"Wu Yong, why are you dressed like this?"
Li Youran forced a smile and said with a look of disgust.
"Since I don't have the ability to disguise myself, I can only dress up as a man."
Wu Yong said with a wronged expression, "It's all thanks to Xiao Hong for helping me with my makeup and dressing up."
Upon hearing Wu Yong mention Xiao Hong, Li Youran burst out laughing. No wonder the hairstyle and makeup looked so familiar; it turned out to be Xiao Hong's doing.
Xiao Hong styled Wu Yong's hair into the hairstyle of an old woman in the countryside. To make it look more realistic, Xiao Hong even applied some white lime to Wu Yong's head, making his hair appear gray and very similar to that of an old woman.
Wu Yong's skin tone is slightly darker than that of a young girl, but if she were to dress up as an old woman, her skin tone would look normal, although her face is too smooth. It looks somewhat incongruous.
Li Youran shook his head and smiled bitterly as he opened the disguise bag he carried with him and drew a few more wrinkles on Wu Yong's face.
"Wouldn't that be less ridiculous?"
As Wu Yong spoke, he took a step back, turned around, and looked at Tang Lei and Li Youran.
"Nice figure."
Tang Lei coughed lightly, then awkwardly turned his face to the side after speaking.
He had never seen an old woman with gray hair who could still have such a full figure.
“Um…Young Master Wu, you should take that…away.”
After hearing Tang Lei's words, Li Youran realized that Wu Yong's figure was too curvaceous, especially the proud slope of his chest, which was really embarrassing.
Seeing Li Youran speaking and gesturing, Wu Yong looked down at his chest and pulled out two large apples from his pocket.
"I said no, but Xiaohong insisted that I take it with me."
Wu Yong's face turned as red as the apple in his hand as he spoke, putting the apple into his bundle.
And so, a newlywed couple fleeing famine, along with their elderly mother, set off on their journey together.
As they approached the city gate, Li Youran and his group, in order to avoid attracting attention, quietly blended into the ranks of refugees fleeing famine and entered the city gate with the rest of the group.
"Grandma, I'm hungry..."
"My dear grandson, just bear with it a little longer. We'll have something to eat once we get to Tongzhou."
After hearing the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, Li Youran turned around.
There was a little boy who looked to be about seven years old, and an old woman who was so old that she could not even straighten her back.
The little boy was pale and thin, looking malnourished and very small.
The old woman beside her wasn't much better off; her face was sallow, as if she were about to die at any moment, and her back was so hunched that she could barely straighten up. It's hard to imagine how the two of them, grandmother and granddaughter, had managed to get here all this way.
"Little friend, I have some food here. You can take it and eat it first."
As Li Youran spoke, he took out a steamed bun from his pocket.
"No, no, that won't do."
The little boy looked at the steamed bun in Li Youran's hand, swallowed hard, but did not reach out to take it. The old lady next to him hurriedly waved her hand to refuse.
"Young lady, this is too valuable, you shouldn't take it."
Although the old lady really wanted to give it to her grandson, she knew that in this day and age, being able to eat a cornbread was a huge luxury, let alone such a precious steamed bun.
"Old man, our family came to Tongzhou to visit relatives. We found our relatives as soon as we entered Tongzhou Prefecture, so we have no shortage of food."
As Li Youran spoke, she handed the steamed bun to a little boy without further ado.
"What are you doing behind us? Are you coming in or not? If you don't, the city gates will be closed!"
Just then, the soldiers guarding the city shouted loudly at Li Youran and his group.
"Sir, please don't be anxious, sir, please don't be anxious," Tang Lei said, hurriedly pulling out a few coins from his pocket.
"The year is bad, sir, you've been wronged."
The guards weighed the copper coin in their hands and looked at Tang Lei with disdain.
"Hurry up, hurry up, the city gates are about to close."
Although it was only a few copper coins, it still had some effect. Li Youran and his group passed by in a hurry without having their luggage checked.
When Li Youran and his group turned around, the city gates began to close, and they saw that there were still many people outside the city gates who had not yet entered.
Upon entering Tongzhou, the situation proved far more complex than anticipated. Li Youran and his group stood on the street, only to find both sides of the street lined with starving refugees fleeing the famine.
"Isn't anyone going to do something about this?"
Li Youran frowned and said that she couldn't bear to see such a situation, especially the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, and those who were starving.
“If this continues, even without a plague, one will emerge.”
A large number of refugees gathered together, and the people in Tongzhou City had no awareness of protection. Except for the sick who were not allowed to go out, everyone else went out normally as if nothing was wrong.
"Never mind all that for now, the most important thing is to find a place to stay."
As Tang Lei spoke, he led Li Youran and Wu Yong around looking for an inn.
During times of disaster and widespread epidemics, most inns closed down, making it extremely difficult to find a place to stay.
The abandoned houses and the area outside the eaves were all crowded with refugees, making it difficult to find another place to stay, and the group had no intention of settling down in such a place.
Let's rest and find a place to stay here.
Li Youran and his group continued walking eastward into the city until they finally found an abandoned courtyard.
After the refugees entered the city, they crowded together in the dilapidated temples and corridors near the city gate, and very few people went into the city.
When Li Youran and his group arrived at the abandoned courtyard, they saw very few refugees.
"Let's stay here for now and try to find a well-informed place tomorrow to gather some information."
As Tang Lei spoke, he pushed open the dilapidated door, sending dust flying everywhere.
When it comes to outdoor survival skills, Tang Lei is undoubtedly number one, given his frequent travels.
Tang Lei deftly gathered a number of dry branches from the yard, and then, as if by magic, pulled a tinderbox from his pocket. In just a few minutes, a fire was lit in the yard.
"I see some straw mats here, so I'll make do with them for today."
While Tang Lei was lighting the torch, Li Youran also collected some things from the room that could be used for the night.
The campfire and sleeping quarters were ready; next was dinner. Tang Lei and Li Youran both looked towards Wu Yong.
Why are you all looking at me like that?
Wu Yong said with a puzzled look.
"Don't speak, there's noise outside the door."
Before Wu Yong could finish speaking, Tang Lei said with a wary look.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
