The tall man's eyes widened until they nearly split. With a loud shout, he threw himself over the old woman, wrapping his body tightly around her.
Blood sprayed across his face, but no pain registered on his body. He hesitantly looked up, only to see the Quzhao tribesman, who had just been flashing a cruel smile at him, with a sharp arrow piercing his neck.
Thud. The Quzhao man crashed to the ground, and his horse, losing its master's control, came to a halt.
The man looked up and saw a beautiful woman in the distance, holding a bow and arrow, looking utterly heroic and valiant.
The woman didn't look at him again. She loosed another arrow, claiming the life of yet another Quzhao man.
The tall man finally realized what was happening. He muttered softly, We are saved! Someone has come to save us, Mother, someone has come to save us Han people!
The old woman was in immense pain; she had just been struck on the back by a whip.
However, she didn't let it show on her face and urged, Yes, we are saved, my son. Hurry, let's find a safer place.
The tall man gave a heavy nod, quickly hoisted the old woman onto his back, and ran toward a less crowded area.
Yun Chengxuan was like a god of death. He charged at the Quzhao men on horseback, and with a single swing of his blade, a Quzhao man's head flew high into the air...
The long blade in Zhou Sui's hands danced wildly; with every slash, he felled an enemy.
Dong Si stayed at the back on his horse, shooting arrows. His archery was the only skill he could proudly present, so he opted not to get in the way of the melee.
Xie Nanxiao led a squad of soldiers charging toward the Quzhao men who were tying people up. He thrust his long spear forward, sending blood splattering.
One Quzhao man was in the middle of tying up a mother and daughter. He was greatly alarmed when he saw the sudden appearance of Han warriors on horseback.
He roared, Do you know who I am? How dare you kill us Quzhao people?
Xie Nanxiao curled his lips, spurred his horse forward, and thrust his spear at the man's neck. It is exactly the Quzhao people we are killing!
Amidst a spray of blood, the Quzhao man collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The squad of soldiers behind him quickly joined the fray.
Cavalry inherently possessed an absolute advantage over infantry, and their recent training had not been in vain. Moreover, they were all veterans who had seen blood; when it came to killing, they were incredibly fierce.
The battle did not last long and concluded with the total annihilation of the Quzhao men.
Even though the Quzhao men were wiped out, the scene remained chaotic, filled with shouts, miserable wails, and bitter weeping...
Xie Nanxiao immediately commanded the soldiers to cut the ropes binding the commoners one by one.
Once freed, some commoners turned and fled, some slumped to the ground crying, and others knelt to express their gratitude...
Xie Nanxiao looked in Jiang Jin's direction and explained, If you want to thank someone, thank our Lady. It was our Lady who ordered us to save you.
Jiang Jin, having just acquired over a dozen more horses, was in a delightful mood. She was one step closer to forming her cavalry company.
Dong Si began to clear the battlefield—which, honestly, meant looting the corpses—while not forgetting to instruct the three soldiers who came to help.
Search them thoroughly. Remember, all these coins and items belong to the Lady. The Lady provides you with food and drink; you must know how to be grateful.
The soldiers felt his words made a lot of sense. They all came from impoverished backgrounds and had rarely eaten a full meal growing up.
Now, the Lady gave them food and clothing, and they even got to eat chicken legs after winning a battle. They indeed needed to be grateful.
Dong Si then began imparting his corpse-looting experience: You must check the thighs. Quzhao people love hiding money in secret pockets on their thighs. You should also check their private parts, preferably give them a squeeze, as they might hide money in there too.
The soldiers were speechless. Wait, did the Quzhao people have a different anatomy from the Han people, allowing them to hide money inside?!
The tall man hesitated for a moment before carrying the old woman on his back over to Jiang Jin. He set the old woman down and prostrated himself before Jiang Jin: Thank you, Lady, for saving me and my mother.
The old woman also bowed to the ground: Thank you, Lady, for saving our lives.
Jiang Jin made a gesture to help them up: There is no need for such formalities. Please, stand up.
The tall man thanked her once more before rising. Just as he was about to put the old woman back on his back, he saw an elderly man trembling as he walked over, supported by a young man.
He hurriedly called out, Village Head.
The elderly man was none other than Sun Yi, the Village Head of their Lihua Village.
Sun Yi nodded at him, then looked at Jiang Jin and bowed deeply to her in a solemn salute: I am Sun Yi, the Village Head of Lihua Village. Thank you, Lady, for saving the lives of our villagers.
Jiang Jin waved her hand: It was just a small effort, no need for this.
Sun Yi shook his head: What is a small effort to the Lady is a lifesaver to us, and it spared us from being enslaved by the Quzhao people.
Jiang Jin asked gently, Where do you come from? And where are you heading?
Sun Yi let out a long sigh: We are villagers from Lihua Village and Xingnan Village in Punan Commandery, Chongzhou. We originally intended to go to Lin County in Fengzhou, hearing that it is a city of us Han people, but, alas...
His face was full of sorrow: But on the way, we heard that a rebellion had broken out in Lin County. Not knowing the situation, we didn't dare to proceed.
After discussing it, our two villages decided to change course and head to Shu County to try our luck. We never expected to run into the Quzhao people here.
Lihua Village and Xingnan Village were neighboring villages. The journey was treacherous, so to look out for each other, the two villages fled together.
Unfortunately, their luck was poor. Not long after setting out, they encountered a group of refugees who tried to rob them of their supplies.
The people of the two villages fought back fiercely and managed to protect their belongings.
However, there were casualties among the villagers. Even the Village Head of Xingnan Village was unfortunately killed. Afterward, the position of Village Head was taken over by his son, Zhu Wen, who was the young man currently supporting Sun Yi.
Jiang Jin frowned. It seemed news traveled quite fast, though it made sense since many people traveled in and out of Lin County.
She couldn't help but recall the detachment of cavalry she had encountered that morning. If those people's destination was Lin County, then Lin County was probably even more chaotic right now.
However, Shu County was unlikely to be much better.
After pondering, she asked another question: What is the current situation in Chongzhou? Why did you come to Fengzhou?
The sorrow on Sun Yi's face deepened: We had no choice but to flee. The Ji people stole our grain, treated us Han people as slaves, forcing us to work in shackles, and even treated us as food, resorting to cannibalism when they ran out of provisions.
At this point, he began to sob softly, muddy tears sliding down his heavily wrinkled face.
The young man supporting him also lowered his head and wept softly, his heart filled with panic and bewilderment.
The old woman's eyes reddened as well: How could the Yan Kingdom just disappear like that? Boohoo, our country is gone, where can we go? Boohoo, the heavens simply won't let us Han people live!
In the past, when the country still existed, even though there were numerous exorbitant taxes and levies, as well as various forced labors, at least they still had a home. They might not have had enough food or warmth, but they could still survive.
The villagers also began to weep quietly, and the atmosphere at the scene became gloomy and tragic.
Their country was gone, their homes were gone. Like stray dogs, they fled in panic along the way, living in constant fear, with nowhere to go and nowhere to return to.
Along this journey, apart from the initial refugees, they had encountered mountain bandits twice. Out of over 500 villagers, only a little more than 300 were left.
