The next morning, after everyone finished packing, they continued on their way.
Because of what happened last night, and thanks to finding the glutinous rice and taro earlier, the villagers of Qingshan Village are now much more amiable towards Lao Liu's family.
They were especially enthusiastic when they saw Liu Qing.
As for Lin Xue, she usually does nothing but sleep and walk around, and doesn't often interact with the villagers.
Everyone knew she was pregnant, so they didn't bother her.
They walked for the whole morning, and around 10 a.m., a commotion suddenly broke out among the people ahead.
Many people are stuck in their ways, while others are moving backward.
"Host, there are many dead bodies ahead!"
Lin Xue had just peeked her head out from under the covers when she saw a large group of people in front of her and couldn't see anything.
Fortunately, 629 reminded her in time, so she didn't need to go to the front to know what had happened.
"Wife, I heard from the people ahead that a lot of people have died on the road. They must have encountered bandits!"
"You stay on the flatbed and don't move. If we encounter bandits, I'll drag you away!"
Liu Qing looked ahead nervously and couldn't help but remind Lin Xue a couple of things.
Lin Xue ignored her husband and got out of bed.
"Mom, keep an eye on the little one, I need to go check things out ahead!"
Grandma Sun sat on the other side of the oxcart, with Liu Qingfeng, who had just woken up, in her arms.
"Third son's wife, don't go!"
"Don't be frightened when you turn around, or it might affect the baby in your belly."
Grandma Sun didn't want Lin Xue to join in the fun, since someone had died earlier, and it was best to avoid such things if possible.
"Host, those bandits haven't gone far; they're currently in the valley ahead."
In his mind, 629 was still telling Lin Xue about what had happened earlier.
"Mother, don't worry, I'm just going to check!"
Lin Xue ignored Grandma Sun and walked forward slowly.
"Third brother!"
"Third brother, hurry up and catch up with your wife, don't scare her!"
At this point, Grandma Sun could no longer sit still; her third daughter-in-law was still as troublesome as ever.
"I know, I'll take good care of Xue Niang!"
When Liu Qing saw his wife leave, he hurriedly dropped what he was holding and quickly chased after her.
“Village chief, these people died no more than eight hours ago, and the footprints on the ground are clear, so they must have left not long ago.”
"Look in the direction these footprints disappear in..."
Lin Xue used a small twig to pry away the decaying leaves on the ground, revealing footprints in the damp area.
"Those people should be up ahead."
As Lin Xue analyzed the situation point by point, and with the discussion of the village chief and elders, everyone felt that the bandits should have left not long ago.
"Liu Qing's family, I never expected that you could not only treat illnesses, but also conduct medical examinations!"
Although Lin Xue's analysis was similar to theirs, the old village chief was still quite surprised.
Even grown men might not be able to see these clues, yet this petite woman was able to analyze them so thoroughly.
It seems they underestimated Liu Qing's family before.
"We can't go any further on this road. We need to replan our route and go around from somewhere else."
Third Uncle pushed through the crowd and came over. The journey was already difficult, and now he had to take a detour.
This is not good news for the villagers of Qingshan Village.
"Let's quickly discuss which way to go. Who knows if those bastards might turn around and launch a surprise attack?"
Another elder couldn't sit still any longer. Instead of wasting time here, he thought it would be better to quickly discuss the next route.
“If we take the road up, every household in our village has a flatbed cart. If we take the road down, the flatbed cart can’t get through.”
"So we have no choice but to take the road above to go around it."
To take the path mentioned above, they would have to walk back a short distance.
There was a three-way intersection. One path led to the top of the mountain, another to the bottom, and the last one was the one they were currently on.
Now that the middle road is impassable, they are left with only two options: the road below and the road above.
"I'll send two fast men to scout out the route first, and then we'll decide which one to take."
"Let the whole team turn around, we'll have to go back a whole round."
After the elders discussed and made a decision, they told the people at the back to turn around, and everyone walked back in reverse.
When they arrived at the fork in the road, the two young men who had been sent to scout the way returned.
"Village chief, the road down there is difficult to travel. Unless you abandon the cart and rely on your own two legs, you simply cannot get across!"
“Village chief, I walked half of the road up there and found no problem, so I didn’t go any further.”
The village chief gave them both the same amount of time, but because the two paths were different, the distances they explored were also different.
“Then let’s take the road up there. This time, the people in the back will go first, and the people in the front will stay last.”
Fearing that making too much noise would attract the attention of bandits, no one spoke along the way.
The team moved forward silently, and when they passed the section where the accident had occurred, everyone was even more careful, and even their footsteps were much quieter.
"ah!!!"
"You damned bandits, a bunch of beasts born of fathers but raised by no mothers, I curse you to die a horrible death!"
"You old hag, you dare to curse me even when you're about to die! Today I'll show you just how many eyes Lord Ma has!"
"Mother, help!"
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