They had just reached the village entrance, and the sky was only faintly bright.
Village head Feng Lizheng and his son Feng Daqian were counting the people.
“Alright, there are still three households missing. Everyone check whether any neighbors or acquaintances haven’t arrived. If you remember someone, tell me immediately.”
Shangxi Village had over thirty households and eighty-six people. Counting heads in the dark was no easy task.
Gu Jiu led her younger siblings to sit on a stone and wait.
Soon after, two more households hurriedly arrived, leaving only one family still unaccounted for.
Feng Lizheng counted three times, but still couldn’t find the missing family.
Suddenly, Li Ergou stepped forward.
“Uncle Feng, I remember now! Liu Dazhu’s family next door hasn’t come!”
Some villagers who knew Liu Dazhu’s family looked around—and sure enough, there was no sign of them.
“It really is them. How can they be so slow? The barbarians are about to attack, and they still haven’t come to assemble. They’re just holding everyone back!”
Seeing the missing family confirmed, Feng Lizheng asked his son to take a donkey cart back to the village to fetch them.
Everyone had been waiting for a while now, and many were starting to resent Liu Dazhu’s family.
By the time the sky had fully brightened, they finally heard the shouting of Feng Daqian driving the donkey cart.
Liu Dazhu and his wife and children were also on the cart. As they got closer, Liu Dazhu hurriedly apologized again and again.
“Everyone, we had too many messy things at home and it took longer than expected. We kept you waiting—please forgive us.”
Before the villagers could complain further, Feng Lizheng quickly urged everyone to form up.
The villagers stood in scattered groups, struggling to form proper lines. Every face carried confusion and helplessness.
Before today, they had all been villagers of Shangxi Village—owning homes and farmland, able to make a living as long as they worked hard.
But after today, they would be living a life of displacement and hardship.
Someone suddenly let out a sharp wail. The children in the crowd, startled, all began crying as well. A heavy atmosphere of sorrow spread instantly.
Feng Lizheng looked at the villagers with grief in his eyes and said in a solemn, aged voice:
“Everyone from Shangxi Village, we must put aside our sorrow and steel ourselves to move forward. I know none of you want to leave your homes, but when disaster comes, we must stand tall and set an example for our children and grandchildren!”
“Everyone, follow my orders and line up—we are moving out!”
Though still grieving, the villagers were moved by Feng Lizheng’s sturdy, determined figure. It gave them a bit of courage.
If they followed him, perhaps one day they could rebuild their village and restore their homes.
Gu Jiu and her three siblings stayed in the middle of the group and moved forward with everyone else.
Not long after they set off, children in the group started crying from hunger. Many families had not prepared dry rations because they left in a rush. But the group could not stop to cook—it would waste too much time.
The children cried endlessly, their shrill voices making everyone even more irritated.
Most people had not slept well the night before, and now their moods grew worse. Not a single face showed joy.
Gu Jiu felt fortunate that she had been prepared and made dry food the night before.
Not only had she and her siblings eaten their fill in the morning, but they could also take steamed buns from their bundle if they got hungry on the road.
Most villagers were elderly, women, and children. There were only about thirty strong men in total, so the group moved very slowly. After more than half an hour, they could still vaguely see the outline of Shangxi Village behind them.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Gu Jiu’s feet trembled slightly.
An earthquake?
At the very back of the group, Li Ergou yawned and turned to look behind them. His eyes suddenly widened.
His voice shook as he stammered, teeth chattering:
“Th-there are soldiers! A lot of horses too! Everyone, look!”
All the villagers turned toward where he pointed—and indeed, in the direction of Shangxi Village, there were more than a dozen armored soldiers carrying spears and sabers.
Gu Jiu quickly climbed onto a rock and narrowed her eyes to look carefully.
From the original owner’s memory, she had seen Shengguo soldiers before, and their armor looked clearly different from these men.
These were likely enemy barbarians!
“What do we do? The barbarians are here already! Run!”
“If we don’t run, we’ll be killed by their blades—I don’t want to die!”
Panic erupted instantly. The once-organized group scattered like a broken swarm.
Feng Lizheng shouted himself hoarse, trying to calm everyone down, but it was useless. People ran in every direction like frightened birds.
Everyone surged forward in panic. In the chaos, those who were slower were trampled underfoot.
Gu Jiu had no choice but to run with her siblings.
By now they had reached the foot of Mount Lin, where the path became steep.
After running for a while, Gu Jiu suddenly stopped.
She could not let the villagers keep panicking like this. If they continued, they would lead the barbarians straight to them!
“Stop shouting! Do you want to lead them here?!” she shouted.
The crowd, still scrambling up the mountain, froze for a moment.
Parents quickly covered their children’s mouths.
Gu Jiu’s expression turned cold.
“Those barbarians may not have even noticed us yet. But they are trained soldiers—they are extremely observant. If you keep running around like headless chickens on the mountain, you’ll only make it easier for them to spot us!”
Some people still wanted to run, but now they hesitated.
Feng Lizheng, his beard crooked from the crowding, finally pushed forward with help from his son.
“Jiu girl is right! Shut your mouths! Everyone, line up properly and go up the mountain in order!”
With the village head supporting her, the villagers finally felt reassured.
Seeing her words take effect, Gu Jiu continued.
“Grandpa Feng, have the able-bodied men help escort the elderly, women, and children up the mountain. Otherwise the group will slow down too much. Also, have everyone discard unnecessary luggage—only take essentials.”
At first, Feng Lizheng thought she had spoken out of panic.
But after hearing her clear reasoning, he immediately took her seriously. This girl was not ordinary.
“Jiu girl, you are truly intelligent. I’ll have them follow your instructions immediately!”
Feng Daqian quickly ran off to relay the orders.
However, once villagers heard they had to abandon their belongings, they immediately protested.
“I think the village head has gone senile! Listening to a little girl spouting nonsense!”
“Exactly! What does Gu Jiu even know? And now you want us to throw away our things? Ridiculous!”