Si Jiuyue did not buy any grain in the city. She simply wandered around, and other than the cost of her lunch, she did not spend a single extra coin. When she felt hungry in the afternoon, she took out two steamed buns to eat, and when thirsty, she drank some lemonade. After a lap around the marketplace, she noticed that the crowd had thinned significantly.
She timed her departure to head back just as things were winding down. On the road out of the city, Si Jiuyue heard some news: a group of marauding soldiers had captured about a hundred displaced refugees—all young, able-bodied men—from who knows where, and were heading in the direction of the Capital with them.
A plan suddenly formed in Si Jiuyue’s mind. She followed the direction she had been told. The marauders' troop numbered seven hundred, while the captives consisted of about a hundred young men, each shackled and chained like slaves. Si Jiuyue had originally intended to simply kill the marauders, but she realized that the people she saved might not necessarily be grateful to her. Thus, she decided to follow the troop and observe them for a while longer.
Chapter 329