Perhaps seeing that the fire had been extinguished, Chi Dongyi, who had not gone back but was resting at the foot of the mountain, also came up at some point.
When he arrived, he saw a strange woman who had been beaten up and then driven away from the crowd, covered in blood.
Seeing this, he was a little puzzled, but he didn't ask what was going on.
Everyone present, even the youngest, knew that the woman was doomed.
There are many wild beasts in the North Mountain. The woman was injured, and the smell of blood would attract those creatures.
In addition, when she was driven away, she was driven into the deep mountains.
No one felt sorry for her; after all, she should have considered whether the environment allowed it when she was burning her deceased husband's body.
If everyone hadn't worked together to put out the wildfire, what would the final outcome have been?
After the woman was chased away and disappeared from sight, Chi Dongyi quickly scanned the people in Chijia'ao.
Seeing that no one was injured, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Chi Dongyi was not appointed clan leader for nothing, and Song Chongjin also had some discernment.
He could tell that the old man was different from others, and knew that he was the leader among these people.
He immediately took a step forward, then stopped and cupped his hands, saying, "I suppose this is either the village chief or the clan chief."
"My name is Song Chongjin. I led everyone on a journey from Wuning Prefecture to here, and I sincerely apologize for the trouble I have caused you."
Chi Dongyi had no intention of introducing himself. He took a step back and asked:
"I've heard that the people of Wuning Prefecture have all been infected with the plague. Are there any of you among you...?"
Before he could finish speaking, Song Chongjin quickly replied:
"No, those of us who survived didn't suffer from the illness; we are all in very good health."
Even though Chi Dongyi didn't want to have much contact with him, he still told the truth:
"Some time ago, the imperial court issued an order that if any people from Wuning Prefecture were found in various places, they should all be sent back to their place of origin."
With so many of you here, you must not want to go back.
"Are you planning to go down the mountain to find our Lord Fang, or do you have some other plans?"
Song Chongjin and his group escaped relatively early.
When they left, the imperial court only ordered them not to leave the territory of Wuning Prefecture, but did not say that people from other places should be sent back.
They had entered this place full of hope upon seeing people, but after hearing these words, their faces turned ashen.
No one knew better than them how bad the situation in Wuning Prefecture was.
They didn't want to go back, and they certainly didn't want to die.
If you go down the mountain from here to the county town, the end result will be that you will be sent back.
They would rather stay and live in these mountains!
There were so many of them, and they also carried some valuables with them.
You can buy some food and clothing from the people in this village.
They can live here as long as the villagers don't report them.
It's not too late to go back after a year or two, once you're sure everything is alright back home.
Thinking about all this, Song Chongjin, a scholar who didn't even need to kneel before officials, knelt down in front of everyone in front of Chi Dong.
Seeing this, the other refugees all changed from sitting to kneeling.
More than 800 people knelt on the ground; the scene was quite shocking.
Upon seeing this, Chi Dong didn't know where to hide, and angrily questioned Song Chongjin:
"Speak properly, what's with kneeling?"
It is said that a man's knees are worth gold, and he can understand their desire to survive, but kneeling before him is a threat.
Thinking about all this, Chi Dongyi's face grew increasingly grim. The men of Chijia'ao who were present, disregarding their own rest, each grabbed one of them and pulled him up.
Song Chongjin looked at Chi Dongyi and said, "Old man, I have no intention of making things difficult for you. I just want to ask you to pretend that you never saw us."
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