When County Magistrate Feng and the others walked over, they saw Li Fugui stumbling toward them in a panic, his face full of terror.
He suddenly threw himself into Feng Daqian’s arms and kept shouting for help.
“Brother Fugui, what did you see that scared you like this?” Li Dazhao asked.
Before Li Fugui could even speak, they saw several dark figures emerging from behind the pitch-black forest.
“Who’s there! Come out!” Li Dazhao shouted bravely.
Only then did a few people slowly shuffle out from the woods.
County Magistrate Feng took a look and realized they were all unfamiliar faces.
“Who are you? Why are you hiding beside our group? What are you trying to do?”
“Brother Dazhao, we’ve hunted together before—do you still remember me?” The tallest and strongest of the three men stepped forward excitedly.
Li Dazhao studied him carefully. The man was dressed in tattered, filthy clothes, so it took him a while before he finally recognized him.
“Wang Tietou? Why are you here?”
Seeing a familiar face, Wang Tietou couldn’t hide his joy.
“Our village head Chen from Yangliu Village heard that war was coming, so he led us to flee. But this afternoon, we went out hunting and got lost, so we’ve been wandering in the forest ever since.”
“Brother Dazhao, your village is also fleeing, right?”
Li Dazhao nodded and exchanged a look with County Magistrate Feng.
All three of them were from a neighboring village, which made them relax a little.
In this pitch-black situation, what they feared most was bandits suddenly appearing—after all, their group had many elderly people, women, and children who needed protection.
“Oh right, this is our village head from Yangliu Village.” Wang Tietou pushed forward an old man with a thin, stick-like body and a long white beard.
County Magistrate Feng had actually met the village head of Yangliu Village before, but all three of them were in such a miserable state that it was no wonder he couldn’t recognize him.
Village Head Chen still had dry branches and leaves stuck in his hair, and his body was covered in dirt and mud.
“Brother Chen!”
County Magistrate Feng finally recognized him from his face. After exchanging greetings, they shared the information they had.
“Brother Feng, where are your villagers planning to go for survival?” Village Head Chen asked.
“In the next day or two, we’ll cross Lín Mountain and take the main road. Our village has a large population and can’t afford too much hardship, so we’re heading to the nearest Yunzhou Prefecture,” County Magistrate Feng replied.
Village Head Chen tilted his head thoughtfully.
“The magistrate of Yunzhou has always been kind in his governance. Even if a condemned prisoner asked him for a bowl of meat soup before execution, he would give it. Yunzhou is indeed a good place to go.”
Meanwhile, the villagers of Shangxi Village had already prepared to rest. When they saw County Magistrate Feng leading a group of men away and not returning for a long time, they had no idea what was happening.
After a while, they finally saw him return—bringing three unfamiliar men with him.
“Uncle Feng, who are these beggars?” Li Fugui asked lazily with a blade of grass in his mouth.
“Fugui, don’t be rude! These are villagers from the neighboring Yangliu Village—this is their village head and two villagers,” County Magistrate Feng scolded sternly.
“Oh, so they’re from the next village. Why do they look like this?” Li Fugui joked as he examined them.
Not only him, but many villagers who were still awake also came over to take a look.
Gu Jiu also brought Xiao Man over. The crowd murmured among themselves—some were curious, while others looked cautious.
County Magistrate Feng quickly raised his hand for silence and explained to everyone:
“Everyone, don’t panic. They are from neighboring Yangliu Village, also fleeing for their lives. They got lost after dark and couldn’t find their group. Tonight, they will rest alongside us, and tomorrow they will leave our convoy!”