Chapter 295: Death Would Be No Injustice

The brother and sister inside also each received a bowl.

“How am I supposed to make a meal out of this?”

The woman looked at the chicken soup in her bowl, which had only two pieces of meat and two mushrooms, then looked at the others, who each had a bowl full of meat and roasted flatbreads.

‘They only gave us this much? So stingy.’

She didn’t dare provoke the people inside, because every single one of them looked like trouble.

Since the people inside wouldn’t give her more, she looked out the window at the people outside.

“Excuse me, sir… that flatbread of yours smells so good…”

The man outside was taken aback. He hadn’t expected someone from inside to ask him for food.

Before he could even think it through, he handed it over.

After getting the flatbread, the woman thanked him sweetly.

After finishing the flatbread, she started chatting with the man. Seeing how drenched he was, she picked up her own charcoal brazier and passed it out to him.

The man outside thanked her profusely.

However, her own clothes weren’t fully dry yet. As soon as the brazier was gone, the damp chill of her clothes became much more noticeable.

She gritted her teeth and endured it for a moment, her gaze drifting unconsciously toward the large fire pit burning in the center of the room.

Just as she finished her soup, she went to return the bowl, intending to take the opportunity to sit on a stool by the fire pit.

Xiao Ziling raised a hand to block her. “There’s no seat for you here. Go back.”

The woman gritted her teeth. “I’m cold. I just want to warm myself by the fire.”

Xiao Hong frowned. “You were given a fire. Since you gave it away yourself, you’ll have to endure it.”

The woman’s eyes instantly welled with tears. “Why are you being so mean? I just want to warm myself by the fire.”

Her brother came over to apologize. “I’m sorry, my little sister doesn’t know any better.”

He reached out to pull her away, but the woman looked aggrievedly at Li Wei, who hadn’t said a word. “Your master hasn’t said anything. What right do you have to treat me like this?”

With red-rimmed eyes, she looked at Li Wei. “Sir…”

Before she could finish, Xiao Ziling grabbed her by the shoulder. The woman didn’t even have time to cry out before she found herself standing at the doorway.

Rain lashed down and a cold wind raged.

“Hey, what’s the meaning of this? What gives you the right to throw me out?”

She shouted in disbelief.

Xiao Cheng looked at the man. “Do I have to show you the door, or will you leave on your own?”

Faced with a group of clearly powerful and noble individuals, the man didn’t dare say another word and scurried out the door. His sister, however, was still fuming.

The man tugged on her sleeve, trying to calm her down. “Stop making a scene. It looks like the rain is about to stop. We’ll leave in a bit.”

The man wanted to smooth things over, but the more the woman thought about it, the angrier she got. “I didn’t even do anything to offend them! What right do they have to kick people out? They’re going too far!”

She deliberately raised her voice. “All I did was give them my brazier! Those men are so cold, and the people inside have that huge fire pit but won’t even let them warm up. Do they have any conscience at all?”

All the workers under the eaves were looking at her, which instantly made her feel incredibly noble.

Just as she was about to continue her tirade, a shadow flashed. She was sent flying, landing heavily in the curtain of rain.

Xiao Ziling’s longsword was unsheathed and pressed against the brother’s neck. “Take her and get lost. Now. If she says one more word, I’ll kill her.”

The man’s lips trembled. He didn’t dare speak and quickly ran after his sister. But she was clearly not ready to give up. She struggled painfully to her feet and started screaming curses, “You bitch…”

VMMMM.

“Little sis!”

The longsword cut through the rain, and blood splattered, mixing with the downpour.

Everyone under the eaves was stunned.

The man lunged forward, knocking the sword aside with his body. The blade sliced across his shoulder, nicked his earlobe, and sheared off his sister’s topknot.

A fraction of an inch more, and his sister would have been dead.

The man’s legs went soft with fear. He paid no mind to anything else, simply pulled his stunned sister to her feet and fled.

The rain was heavy, washing away the blood in moments.

And the crowd at the doorway was as quiet as mice.

No one dared to step forward and speak up for them.

The bone-chilling killing intent that had erupted from Xiao Ziling… no one doubted she was just making a threat. She had truly intended to kill the other woman. The man had only bought her a chance at survival by knocking the sword away with his own body.

It wasn’t just her. The eyes of every guard around her showed they were accustomed to life and death.

It wasn’t the look of vicious criminals, but of nobility—an arrogance that placed them above everything, and a chilling indifference to human life.

Awe of their power and the threat to their own lives prevented anyone from feeling the slightest bit of pity or indignation.

As for the worker who had traded his flatbread for the brazier, he now stared at it in his hands. Despite its searing heat, it couldn’t dispel the chill that seeped from his very bones.

The leader of the group picked up his flask and took a deep swallow of wine, not daring to utter a single word.

‘When you run into people this powerful, keeping your distance and sticking to the rules is the only way to survive.’

RUMBLE!

The sudden roar wasn’t thunder.

It was a CRACKING and SNAPPING—the sound of trees being broken.

The leader shot to his feet. “Not good! It’s a landslide!”

In that instant, the entire mountainside to the right of the building began to slide. Boulders tumbled, the earth loosened, and trees were buried beneath it all.

A corner of the house on that side was torn away, and the people inside scrambled to get out.

The heavy rain was still falling, but now the ground was covered not just in water, but in yellow mud.

“We can’t stay here! There might be a mudslide next.”

The leader quickly ordered his men to hitch the carts and retreat. He turned to warn the people inside, only to see they were already packed up. Each holding an umbrella, they walked directly out into the downpour.

The black umbrellas seemed to hold back the torrential rain entirely.

He watched as a tall, imposing man shielded a woman as they came out. He couldn’t see her face clearly, but the fleeting glimpse, even just of her profile, left him stunned where he stood.

The air of nobility she carried was something he had never seen before in his life.

The master of this group was actually a woman.

“Boss, hurry up!”

Someone’s shout snapped him back to his senses, and he realized the other party had already left.

Their reaction was swift and decisive, without a moment’s hesitation.

The guards donned waterproof cloaks, mounted their horses, and escorted a carriage in their midst as they retreated in the other direction.

The way ahead was blocked; now there was only one path they could take.

They hadn’t gone far before another tremendous rumble sounded from behind them.

Looking back, they saw a mudslide cascading down the mountainside, completely burying the building where they had just taken shelter.

If they had been even a moment later, they would have all been buried alive.

The rain gradually lessened, but the danger was not yet over.

There was a slope ahead, the ground slick with mud, and the cart wheels were slipping.

The leader and all his men pushed with all their might, but the cargo was too heavy. They couldn’t get the cart up the slope; instead, it slid backward, knocking them over and sending them tumbling.

This cargo was their entire livelihood. No one dared to give up. They scrambled back to their feet as soon as they fell, desperately trying to hold the cart back, and were covered in mud in moments.

But even so, they couldn’t stop the cart’s descent.

Just as they were beginning to despair, several ropes were thrown toward them through the air.

Looking up, they saw the other ends of the ropes held by the guards on their tall, proud horses.

They understood at once and quickly tied the ropes to the cart’s frame.

The guards pulled from horseback while the men pushed with all their strength. Bit by bit, they finally managed to drag the three carts of cargo up the slope.

The group of men made it to the top, exhausted. When they looked up to thank their rescuers, they found the other party was already far in the distance.

Those people looked dangerous, yet they had helped them more than once.

One of the men was confused. “Boss, would you say they’re good people or bad?”

To us, they were good people… but they also almost killed someone.

The leader sighed. “Someone who’s all smiles isn’t necessarily a good person, and someone who’s cold and heartless isn’t necessarily a bad one. You can’t define people like them as ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ It’s better to say they’re people of principle.”

“They aren’t truly arrogant, which is why they let us take shelter from the rain, even made soup for us, and helped us when we were in dire straits. But their kindness isn’t an excuse for someone to push their luck.”

“That woman didn’t know what was good for her. She spoke viciously and offended her betters. It wouldn’t have been an injustice even if she had died.”