Dazhuang glanced back casually, his pupils contracted slightly, and his voice was filled with fear: "Mom, it's a wildfire! A wildfire has broken out!"

The weather is currently dry, and with months of drought making plants more susceptible to fire and lack of water, wildfires can spread very easily.

If we're lucky, the fire might only burn down the hilltop where it started, but if we're unlucky, the fire could spread along the dense forest...

The valley where they were located was at least a day or two away from the foot of the mountain, and they couldn't escape in the short term. However, the wildfire was spreading very quickly.

Upon hearing this, the younger children panicked, clinging tightly to Ye Wenxue's clothes, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Ye Wenxue had no time to comfort the children. She threw down the basket she was carrying on her shoulder, grabbed Siwang with one hand, and called to the other three children, "Quickly, hurry up and follow your mother."

Dazhuang reacted quickly, pulling the stunned Shuangshuang and Sanyuan aside, and followed Ye Wenxue as she ran back into the valley.

Before the wildfire reached us, we couldn't escape down the mountain anyway, so we might as well listen to our mother and take a gamble; maybe we could get through it safely.

Ye Wenxue led the children back to the earthen house, put down the baskets and hampers, rummaged through their identification documents, the two wooden basins in the house, and a few pieces of cloth, and then took all the silver to release the geese:

"Let's go to the lake below. The valley isn't far from the fire's origin; it's unlikely to escape unscathed."

The valley is surrounded by cliffs, making it poorly ventilated. When a wildfire comes, smoke and dust tend to accumulate, making it difficult to escape.

Although the weeds and wild trees around the earthen house had been cleared, and it might not necessarily catch fire, Ye Wenxue dared not gamble with the lives of her children.

Rather than being stuck in the valley in a dilemma, it's better to stay by the lake; the wildfire can't possibly burn the lake to the ground.

Dazhuang, clutching the small bow, nodded emphatically, then pulled along Shuangshuang and Sanyuan, who were still in shock, and followed Ye Wenxue as they turned and left the valley, running towards the edge of the cliff.

In just a short while, the wildfire had spread across the entire mountain, and billowing smoke, like a ghost, lunged and lashed out in all directions.

The nearby hills were quickly affected, and the small red light gradually expanded into a prairie fire.

Shuangshuang also saw this hellish scene and said in a hoarse voice, "Mother, I'm scared."

Sanyuan and Siwang responded with a soft hum.

Siwang almost burst into tears: "Mother, I don't want to be roasted alive, all black and charcoal, and Father won't even recognize us when we get down there."

No matter how alert they are on ordinary days, these children are no more than eight years old. When faced with unpredictable and uncontrollable dangers, they are still at a loss and even panic to the point of having their minds completely muddled.

“We’ll go to the center of the lake. No matter how badly the wildfire burns, it can’t boil a big lake dry. We’ll be fine.”

Ye Wenxue was anxiously tying the hemp rope, secretly regretting that she had always tied it every time she went down, fearing that some evil people might take advantage of the situation to climb up and find the valley, which made it quite inconvenient now.

Dazhuang hugged Sanyuan and Siwang tightly, patting their heads reassuringly one by one: "Alright, Mom said everything will be fine. We all need to trust Mom, okay?"

Sanyuan nodded repeatedly, tears welling in his eyes.

Siwang buried his face in Dazhuang's arms, hugging him tightly and sobbing softly.

Ye Wenxue retied the rope and carried the children down the cliff one by one. Just as she was about to go catch the goose, she saw it flap its wings and fly down.

Animals are more perceptive than humans, especially intelligent geese.

As soon as it flew off the cliff, it quickly ran to the lake, calling out to Ye Wenxue and the others.

Ye Wenxue carried the innocent and clueless Yuanyuan on her back, and pulled Shuangshuang and Sanyuan along the way, walking quickly ahead.

Da Zhuang held Si Wang tightly with one arm and carried the stacked wooden basins in the other, roughly guessing Ye Wenxue's thoughts.

The wildfire was spreading too rapidly, and firefighting efforts were futile.

The valley is surrounded by rock walls, but the cliffs are not without trees, so it is both safe and unsafe.

The danger lies in the possibility of being choked by thick smoke or being scorched by fire on the rock walls, which could then burn down the trees along the rock walls into the valley.

If we stay in the valley and a fire breaks out inside, we'll truly be at our wits' end.

It would be better to go straight down into the lake, immerse yourself in it, and survive the wildfire.

Ye Wenxue, who was walking at the front, turned around and arrived at the lakeside.

After more than a month of scorching sun, the lake has shrunk a bit, but it should last for another six months or so without much trouble.

Ye Wenxue's family arrived late. There were many animals swimming in the lake, such as pheasants, wild ducks, wild swans, and even wild boars, rabbits, wild goats... and even a few tigers.

The natural enemies gathered together, neither eating meat nor causing trouble, but simply lingering by the lake, barely managing to survive.

Various calls echoed across the vast lake.

"So much meat..." Siwang looked at the numerous animals on the lake and for a moment forgot about the wildfire burning behind him, and began to crave meat.

Da Zhuang forced a smile and patted him on the back: "Let's save your life first, then we can talk about meat or not."

Ye Wenxue followed the goose to a lake with few animals, not far from the shore. She took the wooden basin and split it, putting Xiao Yuanyuan in one basin and everyone's identification documents and some valuables in the other.

"When the wildfire reaches the area around the lake, we will go into the water to escape the fire."

Ye Wenxue patted the children's heads reassuringly, thinking to herself that it was indeed a year of disaster, with too many life-threatening things happening.

Compared to wildfires, bandits are nothing.

Dazhuang was still extremely uneasy: "Mother, all our belongings are still in the valley, including the grain, rice, flour, vegetables and fruits we've stored. Why don't you wait here while I go and get a few bags of grain before the wildfire spreads over?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dazhuang suddenly realized that Siwang in his arms was pulling harder on his clothes.

Ye Wenxue dared not let him take the risk: "No. Look, the black smoke is already drifting over the lake. The wildfire will probably reach us soon. If you're hungry, I brought some steamed buns. Have one to tide you over."

Da Zhuang frowned, withdrew his gaze from the tigers that had been glancing at him almost imperceptibly, and shook his head: "I'm not hungry, I'm just afraid that all the food I've stockpiled will be burned."

The thought of all the grain they had painstakingly stored in the valley being burned to ashes filled Dazhuang with heartache and resentment.

These are winter supplies that Mom and the others went through a lot of trouble to stockpile!

Ye Wenxue smiled gently: "If it's burned, it's burned. There's nothing we can do about it. As long as everyone is alright and no one is hurt, that's fine."

Unexpected events can happen at any time, but luckily she still had some brown rice and prepared food in her space, which should be enough to last her for a few more days.

"Mother, look! The sky is getting brighter!" Sanyuan said, pointing to the red glow of the sunset while watching over Yuanyuan, who kept trying to escape from the wooden tub.

“It’s over there too,” Shuangshuang observed carefully, pointing to the other side separated from the wildfire, and said in a panic.

Ye Wenxue looked over there, feeling increasingly uncertain.

This wildfire will probably burn for two or three days before it's extinguished, and it's uncertain whether it will survive.

In the anxious wait, the black smoke grew thicker and thicker, carrying with it a cloud of ash, and began to encroach on the lake.