Chapter 99: Arson
Xu Zhiyi looked at the dismantled cart wheels and deliberately let her family walk to the end. She slowed down a few steps and saw that everyone was rushing up the mountain. Observing that no one looked back, she quickly put the cart wheels that everyone had covered with dry grass into the space.
If we don't collect them, if the officers and soldiers really intend to catch up, if they pay close attention, they will definitely see only the wheels of the cart at the foot of the mountain, and they will know that everyone is coming up the mountain!
It took them an hour and a half to climb halfway up the mountain. The head of the village signaled everyone to stop and rest, then he observed the direction everyone was in and said:
"Everyone, take a break first. After we climb to the top of the mountain, we will go down from the south. After we pass three mountains in a row, we will be able to exit the official road and reach the next city, Wutong City."
Hearing this, Xu Zhiyi was somewhat curious about how many cities were left to reach Nanzhou City. He looked at the head of the village and asked, "Uncle Lin, how many cities do we have left to reach Nanzhou City?"
Village head: "There are three more cities, Wutong City, Luhai City, Cangshan City, and the last one is Nanzhou City. But as long as we pass Wutong City, the other two cities should be better."
"Starting from the last two cities, they should not be seriously affected by the drought. Of course, the least affected by the drought is Nanzhou City."
After hearing this, everyone felt depressed. If there had been no drought, everyone would probably be rushing to harvest the crops in the fields, and they wouldn't have to leave their homes and families to escape the famine to such a faraway and unfamiliar place. Alas.
After resting for half a quarter of an hour, everyone started to head up the mountain again. This time it took them another hour and a half to reach the top of the mountain.
After finding a flat area, everyone prepared to spend the night on the top of the mountain and continue their journey tomorrow.
Xu Zhiyi watched everyone busy packing up and preparing dinner. When no one was paying attention, she walked to the side, blocked by a tree, entered the space, first filled a large basin of water, and then took back her dried underwear.
After she cleaned herself up, she put on a new sanitary belt and underwear, and finally got rid of the discomfort she had just felt. She washed and hung the ones she had taken off, and then went out to catch three pheasants.
"Zhiyi, where did you catch the three pheasants?"
Everyone looked at Xu Zhiyi, who was carrying three pheasants, with curiosity.
Xu Zhiyi shook the chicken in his hand and said loudly, "I just caught them over there. If I hadn't reacted quickly, they would have gotten away. We're stewing chicken tonight, and everyone has a share. Don't refuse."
"Okay, in that case, leave the rest of the work to us. I guarantee that you will have a delicious pheasant soup. Also, you paid for the chicken, so we will pay for tonight's main course. Don't shirk your responsibility!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Zhiyi quickly handed the chicken over to them, knowing that they would feel embarrassed to take advantage of him, and could only think of compensating him as much as possible from other places.
Just as everyone was sitting together and enjoying their meal, a voice suddenly rang out:
"Hey, everyone, we meet again! Hey, what are you eating? It smells really good."
Everyone watched a woman jumping down from the tree in the firelight. When they got closer, they saw that it was the woman who had blackmailed them during the day.
Everyone put down their bowls and chopsticks tacitly, picked up their knives, and looked at the woman vigilantly.
"Hey, hey, there's no need for that. I'm just a little girl who doesn't know how to fight. You guys are scaring me!" The woman patted her chest, pretending to be frightened.
The village head said: "Since we have no grudge against you, we won't kill you. You should leave now. But if you keep pestering us, don't blame us for being rude with the knives in our hands!"
Hearing this, the woman touched her stomach, then pointed carefully at the pot on the ground and said, "How about you let me eat something? I promise to leave after I finish eating."
Everyone: “…”
At the same time, officers and soldiers were at the foot of the mountain with a large support force.
"We rode all the way here from the official road, but we didn't see a single living civilian? Hey, can they be faster than us on horseback?"
Upon hearing this, the leading officer raised his head and looked towards the top of the mountain, then laughed coldly: "Oh, I'm afraid they are all running for their lives up the mountain."
"What? What should we do? This mountain is so big, we don't know where the person is hiding?"
"Yes! The higher-ups told us to make as much noise as possible, and it would be best if all the people in the world could be outraged."
Another shorter soldier, hearing what his teammates said, asked fearfully, "Have you ever thought that if it really wasn't the princess' order, then we would be sentenced to death now!"
After hearing this, the others rolled their eyes and said speechlessly, "If it wasn't the Princess, could it be the Captain who dared to make such a decision? Isn't he afraid of being beheaded?"
"No, I'm just curious. Why would the princess do something that will bring infamy to herself forever?"
"Tsk tsk, didn't you hear the people scolding her? She's a witch. Since she's a witch, she must be inhuman. Moreover, I heard that the princess wants to seize power from our current emperor, so of course she doesn't want our emperor..."
The leading officer saw that they were talking too much and quickly stopped them, saying, "Stop talking! You might as well get yourself killed. We just follow orders."
"So what should we do now? Should we continue chasing the people fleeing famine ahead, or go up the mountain to search for the people we didn't kill today?"
The leading officer heard this, stood up and looked at the mountain. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Let's set fire to it. As long as they are on the mountain, they can't escape."
The short soldier exclaimed, "What? Setting fire? Isn't that a bit too much? We can go back and report now. We have completed the order today!"
Upon hearing this, all the officers and soldiers looked at the leading officer and asked him to make the decision.
"Everyone, take out your fire sticks and light them for me."
After hearing the affirmative answer, everyone quickly took out their tinders and started lighting them. Due to the drought, the grass was dry, and the fire spread rapidly in a short time.
The people hiding in various places on the mountain looked at the fire spreading at the foot of the mountain and started shouting. Some ran up the mountain, and some ran to the bottom of the mountain where the fire had not yet spread!
The people on the mountain looked at this shameless woman and were wondering whether they should just give her a quick death!
Suddenly in the dark night, a fire appeared at the foot of the mountain.
No one wanted to pay attention to this rogue woman anymore. They all walked to the edge of the mountain and looked at the fire below. The fire was set at a short distance apart.
The village head watched the fire at the foot of the mountain spreading up the mountain, and he was so scared that he shouted, "It's over! They set the mountain on fire, and we can't outrun the fire!"
Xu Zhiyi immediately thought quickly about how to save himself and thought about all the modern knowledge about fire protection.
After thinking about it, I realized there is really no better way.
They can dig an isolation zone, but it must be wide enough to completely isolate the people. With only these people, they don't have enough time to dig an isolation zone.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
