# 1684
Chapter 1677: She
Five days later.
Near Qingshan County, Western Regions of the Great Han.
In the howling cold wind, a merchant caravan slowly advanced across the frozen hardpan. A thickly-clothed man squinted toward the distance, and beneath the dusky sunset, the outline of a city grew closer and closer.
"This damn weather... it's freezing people to death." The man cradled a hand-warmer in his arms, unable to resist cursing.
"Hold on a bit more! We're almost at Qingshan County!"
"After this trip, everyone can enjoy a few days of leisure! Beautiful women, good wine, delicious food—Qingshan County has it all!"
The man shouted as he quickened his pace toward the city. Just then, a voice came from beside him.
"Brother, is that a person lying in the snow over there?"
The man paused, following his finger to look. Indeed, in the snow not far away, there was a faint silhouette—whether dead or unconscious, it lay completely motionless.
"Another beggar from who-knows-where? In this cold, wearing so little and begging outside... it's a wonder she hasn't frozen to death." The man scoffed coldly. "You lot, go take a look. See if she's alive or dead. If she's still breathing, take her into the city with us. It's積德—good merit."
Several figures rushed toward the snow. After one checked her breathing, he hoisted her onto his back and hurried back.
"Brother, she's alive. It's a woman."
"Her life is spared. Throw her onto the cargo wagon."
The group tossed the figure onto the wagon. As the caravan bumped along, they entered Qingshan County together.
The caravan navigated the streets with practiced ease—finding contacts, unloading goods. Within moments, the wagons were emptied, leaving only that lone figure lying on the wooden planks, appearing as if dead.
"Brother, what do we do with her?"
The man clicked his tongue, cradling his hand-warmer as he walked over to her and examined her carefully.
The woman wore a tattered blue garment. Wounds covered her body, scabbed over from the cold, and black hair matted with blood was scattered across her face, obscuring her features entirely. Were it not for the wisps of white vapor drifting from her nose, she would have looked exactly like a corpse left in the wilds.
The man reached out in disgust, patting her cheek. The snow-frosted eyelashes trembled slightly, and she weakly opened a crack in her eyes.
"Hey, can you move? If you can, walk yourself." The man pulled out a few taels of散碎silver from his chest and stuffed it into her hand. "We've done what we can. If you're going to die, don't die here. We're merchants on the road; we can't afford bad luck."
The woman braced her hands against the wooden planks, swaying as she stood. Her gaze blankly swept her surroundings.
"Where is this?"
"Qingshan County."
"Qingshan County..." She murmured the name. In her turbid eyes, a flicker of clarity emerged. "A city? You brought me into the city?"
"That's right. You collapsed in the snow outside the city gates. If it weren't for my brother's kindness, you'd have frozen to death!" one of the men spoke up.
Her brow furrowed. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to drag her body toward the city gate. Several pieces of散碎silver tumbled from her chest onto the ground, making crisp sounds. Even so, she didn't glance down.
"Tch, I'm telling you, are you sick in the head? My brother gave you money out of pity, and you don't appreciate it?"
The man moved to chase after her, but the older man blocked him with a wave, shaking his head. "This woman's just crazy. Let her be... Come on, brothers! I'm treating you all to drinks at the brothel!"
"Yeah!"
The crowd cheered as they departed. Only after they were completely out of sight did the woman bend down and pull a white丹瓶 from her chest, glancing inside. Her expression relaxed.
She looked at the sky again, bit down hard, and leaning against the wall, headed toward the city gate without looking back.
As her figure gradually approached the gate, several people rushed in from outside, shouting excitedly as they ran:
"The Champion Marquis is here! The Champion Marquis is here from Chang'an!"
Their voices immediately drew attention from many on the street. They hastily gathered on both sides of the road, turning to look toward the gate, as if everyone wanted to see what this legendary Champion Marquis actually looked like.
"Champion Marquis..." The woman murmured to herself.
She grabbed an elderly woman passing by, confused. "Auntie... who's this Champion Marquis?"
"Oh my, you don't even know about the Champion Marquis?" The old woman clutched her vegetable basket, gesturing enthusiastically. "I hear that the Champion Marquis is a reincarnated star of war, possessing the power of miracles. In his youth, he led troops to crush the Xiongnu. I heard he recently displayed divine might in Chang'an, slaying many evil spirits, and even struck a Heavenly Abyss...
In any case, he's the most powerful divine being in the world today!"
Hearing this, a glimmer of light flickered in the woman's eyes, then quickly dimmed...
"No... there are those things in the mortal realm too... How do I know if he's really..." The woman hesitated briefly, then sighed.
Just as she turned to leave, two carriages entered from outside the city gates, rolling down the street. Both carriages bore the Marquis Estate insignia. Upon seeing them, the common folk on both sides of the street immediately erupted in cheers.
But the two carriages showed no sign of slowing. The cold wind they kicked up stirred the woman's tattered hem as it whistled past her.
She turned her head to watch the departing carriages, then shook her head and continued walking toward the city gate.
"Hey, miss!" The old woman grabbed her hand, concerned. "From the look of you, you haven't eaten in days, right?"
"...Yes."
"You poor thing... Why don't you come with me? I still have some food at home, I can share some with you."
The woman stopped, touching her hollow stomach. She seemed tempted.
"Never mind, Auntie. I need to get out of the city quickly..."
"Just eating something won't take long... It looks like you're in a hurry to travel, right? How can you go on an empty stomach?"
"Well... alright then."
Under the old woman's warm invitation, the woman followed her back into the city.
"Miss, did you come to Qingshan County for something?"
"No... I was picked up and brought into the city."
"Do you have any family or friends in this county?"
"None..."
The old woman nodded. "Oh right, I haven't asked—what's your name?"
The woman lowered her head. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke:
"Jialan."
...
"We traveled dozens of miles; we finally made it to Qingshan County before sunset."
Inside the carriage, Yan Zhong lifted the curtain by the carriage's side and exhaled deeply. "This damn weather... If we hadn't found replacement horses and supplies, we'd have had to take another ride on the Marquis's 'flying carriage.'"
"Flying through the sky in this weather? The carriage would probably freeze into ice chunks and fall apart." Chloe cupped a fireball in her hands. The warm light illuminated the carriage. She glanced sideways at Lin Qiye, confused. "What are you spacing out about?"
"...Nothing." Lin Qiye, seated in the center, shook his head. "It's just... ever since we entered this city, my threads of因果have been trembling... I wonder what's going on."