Lin Jinyue couldn't stand it anymore: "How could Prince Jing be so outrageous? He only cares about fighting and doesn't care about the lives of ordinary people?"

Lin Shucheng patted her head and carried her on his back: "Let's go, daughter, you sleep a little longer. You're still growing, don't worry too much, or you won't grow tall."

During this time, Lin Shucheng really felt sorry for his daughter. Why were these people so useless? They made his daughter worry about everything, and he couldn't sleep well at night.

Lin Jinyue lay on her father's back, not planning to discuss with the village chief and the night watchman later that they needed to strengthen the guard. Even the army under Prince Jing was coming to the mountains to find food. If they were to run into them, wouldn't they be in big trouble?

The others in the group remained silent, probably because they had all thought of this as well.

Let alone encountering an army, even encountering starving refugees would be enough to give them a hard time.

After it rains, the roads become muddy, and you step in mud every time you walk.

Lin Jinyue struggled to get down and walk, but Lin Shucheng firmly refused, afraid that her little arms and legs would get separated.

The ground was covered in mud, making it difficult for people and livestock to walk.

The cart carried the people who had kept watch all night. They had stayed up all night and were on edge, so it wasn't good to let them get off and walk any further. They could get some sleep if they could.

The villagers took turns pushing the cart. Some people felt sorry for the animals, so they would let the horses rest for a while and then pull it by hand.

This time, no one complained; everyone was eager to get to work.

After walking for half a day, we finally found a place to rest.

They deliberately avoided the county town, taking only mountain roads. They didn't dare to relax during the day, sending two or three people to climb trees and keep watch. The two brothers, Liu and his brother, also led a few people to hunt in the mountains. The women, having nothing to do, would pick some mushrooms, wild vegetables and fruits nearby to store up some food, because they couldn't just sit around and eat their fill.

Lin Jinyue entrusted the important tasks of hunting and guarding to Liu Laoda and Liu Laoer, and directly put the rare crossbow bolts on the two brothers. Liu the butcher became even more friendly towards him, and stuffed half a rabbit leg into Lin Jinyue's hand.

This was a rabbit that he had gone through great lengths to catch yesterday. It was skinny and barely had any meat on it, but his family managed to save half a rabbit leg for Lin Jinyue.

Lin Jinyue was also tempted. Even though the rabbit leg was only sprinkled with a little salt, she ate it with relish. After taking a bite, she stuffed it into her father's mouth. After Lin Shucheng finished eating, he gave it to his wife. Jiang Yun took a small bite and then gave it to her son.

This half rabbit leg, if each person takes a bite, is basically gone.

In modern times, why would she crave a rabbit leg like that?

They're tired of eating meat, yet they keep saying they want to eat vegetable salads to lose weight.

Watching Lin Xueqing take a bite of rabbit leg meat and then continue making crossbow bolts, Butcher Liu couldn't help but worry: "Hey, I always feel that this thing is too conspicuous."

Lin Shucheng: "It's eye-catching, and the horse is eye-catching too, but without these, we would all be dead."

Butcher Liu shook his head: "That's not what I meant. I meant that these crossbow bolts are clearly made of wood... If I'm not mistaken, the one Xueqing just made can pierce animal bones and leather armor, right? I noticed that the two my eldest and second eldest brothers were using were sometimes accurate and sometimes not. It's not because of anything else, but simply because the tools weren't good enough and the workmanship was too rough. Did Er Ya figure this out?"

Lin Shucheng spoke of his daughter with exceptional pride, "Of course! My daughter loves to study these things. She glanced at something in a book before, isn't she amazing?"

Butcher Liu continued, "Impressive. I'm afraid even the most skilled craftsmen under Prince Jing aren't as good as Yueyue."

Upon hearing this, the four members of the Lin family changed their expressions, and even the way they looked at Butcher Liu became wary.

They didn't know the extent of the development of weaponry, and they certainly didn't expect that Butcher Liu would know so much.

Butcher Liu noticed the strange look in the family's eyes and chuckled, "We're all from the same village, so there's no need to be wary of me. I'm not afraid to admit it, but I'm a deserter, a deserter from Prince Ning's army. If I had died on the battlefield defending my country, that would have been fine, but Prince Ning wanted to rebel... That's why I brought my whole family to Linjia Village."

Lin Shucheng breathed a sigh of relief. Liu the butcher's grandson was only five or six years old and got along well with the village children. After spending so many days together, they wouldn't suspect Liu the butcher because of his identity.

Butcher Liu continued, "I heard that Prince Jing and Prince Ning started capturing skilled craftsmen from the common people to serve them years ago. Those who were willing to serve were treated well and put under house arrest. Those who were unwilling had their kneecaps removed and their family members were arrested and threatened. If they dared not work, their family members' lives would be threatened."

This is a big problem.

If Prince Jing really sends people to search for their family, how can these fifty people plus crossbows be a match for Prince Jing's army?

It seems I need to be more careful in the future and try to avoid those government officials.

Lin Jinyue felt a sharp pain in her kneecaps. "Father, do you think I can make gunpowder...?"

Lin Shucheng sighed, "Where are we going to find materials? Sigh, let's rest up and get going, don't delay. Let's try to avoid them and avoid any conflict."

After taking a break at noon, everyone was reluctant to leave. Walking in the mud from dawn until noon was really tiring.

Lin Jinyue wished she could shout through a megaphone: "Everyone, stop resting! My dad and I studied the map, and we should be almost in the south. If we walk for a few more days, we'll reach Runan County. Once we pass Runan County, we'll be completely safe. There are lots of fruits in the mountains, and plenty to eat. The further south we go, the safer we'll be."

Sitting next to him, Butcher Liu asked, "Really? I've never heard of such a thing before?"

Lin Jinyue said matter-of-factly, "Nonsense, there has to be some hope, right?"

The road ahead is still treacherous.

Anyway, she's just a kid. Even if she doesn't say it right and people ask her about it, she'll just lie about it!

It's hard to walk on rainy days; every step you take leaves you covered in mud.

The livestock didn't want to leave.

They wished they could eat the livestock on the spot so they would still have the strength to pull the cart, but Lin Jinyue stopped them.

That's a horse!

Even if we sell them, we can't eat them!

But everyone was just saying it; they wouldn't actually eat it. They weren't starving, after all. Livestock are worth more than people.

The villagers would rather exert themselves pulling a cart than let their livestock suffer.

We finally managed to get this horse; we can't let it die like this.

They walked quite a distance before venturing onto the official road. There was no other way; apart from the official road, which was barely passable, the rest of the land was muddy and would be impossible to walk on without drying out in a couple of days.

However, the only good thing about rainy days is that there are more fish in the river.

The following afternoon, they finally found a slightly drier place and prepared to get some rest.

The fish basket that Lin Shucheng made came in handy again.