"The rumors circulating are not entirely accurate. The Yun family did indeed raise five hundred people, but they were all orphans of soldiers who died in battle. They had nowhere else to go, so the Yun family raised them and taught them some self-defense skills to share the Emperor's burdens," Yun Mo said solemnly.

Huang Guichang looked at him talking nonsense with a straight face and sneered, "Since my nephew refuses to hand over the Yun family's private army token, don't blame me for being impolite."

After saying that, he slammed the cup in his hand to the ground.

Yun Mo stood up, suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness. Realizing something, he pointed at Huang Guichang and gritted his teeth, saying, "Huang Guichang, you are too despicable and shameless."

At that moment, five or six henchmen wielding swords rushed in from outside and pounced straight at him.

Yun Mo quickly drew his long sword and engaged in combat with his opponent. He had practiced martial arts since childhood and soon killed or wounded two people.

Huang Guichang, who was afraid of dying, hid to the side and shouted, "Take him down, and you'll get a reward of fifty yuan. Take down the Yun family brat, and you can do whatever you want, life or death."

He had already found out that the token to command the five hundred guards was on Yun Mo.

Seeing that the people inside were no match for the enemy, the guards outside the house sent in several more people one after another.

Yun Mo felt a growing heat rising within him, and his stamina was rapidly depleting. He knew things were going badly.

This couldn't go on. He glanced at the corner where Huang Guichang was hiding, swept his sword, and leaped into the air, throwing two hidden weapons from his sleeve, aiming them directly at Huang Guichang's face.

"grown ups!"

His men were shocked and immediately panicked, rushing to block the hidden weapons aimed at Huang Guichang.

Now! Seizing the opportunity, Yun Mo leaped out of another window.

Huang Guichang clutched his injured arm and said angrily, "Go after him, he's been drugged, he can't get far."

The subordinate obeyed the order and left, nearly colliding with Huang Yinyin, who was running wildly towards him from outside the door.

"Dad, what happened to your hand?"

"It's nothing, just a scrape. Yinyin, what are you doing here?" Huang Guichang raised his hand.

Looking at the mess on the ground, Huang Yinyin asked in confusion, "Where's Brother Yun?"

"He got away."

"They ran away?"

Huang Yinyin saw the empty wine jug on Yun Mo's seat, stomped her foot, turned around and ran out.

The next day, before dawn.

Lin Yinan was woken up by the villagers who got up early to tidy up.

Grandma Zhao was sitting on the ground tidying up, while Zhang and Lin Yirong were already cooking breakfast, making a thick millet and wild vegetable porridge with the two pheasants that Lin Yinan had hunted the night before.

The aroma filled the air, attracting villagers from the surrounding area to peek out.

After breakfast, as dawn broke, the villagers, led by the village chief, set off towards Xincheng.

The villagers learned last night that they would arrive in Xincheng by noon today, and their eyes lit up with hope. They walked much faster than they had in the previous two days.

The sun was still blazing in the sky in September.

After walking for nearly two hours along the mountain path, Lin Yinan and his group finally arrived at the official road.

This is the road that leads directly to Xincheng. The vegetation on both sides of the official road has been cut down and left bare.

The muddy road was covered with footprints. Lin Yinan glanced around and had a bad feeling.

After walking for another half hour, the towering city walls of Xincheng could be seen in the distance.

A huge crowd had gathered at the city gate.

"A lot of people?"

"Has the city gate not opened yet?"

"It's already noon, why haven't the city gates opened yet?"

...

The villagers started talking amongst themselves upon seeing this, and the village chief quickly pointed out a few quick-witted and eloquent young men to find out what was going on.

Lin Yinan had a bad feeling. With so many people stuck at the city gate, it would be difficult to get into the city.

Soon, the person who went to gather information returned and said that Xincheng had closed its city gates five days ago. The soldiers guarding the city were afraid that some Hu spies would infiltrate among the fleeing people, so they stipulated that Xincheng was only open to people leaving and not entering.

The villagers panicked when they heard this, especially those whose families had run out of food. They were hoping to go to Xincheng to buy some grain.

"Village chief, what do you think we should do now?"

Should we continue waiting here?

Some impulsive, fearless individuals shouted, "There are so many people at the city gate, let's all rush in!"

"Yes, there are so many of us, the soldiers can't just kill us all, can they?"

"No, what if the officials accuse us of being traitors and kill us? What can we do then?" This man was a seasoned traveler and had some experience.

"This won't do, that won't do, my family is out of food. Are we all going to starve to death?"

"My family is out of food. We ate wild vegetables all day yesterday, and now I'm so hungry I'm dizzy."

The atmosphere among the crowd was somber and oppressive.

"How about we talk to the soldiers guarding the city and see if we can let a few of us in, buy some grain, and then come out?" someone suggested earnestly.

"Yes, let's all chip in some money and give it to the city guards."

Everyone gathered around the clan chief and village chief, offering their suggestions.

As Lin Yinan listened to the villagers, he observed the people stranded at the city gate. They were all covered in dust and had chapped lips, indicating that they had been waiting there for several days.

With her sharp eyes, she quickly spotted several groups of people in the crowd. Some were eyeing the city gate with hostile intent, while others were scrutinizing the surrounding people.

In just a short while, the people of Linjia Village were targeted by two or three groups of people with ill intentions.

Finally, their gazes settled on the cattle and sheep being led by the villagers, as well as her two plump and strong horses, and they were practically drooling.

Hunger makes people lose their minds. She had seen too many people who would eat people when they were hungry, let alone two horses.

No, we can't stay here, we have to leave immediately.

The village chief and his men are collecting silver from house to house, preparing to bribe the soldiers guarding the city to enter.

Lin Yinan pushed through the crowd and interrupted them, "Uncle, village chief, we're being watched."

Then she told them what she had just observed, and the men in the village looked over without saying a word, and they were all taken aback.

“Village chief, Anan is right, several groups of people are watching us.”

The clan chief made a decisive decision: "Notify everyone that we must leave this place immediately."

"Chief, where are we going?"

The clan chief scratched his head, and Lin Yinan spoke first, "Let's go up the mountain and cross the forest to Sword City."

"Anan, the official road is easier to travel, why don't we take it?" Lin Shuo fully demonstrated his spirit of asking questions when he didn't understand.

Lin Yinan patiently replied, "There are too many people on the official road. If something happens, the villagers are easily scattered. Everyone is out of food, so it's easier to find food in the mountains."

Some quick-thinking villagers immediately thought, "There are many of us, and if we go into the mountains, they won't dare to follow us."

"Walk!"

At the village chief's command, the villagers quickly ran towards the mountains and forests in the direction of Jiancheng.

Lin Yinan looked back and saw a dozen people following Linjia Village at a distance.

We'll deal with them once we get up the mountain. Anyone who dares to mess with her horse will have to pay the price.

As she walked, she gathered useful plants, crushed them in a wooden bowl, and applied them to the two horses.