At the end of Shenshi (around 5 PM), the villagers of Qixia Village finally arrived at the gate of Fengting County.

Qin Yi and Qin Xing's family had been waiting here for a long time.

Without further ado, the group crossed the county town and headed towards Chiling Mountain. The county town was now desolate, with every house closed and shuttered.

Some refugees were still wandering around, their eyes fixed on Qin Ling and his group like those of hungry wolves.

The group quickened their pace, not daring to linger for a moment. These people had fled from even more distant places, and they were all emaciated and filthy.

The twins were too scared to speak when they saw this, while Mu Xiuyu stretched out his little arms for Mu Xiao to hold him, and Mu Xiao scooped him up in one go!

He hugged Mu Xiao's neck tightly and said fearfully.

"Uncle, they look like they're going to eat me! I'm scared!"

Mu Xiao gently patted his back, comforting him.

"Young Master, don't be afraid, your subordinate will protect you!"

Mu Xiuyu nodded and buried his head in his neck.

Mu Xiao felt a mix of emotions. The young marquis had always been pampered and spoiled until he was five years old; he had never seen anyone like this before.

The scariest person I've ever seen before was a man in black, but at least he was of normal height and weight.

These refugees, resembling skeletons with red eyes, must have been cannibals if I'm not mistaken...

No wonder the young marquis was frightened; even he himself was a little scared.

These refugees can no longer be called human beings; how are they any different from animals, eating each other?

As soon as the group stepped out of the north gate and were about to breathe a sigh of relief, they saw densely packed migration caravans outside the city.

Some of them had donkey carts, oxcarts, and the like...

Some carried a small bag of grain on their backs, while many others went empty-handed...

Qinling had everyone light torches and bring out all the broadswords and short swords they had put away when entering the city gate.

Let all the children and women walk in the middle, the elderly on the inside, and the young and strong carrying weapons on the outside.

The refugees who had initially harbored some ideas all gave up upon seeing this situation.

Qin Ling ordered everyone to continue moving faster, and the children were put into Qin Xing and Qin Yi's carriage.

Qin Yunning and Qin Yunzhou sat in the driver's seat, while Qin Yunyang and Wang Chang'en sat on their other side.

Qin Yi and his wife, and Qin Xing and his wife, both got off the carriage and walked.

Wang Chang'en originally didn't want to sit, saying he wasn't tired and wanted to give it to Qin Yunyuan.

Qin Yunyuan asked a question

"Don't you consider me your cousin?"

Wang Chang'en then stopped being modest and simply said something to him with red eyes.

"Thank you, eldest cousin!"

How could Wang Chang'en not be tired? He was only thirteen years old!

Liu Zheng has already thrown away the shoes that were broken before…

He's currently wearing the shoes that Qin Yi and his wife prepared for Qin Yunyang, but they're a bit too big.

He walked like that all day, shuffling along without uttering a single complaint.

During this time, she was worried that the twins would get tired, so she planned to take turns carrying them, but Qin Liang stopped her!

He was still panicked inside; he was afraid that Qin Liang's family wouldn't see his value and would abandon him.

Even if Qin Liang made him burn the indenture in front of everyone...

He still believed he had been sold by his grandmother, that he was a servant, and that everyone in the Qin family was his master.

But he didn't expect that Qin Yunyuan, who had never spoken to him before...

They all accepted him as their adopted cousin!

At that moment, he truly felt like he belonged to the Qin family, not as a servant but as a member of the family.

Tears streamed down her red-rimmed eyes!

It wasn't a feeling of injustice, but rather happiness. From that moment on, regardless of whether his surname was Qin or not, he was a member of the Qin family!

Qinling was terrified to see the refugees eyeing him so menacingly; his village only had about twenty able-bodied men left…

The rest are mostly elderly, weak, women, and children. If these starving people really start fighting, they probably won't come out on top either.

He could only urge everyone to quicken their pace and move forward as fast as they could…

Liu Zheng's feet were already blistered, but she still gritted her teeth and persevered. Qin Liang offered to carry her, but she refused!

Liu Zheng knew that Qin Liang was also in a bad mood. As a scholar, he had already reached his limit by walking so far, and he definitely couldn't carry her on his back!

Qin Liang saw that Liu Zheng's face was pale and the veins on her forehead were bulging, proving that she must be in a lot of pain.

Qin Liang didn't care how precious the pills Qin Luo gave him were, and quickly stuffed one into Liu Zheng's mouth!

Gradually, Liu Zheng felt the pain in her foot wound subside, and she felt more energetic!

I just feel a little sorry for him, I think it's such a waste of Qin Liang's talent...

Qin Liang held her hand and talked as they walked.

"What is waste? It's when you know it hurts but don't use it, that's wasteful!"

The lake deep within Liu Zheng's heart was stirred by a gentle breeze, creating endless ripples.

She tightened her grip on Qin Liang's hand.

"Choosing to spend the rest of my life with you is the best decision I've ever made!"

"Me too!" Qin Liang's voice was gentle and pleasant!

After Mu Xiao put Mu Xiuyu into the carriage, he went to Doctor You's side and carried him on his back.

"Father, I'm sorry to have troubled you today. I hope you can forgive your son. I can't abandon the young marquis. His grandfather took me in and had people teach me martial arts, military strategy, reading and writing. The current marquis also treats us very well, so I can't let anything happen to the young marquis!"

Doctor You patted Mu Xiao's head.

"What are you saying, you silly boy? What do I blame you for? For your loyalty to your master? For your gratitude? What kind of person do you take me for? Your actions only prove that you are a good person!"

Seeing that Mu Xiao remained silent, he asked again.

"When you just said 'you,' were you referring to the ones who drove the carriage and drew the enemy away that day?"

Mu Xiao nodded sadly.

"We were a group of twelve escorting the young marquis to the capital when we were ambushed by spies from the enemy country a hundred miles outside the imperial city!"

"You guys are pretty amazing! You managed to escape from so far away to get here!"

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