"Chieftain, please, let's wait a little longer. They might be back soon. What will they do when they see us?"

The next day, Zhao Youtian made the difficult decision to continue south, prompting the families of the three who had not returned to plead with him.

"Clan leader, clan leader, Tiezi is back!" Just then, Erhe ran over with a letter.

"My dear Tiezi!" Tiezi's mother rushed forward and hugged Zhao Tiezi, weeping bitterly.

"Tiezi, have you seen my boss?"

"Tiezi, have you seen my son?"

The other two households quickly stepped forward and asked.

Tie Zi was covered in blood and his face was pale. He shook his head and said, "They're all dead. The soldiers in that city are unreasonable; they kill anyone they see."

I fell into a pile of corpses. They mistakenly thought I was dead too, so they sent us all to the mass grave overnight. I didn't dare to move until dawn, when I finally crawled out of the pile of corpses and came back.

I saw them both die. They were both stabbed through the chest with steel knives and died on the spot.

Tiezi recounted the hellish scene he witnessed, his face pale, his legs still trembling.

"Mother, I was unable to bring the grain. I'm sorry." Tiezi lowered his head in shame.

"It's alright, it's good that you're alive. As long as you're alive, that's all your mother needs." Tiezi's mother hugged the note and wept bitterly.

The other two families, though somewhat prepared, couldn't help but burst into tears upon hearing this terrible outcome.

They didn't get any food, and they lost their lives. If they continued south, how could they possibly survive and be resettled?

Zhao Youtian also frowned as he looked in the direction of Fengcheng. Along the way, he saw the inaction of the officials and the fact that the lives of ordinary people were not valued at all, treated like weeds. What a damned world.

With foreign enemies invading and no mercy shown to the people, this court is utterly rotten. It's incredibly disappointing!

Zhao Youtian sighed helplessly. He knew it was a bit risky, but he still gritted his teeth and found a few clansmen to go with him to the mass grave that Zhao Tiezi had mentioned.

Those who went there were horrified by what they saw; the place was packed with corpses. How could people not get sick from that?

They didn't even bury it.

Zhao Youtian covered his mouth, suppressing his nausea, and searched one by one until he finally found the two people. Several people helped carry them back, and they found a place near Fengcheng to bury the two of them together, so that they would have each other's company.

Li Rou Niang packed three bags of grain from her spatial storage and distributed them to the three families, who expressed their gratitude repeatedly.

Zhao Youtian also viewed Li Rouniang differently. No matter what, he was grateful that she was willing to give so much during such a critical time.

The group continued south, and the cities they visited all had problems to varying degrees, but they all shared the same principle: they would not accept refugees. It truly lived up to the poem: "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie."

And so they drifted along, until spring arrived, flowers bloomed, and all things came back to life, seemingly giving people new hope!

Having traversed countless cities, Zhao Youtian had become numb. His need for resettlement was dwindling, and his only bottom line was that his clansmen could be settled securely. He asked for nothing more.

And so we arrived in Fucheng.

"Hello, yamen runner, we are refugees from the north. We wonder if the officials of Fucheng would be willing to settle us refugees?" Zhao Youtian stepped forward and asked.

I've asked this question countless times, and I've become increasingly fluent in it.

"Yes, you can come with me." The constable looked at Zhao Youtian, then at the group behind him, and then spoke.

Zhao Tianjing stood there stunned. He had actually prepared himself for rejection, and the others were also taken aback; none of them reacted appropriately.

The constable laughed and said, "What? What? Are you still not happy?"

"No, no, we would be happy to, but we didn't expect it. Really? Are the officials of Fucheng really willing to take us in?" Zhao Youtian was the first to react. He excitedly stepped forward and grasped the hand of the yamen runner, but then realized that this was a bit inappropriate and quickly let go.

The constable nodded, feeling sympathy for them; those from the north must have suffered countless hardships along the way.

Li Rouniang was also happy. Finally, she could finally have some peace and quiet.

"I wonder what the surname of the adults in our Fucheng is?" Zhao Youtian inquired.

"Our magistrate's surname is Fu. He's a good official. Since the original court was overthrown, Magistrate Fu has been a diligent and responsible official. You're lucky to have caught up with him." The yamen runner said as he walked.

Zhao Youtian was taken aback. Had the dynasty changed? They had not only survived one winter, but also experienced an entire dynasty. His feelings were somewhat complicated.

However, for ordinary people like them, who the emperor was didn't make a big difference. As long as they could live a peaceful life, have a house to live in, and a piece of land to cultivate, that was the best thing for them.

"Have the Western Moon soldiers been driven away?" someone asked.

They became refugees because of the invasion by the Western Moon people, and naturally harbor deep hatred for the Blood Moon soldiers.

Moreover, none of them had forgotten the scene where the Western Yue people burned down their house and killed Zhao Daniu and his mother.

"Yes, they were all driven away. It was our new emperor who personally led the soldiers to drive them away. Our emperor is very powerful," the constable said admiringly.

Zhao Youtian and the others naturally didn't share his sentiment, but they were happy to be able to settle down.

Zhao Youtian and the others followed the yamen runner into the city with trepidation. Everyone was waiting in the courtyard. Zhao Youtian followed the yamen runner in and registered.

"Mother, do we have a place to stay from now on? Do we not have to continue our journey?" Erni asked hopefully.

It has truly been a difficult journey. Not just Erni, everyone just wants a stable life, to stop wandering.

Li Rouniang nodded: "Yes, the yamen runner just said that if we can be resettled, then we definitely will be resettled."

This sentence represents the hope of all of them.

After waiting a while, Zhao Youtian came out with a yamen runner and a man in official robes. Zhao Youtian excitedly said to everyone, "This is Lord Fu of Fucheng. He has agreed to settle us. Let's thank him quickly."

After saying this, he took the lead in kneeling down to Lord Fu, and the others hurriedly followed suit. Lord Fu stepped forward and said, "Get up quickly. You have all had a long and arduous journey. Our Emperor has issued a new policy that all refugees affected by the war can be resettled, either staying here or returning to their hometowns. It is up to you to choose. Discuss it and then give me a result."

"Chieftain, we'll listen to you. Since we've followed you all this way, you should make this decision," someone said.

"Yes, clan leader, you should do it," the others agreed.

"Thank you all for your support and trust along the way. I don't want to go back. I want to rebuild Zhao Family Village here. What do you all think?" Zhao Youtian said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

“Alright, we will all listen to the clan leader.”