Village Head Gu hurriedly waved his hands. "Village Head Su, do not misunderstand. I, I am just anxious. If there really is a problem with Shu County, what should we do now?"
The old man, who was Village Head Su, sighed. "That young lady said we could consider going to Gefeng. There might be a way to survive there."
Village Head Gu furrowed his brows. "Gefeng? Isn't that the territory of the Quzhao people? What kind of livelihood could there be? That place is even worse than our Xianglu County."
"Right, right. I heard that Gefeng is just like our Xianglu. There aren't many people in the city. What can we do if we go there? Will we be able to survive?"
Jiang Jin was unaware of the conflicted discussion happening over there; she was currently in the carriage looking at a map.
At the group's current speed, they would probably arrive in Gefeng by the afternoon of the day after tomorrow. She needed to think about how to maneuver and quickly take over Gefeng.
On a hillside about twenty miles away from Jiang Jin's group, a young man of seventeen or eighteen was walking in front, followed by two girls around fifteen or sixteen.
The girl on the left had an unhealed scar on her forehead. She pouted and complained, "Luo A'man, if you want to go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables, just come up by yourself. Why do you drag me along every time?"
"The day before yesterday, I took a fall because I accompanied you up the mountain, and the wound on my forehead hasn't even healed yet. Besides, Cousin Luo broke his arm, and I need to take care of him."
Luo A'man pulled her arm. "Sister Zhang Yue, I know you are the best. I am just scared to go up the mountain all by myself."
The young man walking in front twitched his lips. She made it sound as if he wasn't even a person. His pace quickened a bit.
Luo A'man's voice continued, "Besides, you have great fortune. I can only find wild vegetables when you are around. Who knows, we might even catch a wild pheasant today."
Hearing her words, Zhang Yue's expression finally softened a little. "I only accompanied you up the mountain out of respect for Cousin Luo."
Saying this, she somewhat shyly brushed her hair back and said coyly, "A'man, there is nothing going on between Cousin Luo and me. We are completely innocent. I, I just treat him as my older brother."
Luo A'man waved her hand dismissively. "It is fine, it is fine, I understand. I know you two usually look very intimate, hugging and embracing, but that is just the bond between siblings. I get it."
Zhang Yue couldn't help but feel there was a hidden meaning in her words. Just as she was about to defend herself, she suddenly heard a loud smack.
Luo A'man's heart skipped a beat. Without caring what the sound was, she nimbly turned around and bolted.
The young man in front saw Luo A'man running in his direction and turned pale with fright, shouting, "Don't come over here!"
Before his voice had even faded, he had already sprinted over a dozen meters away.
Luo A'man ran wildly behind him, while Zhang Yue's shrill screams echoed from behind.
The two of them turned pale and ran even faster. They didn't stop until they had run several dozen meters and hidden behind two large trees, turning their heads to look back at the path they came from.
A hornet's nest had fallen not far from Zhang Yue's feet, and dozens of hornets were now buzzing and swarming around her.
Zhang Yue looked like a madwoman, swatting left and scratching right, jumping up and down, screaming, "Ahhh! What is this? Go away, go away! Help, help! Ahhh, it hurts..."
Luo A'man patted her chest. "Oh my god, that scared me to death. Good thing Sister Zhang Yue is here. She really is my lucky star!"
The young man hiding behind another large tree a few meters away had a strange expression. He couldn't figure out where the hornet's nest had fallen from. There wasn't even a tree above where Zhang Yue was standing.
Luo A'man's voice continued, "Do you think she will be stung to death by the hornets? What should we do? Should we go save her?"
The young man cast a sidelong glance at her. "If you want to save her, go ahead. I am certainly not going. Those are hornets. Their stings hurt incredibly, and they can actually kill people."
Luo A'man gasped. "No way. That won't do. What will I do if she dies?"
She looked at the young man and pleaded, "Brother, quickly think of a way."
The young man secretly rolled his eyes and yelled at Zhang Yue, "Run! Run quickly!"
Hearing his words, Zhang Yue finally reacted. She turned around and ran toward the two of them, screaming, "Ah, it hurts so much! Come help me quickly, save me!"
Seeing the direction she was running, Luo A'man and the young man cursed under their breath, turned around, and bolted without a moment's hesitation.
They didn't manage to shake off the hornets until they had run two miles. Zhang Yue no longer looked human. Her arms, neck, lips, cheeks, forehead, and even her eyelids had been stung, leaving over a dozen large and small lumps.
As the sun set in the west, Jiang Jin's group came to a halt. Tonight's campsite was by a river.
Yun Chengxuan was very excited. "Auntie, I am going to catch fish in the river. We can have grilled fish tonight."
Jiang Jin didn't stop him and even kindly sponsored him with a bamboo basket. Although it wasn't a proper fishing net, it was better than nothing.
Just as Yun Chengxuan left, Zhou Sui came over to report. "My lady, there are still people in the village across the river, but only a few households."
Jiang Jin nodded. She had also seen the village on the opposite bank. It seemed that the village used to be quite large.
However, most of the houses bore scorch marks and were blackened and overgrown with weeds, indicating that they had been burned down quite some time ago.
Jiang Jin looked at the herd of horses grazing in the distance and nodded. "Mhm, be careful tonight."
This place was quite suitable for spending the night. It was a good distance from the official road, the terrain was flat, there was a water source, and the water and grass were lush, making it perfect for her horses.
As the two were talking, they saw three young men and women walking toward the village on the opposite bank. It was none other than Luo A'man and the other two.
They also noticed Jiang Jin's group. Their eyes were filled with astonishment, but they didn't dare to look too closely for fear of offending the noble people over here.
Jiang Jin asked curiously, "What stung that woman's face?"
Zhou Sui also saw Zhang Yue's swollen face and couldn't help but twitch his mouth. "Probably."
After walking a distance, Luo A'man couldn't help but look back at the opposite bank, but unfortunately, it was a bit too far away now to see clearly.
As soon as the three arrived home, a couple in their forties came out into the courtyard. They were Luo A'man's parents.
They asked anxiously, "Did you see those people on the opposite bank of the river?"
Before Luo A'man could answer, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man cried out, "You... are you A'yue? How did you end up like this?"
This person was Luo Jian, Luo A'man's fiancé.
Seeing him was like seeing her dearest kin. Zhang Yue couldn't help but throw herself into his arms. "Cousin, Cousin! A'yue was stung by hornets! Boohoo, it hurts... A'yue hurts so much..."
"Ah!" Before she could even finish her sentence, a miserable shriek echoed through the courtyard.
