Chapter 40 Disaster Victims
The back mountain was vast and boundless, with plenty of prey to hunt. Guan Zhiwei swung the knife in her hand away, and the soldiers carried out one wild boar and bear after another, only to find that disaster victims were coming in droves.
She would close the door before going to bed at night, and when she opened it the next day, her doorstep was surrounded by starving disaster victims.
They traveled through mountains and rivers, carrying their belongings. The wealthier ones could set up a simple tent, while the less wealthy ones could only gather together to share some warmth.
They faced her with grim faces and stared at her with empty eyes, not daring to fight or snatch anything, just silently enduring until they died quietly in the end.
"Why are there so many disaster victims?" Even the second brother was shocked.
In the past, refugees could be chased to the village entrance, where they would set up a stall, while most refugees stayed outside the village.
Now their doorway is completely blocked, making it difficult to move even a step. As far as the eye can see, there are people everywhere, stretching all the way to the village entrance, and it seems that the area outside the village is also full of people.
Madam Feng straightened her robes, walked into the crowd, and struck up a conversation with an older woman. After a while, she returned with a grim expression and said, "I went to inquire, and most of them came from Yingzhou. The city has fallen."
Gao Huan wasn't interested at first, but upon hearing the words "Yingzhou," he immediately walked over.
What happened to Yingzhou?
"There's been a war."
Madam Feng couldn't understand the accented speech clearly, only getting a general idea of what was going on, but Gao Huan's soldiers saw their relatives.
They were originally homesick, but now they're reunited with their families—it's a dark comedy.
Zhi Fang led more than 10,000 people back to Yingzhou and took over the territory of Grand Commandant Gao.
In Yingzhou, to the left lies a foreign tribe, and to the right, the Yuan family. The Yuan family, descended from a powerful clan with generations of merit, enjoys immense prestige and occupies a vast territory. Grand Commandant Gao was able to defend this place thanks to his bravery and martial prowess, leading his elite troops to victory after victory.
Switching to Zhifang wouldn't work.
Taking advantage of their hurried return to Yingzhou and the exhaustion of their carriages and horses, the Yuan clan led their troops to attack. Within a month, they had breached the city. Knowing the danger, the Yuan clan could only cover their faces and weep. They led their elite troops away from their homeland once again, and their whereabouts are now unknown.
When the Yuan dynasty conquered a place, they would reward their troops. The people in the city were the best reward. They would plunder the city, set it on fire, and leave the people displaced, forced to seek survival elsewhere.
They then headed towards Kyoto.
The capital city was already struggling to survive, so how could it possibly open its gates to provide relief to the disaster victims? As a result, the city gates remained closed, and the disaster victims ended up in the surrounding villages.
They heard by word of mouth that there was a miraculous doctor who could bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, so they came here.
These people were Gao Huan's fellow villagers, and seeing them being treated like this, his heart was undoubtedly heavy.
He said to Guan Zhiwei, "With your current food supplies, if you don't go to help the disaster victims, this food will be enough for you to eat for three or four years."
Guan Zhiwei casually said, "If I just wanted to have enough to eat, that would be too easy. There's no need for me to be here."
Gao Huan was somewhat expecting this answer, but he still breathed a sigh of relief. He carefully examined Guan Zhiwei, trying to see some admirable qualities in her, but the more he looked, the more he disliked her.
He turned his head away and said, "The question is right here: what do you want to do? Do you want to relieve the suffering of the people and help them, or do you want to win people's hearts and fight for the world?"
Guan Zhiwei looked up as the first snowflake drifted down from the sky. The white clouds were shattered into snowflakes, creating a vast, boundless, pure white world that nearly killed a person.
"I'll do whatever I want, nobody can tell me what to do. I'm going into the mountains to hunt now."
With a knife strapped to her back, she stepped into the snow without hesitation, her feet sinking deep into the snow.
The shoes she wore had a thousand-layer sole, and Madam Feng, using her spare time, made her a pair of bearskin boots, which were quite warm.
Gao Huan was stunned for a moment, then immediately switched to his local dialect and shouted to his fellow villagers, "If you want to live, hurry up and follow Doctor Guan!"
In a time of uncertainty, a fellow villager who was well-fed and clothed said these words, and people believed them without hesitation.
The men also stepped into the snow.
They didn't have warm boots; the better ones wore straw sandals, while the worse ones had worn out their shoes and gotten lost along the way.
Their feet were so cold they were numb, yet they kept walking forward, just like their numb lives.
Then hope shone in their eyes.
There are many things on the ground.
A wild boar that has been bled.
The buck that lost its life.
A whole litter of white rabbits.
Pheasants, partridges, wild ducks, geese—Guan Zhiwei could shoot them down without even needing a bow. She only needed to pick up two small stones from the ground, aim, and throw them. Because it was winter, the view was wide open, and the leaves had all fallen, making it even easier.
She followed the animal tracks on the ground, killing as she went, which only took a couple of swings of her sword. Sometimes she would cleanly chop down dry, dead trees.
Chopping down a tree is hard work; one strike might not even break the bark. But that's for ordinary people. For her, felling a tree only takes two strikes.
She killed her way down the mountain, and as she descended, she saw the numb people happily carrying their prey down the mountain.
The women who had set up camp in the village did not rest. They pitched tents, fetched water with their earthenware jars, gathered firewood, and waited for their fathers or husbands to return. While waiting, they could also sew and mend clothes.
Hei Lao Er even spent a bowl of porridge to have someone mend his clothes and shoes.
Someone offered him their daughter, asking for nothing in return, just so she wouldn't starve. They even knelt down and kowtowed to him for this.
The girl looked to be only eight or nine years old. Hei Lao Er sighed when he saw her, and then gave her two bowls of porridge, which was his own food.
People crowded around, all wanting to take advantage of his kindness, so he didn't dare to go out and just silently chopped and dried firewood in the yard.
The rocking chair in the courtyard was empty.
Gao Silang, who had been maintaining a leisurely demeanor, began to take action. He directed his fifty trusted men to help the disaster victims set up camp in an orderly manner. With so many people, defecating, urinating, and drinking water were all troublesome. If they all had to relieve themselves in one place, the smell would not be the main issue; the main issue was the risk of disease outbreaks.
Accompanied by a dog-toothed, tentative voice: "Little Guan's back—"
Everyone perked up.
Guan Zhiwei returned first.
The large group behind her carried a full load of prey.
Everyone was so excited that tears welled up in their eyes, which meant that at least they could get through the night.
Sometimes, life is just getting to this point; once you get over this hurdle, you'll get through it.
"Dr. Guan, I will repay you." Gao Huan straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly.
Guan Zhiwei waved her hand dismissively: "Whatever. Whether you want revenge or to repay a debt of gratitude, I don't really care."
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