“When they were asking around along the way, they ran into Wang Cuiju’s family. That family hates us to the bone! They gave away the direction we were heading and exactly how many people we had!” Han Er’er said through gritted teeth.
Lin Yueru nodded in understanding.
It was just as she had guessed. Without someone feeding them information, the mountain bandits could never have tracked them down so quickly.
Speaking of this, Han Er’er could not help but feel anxious.
“According to those two mountain bandits, the families who bought horses earlier have all been slaughtered to keep their mouths shut. I wonder how Brother Liu and his family are doing.”
Lin Yueru pursed her lips, breaking into a cold sweat for them as well.
Right now, however, the more pressing matter was whether they themselves could survive.
“Let’s not dwell on that for now. We need to leave this place immediately. We made such a racket just now; if more mountain bandits follow the noise and track us down, we’ll be in big trouble.”
Han Laoda nodded repeatedly. “Let’s go. We leave right now.”
Han Er’er also hurried to pack up their belongings and get the cart ready.
As they packed, Lin Yueru watched the family in disarray after Old Madame Han fell unconscious—flustered and like a group without a leader. She could only sigh and step forward to arrange everything in an orderly fashion.
Still engulfed in lingering fear, everyone naturally came to view Lin Yueru as their leader the moment she took charge.
Old Madame Han could only lie on the handcart now. To free up more space for Zhao Shuangtao to sit, Lin Yueru directed everyone to unload all non-essential items from the cart.
While the Han family was busy beyond measure, the surrounding refugees were not idle either.
When the fight broke out earlier, these refugees had all shrunk back and hidden to the side.
Now, seeing that the mountain bandits were all dead, they scampered back one after another to retrieve their own belongings, preparing to continue fleeing for their lives.
The Han family was so occupied with packing that they paid no mind to anyone else, until a hearty voice rang out before them.
“Brothers, could our two families travel together as companions?”
Han Laoda looked up to see the two young men who had stepped in to help earlier.
He slapped his forehead and said with remorse, “I am terribly sorry! Just now, I was so worried about my mother that I forgot to thank you two! Forgive me, forgive me. Thank you so much for ling a hand earlier!”
The speaker was of an open and generous nature. “Don’t mention it! We understand completely. Is the old lady alright?”
Han Laoda sighed. “She hasn’t woken up yet. But my sister-in-law said she was just terribly frightened, and should recover after some rest.”
The man nodded. “That’s good to hear!”
He pointed to the man behind him. “My name is Qian Wu, and this is my older brother, Qian Wen. We plan to head toward Danyang. If it’s convenient for you, could our two families travel together?”
Han Laoda and Han Er’er exchanged a glance. Both were somewhat tempted, but knowing nothing of the other party’s character, they were hesitant to make a decision.
Seeing this, Lin Yueru had a thought.
She asked amiably, “Brother Qian? Weren’t you traveling with your village group? Why did you think of traveling with us instead?”
After she asked, silence lingered for a long moment.
Everyone looked up to see Qian Wen’s eyes rimmed with red, unwilling to speak, while Qian Wu cast an apologetic glance at her, at a loss for how to explain.
Old Man Qian walked over just in time and let out a heavy sigh upon hearing the question.
“Lass, traveling with you was this old man’s idea.”
“As for why we don’t want to follow the village anymore, our hearts have grown cold. When the fight broke out just now, you saw it too—the villagers are like a dish of loose sand, entirely unreliable whenever trouble strikes. It would be far better for our two families to travel together; we can look out for one another in the days ahead! Our family has a handcart too, so we can help you haul some things…”
By the of his words, the old man’s tone held a hint of pleading.
How could Lin Yueru let an elder beg like this? She quickly said, “Old Sir, I naturally have no objections, but I’m not the head of the household. We must ask my two elder brothers.”
Han Laoda and Han Er’er spoke in unison, “We have no objection.”
They had witnessed Qian Wu’s skills earlier; he was clearly trained in martial arts. Having an extra person on the road meant extra protection down the line.
What was more, they had just helped them fight off the mountain bandits.
Having received the Han family’s agreement, the Qian family was visibly excited.
“Alright, then we’ll head back first to organize our things and clear some space to help you carry your load.”
Lin Yueru and the others began setting aside some non-essential items.
Even though they were traveling together, one could never be too careful when dealing with others.
Seeing the two families talking for so long with every intention of traveling together, the other villagers were immediately displeased.
“Old Man Qian! It’s your business if you want to be charitable, but you can’t drag our lives down with you!”
Old Man Qian cast an irritated glare at the speaker. “When have I ever dragged the village’s lives down?”
A sharp-tongued woman blurted out, “Those bandits earlier were clearly coming for them! If you take them along now, aren’t you dragging our lives down?!”
Qian Wen’s expression darkened. “Auntie, rest assured. They aren’t joining our village group; we are leaving the village group to travel with them.”
The surrounding crowd was taken aback, frowning as they cried out, “How can that be? How can you leave the village?!”
Of the two Qian brothers, Qian Wen was literate and Qian Wu knew how to hunt. Losing them would be a massive blow to the village!
The villagers nearby grew anxious as well. “Exactly! We are brothers from the same village and clan! How could you abandon us to travel with outsiders instead?!”
Qian Wen let out a cold sneer. “Brothers from the same village and clan? When you say those words, do you truly not feel a shred of shame?!”
“May I ask you elders—how did my Qian family treat all of you in the past?”
The villagers fell completely silent.
Lin Yueru and the others had almost finished packing, so they paused their work to watch the commotion.
In the past?
Old Man Qian held great prestige in the village; whenever a family had a wedding or funeral, the old man would l a hand.
Qian Wen was a Tongsheng; when he could no longer afford his studies, he opened a village school in his own home to provide basic literacy education to the village children almost free of charge. Qian Wu had good martial skills and was a proficient hunter; along the journey fleeing famine, he had often helped improve everyone’s meals, and whenever danger struck, he was always the first to stand in front.
For all these years, the Qian family’s conduct had been utterly irreproachable.
Everyone was struck dumb. “In the past… In the past, you naturally did a lot for the village…”
“And what about you?!”
Qian Wen’s eyes burned with furious, helpless redness. “When the bandits came to snatch Lin Xing that day, what did all of you do?!”
Every single villager hung their head in shame, not daring to utter a word.
Wiping away his overflowing tears, Qian Wen said resolutely, “We have no wish to dwell on the past, but from now on, our Qian family has nothing to do with this village!”
“Old Man Qian, surely you…” The village head still wanted to persuade them.
“Say no more. We have made our decision. From now on, you take your broad road, and we’ll cross our single-log bridge—our paths diverge here!”
The Qian family never looked back. After packing their belongings, Qian Wu pulled their handcart over to the Han family.
Seeing the grim expressions on their faces, Lin Yueru and her family said nothing more to pry.
Qian Wu’s wife, Song Lian, glanced at the pale Zhao Shuangtao and took the initiative to say, “Why don’t you move some of your things onto our cart to make room for that sister-in-law to rest? Or, if she doesn’t mind, she can just ride on ours. Injured like that, it’s not good for her to keep pushing herself.”
Old Man Qian nodded. “We don’t have much luggage anyway, so there’s plenty of room for one person.”
Lin Yueru looked at their own handcart. Everything that could be removed was already being carried on their backs; what remained on the cart was grain that had to be guarded carefully.
Supporting Zhao Shuangtao, she said, “Third Sister-in-law, why don’t you ride on the Qian family’s cart for a while? We’re traveling together anyway, so we won’t be far apart.”
Zhao Shuangtao was not one to be overly modest and agreed immediately. “Alright.”
Lin Yueru helped her over. “Thank you for the trouble, Old Sir.”
Old Man Qian waved his hand. “Don’t mention it! If you’re all packed, shall we set off quickly?”
“Alright.”
Ignoring the envious, resentful, and regretful gazes of the villagers, the Qian and Han families pulled their carts and took the lead, departing into the distance.