Chenxi cursed inwardly, "What kind of trouble is this? It's gotten so bad that we've run into war. Not only are we fleeing famine, but we've also encountered war."
She heard it clearly just now: there's a widespread drought in the north, and the south is in chaos. Can they still go to the south? Where exactly in the south is there unrest, or is it completely chaotic?
What other way out is there?
But she wasn't a pessimistic person. Even in chaotic times, survival was still a priority. Since she had been transported here, they wouldn't just let her be a scapegoat and hang her here, would they?
She looked up and carefully surveyed the situation. The fighting on the road was still fierce, and Xie Ning's group had split into two parts. One part continued to fight Mo Yuhua's men, while the other part followed Xie Ning and chased after them. They had searched the carriages and grain carts inside and out, but had not found Mo Yuhua's son, Xie Zhaolun. Considering that the number of the enemy was significantly less than when they left the city, and the tracks left by warhorses on the road, she guessed that the enemy had taken Xie Zhaolun and fled first.
A look of urgency appeared in Mo Yuhua's eyes. She suddenly unleashed a flurry of spear strikes, forcing back the soldiers surrounding her, and then rode after Xie Ning.
But it wasn't that easy. She hadn't gone far when the other side surrounded her again.
It seems that for Mo Yuhua, let alone winning, even escaping is as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Shenxi thought to himself, "I can't stay here any longer. Once the fighting ends, what chance will they have? Ordinary people should stay as far away from this chaos as possible."
Thinking about it, she began to observe the terrain. She was right next to a mountain. If she quietly retreated a mile, she could enter the mountains and hide there. These people were not targeting her, so they would not want to search the mountains. But if they did not leave, in such a chaotic world, the able-bodied men might be conscripted, the elderly and children might be killed, and women would not fare well.
So she quietly said to the old village chief next to Aunt Wu, who was also trembling on the ground in fear, "Old village chief, we need to find a chance to retreat. There are mountains behind us. We need to quietly retreat into the mountains and hide. Otherwise, we will be in trouble."
At that moment, the old village chief had only one thought in his mind: hide well, hide well, whatever you do, don't let them see him!
But how could these sparse, bare trees and withered weeds possibly conceal their figures?
Hearing Chenxi's suggestion, the old village chief felt uneasy. "Xiaoxi, are you sure we can retreat to the mountains? If we make a move, won't they shoot us dead?"
Shenxi also considered this point. "At this time, they shouldn't have the time to deal with us. Look, they only left a third of their people to deal with us, and the rest went after the child. Don't underestimate the small number of people here; they're fighting hard. They definitely won't be able to focus on us. If we don't leave now, we really won't be able to leave later."
The old village chief calmed himself down and nodded. "Xiaoxi is right. Okay, let's hurry up and go."
The old village chief then discussed it with the villagers, and they basically all agreed. Li Si then jumped out again, "Village chief, can you guarantee that if we leave now, they won't hurt us? If we don't leave, they might just leave after they've finished fighting and won't care about us at all."
Some villagers wavered. Chenxi disliked Li Si very much. She also remembered that Li Si had stolen their grain and even spied on their mother.
But she also knew that this was not the time to argue, especially since it was not appropriate for her to take the lead. Even if it was an idea, it was she who told the old village chief not to mention that it was hers. She was young and a girl, so few people would believe her.
There will be plenty of opportunities to prove myself and to teach Li Si a lesson in the future, so why bother now?
The old village chief was much calmer now. He glared at Li Si and said, "Those who don't want to leave can stay here and lie there. Those who want to leave, come with me."
People have a herd mentality. The vast majority were willing to leave, and those who were unwilling, including Li Si, eventually followed suit.
They didn't dare to stand up and run away all at once, but retreated slowly with their backs bent, the able-bodied men protecting them from behind, while the elderly, weak, women and children retreated first.
Neither side in the battle had the time or inclination to deal with them. Mo Yuhua was neither interested nor able to, while Xie Ning's men were not focused on them at the moment. They were clearly a group of refugees, whom they had encountered many times on the road, and their business was more important.
Chenxi and the others retreated to a certain distance and then rushed into the mountains. In the distance of more than a mile, they encountered several groups of refugees, but there were not as many of them as they were, and no one dared to come up and rob them, so they were able to enter the mountains smoothly.
The refugees also saw the fighting ahead and actually followed them into the mountains.
In chaotic times, even though human life is as cheap as grass, who wouldn't want to survive? When faced with such fighting, people will naturally hide if they can. Although many plants and trees in the mountains have died from drought, there are still many more in the mountains than in the lower areas, and there are more places to hide. Maybe they can even find some wild game to eat.
However, they didn't dare to go too far into the mountains. These mountain ranges are connected, and there are deep mountains behind them, so there would be no shortage of wild animals, and it's not impossible that there are large, ferocious beasts.
What if we encounter a pack of wolves or a tiger?
There are no green leaves here anymore. On the one hand, there is drought, and on the other hand, there are starving people and refugees who come in looking for food and eat them all. Even the grass roots that have some moisture are dug up and eaten.
When they reached the area between the two mountains, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and plopped down on the ground or rocks. The rest of the way was covered with great effort.
Originally there were more than 300 people, but with the addition of other refugees, about 500 people entered the mountains.
Chenxi then gave the old village chief another suggestion: "We don't know how long the fight will last. Have a few strong young men watch from the top of the mountain. Once the fight is over and the people have gone far away, go over and take a look. If you can get something, you'll have made a profit."
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