Chapter 29: Sacrifice the pawns to save the chariot
Damn it, she was careless!
Just now, he was only thinking about Wang Qiang's companionship and joking with Qin Feng, but forgot to observe the terrain.
The swamp beneath their feet was quite large, but the temperature was low, so the silt was mostly solidified and the sinking was slow, so they hadn't noticed it. Qin Xiangnuan supported Old Madam Qin and picked up the lighter Qin Xiangning, holding her in his arms.
"Big sister, what's wrong?"
Qin Xiangning was so scared that she hugged her neck, pouted her mouth, and asked in a crying voice with red eyes.
Without having time to answer her ten thousand questions, Qin Xiangnuan urged everyone to run to the other side as quickly as possible.
But their violent stomping at the same time caused the swamp to "come alive". Huge bubbles began to emerge from the center, and the flow of the swamp accelerated. Several men who ran slower were trapped, with their ankles and calves sunk into it and difficult to pull out.
"Don't stop! If you stop, it's over!"
Qin Xiangnuan shouted loudly, pointing to the thick tree in front, cheering up the panicked people in the general's mansion, "See? As long as we run there, we will be safe!" She turned around and saw that Qin Feng was also trapped in the swamp. She hurriedly handed Beibei in her arms to Wang Qiang and turned back to help.
"Put your weight on me and lift your feet!"
Qin Xiangnuan pressed his arm, wanting to help, but the weight he was carrying was too heavy and he couldn't move quickly.
The same thing happened to the officers carrying the luggage behind. Because of the weight, they were deeply entangled in the swamp. At this speed, the swamp would soon swallow them up. Once a person's waist was sunk in, it would be difficult to get out!
The people in the General's Mansion can die, but they must not die here.
"Throw away everything you have and just get through..." Qin Xiangnuan pulled the bag on Qin Feng's body, urging him to throw away the cloth bag full of meat and dry food. "What are you doing!" Qin Feng's eyes widened, and he pulled the cloth bag tightly and argued with her.
Qin Xiangnuan yelled in frustration, "At this point, is your life more important, or is food more important?"
"Food, of course!"
Qin Feng also refused to retreat. He watched as most of the people in the General's Mansion had already reached the safe place on the other side. A stern and heavy expression appeared on his young face. "Cousin, there are dozens of people in the General's Mansion. They will be on the road for at least half a year. Are you going to throw all these things away? What do you want them to eat?"
"Have you forgotten what kind of life we lived before? How did you manage to escape death and get this meat?"
She was really pissed off.
Qin Xiangnuan wanted to knock him out with a stick and carry him away.
Qin Feng was a stubborn and rigid person. Once he made up his mind to do something, he would stick to it to the end. He was as stubborn as a bull. He held the cloth bag tightly in his arms and watched as the swamp was almost up to his knees.
"People move and live, trees move and die. You've already survived without food before, are you afraid of having to go through it again?"
"As long as people are here, you can go hunting and kill another wolf."
"You're going to die in there with all this dry food, and I'll die with you! By then, Grandma, Second Uncle and Second Aunt, Third Uncle and Third Aunt, they'll still have nothing to eat, and you won't be able to take care of them! Do you want them to die before their time?"
"Watch you die here?"
Qin Xiangnuan spoke sternly. Across the swamp, Zou and Qin Yi's eyes turned red with anxiety. They shouted, "Feng'er, throw it away!"
"Yeah! We're all fine, and we still have food to eat!"
Old Madam Qin was leaning on a cane, her voice choked with sobs.
Qin Feng was stunned by the scolding, and the strength in his hands loosened. Qin Xiangnuan directly pulled the cloth bag over and threw it into the swamp in front. Taking advantage of the time before it sank, she pushed Qin Feng and stepped on it to jump over the swamp. "My lord, you guys come with me too. Don't carry anything heavy with you."
"The heavier it is, the faster it sinks! We can't delay any longer!"
The officers looked at each other, then at the leader. He hesitated for a while, then nodded with a frown. They threw away their bags, leaving only their swords, and ran as fast as they could, following the path Qin Xiangnuan had left to the other side.
"call……"
Gulp, gurgle, when the swamp swallowed up all the bags they threw away, everyone in the general's mansion looked like they had survived a disaster. They were so scared that their faces turned pale. They supported their weak legs and leaned against the trees to rest. They were all in fear.
"It's my fault. I led everyone down this path."
Wang Qiang hit his head in frustration and apologized to everyone.
Everyone was silent, no one spoke. Qin Xiangnuan saw him blaming himself and tried to comfort him, "Brother Wang, you don't know how dangerous this place is. If it weren't for you in Savage Valley, we would have died at the hands of wild wolves. Fortunately, no one's lives are in danger, which is a blessing in disguise."
"But, we only have this much ration left."
Wang Qiang pointed to the ground, where the women carried a few bags of dry biscuits and cornmeal.
As for the meat from the wolves killed last night, it was all "sacrificed" to the swamp. The food supplies of the officials were also lost. The most urgent thing for the thirsty people was to find a source of drinkable water.
"These should be enough for dinner. Brother Wang and I will go look around to see if there are any edible fruits or wild animals."
Qin Xiangnuan thought quickly and looked at Qin Feng and his second uncle. "I don't know if there's still any danger around here, so you guys stay here to guard everyone, light a fire, and wait for us to come back. If the officers are willing to move, they can also go around the area. The more people we have, the more we can find."
"If you hadn't been constantly delaying and causing trouble, we wouldn't have lost all our rations!"
"Boss, I think we should tie them up and put them in our place... Look at them, they don't look like they're in exile at all. Now they're assigning us tasks! What? Are we the general's entourage? Or what? Your henchmen!"
The officer lost something and nearly lost his life, so he was furious and pointed at Qin Xiangnuan, holding the scabbard and yelling.
They were very emotional and wanted to run towards Qin Xiangnuan, dragging the shackles and chains in their hands.
Qin Xiangnuan didn't dodge, but simply looked at the chief officer calmly. Their eyes met, and the atmosphere became tense. It wasn't until two crows circled over the Savage Valley that the chief officer finally spoke, stopping the people around him and saying, "Skinny monkey, stop talking nonsense."
"Miss Third is absolutely right. We will also go and look for the thing."
The officer looked at her meaningfully and said, "Now, we should support each other and not...hide anything. What do you think?"
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