Many wealthy families migrated south, accompanied by horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, and mule carts, with maids, servants, and guards carrying knives.

A very small minority are all alone.

Lin Yinan's eyes quickly locked onto a shifty-eyed figure in the crowd. He quietly followed behind the family of three, his gaze fixed on the large bundle on the woman's back, his hands hanging at his sides rising and falling several times.

This person looks dishonest.

The man had a two- or three-year-old child strapped to his back with a cloth strip, and he was bending over as he pushed a cart with difficulty across the muddy ground.

The little girl was adorable and looked around curiously as she nibbled on her hand. She turned her head to look in the direction where Lin Yinan was.

Lin Yinan was immediately drawn to those clear, clean eyes, as dark and shiny as grapes.

Her heart softened instantly, and she dismounted, handing the reins to Qianwu.

People came and went, and Qianwu wanted to dismount and follow.

"Young lady, where are you going?"

Lin Yinan pressed her down, "I have something to take care of. You wait for me to come back."

She quickly made her way through the crowd to the thief, grabbed his hand as he reached for his bundle, and twisted it forcefully.

"Ah!" the thief screamed in pain.

The couple turned around and saw a beautiful young woman twisting a young man's hand out of shape.

"Let me go! What are you doing?"

The man noticed that the opening of the bundle behind the woman was loose, and only then did he come to his senses.

"Thank you for your help, young lady!"

Lin Yinan nodded, her eyes sweeping over the little doll on his back. The little doll, seeing her twisting the thief and making him scream, thought someone was playing with her and giggled happily, its drool wetting a large patch of the man's clothes on his back.

The clear, melodious laughter softened her hardened, cold heart, prompting her to add a few words: "There are many people, please take good care of your belongings and children."

The thief was young and frail, so Lin Yinan dragged him back to her own group.

Her gaze was icy, a stark contrast to her demeanor just moments before.

Lin Yiheng and Lin Shuo saw her dragging someone back, so they grabbed their knives and surrounded her.

"Anan, what happened?"

"Caught a thief." Lin Yinan said casually.

The thief was a little scared, wondering what she was going to do. "I didn't take anything."

“Answer my question and I’ll let you go.” Lin Yinan dragged him along with the group.

"Whatever the problem, I will tell you the truth," the thief said, patting his chest.

Lin Yinan asked, "Where did these refugees come from?"

The thief rolled his eyes instinctively and said stiffly, "Who knows where they came from?"

"Um?"

Lin Yinan stared at him coldly, clearly dissatisfied with his perfunctory attitude, and unconsciously tightened her grip.

"Ouch, it hurts! I say, the mixed barbarian allied forces have captured Yongzhou and massacred the city for three days. Officials from neighboring areas have long since fled with their families, and the people who have heard the news have moved their entire families south."

Lin Shuo and Lin Yiheng were shocked to hear this, "Yongzhou and Yicheng have both fallen."

While the three were deep in thought, the thief's eyes darted around, taking in the contents of the carriage.

Lin Yinan pressed the hilt of her sword against the thief's neck; the icy touch made the thief dare not look around anymore.

"Did you manage to find out any news about the capital along the way?"

The thief glanced around warily and lowered his voice, saying, "I heard that the Emperor left Shangjing with some concubines and officials, saying that Shangjing was too close to the Hu people, and some court officials suggested that the Emperor move the capital."

Lin Yinan was somewhat incredulous, wondering what kind of country she had transmigrated to.

The capital was on the verge of collapse, yet the emperor still wanted to move it; that was truly bizarre.

Lin Yinan let go of his hand, took out a wild vegetable pancake that she hadn't eaten that morning from her pocket, stuffed it into his hand, and waved it at the thief, "Here, you can go now."

The thief glanced at the pancake in his hand, then at Lin Yinan and his group walking away. Many people around him were staring at the pancake in his hand with greedy eyes.

Without hesitation, he stuffed it into his mouth. Afraid that he would be snatched away if he chewed too slowly, he barely chewed it before stretching his neck and swallowing it down. Finally, his body felt a little warm.

Riding on horseback, Yun Mo was afraid that the people of Linjia Village would fall behind, so he kept looking back.

When he saw Lin Yinan dismount to stop a petty thief who was trying to steal, and look at the baby behind the man with tenderness in her eyes, he was stunned for a moment.

It seems that she only lets down her guard and softens when she is with children.

Yunmo simply stopped where he was.

When Lin Yiheng and the others approached, he asked, "What happened just now?"

He asked Lin Yiheng, but his eyes were fixed on Lin Yinan.

Lin Yiheng relayed what the thief had said to him. Yun Mo seemed to have thought of something, and without saying a word, he turned his horse around and galloped quickly towards the front of the group.

Before long, Lin Yinan noticed that five or six of the Yun family's secret guards had changed out of their uniforms and were now wearing tattered clothes as they walked out of the group and blended into the flow of refugees.

Ordinary migrants on the official road would stop and go, and wherever a little bit of green sprouted in the fields, mountains, or roadsides, regardless of whether it would kill them, people would rush up to snatch it. They would even fight over a single wild vegetable the length of a finger.

No one went to stop the fight; everyone walked forward wearily and numbly, like emotionless walking robots.

As the sun began to set in the west, the sky gradually darkened.

The roadside was filled with refugees who had stopped to rest. Some gathered branches to start a fire, while others simply lay down on the ground, not caring whether they could get up the next day.

Many people think it would be best if they couldn't get up, because if they did, they would just continue to suffer.

The Yun family's secret guards found a flat, wasteland for everyone to rest, as it was a bit far from the main road.

Lin Yinan unloaded two bundles of firewood from the horse. She had seen people picking them up while they were traveling, so she asked Qianxia and her sister to pick them up as they went.

After lighting a fire, Lin Shuo set up a small tent. The night was cool and the children were weak, so they had to sleep in the tent to avoid getting sick.

Lin Yuanzhi rushed over to find Lin Yiheng, "Brother Heng, there are dozens of refugees who have set up camp here with us. They keep staring at our village and occasionally huddle together to discuss something. I'm afraid they might do something bad at night."

"Then we must be more vigilant tonight. Come, let me go with you to inform Young Master Yun."

Lin Yinan picked up his sword and walked toward the place where the refugees had gathered. Perhaps seeing that there were more fires here, many refugees with their families came here to rest in the dark.

On the way back, Yun Mo was leading a patrol of the camp.

With Yun Mo and the others acting as a deterrent, those bandits with wicked intentions dared not make any moves against the people of Linjia Village for the time being.

Nevertheless, something still happened in the middle of the night.

Just as Lin Yinan was drifting off to sleep, a scream shattered the silence of the night, followed by the curses of bandits. In the distance came the sounds of knives cutting flesh and people being gaggled while crying for help.

The bandits made their move. She rolled over, stood up, and stood in front of the fire, holding her knife.

The air was filled with the strong smell of blood mixed with the smell of dirt.