Before seeing who had arrived, Lin Xiazhi kept her guard up. She rose to her feet and headed outside.
“I’ll get the door.”
A short while later, she returned, leading an elderly man with graying hair and a sturdy middle-aged man into the house.
The moment Shen Ying saw their faces clearly, the tears she had only just managed to stop burst forth again.
“Father! Big Brother! It really is you!”
“Grandfather! Uncle!”
Lin Qingbei happily threw himself into the old man’s arms.
Shen Shi stroked the boy’s head. His eyes, already clouded with tears, remained fixed on his daughter lying in bed.
“Yingzi… how did you end up like this?”
Lin Xiazhi had already told him that Lin Dagou had beaten his daughter, but he had never imagined it would be this serious. Shen Ying couldn’t even get out of bed.
“I told you long ago that you shouldn’t have married Lin Dagou. But you wouldn’t listen. Now look what happened. Not only have you suffered, you’ve dragged the children into it too.”
Shen Jianping’s brows knitted tightly together in anger. His rugged face already looked intimidating, and with his occupation as a butcher, he carried a naturally fierce aura that made him seem even more frightening.
Shen Ying had feared her eldest brother since childhood. Seeing him angry, she didn’t even dare cry loudly.
“Big Brother…”
Knowing she was afraid of him, Shen Jianping softened his tone somewhat, though he still looked imposing.
“What’s done is done. Stop dwelling on the past. Pack up and come with us immediately!”
“That’s right! Everyone in our village has already left. If we hurry while it’s still dark, we can catch up with them. We’ll be safer sticking together. If the enemy army breaks through before we leave, it’ll be too late to run.”
Bent slightly with age, Shen Shi looked around the room, searching for things he could help pack.
Lin Xiazhi finally found an opportunity to speak.
“We’ve already packed everything. We were planning to eat before leaving. The rabbit soup shouldn’t go to waste, and no one should travel on an empty stomach. Grandfather, Uncle, come eat something too!”
Only then did Shen Shi and Shen Jianping notice the rabbit soup on the table. Seeing that the mother and her two children had at least been eating meat eased much of their anger.
Besides, both men were hungry.
Neither stood on ceremony.
Lin Xiazhi quickly finished her meal. After feeding Shen Ying another dose of medicine for her injuries, she tossed out a quick, “I’m heading out for a bit,” and disappeared before anyone could ask where she was going.
Shen Jianping also finished eating in just a few bites. He carefully lifted his younger sister and gently settled her inside the carriage.
A thick layer of quilts had already been spread across the interior. Shen Ying lay down comfortably on top.
There wasn’t much luggage inside, leaving enough room for another five or six people.
Patting the horse’s neck, Shen Shi sighed with admiration.
“Xiazhi really thought of everything. She prepared such a spacious carriage ahead of time.”
Shen Ying asked softly,
“Father, do you have a cart? Let Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, and Mother ride with us later.”
Shen Shi hesitated.
“We have an ox cart, but it’s packed full of luggage and can’t fit anyone. Your mother’s health isn’t good, so let her ride here. As for the others, there’s no need for them to crowd in.”
Hearing the embarrassment in her father’s voice, Shen Ying felt a pang of sadness.
“We’re family. Why are you talking like strangers? All these years, you and Big Brother kept finding excuses to let me bring Qingbei back home and take things from the family. I never treated you as outsiders. Now you’re acting polite with me instead. Are you saying you don’t see me as family anymore?”
“Yingzi, that’s not what I meant…”
Relieved, Shen Ying smiled faintly.
“It’d better not be. The journey ahead is long. I don’t want any distance growing between us.”
Shen Shi’s face turned bright red from embarrassment.
“No, no, of course not,” he kept repeating.
Shen Jianping loaded everything useful from the house into the carriage. After helping Shen Shi and Lin Qingbei aboard, he led the horse to the roadside and waited.
“Speaking of which, where did Xiazhi go? Dawn’s almost here. Why isn’t she back yet?”
“She’s back…”
A thin white mist had risen with the morning air.
Through the fog, Lin Xiazhi emerged with Mu Zheng on her back.
Shen Jianping didn’t know who Mu Zheng was, but he still stepped forward to help, supporting him into the carriage.
“Thank you, Uncle,” Mu Zheng said with a smile.
“…”
Shen Jianping’s eyes widened.
The gossip-loving thoughts in his mind leaked straight through his expression.
Knowing exactly what he was implying, Lin Xiazhi rolled her eyes at Mu Zheng.
“What nonsense are you saying? That’s my uncle!”
Mu Zheng merely smiled without responding.
He had done it on purpose.
As the first rays of sunlight spilled across the horizon, Lin Xiazhi and Shen Jianping climbed to the front of the carriage and quickly drove away, heading toward the main road where Xu Fenlan and the others were waiting.
Xu Fenlan hurried over, relief washing across her face as she saw Lin Xiazhi and her son.
“You’re finally back. I was worried sick. I thought something had happened to Yingzi and the children.”
Shen Jianping quickly helped his daughter into the carriage.
“We’re fine. Mother, everyone get aboard. We need to leave now. We can’t delay any longer.”
Shen Shi climbed down to make room, while Mu Zheng balanced on one leg and shifted himself to a seat beside Lin Xiazhi.
“Um…” Xu Fenlan looked awkwardly at Lin Xiazhi, hesitant to get on.
After all, this wasn’t their carriage.
These people genuinely cared for her mother and brother. Lin Xiazhi wasn’t so narrow-minded as to hold grudges.
Trying to appear as approachable as possible, she said,
“Grandmother, go ahead. There’s enough room.”
Receiving permission, Xu Fenlan’s face immediately brightened.
“Xiazhi, then Grandmother won’t stand on ceremony. Qiutao, Hehua, bring the children aboard too. Let Jiansheng and Jianping drive the ox cart.”
“Alright.”
Once everyone was settled, Lin Xiazhi led the way with the horse carriage, while Shen Shi and his sons followed behind with the ox cart.
As they reached the main road, refugees flooded in from every direction.
The only escape route was packed so tightly with people that not a drop of space remained.
It looked exactly like a zombie horde besieging a city.
The carriage could only inch forward at a snail’s pace.
Lin Xiazhi couldn’t help regretting how much time they had wasted.
Turning toward Mu Zheng, she asked,
“Is there any other route besides this one?”
Mu Zheng gazed at the endless sea of people ahead and shook his head gravely.
“At a time like this, every road is probably just as crowded.”
Lin Xiazhi sighed.
There was no choice but to move forward with the crowd.
Looking around, she realized that theirs seemed to be the only horse carriage on the road. Everyone else had ox carts, donkey carts, or hand-pulled carts.
A frown appeared on her face.
“This carriage is too large. It stands out too much.”
“It’s fine. Once we leave Zhou County’s territory, we can switch to a smaller one.”
“Forget it. My mother and you are both injured. Add the elderly and the children, and a smaller carriage won’t fit everyone.”
Inside the carriage, Xu Fenlan immediately understood what they meant.
A horse carriage was eye-catching. It could easily attract the attention of bandits and desperate people.
For everyone’s safety, she couldn’t afford to be stubborn.
“Xiazhi, don’t worry about us. Do whatever needs to be done. We’ve spent our whole lives working in the fields. We’re strong and used to walking.”
Eldest Aunt Wang Qiutao quickly agreed.
“That’s right, that’s right. We’re still young. We can walk.”
Second Aunt Deng Hehua forced a smile but didn’t know what to say.
She had originally assumed her sister-in-law and the children would be relying on their family for support.
Who would have thought that the supplies and transportation they brought were far better than anything her own family possessed?
Now she and her son were benefiting from their generosity.
In fact, during the long journey ahead, they might end up depending on Lin Xiazhi’s family instead.
Life was truly unpredictable.
Who knew what dangers awaited them on the road?
With that thought, the last traces of dissatisfaction in Deng Hehua’s heart completely disappeared. The way she looked at Shen Ying became noticeably warmer.
“Hey! Hey! Hey! Whose carriage is this?”
A loud shout suddenly rang out.
“You blocking the middle of the road or what? Are you going to let people pass or not?!”
Just as Lin Xiazhi was about to answer, a series of loud bangs exploded from behind the carriage.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone was looking for trouble!