"You hit me?"
Mrs. Hu clutched her face, her voice muffled. "How dare you hit me?"
Song Qingchao chuckled lightly. "What if I hit you?"
She shook off the woman's hand, stood up, and casually rubbed her wrist.
Mrs. Hu's shove sent her stumbling, falling face-first to the ground and knocking out a front tooth.
Trembling, she covered her mouth and rambled incoherently.
Unfortunately, with her gap-toothed speech, Song Qingchao couldn't understand a word.
She indifferently glanced at the blood-spattered Mrs. Hu. "You came and threw water all over my face. My clothes, which I had just dried, are now wet. I'm not pursuing this."
She bent down and picked up the water pouch Mrs. Hu had discarded, bringing it to her nose to sniff.
"You claim the water I gave you harmed your husband and child. I cannot accept this accusation."
Song Qingchao raised the water pouch in her hand, mouth facing downwards.
Half the pouch, mixed with mud, sand, and dry leaves, spilled onto the ground, emitting a peculiar foul odor.
"I ask everyone, if one were to provide dirty water, why would they meticulously clean out the mud, sand, and leaves?"
With a "slap," she threw the water pouch directly at Mrs. Hu.
Mrs. Hu shivered, but still argued stubbornly, "It was that foolish girl who listened to you and fetched this dirty water for us to drink!"
Song Qingchao smiled.
She "tsk"ed and flicked some moisture from her clothes.
"First you say the water was from me, and now you say Zhe'er fetched it?"
Song Qingchao's eyes turned cold. "It's barely been a day, and it just rained, and you come here to cause trouble. Mrs. Hu, your heart is truly black!"
She pursed her lips, walked over, and began dragging the woman towards the puddle from which she had poured the water.
Her hand gripped Mrs. Hu's hair, forcefully pushing her head into the puddle.
Mrs. Hu strained with all her might, bracing herself with her arms, her face contorting.
"You only say it's dirty water, yet you drank it and got a stomach ache. Why are you afraid to touch it?"
Song Qingchao abruptly shoved down and then released her grip. "Do fewer things that betray your conscience. You know perfectly well what was mixed in that water."
Spectators watching the commotion started to chime in. "Young lady, your actions are too harsh. No matter how wrong she is, you shouldn't hit someone."
Song Qingchao glanced at the speaker. "Drink a mouthful of this water, and I'll let her go."
The person immediately lost interest, pouted, and walked away.
Human nature is shallow. Who can truly help whom?
At that moment, Thin Monkey arrived with officers. With a crack, his whip landed in the water puddle.
Song Qingmu, holding Liu Zhe'er, turned and used her back to shield them from the murky water.
Splashes of water rained down on the onlookers.
They sniffed themselves and immediately looked as if they would vomit.
Only Song Qingchao stood still.
After all, she had been drenched from head to toe in the initial splash.
"What's the commotion now!"
Thin Monkey glared fiercely at Song Qingchao. Unfazed, Song Qingchao, before Mrs. Hu could speak, softened her posture and slumped to the ground.
In stark contrast to her earlier aggressive demeanor, she blinked, and tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably.
"Officer, this humble girl initially felt pity for the child who had no water, so she kindly divided half a pouch of the dew she collected, even emphatically warning them to boil it before drinking."
Her fair, clean face was now smudged with dirt, but as she cried, she still looked pitiful. "Who would have thought kindness would be repaid with ill intent? This Mrs. Hu filled the water pouch with rainwater and urine and came here to make a scene, demanding I hand over my rations and Mr. Bai."
Song Qingchao also tugged at Song Qingmu's trouser leg. "It's one thing for her to scold me, but she even goes after her own child. Look."
Thin Monkey's face turned as black as charcoal.
He looked at the child held by Song Qingmu, whose hair was disheveled and whose face bore red scratches.
"Sir, sir! Do not listen to this shrew's deceitful words!"
Mrs. Hu knelt on the ground, her eyes wide. "She wants to snatch my daughter!"
Thin Monkey looked back at Song Qingchao. "Is what this woman says true?"
Song Qingchao wiped away her tears. "She's the one who said she didn't want Zhe'er, offering to sell her to me for five taels of silver."
"I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"
Mrs. Hu shrieked in disbelief. "She is a piece of flesh from my own body! How could I bear to part with her?"
"Then you can bear to let her eat only one vegetable bun a day? Travel for so many days without even a drop of water?"
Song Qingchao, leaning on Song Qingmu, stood up, her posture dignified, her expression composed. "Zhe'er is eight years old, yet her height is less than that of a five-year-old child."
She pulled up Liu Zhe'er's sleeve. Her arm was dry and thin, skin stretched taut over bone.
Liu Zhe'er lowered her head, trying to pull her sleeve down.
The onlookers now sided with Song Qingchao.
They all spoke of Liu Zhe'er as a "poor thing," saying that even if she were a daughter, she shouldn't be treated so harshly.
Song Qingchao bent down, looking up at her with a gentle tone, sensing her fear. "Don't be afraid. Your sister will protect you from now on."
Mrs. Hu began frantically trying to salvage the situation again.
Even Thin Monkey began to frown slightly. He was about to finish his shift and truly didn't want to get involved in this trivial matter. As long as the caravan reached the next relay station safely, his mission would be considered complete.
Thin Monkey shot a look of disgust at the person on the ground. "Enough."
He pointed at the puddle of water. "Since no one is dead, this matter will be dropped. However, for causing such a great disturbance during rest time, both your families will only receive one meal tomorrow. Disperse."
Song Qingchao readily accepted.
Her spatial dimension was full of food, so she had no worries about sustenance.
Moreover, she had never expected Thin Monkey to help.
It was the instigator, Mrs. Hu, who was unwilling. She collapsed on the ground and began to cry, wailing about her husband's critical condition and her child's lack of food.
Song Qingchao ignored her, turned, and respectfully bowed to Thin Monkey. Despite her dishevelment, she did not lose the grace of a noble lady.
"Sir, this humble girl fears Zhe'er might be in danger if she returns with this unreasonable woman."
Thin Monkey clasped his hands behind his back and twitched his whip. He glanced again at the woman crying on the ground. After a moment's thought, he said, "Granted."
He raised his leg to leave, but the accompanying soldiers began to drive away the onlookers to sleep.
However, Mrs. Hu clung to his leg and refused to let go.
Thin Monkey said "Let go" several times, but Mrs. Hu remained unmoved.
Enraged, he raised his whip and began to lash her.
He cursed, "I already take enough heat from my superiors. What the hell are you doing, coming here to cause trouble? Is there no end to this!"
Mrs. Hu, struck by the whip, clutched her head and rolled on the ground.
She wailed, "I was wrong," and "Stop hitting me."
Song Qingchao watched from the side, unmoved.
She covered Liu Zhe'er's eyes and gently placed her hands on her trembling shoulders.
"Sister, can you ask the officer to stop hitting my mother?" Liu Zhe'er sobbed, her voice laced with a plea.
Song Qingchao lowered her gaze and, after a long pause, sighed.
"Sir, if you hit her any more, she'll die."
Thin Monkey paused, looking at her impassive face, then, as if deflated, gave another hard lash.
Mrs. Hu screamed, her body writhing on the ground like a maggot.
"Vile creature! Get lost!"
Mrs. Hu tremblingly got up. Before leaving, she picked up the dirty water pouch. Her hair, damp and clinging with mud and leaves, was matted with blood on her face, a messy spectacle.
She bared her teeth and smiled at Song Qingchao, resembling a vengeful ghost crawling out of hell.
She mouthed the words, "You wait."