Chapter 12: The People in the Dilapidated Temple

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

She now had a rough understanding in her mind. Regardless of whether the rest of this world was also the same, she knew at least that this region she had arrived in was extremely poor and full of hardship.

If this area had proper management, or if life was peaceful and prosperous here, then these people wouldn’t have been here like this.

She had lived in abundance since a young age, but that did not mean that she didn’t know the hardships of the world. In the world she lived in, there were still many areas that were very poor. If not for the butterfly effect created by the actions of her parents, perhaps she would also have had to live in an extremely impoverished environment.

Therefore, after a few short hours of experiencing it for herself, she could already understand what these people were thinking. Perhaps, they weren’t evil and did not scheme, but when faced with the need for survival, it was extremely hard to control the human heart.

Obviously, food had a hold on them. Who knew whether they would suddenly start acting bizzarely. Once there was an uneven food distribution, people would start feeling dissatisfied and resentful. So instead of causing that, it was better if she didn’t give out her food to anyone. The reason she had whipped out her Swiss Army knife was also to intimidate those with bad intentions, so that they would dispel their ill wills as soon as possible.

In the end, everyone could only sit by and watch as Qin Yiling happily finished her packet of biscuits.

As if to distract themselves from the temptation of the food and to suppress the hunger in their stomachs, everyone started chatting and making small talk. The sounds of their conversations also gradually diffused the awkward atmosphere from before.

“Sigh, I wonder how Ling is doing now?”

“Why are you bringing up that girl all of a sudden? Aren’t you afraid of bad luck?”

“I think the odds are slim. She’s already so sick. I’m afraid she won’t last past tonight.”

“That girl is also quite pitiful. They clearly had several adult men in the family, yet they had her, a young girl, go out alone to look for relatives.”

“Exactly! Not one decent person in that Chen family.”

“What a sin!”

“Ugh, some people are really hypocrites. If they really pitied that girl, why did they leave her behind in the afternoon?”

“That’s right. What’s the use of saying that they pity her now?”

“Oh please! Old Madam Zhang, so I guess you’re the only good person and we’re all bad people. Then why did you take her clothes? If you were so good, you shouldn’t have taken it.”

“Ugh, been a b**ch but still wants to act righteous!”

…

All of a sudden, the people in the room were divided into two sides, arguing with each other until their faces were red and their voices were hoarse. It seemed that none of them were willing to bear such accusations.

Qin Yiling was amused. It looked like these people weren’t starving after all, and even had the energy to argue.

However, what they were arguing about reminded her of the woman she had buried.

Thinking back carefully, it made sense. There was only that one main road in this wilderness, so she would have been going in the same direction as these people.

Although, they had arrived at this dilapidated temple before her. Judging by the time-line, if she hadn’t dug the grave and buried that woman, she would have run into them much sooner.

She had been puzzled as to why there was a woman lying in the grass out in this wilderness, and was even on her dying breath.

She realised now that the woman from earlier was likely the woman from the Chen Clan that they were talking about. She had probably been traveling with them towards the same place, but became seriously ill on the way. It looked like these people did not have much money either, so they were most likely unwilling to offer help..