“What were they doing in the middle of the night?” Xiaoguo wondered as she looked at the strange scene. Many questions were running through her mind. “Were those people waiting for someone instead of waiting to enter the city? Were they waiting for those who were draped in cloth? But what were those things that were carried out?”

Xiaoguo couldn’t see very well, so she took a few more steps forward and hid in the darkness. She attempted to take a closer look in the direction of the gates.

The man, who was shouting in hysteria earlier on, was being kicked by the soldiers guarding the city gate. He seemed to be cursing at someone. He got up from where he had fallen, but was quickly kicked to the ground again. The people around him looked very calm and carried on with their own business. It seemed like this was a scene that happens quite often.

As the man fell back on the ground, the contents of the bundle within the sack revealed itself during the man’s struggle with the soldier.

Xiaoguo’s eyes widened as if her acupoints had been tapped. Her heart almost stopped—it was a corpse!

It was obviously a naked corpse that was covered in blood!

Xiaoguo did not even dare to breathe normally. She tried her best to minimize her presence. Those that were carried out earlier—were they all corpses?

Even from this distance, Xiaoguo could see blood-stained flogging marks on the corpse. Xiaoguo looked away immediately. It had been a long time since she had seen a dead body. She was really not used to seeing one again.

Slowly, the people at the city gate dispersed, and there were only soldiers left at the spot, who were talking to each other. One of the soldiers, who seemed to be the leader, glanced in Xiaoguo’s direction.

For a moment, Xiaoguo didn’t dare move, although she was sure that she was well-hidden. It was dark and she didn’t have a torch like they did. He was definitely not looking at her. There was only one possibility—he was looking at the convoy behind her.

The leader among the group of soldiers said something and everyone nodded in unison. They all returned to the county city, leaving only two men standing guard at the gate.

After making sure that all was quiet, Xiaoguo got up slowly and hurried back to her carriage. She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she got inside. Her legs were trembling.

But it wasn’t because she was frightened. Previously, zombies and corpses were a common sight to her. Just that one corpse wasn’t enough to scare her at all. Her legs were trembling because they had gone numb from squatting.

After returning to the car, Xiaoguo could finally think about what she had just seen. Feng City seemed to be hiding some secrets.

Xiaoguo could tell from the shape that it was a dead woman. But why was she naked?

Moreover, the people waiting at the city gate seemed to be all men!

Xiaoguo suddenly remembered what she had seen today. She hadn’t noticed it at that time, but now that she thought about it, it was true. All the people waiting at the gate were men.

“But why…?”

“Forget it, forget it.” Xiaoguo shook her head. It was none of her business. She will be leaving tomorrow anyway.

Xiaoguo couldn’t be blamed for being cold. So what if she knew? She was just a little woman with no money or power. In this city, there was no punishment for murder. Who was she to go up against a city?

Besides, she wasn’t alone. She still had Zhuang Zhuang.

Xiaoguo lowered her head and stroked Zhuang Zhuang. She slowly leaned against the wall. Although she couldn’t sleep, it was good to close her eyes and rest.

The next morning, Xiaoguo was woken by someone shaking her. She wasn’t completely asleep so she woke up as soon as she felt some movements.

“What’s wrong, Zhuang Zhuang?”

Xiaoguo opened her eyes and saw Zhuang Zhuang holding his stomach and looking at her shyly.

“Mother, I want to poop.”

Seeing him like this, Xiaoguo suspected that he must be having an upset tummy due to the cold. She quickly took out some paper from her bag and carried him out of the carriage. At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang could no longer walk on his own. He had to rely on Xiaoguo to carry him.

Xiaoguo didn’t go far. She chose a secluded spot for Zhuang Zhuang, then put him down and walked a little further away to keep watch.

Zhuang Zhuang seemed to have gotten a tummy upset because of the cold air. She could hear the sound of him pooping continuously. Xiaoguo had no other thoughts. It was strange. If it were anyone else, Xiaoguo would have found it disgusting. But when it comes to Zhuang Zhuang, even now when he was taking a dump with a lot of accompanying sounds, it sounded so cute. Xiaoguo was not sure why she was feeling this way.

Xiaoguo attributed everything to the bias she had for Zhuang Zhuang. No matter what her son did, she can only see the goodness in it.

When all was quiet, Xiaoguo guessed that Zhuang Zhuang must be done. She stood where she was and waited for him to come over.

While on their way back to the carriage, they bumped into an official who was bringing them food. It was the same official who offered Xiaoguo some dried food the last time.

After taking the plates from him, Xiaoguo suddenly stopped him and asked, “Hey, why didn’t we enter the city yesterday?”

Xiaoguo didn’t know what his name was. The officer stopped in his tracks and said to Xiaoguo, “We waited for a long time yesterday, and saw that no one was entering the city. When we went over to ask, we were told that there was a lockdown. Only the local villagers from this city can enter.”

“But we have County Magistrate Liu…”

Magistrate Liu was an official after all. Was Feng City not going to give him face?

The officer shook his head. “County Magistrate Liu is a seventh rank official, and the official in charge of Feng City is a fifth rank officer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoguo understood what was going on. Magistrate Liu was just a low-ranking official. Once they were out of Yonghai County, his rank wouldn’t be able to pull much weight.

The officer did not say more. After bidding Xiaoguo farewell, he left.

Xiaoguo wanted to clean Zhuang Zhuang’s hands, but their current conditions didn’t allow it. Zhuang Zhuang was also feeling uncomfortable.

In the past, he did not have the habit of washing his hands diligently. He was used to washing his hands only once a month. However, ever since his mother taught him to wash his hands before and after meals, he would feel uncomfortable whenever he did not do so.

Xiaoguo was amused to see Zhuang Zhuang eating without using his hands. He had become a little clean freak.

“Mother…”

Zhuang Zhuang felt uncomfortable being in this situation, so he looked up at Xiaoguo pitifully.

“There’s no use calling me.”

Xiaoguo indicated to Zhuang Zhuang that there was no solution. She didn’t have any water with her. Besides, she couldn’t possibly ask the officials for it. But now that she thought of it, they should have water since they need it for cooking.

Xiaoguo felt terrible seeing Zhuang Zhuang this way. She patted his head and told him to wait.

Xiaoguo got out of the carriage and found that the other soldiers were all eating at one spot. She found a secluded corner and entered the space.

There was water in the space. Xiaoguo was not going to ask them for water. She filled a basin with water and brought it out of the space.

Zhuang Zhuang washed his hands happily and clapped his clean hands in satisfaction.

Xiaoguo excused herself to bring back the basin. She flashed into the space and washed her own hands before coming out.

The carriage did not stop for long. Soon, they were on their way again. When they returned to the main road, Xiaoguo had a clear view of the city.

Another group of soldiers were guarding the gates. Some were standing and the rest were squatting quietly.

Xiaoguo’s eyes darkened. As Feng City faded into the distance, Xiaoguo calmly looked away.

The carriage continued on its journey. Along the way, they encountered a group of people. They were dressed in tattered clothes and were covered in dirt. Everyone was so thin that they were only skin and bones. They were leaning on sticks and walking aimlessly in groups of twos or threes.

When she passed by the group, Xiaoguo heard them talking and realized that they were fleeing from the famine. They couldn’t survive in their homeland anymore, so they had to come out to find food for survival.

Only then did Xiaoguo realize that not all places had survived the famine. There were still certain places that were suffering.

Natural and man-made disasters are beyond man’s control. The older folks always say that God is screening out those who are suited for survival. Those who survived would stay and those who died would be taken away.

Xiaoguo retracted her gaze and looked at Zhuang Zhuang. Wasn’t this the case for the previous owner of this body? She didn’t pull through and if Xiaoguo hadn’t come over, Zhuang Zhuang probably wouldn’t have survived either.

“Fortunately, I had come over,” Xiaoguo thought thankfully to herself. She lowered her head and kissed Zhuang Zhuang.

It was hard to imagine Zhuang Zhuang trying to survive without his mother. A lone child guarding a corpse and then starving to death…

After Xiaguo kissed him, Zhuang Zhuang was overjoyed. He wore a blissful smile on his face. He really loved his mother the most…