The village chief cupped his fists towards those people. "I'm truly sorry, but our stored water is also running low, and we are truly unable to spare any water for you."
The villagers of the small mountain village also chimed in, "In this situation, no one has much water on hand. Let alone giving it to you, we ourselves are reluctant to drink it."
Those people looked embarrassed and cupped their fists towards everyone. "Apologies for troubling you all."
After speaking, those people turned and left.
Soon, cries could be heard from the front of the procession.
The village chief couldn't help but sigh heavily, "What a disaster!"
But apart from this sigh, he had no other recourse.
In times of drought and famine, grain and water were the most important things, related to life itself, and could not be easily given away.
Moreover, they had only traveled together for two days, so what kind of friendship did they have?
Jiang Wan had previously worried that the village chief or other villagers might be overly sympathetic, but seeing that everyone was so clear-headed made her somewhat happy.
The worst was encountering those who, despite being on the brink of survival themselves, insisted on being kind to others. It was bad enough to be kind to oneself, but what was most infuriating was forcing others to join in.
It was enough to make one sick.
It was good that everyone understood the importance of grain and water.
The procession moved forward again.
Jiang Wan voluntarily asked to sit on the luggage. It wasn't that she was too lazy to walk; she wanted to try and see if she could communicate with birds and beasts.
In the current situation, finding a water source was paramount. And for her to successfully find a water source, she couldn't do without the help of birds and beasts.
She couldn't communicate with birds and beasts in her previous life, but she wanted to try now. If it worked, it would be like adding wings to a tiger!
Jiang Wan lay on the pile of luggage, lifting her left leg and crossing it over her right, her small arms raised and crossed behind her head as a pillow. Her plump little body swayed from side to side with the rocking of the cart, appearing relaxed and at ease.
She stared at the bright, sunny sky, waiting for passing birds.
However, due to the prolonged drought, even the traces of birds had become difficult to find.
The cart swayed back and forth, and Jiang Wan's little head, as it bobbed, began to feel drowsy.
Fearing she would fall asleep from the rocking, she quickly flipped over and changed to a prone position. As she looked up, she saw Jiang Yu in the procession.
Jiang Yu was now pushing the cart with an even more dejected expression, helping Jiang Lao Er and Zhou Shi, while Si Lang and Wu Lang were lying on the cart, fast asleep.
Jiang Wan truly disliked the preference for males over females, but when the one being slighted was Jiang Yu, she found it particularly pleasing to the eye.
Jiang Yu sensed her gaze, looked up, and then glared at her hatefully.
Jiang Wan, infuriatingly, winked at her and stuck out her tongue. "Nyah nyah, work yourself to death, you bad girl!"
Jiang Yu was so enraged that she lost all reason and stomped her feet, crying out loudly.
Before she could cry for long, Zhou Shi kicked her. "You dead girl, aren't you going to hurry up and push the cart? Do you want to work this old mother to death!"
Jiang Yu was both angry and wronged, yet she couldn't resist. The sight of her pushing the cart while crying made Jiang Wan laugh out loud.
Teasing the little villain was quite interesting.
Just then, a small bird flew over from a distance. Jiang Wan immediately released her ability to trap the bird.
The bird, caught by the ability, couldn't fly away even though it wanted to. It chirped frantically, causing the children in the procession to look up.
"Wow, a bird! No, it's meat! Meat! Dad, quickly hit that piece of meat down!"
Jiang Wan was stunned. Were these children demons? Such cute little birds, and they only saw them as meat!
Well, but if this little bird were made into a spicy dish, it would probably be quite good.
Slurp~
Jiang Wan licked her lips, trying hard to suppress the wicked thought, and quickly tried to communicate with the little bird using her ability.
When her thoughts forcefully squeezed into the little bird's tiny brain, the unfortunate little bird was so scared that it forgot to flap its wings and fell headfirst.
Jiang Wan quickly used her ability to make it fly up again, saving it from being caught by the excited children below, plucked, and roasted.
After a "cordial" communication with the little bird, Jiang Wan, somewhat disappointed, released it.
The bird told her that there was no water source nearby and that the place with water was very far away, requiring crossing several mountains. It would take a long time to fly there.
Jiang Wan calculated the time and estimated it would take at least two to three days, and that was under favorable conditions.
This was definitely not acceptable. She would have to find other little birds to ask.
But she waited until evening and still hadn't seen a second little bird.
Jiang Wan's mood also became somewhat heavy.
When she got off the cart, she hugged all the water skins at home and shook them.
If they drank their water sparingly, it could last for two more days.
If they couldn't find a water source within two days, everyone in the family would go thirsty.
San Lang saw her shaking the water bottle and smiled, stroking her little head. "Wan Wan, don't worry. From today onwards, your big brother won't drink any water. I'll save all the water for you to drink. Whoever gets thirsty, you won't."
Jiang Wan pursed her lips. "Big brother, you can't not drink water. If you don't drink water, people will get sick. Don't worry, we'll definitely find a water source before we run out of water."
San Lang just thought she was joking and didn't take it to heart.
When they found a place to camp, Jiang Wan immediately asked Jiang Pan to take her into the mountains.
Although the procession had already traveled for four days, they hadn't left the prefecture city yet. The prefecture where the Jiang family was located was called Jianzhou, a mountainous region. Their four-day journey had not taken them out of the mountains.
As soon as they entered the mountains, Jiang Wan began looking for birds in the forest.
Chen Yuezhi saw her busy with her eyes and asked, "Wan Wan, what are you looking for?"
"Dad, Mom, help me find a bird."
"Looking for a bird?"
The couple exchanged glances. "Is the old immortal preparing bird meat for us tonight?"
Jiang Wan's forehead was covered in black lines. "No, the old immortal said that he told us to find a bird to lead us to a water source."
The couple was startled and quickly asked, "Wan Wan, can we really find a water source?"
Jiang Wan nodded. "Yes, the old immortal said there was already a water source, but it was too far away, so he is finding another one for us."
Chen Yuezhi muttered, "Since the old immortal has already found a water source, why doesn't he just move the water source here?"
Good question!
Jiang Wan's face fell, not knowing how to answer this question.
Jiang Pan quickly glared at Chen Yuezhi disapprovingly. "What nonsense are you talking about! It's already a great blessing that the old immortal is willing to help find a water source. How can you say such things!"
What if they offended the old immortal, and he stopped helping their family?
Women truly have long hair but short knowledge!
Jiang Pan quickly clasped his hands together in a salute. "Old immortal, please don't be angry. She is just an ignorant woman. Please don't hold it against her."
Chen Yuezhi also realized her mistake and quickly bowed in apology. "Old immortal, this humble woman spoke without thinking. Please don't be angry."
Jiang Wan's mouth twitched constantly. Fearing that the two would force her to kowtow and apologize again, she quickly said, "Dad, Mom, the old immortal said he wouldn't be angry. He is an immortal, how could he bicker with a mortal over such a small matter? The reason he isn't moving the water source is that he doesn't want people to get something for nothing, as it would spoil them."
Chen Yuezhi quickly nodded and began to praise. "The old immortal indeed thinks things through. I was wrong to misunderstand the old immortal."
Jiang Wan's mouth twitched again.
The family of three wandered in the mountains for a long time but found no trace of birds or beasts.
Jiang Wan had no way to provide an extra meal for the family, and they returned empty-handed.
As they descended the mountain, they encountered some people from the other procession. The way they looked at them carried a hint of ill intent.