Chapter 257: Chapter 256: Would You Dare Answer If I Called Your Name?

Moreover, Qin Yao had inquired about the village’s reception situation from Manager Fang, the timber merchant, just two days ago.

Since Liu the carpenter and the others were still receiving timber as usual, it meant everything was normal in the village.

Besides, when bandits come to Liu Family Village, they only end up being driven away. Who in the whole of Jinshi Town doesn’t know that the people of Liu Family Village have the hardest heads and the strongest fists?

Liu Ji instantly felt relieved and patted his chest, “Makes sense, bullies only pick on the weak, there’s no way they’d target our village.”

Watching the Ding family’s carriage speeding ahead, Liu Ji quipped, “Now there shouldn’t be anyone foolish enough to show excessive kindness to these ill-intentioned refugees.”

And in the next moment, they encountered such “fools.”

The Ding family’s carriage came to a sudden stop, and a guard quickly turned back on horseback, “Miss Qin, there are many refugees ahead, the young master asks if we should turn back to avoid them first?!”

Qin Yao raised an eyebrow, signaling Liu Ji to stop the carriage, and asked in confusion, “How many refugees?”

There was a bend up ahead with a hillside blocking the view. Qin Yao’s family was at the back, unable to see what was happening in front.

At this time, the setting sun was in the west, and the sky was about to darken. They were thinking about finding a place to camp.

The refugees had delayed them along the way, and they had already missed the chance to enter the town.

However, Qin Yao remembered all the Daoist Temples and pavilions along the way. Not far ahead, after walking four more miles, there was a Daoist Temple with walls that provided better shelter than the open air.

The guard replied hastily, “I don’t know; it was a whole mass of people. I didn’t have time to count. Fearing they’d spot us, I hurried back!”

The guard’s expression was panicked, indicating that the number of refugees was more than their two guards and a driver could handle.

Da Zhuang and Liu Li also looked over. There were children in Qin Yao’s carriage, so naturally, they wouldn’t take risks.

“Hold on, I’ll go up the hill to take a look. Don’t move yet,” Qin Yao advised as she asked the guard to dismount, and the two of them climbed the hill together.

The guard went back to inform Ding Shi and then hurriedly dismounted to catch up with Qin Yao.

The two climbed to the hilltop, revealing a vast farmland below, accompanied by a sizable village. The terrain was quite open.

The official road ran through the middle of the farmland, with no obstructions around, allowing a clear view of the situation below.

The Ding family’s guard had not exaggerated; it was indeed a mass of people, approximately two to three hundred, gathered on the official road, desperately squeezing towards an opulent carriage in the middle.

A dozen guards dressed in attire rode horses, guarding two carriages in the center. Scattered on the ground were grain bags and exquisite food boxes.

Unfortunately, the lid of the food box was nowhere to be found, and the delicious food inside was also missing.

As soon as the refugees saw the grain bags on the ground, they rushed forward to snatch them.

The guards drew their weapons to bar them, but it was futile; the refugees were like desperate men, only seeing the grain bags in their eyes.

Especially with one corner of the grain bag exposed, revealing the white rice inside, the starving refugees couldn’t think of anything else, their minds consumed with hunger!

The people on the outskirts had no idea what was happening inside, assuming there was plenty of food, ignoring the cries for help and the shouts of objection, charging forward relentlessly.

The guards and carriages were trapped in the center of the refugees, their swords raised, unable to decide whether to kill or not, caught in a dilemma.

Even with such restraint, they couldn’t find a way out.

Only by abandoning their carriages and all their belongings could they potentially break through this terrifying encirclement.

“Tsk~” Qin Yao shook her head, feeling as though she was transported back to the apocalypse.

Because the scene below was almost identical to when zombies besieged humans.

Fortunately, the refugees, attracted to that luxurious carriage, hadn’t noticed them.

Qin Yao looked down at the farm and fields and noticed there was a small path on the right, which could bypass the refugees on the official road and enter the village.

“Go that way, sneak around,” Qin Yao said, pointing to the path leading to the village, speaking to the Ding family’s guard behind her.

Having experienced the fierceness of these refugees firsthand, the guards knew they weren’t the frail, helpless individuals one might imagine. Each was a starving wolf!

Hearing Qin Yao’s suggestion, they immediately agreed.

As for the group trapped there, they had to fend for themselves.

The two hurried down the hill, informing their companions of the situation. Everyone agreed without objection and slowly but quietly took the path to the right.

This path was likely made by farmers for pushing carts; a small carriage could just fit on it.

In such situations, it depended on the skill of the driver.

If the carriage wheel slipped off the edge of the path, that would not be good.

Liu Ji, confident in the obedience and wit of his family’s horse, boasted as he watched the carriage wheels of Liu Li’s family teeter on the edge but never fall, laughing to himself.

But pride came before the fall, even an old horse stumbles sometimes; their carriage “gaahed” and suddenly skewed off course.

In an instant, Qin Yao’s hand flashed like lightning, lifting the carriage bottom, setting it back on the path.

Old Huang called out in fright, the face of Liu Ji on the carriage turned pale, “Save me, wife” almost escaped his lips.

Before he could speak, the crisis was averted. He sheepishly grinned at Qin Yao, not daring to lose concentration anymore.

Qin Yao glared at him. She knew this guy would cause some trouble, so she walked alongside the carriage on the path, just in case.

Still, it was hard to guard against everything!

The driver on Ding’s side was an old hand, smoothly navigating through the path between fields.

Da Zhuang and Liu Li, slow but safe, also made it through.

Finally, Qin Yao’s family arrived safely. The three families pressed on without stopping, eager to quickly leave this troublesome place.

Unexpectedly, a loud, excited child’s voice suddenly came from the official road: “Liu Ji! Liu Ji from Liu Family Village, Kaiyang County!”

This sudden shout, complete with name and location, startled Liu Ji out of his wits.

“Who is it?” Instinctively, he glanced at Qin Yao, and the couple looked around confusedly towards the voice, spotting a half-familiar figure on the shaft of the trapped carriage.

Qi Xian was calling out to them loudly, “Liu Ji! Liu Ji!”

Liu Ji thought, do you think calling my name can help you escape this predicament?

“Qi Xian?” Qin Yao showed an incredulous expression, glancing at Liu Ji. “Are you two familiar?”

Liu Ji shook his head quickly; they weren’t familiar at all, okay!

So…

“Let’s go quickly, ignore them. They have so many guards, if they abandon the carriage, they’ll surely get out.”

Qin Yao nodded; at critical moments the couple were still in sync.

However, although they said that, there seemed to be something on the other carriage that held Qi Xian back, preventing him from ordering the guards to abandon the carriage and escape.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep