"This...what should we do?" An elderly man frowned, his eyes filled with deep worry, and he muttered to himself.
Everyone looked at each other, and for a moment they were at a loss. They all turned their eyes to the village chief, their eyes full of help.
The village chief also frowned at this moment, secretly groaning in his heart. He was originally shouldering the heavy responsibility of leading the entire village forward safely. Now the sudden news of pursuers made him feel the pressure doubled.
"Village chief, what should we do?" Someone in the crowd shouted, and this shout seemed to have lit a fuse, and everyone started discussing it at once.
"Why don't we just run as far as we can!" A woman holding a child shouted in panic.
"Run? Where to run? There are so many of us, we'll be too conspicuous. What if we get scattered?"
A middle-aged man retorted, his face also showing panic, but he was still trying hard to think of a response strategy.
The voices of the crowd rose one after another, some were anxiously giving advice, while others were simply venting their inner fears. The whole scene was in chaos, and everyone's face was filled with panic.
So the village chief quickly gathered everyone together and they formed a circle, with everyone's face showing varying degrees of worry and fear.
The village chief said solemnly, "Fellow villagers, the situation we're facing is not good. Although we're not completely sure whether the pursuers are coming, everyone knows that it's best to be prepared for the worst. If the pursuers really do come, we'll be in big trouble if we're unprepared."
After hearing what the village chief said, everyone expressed their opinions. Some said that they should continue on their way, perhaps they could shake off the pursuers; others insisted on finding a place to hide and wait until the storm had passed.
Various opinions were intertwined and the scene was noisy.
The village chief listened carefully to every suggestion from everyone, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and he kept weighing the pros and cons in his mind.
After a long while, the village chief raised his head, his eyes becoming firm. He said loudly, "Fellow villagers, please be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I'm thinking that it's too risky for us to continue on our journey. If we really run into pursuers, we won't be able to escape."
I think we should temporarily retreat to the forest along the official road. The forest is very dense, so it's hard to hide someone there. We can hide there first, and then continue on our way after we're sure the danger is over. This way, we can ensure everyone's safety to the greatest extent possible. What do you think?
When everyone heard the village chief's proposal, they were stunned at first, and then nodded in agreement.
After all, at this critical moment, the village chief's method seems to be the safest one at the moment.
They acted immediately. At the command of the village chief, everyone began to act in an orderly manner.
The women held their children tightly, while the men helped pack the few pieces of luggage. Everyone supported each other and carefully retreated towards the mountains and forests along the official road. Everyone prayed silently in their hearts, hoping that this crisis would pass as soon as possible so that they could continue on their journey south.
When everyone carefully retreated to the forest beside the official road, everyone's heart was still pounding, and the tense atmosphere seemed to condense the air in the forest.
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the direction of the official road, not daring to slack off in the slightest, hoping to escape this disaster safely.
Not long after, the temporary tranquility was broken by the sound of horse hooves coming from afar.
I saw a group of people riding tall horses, rushing past on the official road with great momentum.
The dust raised by the horses' hooves spread in the air, as if adding a bit of fierce momentum to the team.
The group pulled the reins and stopped on the official road.
They all had serious expressions, and their eyes revealed a chilling majesty.
The leader, holding a few portraits in his hands, looked at the ragged and terrified refugees on the roadside.
"Listen up to me!" the leader shouted at the top of his lungs. His voice echoed in the empty official road, frightening the refugees so much that they couldn't help but tremble.
"Have you seen these people?" As he said this, he unfolded the portraits in his hand one by one in front of the refugees.
The refugees raised their heads tremblingly, glanced at the portraits briefly, then lowered them again, shaking their heads repeatedly, saying, "No, no, sir, we have not seen them."
The voice became weak and trembling because of fear, fearing that saying a wrong word would bring about fatal disaster.
The leader frowned, a hint of displeasure flashing in his eyes. He raised his voice and said, "Take a good look! If you have seen it, we will reward you handsomely! If you dare to conceal it, humph, you will not be able to bear the consequences!"
As he spoke, he scanned the refugees with his sharp eyes, as if he wanted to see through them.
After hearing this, the refugees looked at the person in the portrait again.
They still shook their heads firmly and said in unison: "Sir, we really haven't seen it."
Although there was a hint of determination in his tone, it was more of an unconcealable fear and panic.
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of the question, the leader snorted coldly, his face full of impatience. He turned around and waved to his men behind him, indicating that they should continue on their way.
Afterwards, the group of people got on their horses again, the sound of horse hooves rang out again, and they gradually disappeared at the end of the official road, leaving only the group of refugees still there, breathing a sigh of relief with lingering fear.
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