Li Shiyue, half-asleep on the rough grass, was startled awake by a sharp female voice. This shout also woke up many of the villagers from Li Family Village.
The hundred-plus people of Li Family Village had been fleeing famine for over half a month, finally finding this shallow stream with some water this evening, and thus settling down beside it.
Not to mention the people, even the donkeys and mules pulling the carts were exhausted. After drinking their fill, they gathered in small groups according to their households and went to sleep after dark.
Li Shiyue was unlucky. The moment she closed her eyes after exhaustion on Blue Star, she opened them to find her entire family driving their donkey cart, following behind their fellow villagers on their journey of fleeing famine.
Starting with famine—that's something else entirely.
At this moment, Li Shiyue sat up halfway, pressing her still somewhat dizzy forehead, rubbing her numb eyelids repeatedly, and taking two deep breaths to expel the stale air from her chest. Only then did she feel truly awake. Li Shiyue
then looked up at the original owner's mother, her worried gaze meeting hers.
"Shiyue, is your head still throbbing?"
Li Shiyue touched the large bump on the back of her head and shook her head at her mother: "Mother, it's nothing. I woke up when I heard someone shouting."
Why was Li Shiyue so unlucky?
That large bump on the back of her head was from a few days ago when, during their escape from famine, the original owner had fallen flat on her face, hitting a roadside stone. Although she hadn't broken the skin, it had still caused such a large bump.
The original owner had perished in that fall, while the modern soul, also named Li Shiyue, had gotten away with it.
On her very first day after waking up, Li Shiyue received a system that could be considered a cheat code. She didn't yet know its name, as she only heard the
unreliable phrase, "System loading," before it went silent. Seven days had passed, and the system still hadn't finished loading.
After confirming that Li Shiyue was alright, Li's mother quickly got up to look for her simple-minded eldest son, Shitou.
"Shitou? Shitou? Shitou, where are you?"
Li's mother called out twice, but received no response. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Sister-in-law, has Shitou disappeared?"
Li Wangming, supporting his grandmother with one hand and holding a tinderbox glowing in the other, quickly approached Li's mother and asked.
Li Shiyue quickly approached his mother, saying, "Mother, I just looked around our neighborhood by moonlight, and not only is my brother missing, but Father isn't here either!"
Hearing that her eldest son was also missing, Grandmother Li became even more anxious. She knew that although Li Shiyue's older brother was a bit simple-minded, he was a very obedient person.
If something hadn't happened, why would he have wandered off and caused trouble for his family while the whole clan was fleeing for their lives?
"Maybe while we were all asleep, Wangguang noticed the stone was missing and went out to look for it himself, which is why it's not here either."
Grandma Li's words temporarily calmed everyone's anxious and worried hearts. Li Shiyue picked up the torches they had used on the road over the past few days from her cart and lit them with the tinderbox in Li Wangming's hand. Then she said to her uncle, Li Wangming, "Second Uncle, light it. Mother and I will go look for Brother and Father.
Second Uncle and Grandma, you can stay here and watch over our things. We don't want anyone stealing anything in the dark.
Who knows, Father and Brother might come back before we do."
Li Wangming thought Li Shiyue's idea was good, but he added, "If you can't find it on the outskirts, go to the center and find Fifth Grandfather. Ask the villagers to help look for it."
"Yes, I understand."
While the Li family members were exchanging these few words, many of the surrounding Li family members had also come to their senses, and some, like Li Shiyue, had lit torches to illuminate the area.
Among the groups of Li family villagers, some with short tempers shouted directly outside, "Whose wife is shouting nonsense in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?!"
Li Shiyue and her mother nodded to Li's grandmother and Li Wangming, then linked arms, holding torches and shouting "Shitou" and "Wangguang" as they headed towards the outer perimeter. After
walking only a hundred or so steps, Li Shiyue and her mother noticed a large crowd gathering a dozen or so steps ahead, near the outer edge of the Li family's encampment.
Li Shiyue and her mother exchanged a glance and then jogged towards the gathering place.
When Li Shiyue tugged at the arm of one of the clansmen standing on the periphery, and the man turned around to see her face illuminated by the firelight, he yelled, "The Wangguang family's wife and child are here!"
This shout immediately drew a dozen pairs of eyes to Li Shiyue, their gazes filled with a mixture of pity and schadenfreude.
This gave Li Shiyue a very bad feeling; "Something bad is about to happen!"
The crowd automatically parted to make way for Li Shiyue and her mother. Her mother, holding Li Shiyue's hand, led her through the crowd's stares.
It was only a dozen steps, but as they approached, seeing the scene before them, Li Shiyue thought that if this hadn't happened to her own father and brother, she probably would have joined the crowd, watching the spectacle.
What scene had caused Li Shiyue to have such a reaction?
In the brightly lit area surrounded by a dozen torches, Li's father, his chest mostly exposed, stood awkwardly to the left of a large rock, a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.
Behind him, a woman with loose hair and disheveled clothes was vaguely visible. From Li Shiyue's angle, she couldn't make out the woman's features, but given the circumstances, it was unnecessary to identify her; she could guess what had happened.
As for her elder brother?
He was now standing on the right side of the rock, a tall and imposing figure, staring at Li's father with a very aggrieved expression.
"Shitou!"
Li's mother's shout startled Shitou, who abruptly raised his head. Upon seeing his mother and sister, Shitou was overjoyed to see his family. His lips trembled, and the tears he had been holding back burst into a loud, earth-shattering wail, like a three-year-old child.
He was crying and calling for his mother, looking utterly wronged.
Li's mother and Li Shiyue went forward. Li's mother hugged Shitou tightly; the six-foot-tall man was now bent over, his head resting on his mother's shoulder, who wasn't even as tall as him, sobbing uncontrollably.
Seeing her brother crying so bitterly, Li Shiyue didn't disturb him. Instead, she held up a torch to look at her father and the woman hiding behind her scoundrel father.
Li's father became anxious at Li Shiyue's actions: "Shiyue, what are you doing?"
"Father, what can I do?
I'm just checking who this woman is.
What? You can do this but can't show your face?"
"Shiyue!"
Li Shiyue wasn't afraid of her father's scolding. Just as she was about to step forward, the woman suddenly jumped out from behind her father.
"What's wrong with looking? Look, come on, look, I'll show you!
Do you think I'm afraid of a little girl like you?"
Li Shiyue stared at Qin Tao, whose hair was messy but still undeniably beautiful, and had a sudden realization. Meanwhile,
Shi Tou, who had finished crying, was led by Li's mother to tell the whole story.
Having found this shallow stream today, Shi Tou, who had been thirsty for several days, drank his fill.
So, in the middle of the night, needing to urinate, Shi Tou got up to relieve himself outside the camp. Shi Tou was simple-minded, but he was obedient; he had been taught by Li's mother since childhood not to urinate anywhere.
Unfortunately, Shi Tou tiptoed to the outer edge, intending to urinate behind the boulder. This place was secluded, downwind, and not far from the outer edge of the Li family village's camp. It ensured his safety and prevented pollution of the water and air—a perfect spot.
But as Stone approached, he heard the moans and groans coming from Li's father and Qin Tao's illicit affair.
Although Stone was eighteen, he didn't understand such things.
He only recognized the sounds coming from familiar people, so he walked straight over and saw Li's father, his buttocks mostly naked, thrusting into Qin Tao, who was leaning against a boulder. Li's father was saying, "You little slut, have you wanted this for a while?"