Chapter 22: Slaughter at the Foot of the Mountain

In Shen Village, those willing to leave have also packed up their belongings and are waiting at the village entrance.

The village head had agreed to wait for only one hour, and as the time approached, some people hurriedly arrived.

They had also heard the commotion outside and became hesitant, but eventually hastily packed their things and rushed over.

After counting the number of people, it was found that most of the people who were expected had arrived, but there were still over 20 households who had not come out.

Among them were a few elderly people who felt that even if they died at home, it was better than becoming a lonely ghost outside, so they were not willing to come.

Since they still haven’t come by now, they probably don’t want to leave.

The crowd glanced towards the village with reluctance, and finally turned their gaze to the village head.

“Village head, where are we going at this late hour?” someone asked.

Those who were unwilling to come along muttered complaints in a low voice, “Where can we go at this late hour? Our village has hundreds of people, and even refugees may not dare to come.”

Someone rolled their eyes at them and said, “Didn’t you hear that even refugees have entered the county town, as mentioned by Shen Rong? They dared to attack the county town, so what are you afraid of?”

However, someone else chimed in, “Yes, it’s not like we have to rush tonight. Let’s wait until tomorrow morning before we leave.”

Although they grumbled in a low voice, the village head, who was not far away, still heard them.

He glanced over and impatiently said, “If you don’t want to go, you can still go back now. Otherwise, just follow along quietly. There’s no need for so much nonsense.”

The few people didn’t dare to say anything more and lowered their heads, waiting for the village head’s arrangements, feeling somewhat dissatisfied.

“With this drought, locust plague, and earthquake happening, let’s head east. I heard that it’s the third prince’s fiefdom over there, and he is a benevolent person. When we get there, he definitely won’t ignore us,” the village head sighed.

“Moreover, if we continue east, we will reach the imperial city. In any case, we have nothing to fear,” he added.

Upon hearing his arrangement, Shen Yu’an was not surprised. No matter what happens, the people will definitely feel that the Imperial City is the safest place.

However, they did not know that the Imperial City was now in chaos. Even if they were told, they might not believe it and probably would think that she didn’t know what she was talking about.

Now, they didn’t need to consider this. Shen Yu’an planned to take her family to the southeast, where it was far from the Imperial City and directly under the Emperor’s control, although currently a general was stationed there.

For now, I can still travel with them for a while, and when they decide which way to go, let them choose for themselves.

Lizheng said again, “Let’s go east first and see how far we can go.”

Shen Yu’an frowned. Going east would take them to the town, and if the group of refugees came from there, wouldn’t it be walking right into the lion’s den?

As she pondered this in her heart, the words of opposition had already come out of her mouth: “No, we can’t go that way.”

Upon hearing someone daring to oppose him, the village chief was unhappy and spoke unkindly, “The only way out of the village is that road. Are you suggesting we go up to the Snake Mountain on the west side?”

“The village chief is indeed clever. As soon as I mentioned it, you already thought of it. There’s only one road out of the village, and the refugees will definitely take that road. Since there are no forks in the road, if we run into refugees on the way, we’ll just be wasting our efforts.”

With one sentence, Shen Yu’an praised Shen Lizheng highly, making it difficult for him to continue being angry with her.

Despite feeling a bit unhappy,he understood Shen Yu’an’s meaning and could only say, “Shen’s girl has said everything I was thinking. So, what should we do now that everything is packed up? We can’t go back.”

Shen Yu’an laughed and said, “Let’s hide in the mountains for the night and leave when it’s light out.”

“Okay, we’ll do as the Shen’s girl suggested and hide in the mountains for the night.”

Agreeing with this suggestion, Shen Yu’an led the way with the Shen family, followed closely by the Zhang and Wu families, while the rest of the people also followed behind.

However, there were also those who sneered at this idea. Lin Erdan was still resentful towards Shen Yu’an for threatening him with a knife around his neck, and he both feared and hated her.

He walked some distance away from the Shen family and loudly asked, “You’re so tough, why are you afraid of a few refugees? Just use your kitchen knife to scare them away.”

Upon hearing him scream like a chicken from elementary school, Shen Yu’an turned her head and looked at him disdainfully.

The sky had already turned completely dark, but when Lin Erdan saw Shen Yu’an look over, he felt like he had caught a glimpse of a shooting star.

“Tsk, the daughter of Shen Rong is really damn good-looking.”

“But…she’s too violent.”

Lin Erdan quickly lowered his head and carefully looked at the road.

No one else spoke, because some families were still carrying livestock, so they chose a flatter and more convenient path.

After walking for a full half hour, the group finally found a place to stop and rest.

Everyone wiped off their sweat and sat down.

Looking down from the mountain, you could vaguely see a few villages below, some families still had their oil lamps burning.

After a while, when everyone had stopped paying much attention to the situation below the mountain, someone suddenly exclaimed, “Quick, look, people are coming from below the mountain!”

Hearing his words, everyone quickly looked down the mountain and saw a long line of fire, with people holding torches coming.

Then they saw the people holding torches heading towards the village next to Shen’s village.

Due to their high position, they could clearly see those people entering the yard and starting to search for things.

The owner of the house heard the commotion and got into a fight with those people, who seemed to be fighting like they had nothing to lose.

Some of them even had knives in their hands, and they fought over the food in the arms of an old woman. When the old woman refused to let go, one of them swung their knife and struck her.

From afar, they could see the woman convulsing on the ground after being stabbed, and then there was no movement.

After they finished looting that village, those people gathered together and headed towards the next village, which happened to be Shen’s village.

They followed the same routine when they arrived at Shen’s village.

Since the people in Shen’s village had received advance notice and escaped, those people didn’t find much to loot and instead vented their anger on the remaining villagers.

The scene below the mountain was horrific, and the onlookers couldn’t bear to watch anymore, turning their eyes away.

The mood of everyone was low, and their hearts were heavy, regardless of their past relationships. Seeing those villagers being killed filled them with a deep sense of grief and despair.

They wrapped their clothes tightly around them, and suddenly, the hot night felt cold and eerie.

The thought of those refugees waving their knives around made them feel like they could be the next victims at any moment.

The family huddled together, squeezing as close as possible, as if it would give them a sense of security.

Fortunately, they had all followed and left earlier, otherwise they might have already been killed and dismembered by now.

Lin Chunyan, not far away, adjusted her clothes and looked around, her gaze finally settling on the calm figure of Shen Yu’an.

She suddenly felt that Shen Yu’an’s appearance was particularly annoying. Everyone was afraid, why shouldn’t she be afraid?

Shen Yu’an’s calm demeanor made Lin Chunyan feel a strong urge to destroy her.

When Shen Yu’an noticed the unfriendly gaze, she saw Lin Chunyan’s twisted expression for a moment, then forced out an ugly smile.