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The sight of the glaring blood caused the guards to change color. “It’s over. Could it be that Lord Wei has been harmed?”
However, before they could stop the fleeing refugees, someone from the city rushed in with urgent news: “Lord Liang and the official are still alive!”
“Quick! We need more people to help!”
This was a stroke of unexpected good fortune.
Outside the city, only two guards remained to clean up the mess, while the rest had entered the county city. Soon, Master Liang and the official, who had been trapped beneath the rubble, were rescued.
Master Liang had suffered a broken rib, and the official had a broken arm, but fortunately, neither was in mortal danger. However, the servants of the Liang family who were trapped under the rubble weren’t so fortunate; they had all perished while trying to protect their master.
…
On a narrow mountain path, the galloping steeds came to a gradual stop.
A small red-legged falcon, spreading its black wings, circled in the air before diving towards Wei Yunlan and Seventh Lady Yu.
Wei Yunlan extended her arm, and the red-legged falcon landed steadily on her forearm. Perhaps fearing that it would hurt her, its red talons were relaxed and didn’t grip too tightly.
Seventh Lady Yu exclaimed in surprise, “This is its first time getting close to a human.”
“Is this a bird from Tianshu Pavilion?” Wei Yunlan asked.
“Yes, it’s a hawk raised specifically for delivering messages.”
This red-legged falcon belonged to her small team, and the message had been sent by Pei Hu. Seventh Lady Yu reached out to untie the message tube from the falcon’s talons and pulled out the note inside.
“Miss Wei, Lord Wei has escaped from danger.”
“Great!” Wei Yunlan breathed a sigh of relief.
After the earth dragon turned, the family members had split into four groups. Her brother was capable, and there were plenty of men with their mother, who was always sharp-witted and protected by the powerful Suihe. What she worried about the most was her father, fearing that something unexpected might happen that would prevent him from escaping.
Fortunately, everything had gone smoothly.
On horseback, Seventh Lady Yu released the red-legged falcon that had delivered the message.
Wei Yunlan unfolded the map that Wei Maolin had drawn by hand, glanced at the three tall peaks to the west and surveyed the surroundings. “We’re about to reach the border between Liangzhou and Suizhou.”
Once they entered Suizhou territory, there would be less than fifty li left to reach Suijiang City.
The two steeds sent by the Pavilion Master of Tianshu were swift, and even though the path was rugged and slowed them down a bit, reaching the city before dark wouldn’t be difficult.
“Let’s hurry and get to Suijiang first, and then wait for Father and Mother.”
The horses galloped along the path again, occasionally spotting refugees coming from Suizhou, going in the opposite direction.
Before long, Wei Yunlan and her group arrived at the border between Liangzhou and Suizhou, where they could see a group of officials stationed by the official road. Every group of refugees trying to enter Liangzhou from Suizhou was being stopped by them.
Some were allowed into Liangzhou, while others were sternly turned away.
Ningshuang and Tingxue noticed that those allowed entry were handing over something to the officials.
“They’re being charged silver to enter Liangzhou!”
“Isn’t that leaving no way for people to survive?”
Seventh Lady Yu was already accustomed to such occurrences. She cast a glance over there and then quietly suggested to Wei Yunlan, “Miss Wei, let’s take a detour to avoid those officials.”
“Alright.” Wei Yunlan agreed with this plan.
Many refugees were fleeing from Suizhou to Liangzhou, but few were traveling the opposite way, from Liangzhou to Suizhou. If they went past the officials, it would be too conspicuous.
They detoured through the wasteland near the official road for half an hour before entering Suizhou territory.
Only then did Wei Yunlan truly realize that the disaster situation in Liangzhou was nothing compared to what she saw in Suizhou.
Scenes like the one at the foot of Qingya Slope, where rocks were piled up, were commonplace here.
Fallen trees and collapsed houses were a regular sight.
Some places had not only suffered landslides but also ground subsidence.
The worst-affected place was the first county they passed through after entering Suizhou. The small town called Suian had even lost a large portion of its city wall.
Looking into the city from the collapsed wall, they could see a huge crater next to the ruins of the wall.
It was even more severe than Wei Yunlan had imagined.
The ground was uneven all along the way, and they occasionally encountered cracks, slowing the horses’ pace.
Ningshuang and Tingxue rode alongside Wei Yunlan, worried. “Miss, Suizhou is so chaotic. Could the situation in Suijiang be even worse?”
“Perhaps.” Wei Yunlan wasn’t sure what the situation was like in Suijiang City.
But when they changed their plans, they hadn’t altered their meeting point. They had chosen to go through Suizhou precisely because of the “chaos.” The severe disaster and the chaotic situation in Suizhou meant that the local officials had no time to deal with anything else, which was why they needed to pass through Suizhou.
This would make it easier for the Wei family to get separated from the exile team. They could then report to the officials, travel to Beiguan on their own, and everything would be perfectly logical.
…
As Wei Yunlan and her group entered Suizhou territory, Wei Maolin, with Pei Hu’s help, had his wooden cangue removed, and Madam Gao and Cheng Yue’e were safely seated in the mule cart heading to Suijiang.
Wei Mingxuan and his group, who had been considered the safest, had been wandering for half a day near the border between Liangzhou and Lianzhou. As night fell, they finally found directions in a nearby village.
Liu Quan thanked the farmer who had directed them and returned to the mule cart. He said to them, “We took a wrong turn at the last fork in the road. We should have gone the other way. It will take another hour to go back.”
The night wind was cold and harsh, and it got colder the further north they went.
Not to mention whether they could handle traveling overnight, the mules, which were already exhausted and almost ready to collapse, and the ewe Wei Mingxuan was leading, would definitely not be able to withstand it.
Wei Mingxuan suggested, “Why don’t we stay in the village for the night and continue our journey at dawn tomorrow?”
To lighten the mules’ burden, everyone had been walking alongside the mule cart, except for Granny Wang and Gui Xiang, who occasionally had to rest on the cart when they couldn’t walk anymore.
After walking over a hundred li, everyone was exhausted. Wei Mingxuan’s suggestion was met with agreement.
Liu Quan knocked on the door of the house where they had just asked for directions.
After some negotiation, the family agreed to take them in for the night for thirty copper coins. They also allowed them to draw water in their courtyard and provided some hay for the mules and the ewe.
Wei Mingxuan and his companions thanked the farmer repeatedly for their kindness.
The farmer’s house wasn’t very spacious, so Granny Wang and Gui Xiang squeezed into a room with their unmarried daughter. Wei Mingxuan, Wang Gui, and Liu Quan stayed in a small room that had been cleared out for them.
They had been working so hard for the past two days that Wei Mingxuan was almost asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
In his semi-conscious state, a stone flew in through the window and landed beside his pillow.
“Whoa!” Wei Mingxuan sat up in bed, his sleepiness instantly half gone!