I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1407: Side Story: Fan Zijin (23)

Editor: Atlas Studios

Before the two of them met Mu Yangling, they had already lost their way in the forest. At first, they were sure that they were escaping in the direction of Xingzhou Prefecture. But as the trees became denser, they could no longer be certain of their direction.

Even if there was sunlight during the day and starlight at night, a slight deviation in direction could lead them astray. Moreover, the situation in the forest was complicated. Sometimes, when they encountered ferocious beasts, how could they care about which direction they were running in?

The black flour buns that the farmer had stuffed into their mouths had long been finished. At first, he was still more awake than Qi Haoran, but in the end, the two of them were so hungry that both felt dizzy. They had to support each other as they stumbled forward.

Fan Zijin thought that they would either be eaten by wild beasts or starve to death in the end.

He felt a little sad. When he left home, he had thought of making a name for himself after joining Eldest Cousin in the north. Who knew that he would die on the way before he could find Eldest Cousin?

Moreover, Eldest Cousin might not know that they were dead.

At this moment, Fan Zijin began to recall what had happened along the way. He summarized his experience and expressed that if he could survive this calamity or reincarnate as a human, he had to make sure not to repeat the same mistakes in the future.

In the end, this only happened because they were too soft-hearted and not too cautious.

If they had not distributed the silver generously and instead focused on hurrying on their way, no one would have noticed them. It was fine to distribute the silver generously, but they should not have told others about where they were going. Since they specially asked the refugees about the situation in Xingyuan Prefecture and Xingzhou Prefecture, everyone knew that they were heading in that direction. Therefore, those bandits were able to block their way in advance after they escaped their pursuit.

Of course, the biggest mistake was that he and Haoran should not have been soft-hearted and trusted the old lady and Yu Niang. If they had not left with them at that time nor eaten that watermelon or drank that bowl of porridge, with Haoran’s martial arts skills, would they need to be afraid of them?

If they did not lose their horses or silver, would the bandits, who could only run on foot, be able to catch up to them?

As Fan Zijin sat under the tree, he was filled with grief and indignation. Indeed, good people would not be rewarded!

As soon as this thought surfaced in his mind, he smelled a faint smell of pancakes. His stomach could not help but growl. He smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking he was so hungry that he had begun to hallucinate.

Qi Haoran, who was dizzy from hunger, grabbed his hand and whispered, “Someone’s coming…”

Just as he was about to pull him up and escape, Fan Zijin stopped him and said, “Let’s stop running. If they want to catch us, let them. At least we can fill our stomachs first. It’s better than starving to death in the forest.”

Hence, the two youths raised their heads and looked eagerly at the road ahead. Mu Yangling carried her bow and arrow on her back as she looked around. She was nibbling on the flatbread in her hand when she turned around to face the two dirty youths.

Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran stared at the flatbread in her hand and did not speak. However, they still had the leisure to realize that it was not a bandit but a little girl!

All kinds of thoughts flashed across Fan Zijin’s mind. Should he lure her to hand over the flatbread, or should he ask Haoran to force her to hand it over, or simply snatch it away?

Before he could choose a plan, the little girl tore off a piece of flatbread and stuffed it into her mouth before handing the rest to Haoran.

Alarm bells rang in Fan Zijin’s heart. He thought of the porridge that the old woman had made for them and couldn’t help but wonder if there was something mixed in the flatbread.

But before he could object, Qi Haoran tore off more than half of it and stuffed it into his mouth. Fan Zijin almost choked on his words. In the end, it was the little girl who gave him water.

After eating the flatbread mixed with water, his empty stomach finally felt a little better. Fan Zijin also had the energy to inquire about their direction and the situation here.

When he found out that this young lady lived in a village under Xingzhou Prefecture, he immediately knew that they were not far from Xingzhou Prefecture. His eyes immediately lit up, and he sincerely wanted to thank her. Unfortunately, Haoran forgot the pain after his scar healed. To think he wanted to tell her where they were heading.

Fan Zijin immediately tugged at him and cupped his hands to thank the little girl. At this moment, he was still mostly grateful to this little girl. After all, she looked very young, only about nine years old. Now that he knew which direction they needed to go in, there was really no need to be too vigilant.

However, shortly after the little girl turned around and left, she returned holding a rabbit and a pheasant in her hand. She threw them over and said, “These are for you. Handle the pheasant and eat it. You can bring the rabbit to town. If you pass by Mingshui County on the way, sell it in the county. It can fetch a higher price in the county than the countryside.”

Fan Zijin’s gratitude immediately turned into wariness. Despite Haoran’s impressive martial arts skills, they had been wandering in the forest for three days and he had not even caught a single feather. This young lady was empty-handed just now. How did she hunt two prey in just a moment?

However, Fan Zijin, who had experienced deception, did not show it on his face at all. He only cupped his hands in thanks. Seeing that the other party had left, he did not dare to stay for a moment longer and pulled Qi Haoran away.

He originally didn’t want to accept these two prey, but Qi Haoran insisted on carrying them and repeatedly said that the other party wasn’t a bad person. Qi Haoran said confidently, “She’s really a good person. I can feel it.”

“Why couldn’t you sense that the old woman was a bad person earlier then?”

Qi Haoran said gloomily, “But I didn’t get the sense that they’re good people either. But when I saw that little sister, I instinctively knew that she was a good person.”

Fan Zijin said sarcastically, “Oh, so it depends on the person.”

Qi Haoran puffed up his cheeks and glared at him. He was not as eloquent as him, so he could only straighten his neck and shout, “Anyway, I can feel that she’s a good person. If you don’t believe me, we’ll eat the pheasant later. If there’s nothing wrong, you have to admit that I’m right.”

“Aren’t you afraid of being drugged, taken away, and beheaded again?”

Qi Haoran said in a fit of pique, “At most, I’ll eat first. You can eat after I don’t faint.”

In the end, Fan Zijin was the experimental subject. He pinched the roasted chicken drumstick and said, “If you faint, I won’t be able to drag you, let alone escape. I’ll eat it. In any case, no matter if I’m conscious or unconscious, you’ll be carrying me.”

In the end, Fan Zijin ate a third of the pheasant. After waiting for 15 minutes and realizing that nothing had happened, he had to admit that Qi Haoran’s instinct was reliable for once.

Even so, Fan Zijin was still grateful and wary of the little girl. He thought that he would just repay her later and this matter would be over. He certainly did not expect them to have so much entanglement with this little girl in the future.

And his good brother actually became a henpecked husband. He regretted it very much. If he had known earlier, he would not have eaten her flatbread even if it meant he’d starve to death back then. Sacrificing Haoran’s happiness for a flatbread was really not worth it.

Of course, he didn’t know about all these yet. Right now, they were focused on rushing to the prefectural capital of Xingzhou Prefecture to see Eldest Cousin.

It had to be said that the prey that the little girl had given them had helped them a lot. The two of them rushed to Mingshui county and exchanged the rabbit for a meal. In the end, just as they finished eating and went out, they were surrounded by a group of soldiers. One of them was wearing a moon-white brocade robe and had a white jade hairpin. Handsome with thick eyebrows, he rode out of the crowd on a jujube red horse. In an instant, Fan Zijin thought that he had seen a slightly-larger Qi Haoran. Then, he shouted in joy, “Eldest Cousin!”

Qi Xiuyuan looked at his two younger brothers with a dark expression. Seeing that they were dressed in tattered brocade robes and were covered in dirt, his expression became uglier, but his heart ached.