Exiled!? Ha! I have An Infinite Space-Chapter 35 -

Fu Sheng and I both turned at the same time when we heard the shout.

Neither of us spoke. We just moved.

We walked back toward our resting area as fast as we could manage, my steps uneven because of my ankle, Fu Sheng staying close behind me without saying a word. The closer we got, the heavier the air felt, like something terrible had already happened and was waiting for us to see it.

When we reached the spot, my heart sank.

Master Fu was seated there, frozen in place, his face pale and stunned. Madame Fu was beside him, her hands shaking as she looked around in confusion. Fu Tong had just arrived, with Fu Teng and Fu Fei close behind. All of them were staring at the same empty space.

The wagon was gone.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Fu Tong was the first to react. "What happened?" he asked sharply. "Where’s the wagon?"

No one answered him right away.

Then one of the nearby exiles stepped forward hesitantly and pointed toward the edge of the hill. "It... it slid," he said. "It rolled that way."

My chest tightened.

I moved closer, ignoring the pain in my leg. Fu Sheng followed immediately, his hand hovering near my arm in case I lost balance. Step by step, we reached the edge.

Below us was a short cliff that led down to the river.

The water was moving fast, dark and restless under the night sky. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

And there it was.

The wagon.

Or what was left of it.

It had crashed hard at the bottom. One wheel was broken clean off, the wooden frame tilted and cracked. The bundles that had been stacked so carefully earlier were gone.

Most of them.

Some had already been dragged away by the current, swallowed by the rushing water. Others were stuck near the riverbank, soaked through, heavy and useless.

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

Food. Clothes. Medicine. Tools.

Gone.

My vision blurred as I stared at the scene below. My fingers curled slowly into fists, my nails digging into my palms.

Behind us, Madame Fu let out a small, broken sound. Fu Fei covered her mouth. Fu Tong swore under his breath, while Fu Teng stood stiffly, his jaw clenched so hard I could see the tension in his face.

"This wasn’t an accident," I whispered under my breath. "Someone did this."

Fu Sheng didn’t answer me, but I knew he understood. His jaw was tight, his eyes dark as he looked at the river. He wasn’t foolish enough to believe in coincidence. A wagon tied and placed properly would not simply slide off on its own.

Without saying anything more, we turned and walked back toward the others.

The moment we returned, Fu Fei finally broke down. She covered her face with her hands and started crying, her shoulders shaking as panic poured out of her.

"What are we going to do now?" she sobbed. "F-Father’s medicine... his leg care... everything was in those bundles. What if his injury gets worse? What if—"

Her words came out broken and rushed, and each sentence made my chest feel heavier than the last.

Fu Tong clenched his fists, while Fu Teng stepped forward at once. "We’ll go down," Fu Teng said firmly. "We’ll check what’s left of the wagon and see if anything can be saved."

Fu Tong nodded. "Even if it’s soaked, we’ll bring it back."

Fu Sheng looked at them for a brief moment, then nodded once. "Be careful," he said.

The two of them didn’t waste any time. They turned and started down the hill carefully, disappearing into the darkness below.

That was when the mood shifted.

Footsteps approached from the side.

Aunt Fu came first, followed closely by Bai Ming. Fu Jia walked with them, her chin lifted, eyes sharp with interest. Uncle Fu followed behind, supporting Grandma Fu as she walked slowly, leaning on him as if she were still injured.

They stopped not far from us, standing together as if they were watching a play.

Every movement, every sound, drew attention. Other exiles nearby slowed down, their eyes turning toward us. The scene had already pulled everyone’s focus.

Fu Jia was the first to speak.

"Well," she said lightly, her tone mocking, "this is quite a sight. All that effort, all that planning, and in the end, everything just fell into the river."

Bai Ming covered her mouth, pretending to be shocked. "Oh dear... how unfortunate."

Grandma Fu let out a cold laugh. "This is karma," she said loudly. "You were so proud earlier, acting generous, acting important. You didn’t even share with your own family. Now look at you."

Her eyes fixed on me. "Heaven is fair."

I listened quietly, my expression unreadable.

Aunt Fu crossed her arms. "What will you eat now?" she asked. "What will you use? Without those bundles, you’re nothing."

The words stung, but I didn’t react the way they expected.

Instead, I slowly folded my arms and looked straight at Grandma Fu.

Then I pointed at her legs.

"Before this," I said calmly, "you were crying on the ground, screaming that your leg was injured and that you couldn’t move."

Grandma Fu stiffened slightly.

I tilted my head. "So tell me," I continued, my voice steady, "if you were truly injured, why are you standing here just fine now? Why are you walking without pain?"

The air shifted.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Grandma Fu’s face changed, her lips tightening as her eyes flickered.

I didn’t know what made me ignore all those strange signs. I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off the wagon. The wagon carried most of the things we needed to survive. The system storage was mostly filled with gold bars and money, and even if I could take items from the system, I still needed a proper reason for how they appeared. I couldn’t just bring things out of thin air.

Fu Fei suddenly stepped forward, her voice slightly cracked as she spoke.

"You can all make fun of us all you want," she said, "but once we find out who pushed that wagon, we will not let that person go."

Her words were firm, filled with anger and warning.

Yet none of them looked frightened.

That confused me.

Even if they were cruel, they should still be afraid. Whoever caused this would surely be discovered, especially since Master Fu was present when it happened. The fact that they showed no fear at all made my chest feel uneasy.

Just then, the head guard arrived with several of his men. Their steps were heavy, their expressions serious. Word about the wagon had clearly spread fast.

"What happened here?" the head guard asked sharply, his eyes moving from the broken wagon far below to the gathered crowd. "We heard there was an incident."

His gaze finally landed on me.

"You," he said. "Explain exactly what happened."

I took a slow breath and stepped forward, keeping my voice calm and clear.

"We were resting," I said. "Everything was fine until Grandma Fu suddenly cried out in pain. She said her leg was injured, so everyone rushed over to her. We left the wagon behind because Master Fu was injured and couldn’t move quickly."

I paused for a moment, then continued, making sure my words were careful but firm.

"After we were drawn away by her cries, the wagon rolled down the slope. No one saw it happen directly. But what’s strange is that after everything, Grandma Fu appeared completely fine. She didn’t look injured at all."

I folded my arms lightly, my tone sharp with meaning. "Very fine, in fact."

The moment the words left my mouth, Grandma Fu’s face twisted with anger. She stepped forward, pointing a shaking finger at me.

"You little brat!" she shouted. "How dare you speak like that? What are you trying to say—are you accusing me of doing it?"

Her voice was loud and sharp, cutting through the tense air.

Before she could say anything more, the head guard slammed the butt of his spear against the ground.

"Enough," he barked.

Grandma Fu froze mid-sentence, her face dark with rage but her mouth finally shut.

The head guard looked at her coldly. "No one is accusing anyone yet. But shouting won’t help you either."

The crowd went silent.

The head guard didn’t miss it, he undertstood what I meant.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he looked around at the people standing nearby. He didn’t say anything right away, but his expression showed that he understood exactly what I was implying.

Still, he was a guard. He couldn’t act on suspicion alone.

"I can’t accuse anyone without proof," he said slowly. "But I will find out what happened."

Then he turned and walked toward Master Fu.

Master Fu was sitting where he had been left earlier, supported by blankets. His face looked pale and drained, but there was a forced calm in his eyes.

The head guard stopped in front of him and lowered his voice.

"Master Fu," he said, "did you see what happened to the wagon?"

He studied Master Fu closely. "Or... did you see someone push it?"

Master Fu lifted his gaze.

For a moment, he said nothing at all.