Yuan Si had finally managed to get out of the house, only to run into the two people she didn't want to see: Wang Ya and Li Xue.
From a distance, Wang Ya recognized who was walking toward them. As if to deliberately provoke her, she grabbed Li Xue's hand and made a point of laughing and chatting loudly. As they passed each other, she even rolled her eyes and snorted.
Yuan Si walked past, staring straight ahead. 'Some people are just nuts, and since I can't cure them, the only thing to do is stay far away.'
She followed the village path leading out toward the countryside. Since her mother had told her to go gather firewood and she had nothing better to do, she figured she might as well go collect some.
However, when she reached the usual spot for gathering firewood, she saw there wasn't a single branch left. Many of the poplar trees had been stripped of their bark, leaving them mottled and patchy. She wandered around the area but couldn't find a single thing to pick up.
