Their Mouths Watered

"Clean it properly," said Ji'er before turning back to spear more fish.

In a flash, she caught six more.

Watching the three beggars sitting on their heels and butchering the fish by the stream, Ji'er sat down on a rock.

Having dealt with the fish, one of the beggars wiped his hands on his shirt. Then, he walked over to the cloth bundle that Ji'er had tossed on the grass, picked it up, and gave it back to her.

"Thank you," said Ji'er as she took it from him.

Overwhelmed by her thanks, the beggar waved his hands and stammered, "To be honest, mister, we were planning to rob you at first…" He trailed off and bowed his head in shame.

"I know," said Ji'er coolly.

The beggar was taken aback. The other two walked over and gaped at her in surprise as well.

After a while, they said, "Since you already knew, why didn't you run? Why did you give us beef jerky and catch fish for us?"