Water! It was actually water!

For a moment, the villagers of Lijia Village stared at the bowl of water like hungry wolves eyeing food.

You see, the well at the entrance of their village had long run dry. They hadn't had a single drop of water to drink for days. The woman gratefully took the water bowl and carefully fed the water bit by bit into the baby's mouth.

The child was truly extremely thirsty. Half a bowl of water was drunk up completely, and then the baby fell asleep with a look of contentment. Shang Ruoyi had added some spiritual spring water to the water. After the child drank it, the originally pale little face visibly turned pink. The woman was deeply grateful and kept kowtowing on the ground. "Thank you, benefactor! Thank you, benefactor!"

"You don't have to say thanks." Shang Ruoyi quickly helped her up.

The villagers, who had been a bit afraid of Shang Ruoyi and the others at first, now looked at them with much softer eyes.

The prisoners gave Shang Ruoyi several dirty looks. They were almost dying of thirst too. Why didn't she give them a sip of water?

"We're almost dying of thirst too. Jingheng's wife, quickly give us a bowl," Zhang said. Her wounds from the whip lashes hadn't healed yet. She grimaced in pain, stood up, and walked to Shang Ruoyi's side. She rummaged in her sleeve for a long time and took out a tiny piece of broken silver, handing it to her. "Is this enough?"

Shang Ruoyi looked at the tiny piece of broken silver, no bigger than a sesame seed, and sneered. "Oh, this is really a large amount of silver! Second - aunt, did you dig this out of some ant hole?"

"Take it or leave it! Give me the water!" With that, she reached out to snatch the water bag from Shang Ruoyi's waist.

Shang Ruoyi nimbly sidestepped and avoided her. She said coldly, "Second - aunt, you only have one face. You'd better save some dignity." She put the broken silver in Zhang's hand and jeered, "Second - aunt, you must hold it carefully. Later, don't drop it on the ground and lose it."

Zhang looked at her back, gritted her teeth in anger for a long time, and then turned around resentfully.

When the other members of the second - branch saw that she had returned empty - handed, they all rolled their eyes.

"Mother, you're so stingy. You want to buy water with just this little bit of silver?" He Jinghe looked at the broken silver in her hand and pouted. "It's not even enough to send a beggar away!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang shouted angrily, "If you want to drink water, why don't you buy it yourself?"

"Mother, you!"

Zhang gave He Jinghe and Qiao Yanxin a cold look. "Do you still think we're living in the prince's mansion?" She vented all the anger she had suffered from Shang Ruoyi on her son and Qiao Yanxin.

Just then, the village head, Li Gui, saw He Jingheng, who was sitting aside with his eyes closed, resting.

He blinked, looked at him in disbelief for a while, and then walked up to him shakily. He Jingheng felt someone approaching and suddenly opened his eyes. He asked in a low voice, "Old man, is there something wrong?"

"Are you He Jingheng, General He?"

He Jingheng raised his eyebrows and nodded. "That's right."

When the village head heard this, he immediately knelt down on the ground. "General! It's really you! This old man has finally found you!"

He Jingheng had difficulty moving. Shang Ruoyi stepped forward and helped the village head up. "Village head, please get up and talk."

When Li Gui stood up, his face was already covered with tears. He wiped the tears on his face, cupped his hands towards He Jingheng, and said, "A few years ago, the village was attacked by bandits. If it weren't for the general's rescue, all the people in our village would have been massacred."

He Jingheng had driven away the bandits single - handedly, left without leaving his name. Only the mark of the He Family Army was printed on the left sleeve of his clothes. Later, on the way back to the capital after a great victory, the village head saw the hero who had saved their entire village at the front of the team. After making inquiries, he learned that it was He Jingheng, the heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion and General He.

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"General, you are so noble - hearted!"

He Jingheng waved his hand. "It was just a small act."

The village head looked at his attire and then realized that he was wearing prison clothes. He exclaimed, "General, this is..."

"It doesn't matter." He Jingheng's face showed no change. He just smiled. "It's getting late. Old man, you'd better rest early."

Just then, a guard walked forward and placed the scabbard of his sword horizontally in the middle. Seeing this, the village head had to return to the wall, looking at He Jingheng from time to time, his eyes filled with helplessness and heartache.

Shang Ruoyi saw all this and furrowed her brows slightly. Perhaps because of her previous - life occupation, she could better understand He Jingheng's feelings.

Late at night, when all was quiet, He Jingheng opened his eyes, looked at the group of villagers huddled in the corner, sighed, and then raised his right hand to make a gesture. The figure on the big tree outside disappeared instantly.

Shang Ruoyi curled her lips into a smile and fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next morning, before dawn, the guards woke them up. They had fallen behind in the journey in the previous few days, so they couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

When Shang Ruoyi and the others left, the villagers of Lijia Village were still asleep.

After a while, the village head opened his eyes first. Seeing that the people on the opposite side were gone, he couldn't help but sigh.

How fate plays tricks! The war god of their Tian Shun Dynasty had actually ended up like this.

Just then, a fragrant smell caught his attention. This was...

He rubbed his eyes and found that there was a stack of corn on the ground, hundreds of ears in total. Next to it was a basin filled with water.

"A miracle! A miracle!" He stumbled to the food, thinking he was hallucinating. He shook his head vigorously. His voice woke up the villagers of Lijia Village. Everyone looked at the mountain - like pile of corn in shock and murmured, "Could it be that the heavens, seeing our plight, have bestowed this upon us?"

"No, it must be General He! It must be him!" The village head said firmly. "Only General He could have done this."

The villagers nodded in agreement. Just then, the woman holding the child suddenly felt a cloth pocket on the child. When she opened it, there were some silver and a silver bracelet inside.

This was...

Suddenly, she remembered the woman who had given water yesterday. Could it be that she had left all these?

The villagers quickly picked up dry firewood and lit a fire to roast the corn.

Although the water was not much, for those who hadn't had water to drink for a long time, it was extremely precious. Each person was only given a small sip, and the rest was filled into several water bags.

The person who came to deliver the food under He Jingheng's instruction was stunned when he entered the dilapidated temple and saw this scene. The villagers inside were gnawing on the corn vigorously, and there was a pile of fresh raw corn beside them.

He walked out of the dilapidated temple, looked at the map, and couldn't help but feel puzzled. He hadn't delivered it to the wrong place! But the people inside didn't look like refugees.

The village head walked up and asked, "We are the villagers of Lijia Village. What can we do for you, sir?"

"I heard that your village has been hit by a disaster, so I've brought some food and travel expenses. Please take them."

The village head never expected there to be so much food. Naturally, he expressed his profound gratitude.