Lin Jinyue sighed. How could she not understand that the world was like this? She could save these hundred or so people, but in places she couldn't see, there were countless other tyrants like Master Zhu who preyed on the common people.

In ancient times, even in times of peace and prosperity, people struggled to survive; how much more so in times of chaos?

The scene on the mountain had a tremendous impact on her.

The little girl, not even ten years old, was being molested at will; her eyes were empty and lifeless, filled with despair.

Lin Jinyue clenched her fists. She couldn't save these people, nor did she have the ability to do so. But in the future, once she gained a foothold in this ancient world, she would definitely kill all those disgusting nobles one by one.

Lin Shucheng watched his daughter from the side, feeling heartbroken but helpless.

*

They didn't wait until evening; the Li family arrived in the afternoon.

Two large horse-drawn carriages and a handcart, carrying families and a considerable amount of grain and important items.

They also brought all their blacksmithing tools.

Li the blacksmith breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness, thank goodness, we made it in time. Brother Lin, you have no idea how worried we were on the way back. With so much stuff, we had no way to get back to the city."

This time, Li the blacksmith really went all in. He sold his house and land at a low price to get money, and he also gritted his teeth and sold all the valuable items in his house that were inconvenient to make.

Seeing that Li the blacksmith had brought his whole family, more than a dozen people in total, Lin Shucheng didn't beat around the bush and said, "Yesterday the situation was urgent, and I didn't have time to explain in detail to you."

"We're going to Lingnan this time. The journey is long and arduous, but we have a doctor with us. If you've thought it through, we'll go together."

There was a hint of worry in Li the blacksmith's eyes: "Can the doctor cure miasma?"

Lin Shucheng nodded: "It can be cured."

Originally, his family felt that the north was too chaotic and the south was plagued by miasma, so they thought it would be better to stay here and make plans slowly.

Unexpectedly, Lin Shucheng's wife could cure miasma.

This would greatly increase their chances of surviving on the road.

However, he also advised, "Also, the people in our village are naive, so don't tell everyone everything. Not everyone can be trusted."

Lin Shucheng briefly explained the situation of their Lin family. Although they had separated, it was indeed not easy to drive them away.

Once they're almost in Lingnan and they're all safe, they'll find an excuse to drive Lin Youliang and his family away.

Lin Shucheng led them along a small path, following the marks, until they found the temporary hiding place of the Lin family villagers.

As luck would have it, as soon as they arrived there, they heard Jiang Yun and Lin Youliang arguing.

Jiang Yun, who usually had a good temper, now imitated the village women, putting her hands on her hips and scolding: "You shameless old man? You want a perfectly good young virgin to be your Erluzi's wife? At your age, why are you still looking at young girls with such lecherous eyes?"

"Get rid of those filthy thoughts!"

As she spoke, Jiang Yun glanced at Lin Youliang's family, young and old, and said, "What, you think you can ruin other girls just because they're not your sisters? You think you can mess around just because they have no one to rely on? They're all poor girls. Who would dare to take advantage of them just because they're orphans? I'll cripple you all. If I stick this needle in your body, even if Hua Tuo were alive, he might not be able to restore you to your original state."

Every man felt a chill somewhere.

Jiang Yun was truly enraged this time.

In the blink of an eye, it was discovered that Lin Youliang, that shameless old man, had actually set his sights on his niece.

The little girl was so frightened that she quickly burrowed into the crowd.

Those beasts in the Lin family specifically prey on orphaned girls. Sisters like Lin Chunhua and Lin Qiaohua from the village were lucky to survive, as their parents and brothers had all perished.

The two were only fifteen or sixteen years old. The eldest brother, Lin, even touched the young girl inappropriately, saying that he wanted to find a wife for his son.

Jiang Yun was disgusted.

How can there be such a malicious person?

Unfortunately, in ancient times, such matters concerned a woman's reputation, so even if others wanted to make a decision, they would hesitate to do so for fear of damaging her name.

Lin Youcai also stepped forward and said to them, "Now that we're all fleeing famine together, from now on, we eight households with fifty-four people are one family. Chunhua and Qiaohua are both my granddaughters. Let's see who dares to bully them from now on!"

At this moment, many men stood up and said, "From now on, Chunhua and Qiaohua will be my nieces. If they suffer any grievances in the future, they can tell their uncles. We are all from the same clan. I never thought that some people would be worse than beasts, not even sparing their own nieces."

Lin Jinyue felt a surge of displeasure as she watched this scene, and the thought of the ten-year-old girl made her anger rise even higher.

Isn't this disgusting?

He was the original owner's biological father.

Honestly, if he had a choice, he would never want to wear the clothes of this family.

It's unsettling.

Lin Jinyue glanced at Lin Youliang's family and made a decisive statement: "We absolutely cannot leave such a menace on our journey."

As soon as Lin Jinyue finished speaking, Lin Xueqing stepped forward and subdued the old man in a few quick movements, tying his arms and legs and gagging him.

Even the usually good-tempered Lin Youcai remained silent, his attitude clearly indicating that he sided with Lin Jinyue.

However, there were still some well-meaning but blindly kind people in the village who wanted to plead for leniency.

Unexpectedly, Lin Shucheng and his family of four looked over with chilling eyes.

He could guarantee that if he dared to say today that it wasn't a big deal and that he would be more careful in the future, Lin Shucheng would definitely not be happy to let them walk together.

But some people just feel that since they are all of the same blood and flesh, they really can't bear to part with them.

Lin Youcai said, "Er Ya is right. We can't keep this black sheep around. Lin Youliang has caused everyone so much trouble along the way; we can't let him live."

Several elderly people in the village stood up and agreed with Lin Jinyue's approach.

However, Lin Youcai noticed that there were still strangers. He looked at the dozen or so people following behind Lin Shucheng, but did not immediately deal with Lin Youliang's family. His eyes were filled with doubt.

Seeing that the village chief's attitude was clear and that everyone else agreed with his approach, Lin Jinyue felt that it was still possible to stay with the people of Linjia Village.

Otherwise, even if the road ahead is dangerous and there is no one to help each other or keep watch at night, she would not be willing to stay with this group of people.

It's one thing for the Lin family to take advantage of others in small ways, but they even went so far as to use their name to take advantage of a young girl.

In this chaotic world, they were already vulnerable. Whatever they were forced to do could truly ruin their lives in this era.

Looking at the Lin Youliang family members who were tied together, Lin Jinyue finally felt relieved.

Lin Jinyue then introduced the Li family to everyone: "My father met them in Runan County. Uncle Li is a skilled blacksmith, and we wanted him to help us make some exquisite things in the future. It just so happens that his family is also in trouble, so we've come together to escape this hardship."

Li the blacksmith was initially unsure of himself, worried that his family was weak and easily bullied.

But now that I've seen that woman stand up and speak up to protect those orphans, I have even more faith in the character of this group. It seems I made the right bet this time.

But why did he feel that the person in charge here was not Lin Shucheng, but his daughter?