Chapter 39 This is hell on earth.
What Li's father said is absolutely true!
Upon receiving their orders, the soldiers on the city gate fired rockets, coated with tung oil, one after another, at the refugees who were piling up and clinging to them!
Those refugees who still had the strength to stand up and escape fled away from the city gates, but many had not eaten or drunk for days and were barely clinging to life.
Those who couldn't climb could only watch as rockets hurtled towards them, igniting their clothes and flesh.
While chaos reigned at the city gate, Li's father had no idea that the brothel was also taking advantage of the confusion to throw corpses out.
In her final moments, Yingniang carefully held the piece of candy given to her by Li's father in her mouth, savoring the slight sweetness in her delirium before dying.
Yes, Yingniang is dead.
The dead Yingniang is useless; to the brothel, she is just a worthless corpse.
Just like the women who died in the past, Yingniang was wrapped in a tattered mat and carried onto a carriage. After being escorted around in circles, she was taken to the city wall and thrown off.
This shows that the owner behind this brothel is quite powerful, able to get through to the city guards and even make things easier for them during the lockdown.
The smell of smoke carried by the wind confirmed what Li's father had said.
Ma Zi and Wei Zi ran ahead, with Li Shiyue and the others following behind, heading towards the main gate of the prefectural city.
As they got closer, the burning smell and the pungent odor became more and more pronounced.
As darkness fell, the firelight became more and more conspicuous, and as they drew closer, the screams, cries, and weeping of the refugees became clearer.
Looking at this scene that resembled a living hell, Li Shiyue felt extremely suffocated and uncomfortable.
"This world...it's unbearable..."
Having confirmed Li's father's words, the group quickly drove the donkey cart along the small path to the hill where the Li family villagers had stayed.
When the moon was high in the sky, he finally made it back.
Before Li Youfu could ask about the outcome of the salt purchase, Li Shiyang solemnly said to Li Youfu, "Father, the prefectural city is about to descend into chaos. We must leave quickly."
Li Youfu was taken aback by Li Shiyang's words. "What...what does this mean? Is the prefectural city about to descend into chaos?"
Li Shiyang had no choice but to tell Li Youfu everything they had seen inside and outside the city.
Meanwhile, Li Shiyue and Li Qiutian had already gone back to find their mother and the others, carrying their own salt bags and medicine packs.
"Mother, here's the salt."
Before Li's mother could ask anything, Li Shiyue said to Li Qiutian beside her, "Just do as I told you on the way, sister, hurry back and get it done."
Li Qiutian nodded and pulled Li Xiatian, who had walked over, towards Zheng Meiniang.
On the way, Li Shiyue told Li Qiutian that the city was in chaos too quickly, and they had to run fast. They could no longer consider it fast if they could travel ten miles a day as they used to.
Therefore, this time we must travel light and keep things simple. Apart from the necessary cooking utensils and drinking water, we should avoid anything that is bulky and difficult to carry.
Zheng Meiniang's eyesight was poor, and in the past, when she walked slowly, she could be helped by the Li sisters, Qiutian and Xiatian, or by her mother.
Now that they need to leave the vicinity of the prefectural city quickly, they can no longer do so.
The best course of action would be to put Zheng Meiniang on a donkey cart and use animal power to carry the others so that they could travel quickly.
After watching Li Qiutian leave, Li Shiyue turned around and said to Li Wangming, "Second Uncle, hurry up, get rid of everything on our donkey cart except for the food and water buckets. Tie up the place where Grandma is sitting with a rope."
The actions of Li Shiyue's family were witnessed by the surrounding residents, especially Qin Tao's family who lived nearby, as well as Zhou Lanhua, who had recently become close to the Li family.
Li Wangshui watched as Zhou Lanhua took out the small table and stool from the cart, and the vegetable jar that she had been reluctant to throw away, and threw them all on the ground.
"The child's mother?"
Zhou Lanhua didn't even look up, instead comparing the sizes of Dazhuang and Xiaozhuang, trying to figure out how to make a space on the cart.
"October is a knowledgeable person, and what she said is definitely correct."
She saved our whole family. We don't need to think about anything else; we just need to follow October's lead.
Li Wangshui never imagined that his shrewish wife would one day hold someone in such high esteem.
Yes, Li Wangshui could say directly that if Li Shiyue said she didn't want any of her belongings, Zhou Lanhua would probably carry Dazhuang on her back, hold Xiaozhuang in her arms, and run off with Li Shiyue.
"What are you still standing there for?"
"Quickly, find a rope and tie this up like other people do, so the child can sit on it when we run."
The villagers of Li Family Village were all busy packing up their belongings. Li Shiyang decided to travel through the night and leave the vicinity of the prefectural city as soon as possible. The prefectural city was bound to be in chaos, and if they didn't get far, they would definitely be implicated!
If they get implicated, wouldn't all their efforts to escape over the past month have been for nothing?
Li's father said anxiously to Qin Tao, "Hurry up, don't throw away anything you don't need. They're using rockets to kill people in the prefectural city. If we don't run fast, we're sure to die."
Li's father tossed the medicine packet and maltose to Qin Tao, telling her to put them away quickly, pack her things, and catch up with Li Shiyue.
Qin Tao responded to Li's father's words, but her hands were slowly rummaging through the paper package of candy. She took out two candies and gave one to Li Shigui and one to Li Chunli, before taking one for herself and putting it in her mouth.
"Oh dear, what time is it?"
You can eat this candy anytime, hurry up!
Urged on by Li's father, Qin Tao packed up the medicine packet and maltose and began to sort through the items on the donkey cart.
The city gates of the prefectural city were already a scene of hell on earth. The rockets scared away many refugees, while also burning many refugees who could not escape to death.
However, the scorching stench of the dead combined with the aroma of meat attracted a group of refugees who were used to eating people.
Hunger eventually overcame fear. Seeing that the soldiers on the city wall had stopped firing rockets, they rushed over like rabid dogs and began to devour the arrows raw.
It tore open the skin with its teeth and sucked greedily, just like a newborn baby suckling sweet breast milk.
Having quenched his thirst, he bit off a piece of meat with great force, chewed it haphazardly a couple of times, and swallowed it directly, instantly relieving the maddening hunger surging through his stomach.
Under the moonlight, the humanoid beast holding the mangled corpse of the little girl was covered in blood. No one knew that the little girl still had a piece of candy that she hadn't had time to eat in her right hand.
The humanoid beast was as cruel as a jackal or tiger. After eating the meat, the satisfaction coming from its stomach brought a faint smile to its face.
This was hell on earth, a frenzy of celebration before the collapse of the Great Long Dynasty, marking the beginning of its downfall.
The general on the city tower looked at everything outside the city gate. He was expressionless, with one hand on the long sword at his waist. Thinking about the news from the capital that he had received yesterday, he continued to direct his soldiers to ignite fire arrows and shoot them out of the city gate!
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