After the father and daughter finished tidying up, they quickly walked out. The woman’s family had also packed up and was heading toward the main road. Zhuzi kept turning his head back as he walked.
When he saw Lin Yan and Lin Zhiyue following behind, he even smiled at them.
Once they reached the official road, the man guarding the handcart hurried forward to help the elderly woman climb onto it.
After settling the old lady comfortably, he turned to size up Lin Yan and his daughter.
“My surname’s Wang. Name’s Wang Daniu. My wife’s surname is Chen.”
Lin Yan cupped his hands politely.
“Brother Wang, my surname is Lin. We’re from Dahe Village.”
Wang Daniu nodded.
“Dahe Village? I’ve heard of it. There’s only a town between our villages. We’re from Daxi Village.”
At this moment, the group had already begun moving forward.
Wang Daniu pulled the cart while Lin Yan walked beside him, holding Lin Zhiyue’s hand.
“Brother Wang, is there a village called Shitang near Daxi Village?”
“There is. You know Shitang Village?”
Lin Yan immediately replied anxiously,
“My wife is from Shitang Village. Do you know whether their village escaped or…”
Wang Daniu sighed.
“That village got raided by bandits. But I heard most of the villagers got wind of it early and hid in the mountains beforehand.”
After hearing this, Lin Yan unconsciously tightened his grip on Lin Zhiyue’s hand but said nothing.
If Wan-niang and the others had hidden in the mountains, they would surely head toward Jiangzhou eventually as well.
The question was whether they had survived.
The thought threw Lin Yan’s heart into even greater turmoil.
Lin Zhiyue also remembered the mother from this body’s memories—
Gentle, graceful, with an embrace full of warmth.
“Dad, Mother will definitely be okay.”
“Yes. Maybe by the time we reach Yiyang City, your mother will already be there waiting for us.”
“I already agreed with your grandparents that we’d meet beneath the city walls of Yiyang. If your mother’s group arrives first, they’ll run into your grandparents too.”
Lin Yan steadied his emotions.
Right now, he couldn’t afford to let his imagination run wild.
After traveling for nearly two hours, the pace of the refugee line gradually slowed.
Along the roadside, elderly people, women, and children begged pitifully.
The blazing sun scorched the earth.
People collapsed from time to time, while those beside them walked past numbly without even sparing a glance.
The further they walked, the more horrifying it became.
Having grown up in a peaceful and prosperous era, Lin Zhiyue had never witnessed such scenes before.
One numb face after another.
Expressions devoid of any desire to live.
“Ah! Ni’er! Wake up! Wake up!”
Ahead of them, a woman knelt on the ground, clutching a little girl around four or five years old as she cried and screamed in despair.
No one could tell whether the child was dead or alive.
At that moment, Lin Yan shifted the bundle on his back to his chest and crouched in front of Lin Zhiyue.
Silently, she climbed onto his back.
Burying her face against his neck, she stopped looking.
Her heart felt unbearably heavy.
She had water.
She could take out food.
But she couldn’t help them.
She could help one person for a moment, but not save everyone forever.
Even if she helped this one person, what about the countless refugees beyond them?
Could she save them all?
She couldn’t.
And she understood clearly that when she herself was weak and vulnerable, acting recklessly out of sympathy would only bring disaster upon herself and others.
She too was merely one refugee among millions.
Wasn’t her father also gaunt and hollow-cheeked from hunger?
Feeling distressed, she gently touched her father’s face.
On Lin Yan’s back, Lin Zhiyue adjusted the cotton cloth draped over her head while her little hands secretly fiddled with something in front of her.
A peeled sugar mandarin suddenly appeared in her hand.
She quietly ate half of it first.
The orange wasn’t very large, but her hands were too small. If she tried holding the whole thing and accidentally dropped it, it would be a tragedy.
Afraid of being noticed, she broke off a segment with her right hand and held it to her father’s mouth.
When Lin Zhiyue started moving around earlier, Lin Yan had already guessed she was taking something out.
Now, while walking silently with his head lowered, he sensed his daughter’s little hand reaching over and wordlessly opened his mouth in perfect understanding.
It was a segment of orange.
Cool and refreshing.
The moment he bit down, sweet juice burst throughout his mouth.
Soon another segment was pressed to his lips.
After eating several pieces—
“Dad, are you still thirsty?”
“That’s enough, Daughter. Dad feels much more energetic now, and not as hot anymore.”
Perhaps because it had soaked in the spring water, even the orange seemed to carry some of the spring’s miraculous effects.
After another two hours of walking, someone finally couldn’t endure it anymore and began shouting for a rest.
No one paid attention.
Everyone simply continued walking.
The scorching sun still blazed overhead, and all around them were refugees with bloodshot eyes.
No one dared fall behind.
At this moment, sweat the size of beans dripped nonstop from Wang Daniu’s head. Zhuzi had long since climbed onto the cart, unable to continue.
Wang Daniu’s wife, Madam Chen, was behind him helping push the cart as well.
The people ahead remained silent, doing nothing but lowering their heads and walking.
Walking endlessly.
Even those behind who desperately wanted to rest saw the people in front still moving and didn’t dare stop.
They could only grit their teeth and continue.
Thankfully, they had the space.
It allowed Lin Zhiyue to secretly ease some of the strain on her father’s body.
Otherwise, she didn’t even dare imagine how they could survive this journey.
“Dad, tell me about the current state of the world.”
Only then did Lin Yan remember that his daughter had been twenty-one years old in her original world and had received an education.
He truly should explain things properly to her.
“It’s the third year of Wanxing. The old emperor is gravely ill, and the princes are constantly fighting among themselves. The court is unstable, so the barbarians took the opportunity to attack the borders.”
As he walked, Lin Yan slowly explained everything.
Youzhou belonged to the northern region. With the princes battling for power, the imperial court no longer had the resources to deal with the barbarians.
At the same time, the north suffered severe drought. Conscripting soldiers and collecting grain became nearly impossible.
So the court abandoned Youzhou.
After the imperial army withdrew, the barbarians became even more uncontrollable, crossing the borders and storming cities to loot food and supplies.
In truth, most of what they robbed belonged to merchants and wealthy households in the cities.
With no government remaining in Youzhou, mountain bandits also rose in great numbers.
The barbarians raided towns and cities, while the bandits plundered villages.
And so, the more chaos spread, the more refugees and bandits appeared.
After listening carefully, Lin Zhiyue fell silent for a moment before asking,
“If we go to Jiangzhou, will the government take in refugees like us?”
“If Prince Rui ascends the throne, then policies will definitely be put in place to properly resettle the refugees.”
“Prince Rui is benevolent and wise. The common people are the foundation of a nation. He understands that better than anyone.”
Lin Yan sighed.
“We can only hope the outcome comes soon. The longer it drags on, the more the people suffer, and the more die.”
“No matter what, we have to reach Jiangzhou first. Staying in Youzhou means certain death.”
After hearing her father’s explanation, Lin Zhiyue wriggled her legs, wanting to get down.
Lin Yan said nothing.
Instead, he felt gratified by how sensible his daughter was and gently set her on the ground.
Somehow, chatting with his daughter made the time seem to pass faster.
The sun was already beginning to sink westward.
Yet the temperature hadn’t dropped at all.
All Lin Zhiyue wanted now was to wash her face.
The sunlight was weaker than at noon, but the air felt unbearably stuffy.
She pulled off the cotton cloth covering her head. Pretending to tuck it into her clothes, she secretly tossed it into the water bucket inside the space.
If she couldn’t wash her face, then at least she needed a chance to wash her hands.
They felt sticky and grimy too.
For the remainder of the journey, Lin Zhiyue stubbornly insisted on walking by herself.
Gradually, darkness fell.
Just as she was nearing the point of collapse, the village head finally ordered everyone to stop and rest.
This time, however, there was no forest nearby.
Only dirt and stones lined both sides of the road.
Looking ahead, small campfires were scattered along the roadside, where groups of refugees had already stopped to rest for the night.