Song Qingmu took the letter, his hand trembling involuntarily.
He pressed his wrist with one hand and frowned at the letter.
Song Qingchao, with one arm crossed, sat in a serene and elegant posture.
"Do you think Chancellor Wang will save himself or his son?"
"Himself."
Song Qingmu returned the letter to Song Qingchao and then picked up a branch, poking the fire under the makeshift rack.
"Chancellor Wang doesn't care much about Wang Xuanyu."
Song Qingchao watched the water bubbling in the bowl, "I expected that."
"Then why did you still...?"
Although Song Qingmu's tone was questioning, his expression did not change much. He casually grabbed a few rags to pad the bowl on the rack, then took it down and poured the water into a clean bowl.
"I did it on purpose," Song Qingchao said, carefully holding the hot water Song Qingmu handed over.
"Be careful, it's hot."
Song Qingchao nodded lightly, "Dying directly is too easy for him."
She rubbed the rim of the bowl with her wrist. "Bodily wounds can heal, but only the torment of the soul is remembered forever."
Song Qingmu responded with a hum and then poured water from the water skin into the bowl to continue heating it.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Song Qingchao blew on the rim of the bowl, but through the steaming white mist, she looked towards the haystack nearby.
Round and dark, a pair of big eyes were exceptionally bright in the night.
"Miss Song!"
Ying Zhong's call brought her back to her senses.
"Coming."
Ying Zhong smiled faintly as he handed over the medicine, also giving her two pieces of jujube cake.
As soon as Song Qingchao took them, he disappeared.
"This child."
"Drink up quickly." Song Qingmu took the other bowl of hot water from her hand and drank his own medicine in one gulp.
Song Qingchao nodded and looked towards the haystack again, but the person was gone.
She put down the two pieces of jujube cake, motioned for Song Qingmu to be quiet, then, pinching the hem of her skirt, tiptoed around to the back of the haystack.
Indeed, the person had just hidden and hadn't left.
"Little sister, what are you doing here?"
The person squatting and digging at the haystack with their hands was startled by the sound and sat down on the ground. "N-nothing!"
She started to run, but Song Qingchao hooked her back.
"Why are you running?"
With this exertion, the pain in her heart began to spread again, but she still endured it and didn't let go. "I've seen you watching us for several days."
The little girl bit her lip, looking like she was about to cry.
Song Qingchao's face turned stern, her sternness completely unconcealed. "Confess honestly!"
The little girl shook her head vigorously, refusing to speak no matter how she was questioned.
Song Qingchao snorted and simply grabbed the girl and brought her back.
She didn't say anything, but placed the little girl next to Song Qingmu.
Song Qingmu turned his head, his shadowed eyes full of confusion.
Song Qingchao shrugged indifferently.
She leaned down close to the little girl, careful not to let her bracelet touch her. "This brother eats people."
The little girl instantly sat up straight, terrified.
Song Qingmu was even more bewildered. "Don't be silly."
His voice was low and tinged with complaint.
But it caused the little girl's tears to fall in earnest.
"No, I didn't mean you."
Song Qingmu quickly tried to explain, but it was no use. Sweating profusely, he looked to Song Qingchao for help.
"Eldest sister!"
After laughing for a while, Song Qingchao grabbed the little girl by the back of her collar and turned her around. "Stop crying, this brother specifically eats children who cry."
The little girl instantly held back her tears, her mouth pursed. "Then Zhe'er won't cry."
"Eldest sister..."
Although Song Qingchao received a few complaints, she was still amused. She spoke softly, coaxing the little one, "Tell sister, what do you always come to see?"
She tempted her with the jujube cake.
Liu Zhe'er wiped her tears, glanced at Song Qingmu, and quickly turned her head back, saying in a low, shy voice, "Zhe'er is curious because sister always has water to drink here."
She sniffled. "It's just that father is sick today and wants to drink water, so I came again, but I was afraid you wouldn't give it to me."
"So that's how it is." Song Qingchao tenderly took out a handkerchief to wipe Liu Zhe'er's cheeks. "Zhe'er, don't cry, tell sister, is your father very ill?"
Liu Zhe'er shook her head. "Father just said he wanted to drink water."
She raised her bright, sparkling eyes. "Can sister tell Zhe'er where to find water? Zhe'er will definitely repay sister in the future."
As soon as Liu Zhe'er finished speaking, Song Qingmu directly handed her a bowl of water. "Drink it."
She looked at the water, then up at Song Qingchao.
Her lips were dry and chapped, and her Adam's apple bobbed as she swallowed, yet she still tentatively asked, "Can I take it back for father?"
Song Qingchao rubbed her hair. "It's alright, drink it. After you finish this bowl, go home and get your water pouch, and I'll fill it up for your father."
She took the bowl from Song Qingmu's hand. "Then sister will teach you a method for finding water."
"Really! Thank you, sister!"
"Drink quickly."
Liu Zhe'er nodded and directly held the bowl and drank.
After drinking the bowl of water, her dry lips finally became plump. She took out half a vegetable bun from her pocket and put it into Song Qingchao's hand. "Thank you, sister!"
Song Qingchao looked at the bun in her hand and the retreating figure, unable to help but laugh and cry.
She had initially thought someone was monitoring them, but it turned out to be a child.
"Eldest sister, I don't eat people," Song Qingchao said, a little unnaturally.
"Yes, yes, yes." Song Qingchao heated another bowl of water. "Zhe'er is eight years old, are you also eight?"
Song Qingmu turned his head away, his earlobes turning red.
When Zhe'er returned with her water pouch, Song Qingchao filled half of it for her and even gave her more jujube cake. Then she told her that she could find water in places where plants were lush, or near muddy ground; by digging a small pit beside it, clean water would seep out.
She then pointed to the trees overhead. "Tie a clean cloth strip to the leaves, and in the early morning, you can collect dew."
Liu Zhe'er listened intently, nodding as she remembered.
Song Qingchao reminded her several times to boil the water before drinking before she let the eager Liu Zhe'er go.
Breathing slightly heavily, she sat back down beside Song Qingmu and raised her bowl of water, gesturing for him to drink.
Song Qingmu leaned back slightly. "I'm not eight years old."
Song Qingchao almost laughed with exasperation. "I know, I know. Drink it quickly to warm yourself up, then we'll sleep."
Song Qingmu gave her a strange look but still drank the water from Song Qingchao's hand.
He held the bowl, his voice hoarse. "I'm really not a child."
Song Qingchao blinked at him. "I know. Sleep!"
The moon slowly climbed above the branches, and the surroundings became quiet, with only the crackling sounds of burning branches.
The sounds of breathing, short and long, seemed exceptionally loud in the night.
However, Song Qingchao's eyes were open.
She turned her head to look at the sleeping Song Qingmu, then propped herself up, her eyes full of gentleness, and reached out to brush his forehead.
Then she quietly got up and moved towards the edge of the camp.
She couldn't die, nor could she let Mu Mu take risks, nor could she let Zhe'er and those uninvolved people perish.
It was best for her to go.
She could escape.