If it were daytime, everyone would see that his face was covered in pustules and his skin had begun to ulcerate, which was quite horrifying. This person seemed to have a lot of authority, and at his command, the others rushed forward recklessly.

The traps set by Song Zhuiyan and Zhong Qingyi would not kill anyone; at most, they would only delay the arrival of the people into the village. Realizing this, the refugees became even more fearless and rushed into the village with all their might.

"Hurry up, these people are crazy." The little girl Song Tantan ran faster than the tall Song Zhuiyan. She didn't need to look to imagine how terrible those plague-stricken refugees were. Her life was at stake, so she had to run fast.

Zhong Qingyi had been waiting anxiously for a long time. When she saw that it was Song Zhuiyan and Song Tantan who had returned, she immediately directed everyone to walk up the mountain at the end of the village. As long as they crossed this mountain, they could walk a few miles to reach another village. This was a route that had been scouted beforehand.

Actually, that village might not be safe either; we'll just have to see how things go eventually.

Song Tantan, with her short legs, huffed and puffed as she led the way, carrying a knife. She held an invisible flashlight in her hand, wore sneakers, and had her calves bound with strips of cloth. The others also had their calves bound, something Song Zhuiyan had reminded them of beforehand. This was to prevent leg pain from walking for a long time and to prevent stepping on snakes or insects on the road and getting bitten.

Song Zhuiyan quickly caught up and walked with her, Zhong Qingyi brought up the rear, and Ye Moxun mingled in the crowd.

After traveling for about three hours, the group hurried along. As dawn broke, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. With daylight, they could see everything around them clearly, which gave them a greater sense of security.

We hadn't slept all night, and everyone was exhausted, especially the younger children, whose faces were frighteningly pale—a result of the combined stress of panic and exhaustion.

"Everyone, rest here for a while, eat something, and take a nap before you go." Catching up on sleep is out of the question; what if those plague-stricken refugees come after us?

Everyone was running low on food; each person had less than two ounces of rice, which had all been cooked and were now being eaten dry with the water from their water bags.

Song Zhuiyan cooked fifty catties of rice noodles, put them in a bowl and soaked them in water to make rice porridge, which was simple and convenient. However, she only put ten catties in her bag, and the rest were in Song Tantan's space.

"How did those bastards find us so quickly? We've run out of food. If more food comes in later, won't that just benefit them?" Zhu Xiu said indignantly. After eating the last bit of fried rice they had, they had nothing left to eat.

In the eyes of Zhu Xiu and the others, that village was a treasure land, mysterious and sacred. When there was no water to drink, water would seep out from the cracks in the rocks; when there was no food, food would fall from the sky; when the roof was damaged by heavy rain, something to shelter them from the rain would appear in the middle of the night. Now they were handing it over to others for nothing, and they were really unwilling.

“If we don’t leave, we’ll get infected and die. What’s the use of food then? As long as we’re alive, there’s hope. After a heavy rain, everything is starting to revive. As long as we get through winter, we won’t have to worry about not finding food next spring.” Song Zhuiyan calmly explained to everyone, hoping that they would be strong-willed and not be reluctant to leave that small village.

There are no gods or bodhisattvas there. All the food is in Tantan's space. They can only survive by following Tantan. Unfortunately, these words cannot be told to them. They can only persuade them with other reasons.

"It's only early autumn now, and there are still more than four months until next spring. It will snow in winter. Will we have to eat snow to survive then?" Zhu Xiu is from the north, so she knows the climate here very well.

During the drought three years ago, it snowed in winter, but the snowfall was not heavy. Everyone survived by relying on the snowmelt; otherwise, the people would have died of thirst long ago.

There was a heavy rain before, and the snow this winter is expected to be even heavier. They don't have cotton-padded coats or food, so they probably won't be able to survive the snowy winter.

"The worst outcome is death. These past few years of fleeing famine have been about taking things one step at a time. Living one more day is a bonus. What can thinking so much change?"

"Why not focus on the immediate future? What's more important than survival?" Ye Moxun's cold voice rang out, his few words piercing the heart and enlightening everyone.

Yes, their lives were spared. The entire Jin Dynasty was in chaos, and everyone was just living day to day. How could they expect to live a peaceful and undisturbed life after only a few days of stability? That's just wishful thinking.

"Don't be discouraged. I still have some food here, enough to last a few days. Once we get over this mountain and find someone, we'll figure something out." Song Zhuiyan slowly reassured her. She wasn't in a hurry; she just wanted to run away as quickly as possible and get far away from those people suffering from the plague.

If she hadn't been so heartless as to abandon these women and children, she would have run away with Tantan long ago; there would have been no need for her to rack her brains to make up so many stories.

“Those who want to live, stick close to us. My aunt and I are very capable, and Uncle Zhong is also very capable. Finding food and clothing will not be a problem. If you believe us, follow us. If you don’t believe us, you can find your own way out. We won’t force you.” Song Tantan wasn’t very patient. Before, she and her aunt had gone to great lengths to get the grain out of the village.

Back then, when we weren't in a rush, she had the time to consider everyone's feelings. But after traveling all night, her short legs were exhausted, and she got irritable. These people can go or not, and no one can stop them from going back to the village. They can only blame their bad luck.

Zhu Xiu's face stiffened, and she quickly tried to appease him, "That's not what I meant. I just felt it was a pity. Oh well, it's pointless to say anything more now. Escaping is the priority. I won't say such discouraging things again."

The other two women were indecisive; they followed whatever Song Zhuiyan and the others said. They were exhausted from running away with a child in their arms, and had no energy to think about anything else. They seemed to have returned to the days when they were fleeing more than two months ago, their expressions filled with despair and numbness.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!