Looking ahead, there's no way to escape; everything is sealed off, and there's simply no way to get out.

Xu Yuehuai then observed the officials and saw that they all looked very impatient, as if they didn't want to save the refugees at all, but wanted to take them somewhere to end the matter as soon as possible.

After Xu Yuehuai noticed something was wrong, she tugged at Xia Sen and led him slowly along, not following behind the others. Gradually, they drifted further and further away from the people in front, ending up at the very back of the group.

There were several hundred people in the group, forming a long, densely packed line. No one paid much attention to the people around them; everyone was focused on making their own way.

When Xu Yuehuai finally spoke to Xia Sen beside her, she said, "I sense that these officials are acting strangely! They don't seem to be trying to rescue us. The road we're on doesn't look like a way out at all. If we keep following them, who knows what dangers might come our way?"

Xia Sen felt particularly strange when he heard this. The officials had been urging them to go to a certain place, but they hadn't seen any signs of excavation along the way, so it didn't seem like there was any wrong turn in the road.

"Sister, where do they want to take us? What are they going to do to us? What should we do now?"

Xu Yuehuai said, "I guess they wanted to kill all those who might have contracted the plague, so that the plague wouldn't spread to others. I never expected them to have such a plan. They are truly vicious and ruthless."

"Now we're following behind these people, but we must not let them discover that we already know something is amiss. Let's hide here for now and find an opportunity to sneak away later."

"We are currently at the very back of the group. Even if we sneak away, we will be perfectly safe as long as we are not discovered."

Xia Sen nodded quickly and said to Xu Yuehuai, "Okay, I will follow your arrangements, sister. I will do whatever you ask me to do later."

"Okay, don't worry. Since I promised to take you with me to escape, I will never break my promise. Just stay here and I'll tell you when we're going to escape."

Xu Yuehuai spoke to Xia Sen in a particularly gentle tone.

"Thank you, sister! If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to stay with my grandfather. He would have definitely been killed by those people. I'm so grateful to you, sister."

Xia Sen quickly thanked Xu Yuehuai.

Xu Yuehuai said slowly.

"This is all I should do, you don't need to thank me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to escape with you. Those people locked up in the temporary refugee camp, I don't know what will become of them. Maybe the officials are afraid they've also contracted the plague, and they might get rid of them all. Who knows?"

"At least we've gotten out of the temporary refugee camp, and now we have a chance to escape, which is a good thing."

Hearing this, Xia Sen felt relieved and then followed closely beside Xu Yuehuai, helping his grandfather along the way.

As evening approached, they finally arrived at a place that was a depression.

The officials suddenly addressed the refugees behind them, saying, "It's getting late, and it's about to get dark. If we continue on our way, we might encounter some danger at night. Let's all stop and rest here for a while before continuing our journey."

Upon hearing this, the refugees nearby immediately nodded and stopped, wanting to rest there for a while before continuing their journey the next day.

But just as these refugees were about to settle down, they suddenly felt a violent earthquake, and then the ground began to collapse. Several people were accidentally swallowed up and fell into the pit, immediately bleeding from their heads. Some others lost their lives instantly.

"Ah—! What's going on? Why did the ground suddenly collapse? Come quick, help me!"

"Help! I don't want to die! Officials, please come and save me!"

"I've fallen! Help!"

"Those of you who are standing still, come and save people!"

However, no matter how much those who fell screamed, no one dared to go down and save them, and yet more and more people continued to fall.

Some people lost their footing and fell accidentally, while others were kicked down by the officers.

It's so dark now. Those who were kicked off have no idea who kicked them off. They think they were kicked off by the refugees around them.

"We're all in the same boat, why did you kick me off? Why did you want to kill me? I didn't do anything wrong, please, please save me!"

"Why did someone kick me off the stage? Does someone really want me dead?"

"Who kicked me down? You'll get what's coming to you!"

"At a time like this, why would you still harm your own people? You're not even human!"

But no matter how much they shouted, they received no response.

Xu Yuehuai and Xia Sen had already sensed something was wrong, so they immediately stopped moving forward and quickly retreated, wanting to find an opportunity to leave as soon as possible.

Seeing the people around them being kicked into the pit by the officials, they were all shocked. But there was nothing they could do. There were only the two of them and a sick person. They had no way to stop it. All they could do was get out alive and report the matter to the court.

Just as they were secretly trying to slip away, the officers nearby suddenly spotted them and immediately shouted at them.

"What are you doing? Where are you trying to escape to?"

"You just harmed those people, and now you want to run away? There's absolutely no way you can escape! Stop right there!"

"Stop right there! Don't run any further!"

These officials were trying to frame Xu Yuehuai and his group; when they said this, they were simply slandering them.

Having learned of the ugly nature of these people, Xu Yuehuai and his group dared not linger and could only flee forward as quickly as possible.