"Mother, there's a little dog hole behind the house. We can climb out," Erni whispered to Li Rouniang.
Li Rouniang asked, "How did you know?"
"I saw everyone talking about it, so I quietly ran over and took a look, and that's when I saw it." Erni said, looking down at her little hands.
My mother told her not to run around, but she's not being good.
Li Rouniang patted Erni's head and said, "You can't run around like that next time, okay? It's so chaotic now, I won't be able to find you later."
"I understand, Mother." Erni nodded, as if her mother knew that Ai Ai was a restless person.
“Clan leader, why don’t we go to the back of this house? There’s some shelter there,” Li Rouniang suggested.
There were many people around at this time, and there were no tree branches to provide shade, so she didn't dare to take out the small tent. But she was also afraid that the children would catch a cold and get sick if they were outside like this.
Zhao Youtian nodded and led everyone to the backyard.
That corner of the wall did offer some shelter from the wind.
"How about we kick everyone out and then go in?" Zhao Dahua suggested.
Listen to her, everyone! She's heartless! Those are all children, sick children! How could she say such a thing? Nobody paid any attention. Zhao Dahua curled her lip, thinking these people were unreasonable!
Li Rouniang took out the winter mat and small quilt from the space using the large basket.
They covered everyone with a thick blanket, and had the little ones huddle together while the adults kept them warm in the corner.
Others followed suit, one after another, and the temperature seemed to rise a little.
In this hazy, half-awake state, Li Rou Niang suddenly heard a "whoosh" sound from the courtyard, a sound of something cutting through the air. Startled, she opened her eyes and saw a flaming arrow shot straight onto the roof.
Not only did she wake up, but Zhao Youtian and the other adults also woke up one after another.
By this time, countless rockets had already been launched, and Zhao Youtian hurriedly called for everyone to get up. He was so anxious that he didn't know what to do.
The people inside the house discovered the fire and rushed out. Just then, they saw the rocket pierce through their chests, sending them crashing to the ground, their bodies ablaze, writhing and screaming in agony!
Li Rouniang's eyes widened in utter shock; this was murder!
"Waaaaah! I don't want to die here!" someone nearby cried out.
The crying immediately brought Li Rouniang back to her senses. She quickly shielded the children and then asked Erni, "Erni, where is the dog hole you mentioned? Take your mother there quickly."
"It's over there," Erni said, pointing to Li Rouniang. Li Rouniang looked at the pile of weeds over there; it was hard to see without looking closely. But there it was—a dog hole.
She quickly shouted to Zhao Youtian, "There's a dog hole over here! Chieftain, quickly lead everyone through the dog hole to escape!"
After saying that, she grabbed Old Man Mo, Xiu'er, Brother Dahe, and the children, and ran ahead of them.
Li Rou Niang had the Dahe brothers take the lead, and then Old Man Mo carried Xiao Shan through, followed by Da Ni and Er Ni. Then Xiu carried Xiao Cao through, and she carried San Ni through as well. She looked back and saw Zhao Youtian leading a group of clansmen running this way. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly crawled out.
It was pitch black outside the wall, and no one seemed to be paying attention to them. It appeared to be a dark alley, which relieved her.
Before long, Zhao Youtian organized his clansmen, with the elderly, women and children crawling out first, and the men bringing up the rear. They all crawled out one after another, and fortunately, no one was injured or killed.
"Chieftain, what should we do now?" someone asked, trembling.
For a moment, Zhao Youtian was at a loss. He was also in a dilemma. This was the first time in his life that he had faced such a situation. What should he do?
"Chieftain, why don't we hide by the city gate now, and run out as soon as it opens tomorrow morning?" Li Rouniang suggested. This place was too terrifying; she didn't want to stay here for another second!
This city lord is truly ruthless; if they stay, they'll likely be killed to silence them.
"Okay, okay, we'll go now." Zhao Youtian nodded hastily. The group crept towards the city gate, hiding in a dark corner. They had a very hard night. At dawn, the city gates opened wide, and the group lined up and discreetly walked out of the city.
Hearing the people around them discussing how a house had caught fire the night before, killing many people and expressing their deep sorrow, their hearts sank. It wasn't a fire; they had been burned alive. Thankfully, they had escaped.
"Chief, where do we go next?" The group had successfully left the city and stood on the main road, wondering what kind of situation awaited them ahead.
Zhao Youtian gritted his teeth and said, "Let's continue south."
The group nodded silently, their faces covered in dust, and continued walking with Zhao Youtian. They were still very close to Jiangcheng, and they were afraid that the yamen runners would discover they had escaped and come after them, which would be disastrous.
So everyone walked all day without stopping, and it wasn't until evening that they finally settled down in the wild.
"Doggy, my Doggy, waaaaah."
At that moment, the sound of Gouwa's mother crying could be heard.
Li Rouniang's heart tightened, and she and the others rushed over, only to see Gouwa's lips tightly pressed together, his face pale; he was gone just like that.
Gouwa's mother cried uncontrollably, and Gouwa's father was also wiping away tears beside her. Zhao Youtian felt terrible too.
After all, it's a village, and we've watched our children grow up. It's always heartbreaking to see them gone like this.
"If you ask me, we should bury him as soon as possible. He's a plague, and it would be bad if he spreads to all of us."
At this moment, Zhao Dahua's voice came out inappropriately.
The dog, its eyes bloodshot, glared at Zhao Dahua, as if it wanted to devour her whole. Zhao Dahua, terrified, took a step back.
Hiding behind Zhao Hulu, he stubbornly insisted, "I'm right. It was Mr. Gouwa's illness that infected all the children in the first place. Now that he's gone, shouldn't we bury him quickly? Are we waiting for him to infect us all?"
"Shut up!" Zhao Hulu pulled Zhao Dahua to the side. He was really afraid that Gouwa's mother would go crazy and hurt Dahua's unborn grandson. This Dahua was really selfish and vicious, and had no sense of propriety.
Dogwa's mother held Dogwa tightly and wept bitterly. Everyone else felt heavy-hearted but didn't know what to say to comfort her.
"Mother, did Gouwa faint?" Erni looked at Li Rouniang innocently, hoping her mother would nod in agreement.
She heard the adults say that Gouwa had died, and how it was such a pity that such a good child had died. But she still hoped it was not true. Gouwa was the first friend in the village to lend her a helping hand, and he would occasionally secretly share his treats with her. She didn't want anything to happen to Gouwa.
Li Rouniang didn't know how to answer, so she just stroked Erni's head without saying a word. But Erni understood that Gouwa was not coming back. She lowered her head sadly, tears streaming down her face.
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