Chapter 36 This journey will definitely not be peaceful.

Chapter 36 This journey will definitely not be peaceful.

It was cooler on the back slope, so Jiang Yutang found a relatively flat rock to sit on.

She took a deep breath and carefully removed half of her top, revealing her left shoulder. There was no mirror, nor a river to reflect her image, so she could only extend her right hand, her fingertips gently tracing the surface of her left shoulder.

At first, she only felt that her skin was a little hot, but when her fingertips ran over a certain spot, she felt a sharp pain and she also felt a slightly raised mark.

Jiang Yutang's heart sank.

Sure enough, she was scratched. It must have been when she turned over that a sharp pebble under her scraped her already red skin after the gua sha treatment.

She quickly unscrewed the cap of the hydrogen peroxide bottle and poured the solution onto a cotton swab. The cold liquid made her gasp and wince as it touched the wound.

She gritted her teeth and clumsily wiped around the wound with a cotton swab. Her movements were particularly awkward because she could only operate with one hand. The medicine dripped down her back from time to time, making her shiver from the cold.

I should have brought gauze; cotton swabs are difficult to use by myself.

Just as she was wiping halfway through, she suddenly heard a "rustling" sound of pebbles rubbing against each other behind her, as if someone was walking closer on gravel.

Jiang Yutang's heart leaped into her throat. She turned her head sharply, her voice trembling slightly: "Who? Who's there?"

But behind him was only a dark forest, the shadows of the trees swaying in the night like menacing monsters, and there wasn't a single person in sight.

Jiang Yutang held her breath and listened carefully for a while, but apart from the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves, there was no other sound.

She frowned. Had she misheard? But in this desolate wilderness, if she really encountered wolves or other wild animals, she wouldn't be able to handle it alone.

Thinking of this, Jiang Yutang didn't bother to continue applying the medicine. She hurriedly put on her clothes, got up, and jogged towards the camp.

The cold wind rushed into her collar, but she dared not slow her pace until she saw the faint glow of a few campfires in the camp, at which point her heart finally settled down.

She tiptoed back to her straw mat, and as soon as she lay down, she heard Jiang Huaiyu's muffled voice beside her: "Little sister? Where did you go just now?"

Jiang Yutang was so frightened that her body trembled, and she had not yet recovered from the state she had just been in.

She quickly lowered her voice and made up an excuse: "I...I need to pee."

Jiang Huaiyu turned over, her voice still hoarse, but filled with obvious concern: "This place is dangerous in the middle of nowhere. If you need to get up at night, remember to call someone. Don't wander around alone."

Jiang Yutang felt a warmth in her heart, softly hummed in agreement, and moved closer to her family.

She closed her eyes, still feeling the shock and the stinging pain from her wound. She readjusted her position, trying to keep the wound from touching the straw mat, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Jiang Yutang's eyelids twitched and slowly opened.

She sat up, yawned again, squinted and glanced around, smacked her lips twice, stood up, and unconsciously touched the scratch she had gotten yesterday.

At this point, I couldn't feel much when I touched it; it had probably already scabbed over.

A concerned voice came from behind: "Tang'er, are you feeling better today?"

"Yes!" Jiang Yutang nodded emphatically. "I've been revived!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Madam Yun scolded playfully, and got up to tidy up the bamboo mat.

After tidying up, Jiang Yutang went to serve the porridge. She turned to Yun Shi and said that she had slept well last night, but she vaguely felt a strange gaze falling on her.

She looked up and met Cheng Lanzhou's gaze. Their eyes met, and after a moment, Cheng Lanzhou calmly looked away and lowered his head to talk to Lin Shi beside him.

Jiang Yutang also looked away.

As they set off, Jiang Huaiyu whistled and walked toward them with an air of nonchalance.

Jiang Songzhi picked up the rope of the cart and saw him, asking in surprise, "Aren't you helping the Cheng family pull the cart anymore?"

"Hmm." Jiang Huaiyu hummed happily, swinging her ponytail behind her back, unable to contain her joy. "Cheng Lanzhou can walk on his own now, so I don't need to fawn over him anymore."

"Is that so?" Jiang Songzhi smiled and tossed the rope to him. "Then it's your turn to pull the cart today."

Jiang Huaiyu caught the rope, looked at Jiang Songzhi in shock, and cried out in disbelief, "Big brother, are you really going to do this to me!"

Their family was the loudest in the entire group, drawing the attention of those around them, who couldn't understand how exiled people could still have so much energy.

Sitting in his wheelchair, Jiang Shengan sighed and shook his head: "The most talkative person in the family is back."

Yun chuckled and replied, "At least I won't feel so lonely anymore."

One has to admire how quickly young and strong people recover.

People like Cheng Lanzhou, whose wounds were inflamed, who had flesh cut off, and who bled due to misuse of medication, were able to get out of bed and walk again in just two days.

If it were Jiang Yutang, and there were free people to pull the cart for her, she would pretend to be sick for another two days even if she wasn't.

After Jiang Huaiyu returned, he kept talking non-stop, constantly pulling Jiang Yutang and Jiang Sumin into conversation. Jiang Yutang finally couldn't stand it anymore and took out a piece of chewing gum and stuffed it into his mouth.

At the very end of the procession, one member of the Cheng family discarded the cart after he was able to walk normally, and carried his own luggage on his back.

Fortunately, they were mostly clothes and jewelry, which were relatively light and easy to sell on the way.

"Lanzhou, does your back still hurt? Why don't you give me your share of the bundle?" Cheng Daier asked with concern from the side, her brows furrowed, unlike her stern demeanor in the capital.

Cheng Lanzhou shook his head and said softly, "It's alright."

"You just love to show off, and you never listen to what we say." Cheng Dai'er was both angry and helpless, raising her arm to wipe the sweat from her chin.

"I already told you to rest for a couple more days. Since Jiang Huaiyu is helping us, why are you in such a hurry to send him away?"

Cheng Lanzhou remained silent for a long time. Just when Cheng Daier thought he wouldn't speak, she heard him suddenly say, "The Jiang family has problems. There's no need to get too entangled with them."

Lin asked with slight doubt, "If that's the case, why not cut ties with their family directly instead of waiting until we got to Danzhou to agree to a divorce?"

Seeing that he was about to make excuses, Madam Lin interrupted him directly: "Don't talk nonsense. I am a reasonable person. Explain yourself."

The two women in the house pressed her for answers, and Cheng Lanzhou finally couldn't hold back and sighed helplessly.

“Their family is still useful, so the journey will not be peaceful.”

Previously bewildered, Cheng Dai'er belatedly realized what was happening, her face showing terror as she whispered in a trembling voice, "You mean, those people in the capital..."

"Hmm." Cheng Lanzhou nodded gently, her gaze falling on Jiang Yutang in front of her.

"She might not have completely broken things off with that person yet. If we're not prepared and she turns on us again, it will be very difficult for us to recover on this journey."

Both of them looked serious upon hearing this, but Cheng Lanzhou's gaze remained fixed on Jiang Yutang.

When Jiang Yutang turned her head, the faint purple bruise on her neck blended with the half-hidden left shoulder in the moonlight last night. The woman's frightened expression made her flee in panic.

He closed his eyes, hiding his emotions deep inside, and when he opened them again, his expression was cold and stern.

At noon, the exile caravan passed by a post station. Outside the post station, there were identical carriages, and next to them was a group of refugees like them.

The thug's clothes were stained with sweat, his skin was sunburned and peeling, and he sat idly in the shade of a tree, resting.

Jiang Yutang frowned as she looked at those people, and heard Jiang Jiuzhe beside her say, "It seems we'll have to merge teams."