Just past midday, an order came down in the camp.
The army was soon to uproot its encampment and leave Swallow Cliff, but Feng Yun and twenty beauties were to follow the baggage train, setting off in the first group.
Before the soldiers and horses moved out, the provisions went first, with the baggage train's carts and horses stretching beyond sight, rolling forward like the tide.
The little donkey cart was in the middle of it all, still driven by Alou, with the sea calf sprawled on top, blissfully asleep.
Feng Yun climbed onto the donkey cart while the beauties accompanied her on foot.
Such differential treatment greatly incensed Lin E. However, having been struck the previous day, with her face still wounded, she didn't dare say much. She just sidled up to Ao Qi, who was guarding them, and indirectly pleaded for a cart to ride in.
Ao Qi, oblivious to the beauties' grievances, responded harshly:
"Do you think you're equal to the lady of the Feng Family? The Great General shows her special favor, not you. Be good, walk properly, or I'll be forced to chain you up..."
Alou muttered under his breath, "What special favor? More like blindness."
His own Shi'er Niang possessed such a celestial beauty, yet the Great General was blind to it, treating her like a prisoner, guarded along with the dancing girls, which greatly displeased Alou.
Ao Qi gave him a fierce glare, puzzled himself.
His uncle was a man of few words, not prone to conversation, but he had inquired in detail the previous night about the flood warning, and thereafter showed unusual clemency, allowing the Feng Family girl to use her little donkey cart and specifically assigning him to guard her...
There was definitely something odd about the situation.
—
The baggage train moved slowly as it advanced, not resting even during the night. The beautiful companions, each delicate and fragile, suffered immensely before realizing the truth of Feng Yun's words...
"How did Feng Twelve know we couldn't rest at night?"
"Let me tell you a secret, I seem to have heard someone say that Shi'er Niang opened her 'Heaven's Eye' when she was young. She was incredibly bright, to the point that even the Imperial Tutor called her a child prodigy. Later, because she revealed some heavenly secret, she caused her birth mother's death, and the heavens retracted her divine consciousness, turning her into a simpleton without any spirit..."
"Opened what 'Heaven's Eye'? Others say she's mad!"
"Shush! Be careful she hears you. Does she look mad or foolish to you?"
"Woo, I'm the one going mad! Won't anyone pity me? My feet are blistered, and I can't walk any further..."
The beauties trudged on, weeping and lamenting, while Feng Yun, bouncing uncomfortably in the little donkey cart, didn't sleep peacefully, haunted by disjointed dreams along the way...
In her dreams, there was the heartless Xiao San, and the three years of entanglement with Pei Jue.
During those three years, Pei Jue never gave her a title, nor had she harbored any hope...
When she had been sent to Pei Jue by her father, like an object, she was still ignorant of her stepmother and biological father's schemes, unaware that her half-sister Feng Ying was to marry her betrothed Xiao Cheng, unaware that others were already plotting, still believing her sacrifice to the enemy general was a noble one, spending her days waiting for her father and Xiao Lang to cross Huaishui, reclaim Andu County, and rescue her to return home...
It was laughable, really. Ever since her mother passed away in her previous life, she had been utterly confused, living in a daze, insensible to her surroundings. It wasn't until she died miserably in Qi Palace, to the triumphant laughter of Feng Ying's success, abandoned by everyone, that she finally attained full clarity...
—
At dawn, the baggage train halted to rest and recover, stopping to light fires and prepare food.
Feng Yun once again conjured cooking utensils and ingredients from her little donkey cart as if by magic. She soaked half a bag of dried mushrooms, made a large pot of mushroom soup, and added just a bit of salt.
The fragrance of the mushroom soup permeated the entire baggage camp.
Her current predicament was starkly different from her previous life, and Feng Yun, feeling a true sense of rebirth, found her mood much improved. She ladled a bowl of mushroom soup for Ao Qi, who slurped it eagerly, nearly swallowing his tongue in delight.
"What is in this soup that makes it so delicious?"
Never having tasted mushrooms, he peppered her with questions.
Feng Yun couldn't quite explain how she knew which mushrooms were edible and which were poisonous.
It seemed as if these skills were innate to her since birth, but after her birth mother's death, and the subsequent shock, her awareness had gradually deteriorated. With her rebirth, these abilities had suddenly returned.
"Ahem! I'd like to try some too..."
Tan Dajin, hands clasped behind his back, shamelessly squeezed his way forward to ask for a bowl.
With the savory soup on his lips, his expression changed dramatically, completely taken aback.
"Delicious! Surely the food of the Yaochi couldn't be better than this?"
This man had received thirty lashes the day prior; his backside had nearly blossomed, and he was limping, but this did not stop his mouth from chattering nonstop.
"With food shortages in camp, and the soldiers having to make do with dry grain cakes and wheat buns just soaked in water, without oil, salt, or any flavor, making for very bland fare, if we could gather some mushrooms to make soup with the bread, it would be a delightful thing indeed..."