she asked.

“No chat, no chat. That old man is old and talks nonsense. Don’t overthink it,” Ye Qing said. She put down her items, rubbed her hands, and defended herself quickly.

“Hmph, what’s there to overthink? Do as you please,” Jiang Jinhuang said. She looked away from Ye Qing and kept throwing sticks into the fire distractedly.

Ye Qing saw Jiang Jinhuang was truly upset. She hurried closer and gently held Jiang Jinhuang’s wrist. “Stop adding wood. If you keep going, you’ll set this little temple on fire,” she said.

Jiang Jinhuang looked at her wrist. She pursed her red lips and twisted her right wrist lightly. She freed herself from Ye Qing’s grasp.

Ye Qing hadn’t held tightly. Seeing Jiang Jinhuang’s expression soften, she quickly explained gently, “What I told that old man was true. I have no interest in other Kunze or Zhongyong. On this journey, I absolutely won’t pursue other Kunze or Zhongyong. You can trust me completely.”

Jiang Jinhuang heard this and raised an eyebrow at Ye Qing. “What? Just this journey? Planning to chase women when we reach the south?” she asked.

“Of course not. You’ve seen how I am on this trip. I’m not some lustful person. It’ll be the same anywhere. I definitely won’t pursue others,” Ye Qing said. She continued explaining patiently.

Jiang Jinhuang’s lips curved slightly. She hid her smile quickly. “Hmm, I understand,” she said.

Jiang Jinhuang picked up the little one, who was drawing with a stick nearby. “Let’s go. Time to sleep,” she said.

The little one looked at her sister, confused. “But I’m not sleepy yet,” she said.

“Sleep even if you’re not sleepy,” Jiang Jinhuang said. She overruled the little one and tucked her into the blankets.

The little one followed her sister to sleep, looking puzzled. She hadn’t finished drawing her doll with the stick.

Ye Qing felt confused too. What did “I understand” mean? Was Jiang Jinhuang not angry anymore?

Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t angry after Ye Qing’s explanation. Her later words were just to tease Ye Qing.

She knew the old man likely brought his daughter to Ye Qing on his own. Ye Qing was innocent. Still, she kept a cold face to see if Ye Qing would explain. She was very satisfied with the result.

Ye Qing not only explained but worried about misunderstandings. She explained clumsily, which was somewhat cute.

Jiang Jinhuang’s lips curved again as she thought about it. She recalled Ye Qing saying she wasn’t lustful. That was true. Ye Qing had been polite to her on this journey. Even during her heat period, Ye Qing never took advantage of her.

Instead, Jiang Jinhuang had left several red marks on Ye Qing’s neck…

Jiang Jinhuang stopped her wandering thoughts. She didn’t want to think about those days during her heat. Her face felt less hot afterward.

Ye Qing saw them sleep. She sat by the fire and watched it dutifully. After a long time, she heard Jiang Jinhuang’s voice from behind. “Wake me later to take over. I’m sleeping first,” she said softly.

Seeing Jiang Jinhuang wasn’t ignoring her, Ye Qing sighed heavily with relief. She replied quickly, “Okay, I’ll call you later.”

On the other side, the older man returned and sighed repeatedly. “Of course, our benefactor is a capable person. It’s normal she doesn’t fancy us. What a pity,” he said.

The older man looked at Zhou Erqing. “Erqing, grab some ash and smear your face again. Be careful not to catch bad people’s eyes,” he said.

“Okay,” Zhou Erqing said. She grabbed ash from the ground reluctantly and smeared her face.

“Father, can we still follow our benefactor?” Zhou Shilong asked.

“I don’t know. But they likely won’t leave for a few days. The snowy roads are bad, and someone in their group is injured. Let’s linger around our benefactor these days to get familiar,” the older man said.

“Okay, okay,” Zhou Shilong said. He nodded eagerly.

As the older man predicted, Ye Qing’s group stayed in the ruined temple for five more days. The snow outside nearly melted, and Song Zhao gradually recovered.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, Ye Qing went to Song Zhao’s side.

“It’s been seven or eight days. It’s time to remove the stitches. Your wounds healed well. In another ten days or so, you’ll fully recover. I’ll remove the stitches, and we’ll prepare to leave,” Ye Qing said. She removed the gauze carefully.

Song Zhao watched Ye Qing’s expression cautiously. She heard Ye Qing didn’t mention taking her along. She felt disappointed. But Ye Qing had saved her life despite being strangers. Song Zhao was already grateful and didn’t dare hope for more.

“Thank you, Master. My wounds healed because you saved me,” Song Zhao said. She thanked her quickly.

“Your body’s foundation is good too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have healed so well,” Ye Qing said.

Song Zhao’s strong foundation was one factor. Ye Qing suspected her fast recovery was also due to the spiritual spring water. For days, Song Zhao ate and drank the same spiritual spring water as them.

Ye Qing removed the gauze carefully. She disinfected the wounds twice with iodine. She cautiously removed the stitches. Then, she disinfected Song Zhao’s wounds again and rewrapped them with gauze.

When Ye Qing returned to the fire, Jiang Jinhuang whispered, “What about our horses and cart?”

Ye Qing understood Jiang Jinhuang’s concern instantly. Before, with just the three of them, Ye Qing could bluff easily. Now, with others around, the cart couldn’t appear from nowhere. Even for show, Ye Qing had to bring it from outside.

Ye Qing winked at Jiang Jinhuang. “Don’t worry. I’ll go get the cart soon,” she said.

Jiang Jinhuang nodded. “Okay,” she said.

Ye Qing sat by the fire and thought for a while. She decided to upgrade the cart.

She had observed Song Zhao these days. Song Zhao was reliable and low-maintenance. Ye Qing felt she could bring her along. With two female Qianyuan, their team’s safety would improve. Ye Qing thought it was time to switch carts. They could use two horses instead of one. This would let them travel faster, allow all four to sit in the cart, and be more comfortable.

Thinking this, Ye Qing browsed her space panel. She found a cart with a canopy. It wasn’t spacious but could fit four or five people. The driver’s seat could hold two more. A large box under the cart could store luggage. It looked plain and unremarkable.

Ye Qing checked the exchange price. The cart required 15 exchange points. After thinking, Ye Qing gritted her teeth and clicked to exchange.

The next moment, the system’s mechanical voice sounded in her mind. “Congratulations, dear. You used 15 exchange points to successfully exchange for one cart. Current remaining exchange points: 77,” it said.

Ye Qing glanced at the panel. She spent 5 more exchange points to get horse feed, cow feed, and chicken feed. After these, she had 72 exchange points left.

Ye Qing arranged food for the animals in her space. She then spoke to Jiang Jinhuang. “You and Yangyang stay here. I’ll go get the cart,” she said.

Jiang Jinhuang nodded. “Alright,” she said.

Ye Qing left and walked far away.

The older man in the temple saw Ye Qing’s group preparing to leave. He hurriedly told his family, “Quick, pack up. We’ll follow our benefactor.”

“Got it, Father,” Zhou Shilong said. He packed their luggage eagerly, wanting to follow Ye Qing’s group.

Days ago, the older man had subtly asked Ye Qing about traveling together. Ye Qing refused. He wasn’t discouraged. He thought following behind them was a good plan. There were only a few routes south, so it was natural to travel the same way.

The small ruined temple buzzed with activity. Only Song Zhao lay on the ground listlessly, like a sick, droopy puppy.

Ye Qing went far and brought out two horses from her space. She materialized the new wooden cart and hitched it to the horses. She led the horses back to the ruined temple.

At the temple door, Ye Qing didn’t enter immediately. She lifted the cart’s curtain and looked inside. The cart looked plain, even rustic, outside. Inside, it was clean. Both sides had seats. Without passengers, blankets could be laid out for sleeping. It was warmer than their old open cart. Ye Qing found it very nice.

She hurried inside and called out, “Jinhuang, help move things. The cart’s outside.”

“Okay,” Jiang Jinhuang said. She knew they needed to put on a show. She carried the pots and bowls outside. When she saw the two horses pulling the cart, she froze, surprised.

Ye Qing came over, holding two blankets. She saw Jiang Jinhuang staring at the cart. She whispered, “New cart. There’s a box underneath. Put the stuff in there.”

Ye Qing pulled back the curtain and opened the box below.

Jiang Jinhuang glanced at Ye Qing a few times. She put the items in the cart without saying or asking anything. She followed Ye Qing back to the temple for the rest of the luggage.

The older man saw Ye Qing start moving luggage. He hurriedly loaded their things onto their donkey cart outside.

Zhou Shilong saw Ye Qing’s cart and looked envious. “Father, look at our benefactor’s cart. It’s so nice, fully enclosed. It must be warm inside,” he said.

The older man kicked him and urged, “Nonsense. Is our benefactor ordinary? What’s surprising about her having a cart? Hurry up, or we’ll lose them.”

“Okay, okay,” Zhou Shilong said. He nodded quickly.