Chapter 18: Escape from the Troubled Times 16
Thousands of miles of barren land, desolate and starving people everywhere.
The refugees on the roadside were ragged and haggard, their faces were covered with dust and sweat, their eyes revealed fatigue and despair, and they were either skinny or had bulging bellies.
The three men walked forward in silence, without any sympathy, because they were also one of them. Their food was about to run out. They did high-intensity exercise every day, and except for sleeping at night and resting during the hottest hour of the day, they were always on the road the rest of the time. They had no strength to walk if they were not full.
It had been half a month since they came out of the mountains and forests. As they saved money, the dried fish and meat in their backpacks were decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye. The cities they passed by didn't open their gates at all. Outside the cities were refugees wailing and begging for food porridge, and supplies were never replenished.
Aunt Ge was very aware of the potential crisis. She had to leave the remaining food for her grandson to eat, and then started to grind tree bark into powder to eat. The worst thing was that tree bark might not be available.
Of course, Lin Xiaming had little food left, so she would not tell Aunt Ge that she still had food. She hid it quietly in the space. She would not help anyone. This was her last guarantee. She did not have such a deep friendship with Aunt Ge as a grandson.
Along the way, tragic situations of selling children and eating their own children occurred repeatedly. If it weren't for Lin Xia holding a big knife and Aunt Ge holding a sickle who looked tough, the three of them would probably have been in the pot.
At noon that day, three carriages came near where they were resting.
Everyone's eyes turned red as they looked at the several sword-wielding guards surrounding the carriage but kept away in fear. People who had been oppressed all their lives were afraid of the rich, because to them the rich had no mercy.
Two people, a man and a woman in brocade clothes, got off the carriage, sat on stools prepared by the servants and prepared to eat.
One of the girls said worriedly, "Brother, if the new ruler suddenly dies, leaving only an eight-year-old child in power, can the world still be stable?"
The man sighed, "So our family asked us to go to the south. The Northeastern Xian King and the Southwestern Rui King are both eyeing Kyoto, and the North and Northwest have already started fighting. The south is not a fiefdom, and the battlefield cannot be fought there, so it is always much safer."
"With foreign invaders coming, everyone is still fighting for power. They really can't tell what's more important than what's not." The girl snorted heavily.
"Little sister! Be careful with your words." The man scolded in a low voice.
Lin Xia did not move. She was originally still thinking about the feasibility of buying water and food from them, but with the help of her excellent hearing, she received such great news!
The emperor has changed for the third time, so how long will it take for the army to enter the country?
Oh, it’s such a headache.
The two rich young men opposite stopped talking about political affairs, and began to lament the difficulties of people's lives, the hardships of the people, and the ruthless natural disasters.
Then she ate in silence. When she was about to eat some dry food, she turned around and saw Tiedan staring at the cake in his hand, Aunt Ge who was chewing tree bark, and Lin Xia who was in a daze. The girl couldn't bear it, so she threw the cake in her hand to her.
Big pie from the sky!
Tiedan quickly stepped forward, hid the pancake under his body, and came back to break off a piece for each of them.
Lin Xia refused, mainly because she felt sorry for the child. She wasn't in dire straits yet, so she wouldn't snatch food from the child.
In short, when the situation is desperate, anything can be done.
Seeing that the other person was kind-hearted, Lin Xia went up to buy water. At first, the other person thought she was begging and even drew her sword. After she explained the reason, the other person reluctantly sold her a bag of water. Since the other person didn't have enough food to eat since she hadn't sold her food, she symbolically charged two cents. When Aunt Ge saw this, she also went up to buy a bamboo tube of water.
Although Aunt Ge looked so poor that she had to pawn her pants, she actually still had a few taels of silver in her hands, which she earned from hunting and selling when the man in her family was still alive. She had always kept it on her and it had never been stolen.
The good family ran away quickly after eating, probably because they were afraid that the three of them would pester them.
After seeing the people leave, Lin Xia and the other two continued on their way.
*
One evening,
Lin Xia was satisfying his physiological needs in the bushes. Just as he pulled up his pants, he heard some noise behind him.
"who?"
Lin Xia picked up the big knife and tensed his body, instantly ready for battle.
"It's me, girl."
Aunt Ge walked out of the darkness.
Lin Xia relaxed a little and asked, "Why are you here? Where's Tiedan?"
"Tiedan has found another rabbit hole. I asked him to guard it over there and asked you to come over and help catch rabbits."
wrong!
Lin Xia frowned slightly and her eyes focused. This is not an uninhabited forest. How could Aunt Ge leave Tiedan alone there?
She stared quietly at the figure in front of her who was talking sideways, but she couldn't see the other person's expression in the darkness.
"Auntie, aren't you afraid of someone leaving Tiedan over there?" Lin Xia'anna asked anxiously.
Aunt Ge paused for a moment, pretending to be relaxed and said, "I saw that there was no one there, so I dared not leave him there."
"Let's walk faster, otherwise it will be bad if the rabbit runs away." Aunt Ge began to urge.
Lin Xia continued to observe her surroundings calmly and carefully, while a mask quietly appeared in her hand.
After putting on the mask, he took out an oil-paper bag and opened it quietly.
"Where is Tiedan? Why did you come here?" Lin Xia looked at the deep dead grass around her.
"It's just a little further ahead." Aunt Ge's tone began to show panic.
In the blink of an eye, four big men jumped out from the surrounding bushes, two of them holding sticks, one holding a sickle, and one holding a hatchet.
The other party came over and wanted to say a few words, but Lin Xia didn't follow the ethics of martial arts. He directly took out the medicine powder and sprinkled it on the other party's face, and did not forget to sprinkle it on Aunt Ge.
The big guy on the other side: He’s as fierce as a tiger at first, but his performance is nothing but an idiot.
The five people fell to the ground in an instant. Lin Xia didn't say much. He walked forward and wiped the necks of four of them, leaving Aunt Ge alone.
"Why?" Lin Xia was puzzled.
Lin Xia couldn't understand the look in Aunt Ge's eyes. It seemed to be sadness, fear, and expectation.
"Tiedan...they...said...to change." Aunt Ge said strugglingly.
Lin Xia understood that Tiedan was captured when she was away, and people asked Aunt Ge to exchange him for someone else.
She asked again: "Where is Tiedan?"
She had a good impression of Tiedan, a well-behaved and obedient child, and planned to see if she could rescue him.
Aunt Ge pointed in a direction with her eyes.
I ignored her. The powder was very effective and she wouldn't be able to escape for a while.
When Lin Xia arrived, he saw a big pot on the fire. He also saw a familiar head on the ground, and the ground was full of debris.
She felt depressed. Is this the world without justice?
Returning to the scene of the incident, Aunt Ge's eyes lit up as she waited expectantly for her to tell her the good news.
Lin Xia was silent for a while. Aunt Ge's hopeful eyes gradually dimmed, and tears kept falling from her red eyes.
"I will bury you together."
After saying that, she ended Aunt Ge's life with a single knife. She would not allow the betrayer to live. If Tiedan was still here, maybe she would let them live and go their separate ways, but he is no longer here...
Lin Xia embarked on a journey alone, just like when he came, with a pile of graves behind him that was almost too low to be real.
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