The people of Liushutun dared not linger and immediately quickened their pace, rushing forward with their heads down, quickly leaving the other side behind.

Only by escaping faster can one gain a fleeting sense of security.

After running for an unknown amount of time, the road beneath my feet suddenly became flat and hard.

"Shangguan has arrived!" someone shouted from ahead.

Everyone's spirits lifted. The official road was paved with repeatedly compacted loess and gravel. Although it had turned white and cracked from the drought, it was much easier to walk on than the previous bumpy, rough road.

As Jiang Chan pushed the cart, she could clearly feel that the wheels were rolling more smoothly, which saved her a lot of effort and made her move faster.

Seeing Xiaotao stumbling and clearly unable to run, he immediately lifted her up and said, "Sit still, don't move!"

"Hurry up! Don't stop!" Village Chief Chen's urging voice kept coming.

The procession moved forward mechanically along the wide, flat official road.

The speed is much faster than before, but it also consumes more physical strength.

No one spoke; heavy breathing filled the air.

Someone slipped and fell, but was pulled up by someone nearby and continued to grit their teeth and keep going.

No one dared to fall behind, as if an unseen beast was chasing them from behind.

Even Liu and Wang, who had been wailing all along, could only sob intermittently, exhausted and barely breathing.

The sun slowly climbed to its zenith and then gradually began to set in the west.

They walked for nearly two hours, barely stopping to catch their breath.

Everyone's legs felt like they were filled with lead, and their throats were parched.

It wasn't until Village Chief Chen, who was walking at the front, looked back and saw that the official road was empty, with no trace of the other disaster victims, and no sign of the nightmarish ditch, that he suddenly stopped, coughed violently, and banged his gong to signal.

"Stop...stop...rest...rest for a while..."

The word "stop" is like a weight being lifted off one's shoulders.

"Thump!"

"Ouch……"

"My goodness..."

The procession seemed to have lost all its bones in an instant, with people collapsing and sprawling on the side of the official road.

Everyone was gasping for breath like fish out of water, their chests heaving violently, their eyes wide open, staring blankly at the sky, overwhelmed by the exhaustion of surviving a disaster.

He sat slumped for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before his heavy breathing gradually subsided.

Before the feeling of relief at surviving the ordeal could fully settle, it was shattered by a sharp cry of cursing.

Beside the two carts belonging to the Jiang family, Wang suddenly sat up straight, pointed at Jiang Fu's nose, and began to wail, "It's all your fault! Big brother! It was all your bad idea! Showing off your great kindness! If you hadn't insisted on bringing out the cakes to pretend to be a good person, would those cakes have attracted wolves?! Would we have lost our grain?! Waaah..." She became angrier and angrier as she spoke, slapping her thigh and crying.

Upon hearing this, Liu immediately retorted, "What does this have to do with my husband? Isn't your husband showing off too?! If he hadn't been copying his older brother and spending money like that, would he have been able to recruit so many people?"

Thinking of the grain that had been stolen from her home, Liu pounded her chest in anguish, "My grain... so much, all gone..."

Jiang Shou, who had been holding back his anger, finally exploded. He stood up abruptly, pointed at Jiang Fu, his face flushed red, "Big brother! You were wrong about this! If you hadn't insisted on saving face and taking out the cakes to share, would I have followed you and taken some out?! I was just worried that you would be the one to suffer a loss! And now look what happened? Both of our families have lost money! Are you satisfied now?!"

Jiang Fu was filled with anger, regret, and heartache. Being criticized by his younger brother and sister-in-law only fueled his anger. He retorted, "Bullshit! Jiang Shou! Who was it that saw me surrounded and called a 'living Buddha' and got red eyes? You were the one who pulled out your pancakes to show off! Now you're blaming me?! Do you think I can't see through your little scheme?!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

"You're talking nonsense!"

"You started it all!"

"You're the one trying to play the philanthropist..."

The two brothers, their faces red and necks bulging, accused each other, spitting everywhere.

Wang and Liu were crying and cursing, arguing and pushing each other while hurling vulgarities at each other.

"It's all your family's fault!"

"Your family is the jinx!"

"We should have split up back then!"

"You'll starve to death!"

It looked like the four of them were about to start fighting.

The villagers nearby couldn't stand it anymore.

Especially Li Laosan, who was nearby, frowned and advised, "Alright, alright! Let's all say less! Why are you arguing among your own brothers? Everyone's suffered this time, nobody wanted this..."

Liu Dazhuang sighed, "Yes, let's all talk less and save our energy for the journey..."

Zhang the butcher had just taken a sip of water when he said in a gruff voice, "What's all the noise about! Save your energy for walking!"

These words of mediation were like igniting a powder keg!

Jiang Fu abruptly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the group trying to break up the fight. As if finding an outlet for his anger, he roared shrilly, "You still have the nerve to say that?! What were you doing just now! What were you doing when we were being robbed?! Huh?! Watching the show?! Why didn't you come to help us sooner?! Why didn't you help us hold off those starving ghosts?! If you had come earlier, would our food have been completely looted?!"

Jiang Shou immediately turned his anger towards the villagers, shouting, "That's right! We're all from the same village! You just stood by and watched us get robbed! Are your hearts made of stone?! Selfish! Cold-blooded!"

Wang pointed at Li Laosan and cried out, "What are you pretending to be kind about! You were right there! Why didn't you help?! You're strong, if you had helped, would you have been able to steal so much?"

Liu, in a frenzy, pointed at all the villagers around her: "You! You're all no good! You watched us suffer! Now you're pretending to be kind and offering advice! If the grain were still in your bags, would you be offering advice?! Bah! A bunch of selfish devils!"

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