The village head looked around. The villagers were like walking corpses, dragging themselves forward step by step.
The hope in everyone's hearts had almost been entirely ground away. No one was willing to take them in; they had nowhere to go and were left homeless.
In the biting chill of early spring, the tree leaves were just beginning to bud, and wild vegetables had yet to grow. Plagued by hunger and cold, they probably wouldn't survive for more than a few days.
He sighed and shook his head. Keep moving.
The man beside him didn't argue, simply grabbing his knapsack and following along.
Where are you from? Where are you heading? Just then, several strapping men suddenly emerged from the side of the road ahead.
The village head's heart skipped a beat, thinking they had run into bandits.
He stumbled forward a few paces, hunching his body. Gentlemen, we are but refugees fleeing disaster. We have neither money nor food on us.
Lin Yang was momentarily taken aback, then immediately realized these people thought they were robbers. He waved his hand. You've misunderstood.
Our city is recruiting people, so we wanted to ask if you'd be willing to come with us. If you work, you'll get paid and be able to eat your fill.
He was also feeling somewhat helpless. Gefeng lacked manpower, and they also wanted to save as many Han people as possible.
Therefore, scouts like them who came out to gather intelligence were given an additional task: if they saw ordinary Han civilians, they were to bring them back to Gefeng if at all possible.
Jiang Jin had anticipated this. The heavy snowfalls during the winter would inevitably result in disaster-stricken refugees, but her capabilities were limited, and her reach wasn't that long.
She could only instruct the Jinyang Army troops going out on missions that if they encountered fleeing Han refugees, as long as there were no suspicious issues with them, they could bring them back to Gefeng.
It took the village head a long moment to process what he had said. His voice trembled as he asked, What... what did you say? Your city is willing to let us in?
Lin Yang nodded. That's right, but you need to clearly state your origins.
The village head grew excited. He hurriedly had his son set down his knapsack, took out the household registration document issued to them, and handed it to Lin Yang with trembling hands. Look, this is my household registration.
We are villagers from Donghu County. The snow was severe this year, and our houses collapsed under the weight. We even ate our seed grain, which is why...
Lin Yang looked at the document and asked, Your name is Zhu Liu? You're the village head of Zhujia Village?
The village head, who was indeed Zhu Liu, nodded hastily. Yes, yes, I am Zhu Liu.
After confirming there was no issue with Zhu Liu's registration, Lin Yang handed the document back to him and said, Then come with me.
The villagers finally snapped out of their previous lifeless state. Still feeling it was somewhat unbelievable and worrying it might be a scam, they all looked toward the village head, waiting for him to make the decision.
Zhu Liu also calmed down a bit and asked cautiously, May I ask where your city is? What is it called?
Lin Yang forced a smile. I can only tell you that our city is nearby. If you want to come, we welcome you. If you don't, we won't force you.
Naturally, he wouldn't reveal the name Gefeng. If these people changed their minds and didn't follow him back, the information that Gefeng could be freely accessed would be leaked.
And as for silencing unarmed civilians by killing them, he simply couldn't bring himself to do it.
He was also mentally prepared for the possibility that they wouldn't follow him back to the city.
After all, to them, he was a stranger who had just popped out of nowhere. It was understandable that they would have concerns.
To his surprise, Zhu Liu quickly agreed to go with him.
Not only Zhu Liu, but the villagers of Zhujia Village also agreed to follow him with almost no hesitation.
In truth, it was easy to understand. They were already on the verge of death; what could possibly be worse than their current situation?
Qu Zhao Camp.
Qu Bai stood in front of his tent, gazing far off at the Gesi Mountains. He was restless, harboring a lingering feeling that something bad was going to happen.
It was already dusk. Neither the men sent to Mount Gesi nor Qu Fei had returned, nor had they sent back any messages.
At that moment, Qu Cong hurried over. General, you were looking for me?
Qu Bai nodded and turned to enter the tent.
Qu Cong quickly followed.
Tell me about the situation at Mount Gesi. Qu Bai sat down and rubbed his temples, nursing a headache.
Qu Cong considered his words before replying, General, after our men went into Mount Gesi, there has been no movement. I suspect those people we saw earlier were not ordinary civilians.
Qu Bai's brows furrowed. Are you saying they are soldiers? That they intentionally lured us in to wipe us out?
Qu Cong gave a slight nod. We cannot rule out that possibility. Otherwise, with the forces we sent, they would have captured those civilians long ago.
Yet now, there is no activity at all. He looked up at Qu Bai and continued, Our men have most likely already been...
Qu Bai felt his temples throbbing; this was exactly what he had been worrying about.
Seeing that Qu Bai remained silent, Qu Cong hesitated before asking, General, should we send reinforcements to Mount Gesi?
Qu Bai didn't answer his question, instead asking, Has any news come back from Qu Fei's side?
Qu Cong shook his head. No. The scouts we sent to investigate should be back very soon.
Qu Bai fell silent. After a moment, he paced over to the map and stared at it deep in thought.
Not long after, a soldier reported from outside the tent.
It turned out to be the scout who had gone to check on Qu Fei's troops. He had returned with rather bad news.
Based on the tracks, we found that the General Who Guards the East and his men did indeed enter the mountain. However, we didn't dare to go too deep, so we have no way of knowing exactly what happened inside.
The soldier kept his head bowed, not daring to look Qu Bai in the eye.
Following the tracks, they had indeed discovered the marks left by Qu Fei and the others as they entered the mountain.
But considering that no one who had entered the mountain had returned, they hadn't dared to venture far, only tracking them for a short distance before turning back.
Qu Bai stared at the soldier with a dark expression.
The soldier broke out in a cold sweat under his gaze and asked in a trembling voice, General, do you need us to continue deeper to investigate?
Everyone present knew that if they went deeper, they likely wouldn't return either. But if the general gave the order, they would obey without question.
After a long while, Qu Bai waved his hand weakly. Dismissed.
The soldier felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He bowed respectfully and quickly withdrew.
Qu Cong sighed. I'm afraid Qu Fei has met with disaster. It's just too strange. When did such formidable figures arrive in our Liuxiang County?
Qu Bai closed his eyes, sinking into deep thought.
No matter how much Qu Bai speculated, the afterglow of the setting sun eventually faded, and night fell.
Jiang Jin sat in the council hall, with Zhou Sui and the others seated below her.
Her expression was extremely solemn. Tomorrow, Qu Zhao will very likely send reinforcements to Mount Gesi. They will probably abandon the Cangcui Forest area.
In Cangcui Forest, Qu Fei and the 2,000 soldiers he brought had all been wiped out. There were no survivors.
Including the previous 500-plus Qu Zhao soldiers, they had also died without a sound. Qu Zhao hadn't even received a single shred of information from Cangcui Forest.
If he wanted to make a breakthrough, the next time he sent troops, it would definitely have to be a larger force—at least 5,000 or more.
Qu Bai's main task right now was the siege. Facing Gefeng's Jinyang Army, it was impossible for him to mobilize that many men at a time like this.
Therefore, temporarily abandoning Cangcui Forest became an inevitability, unless Qu Zhao received reinforcements and Qu Bai had more troops at his disposal.
Zhou Sui reminded her, However, he will likely report the situation upward. The Qu Zhao army will very possibly dispatch a separate force to Cangcui Forest.
