Chapter 125: Su Xinyang was taken away

Su Yin felt relieved upon hearing that Nan Jingzhi’s group wouldn’t separate until they reached Linzhou.

By the time they reached Linzhou, they would have already achieved more than half of their journey.

“Then it’s better to follow the original planned route.”

“Okay.”

“On the way to Linzhou, you’d better travel with us and don’t go too fast,” Nan Jingzhi said.

They had many people, but not that many animals, and their speed was far inferior to Su Yin’s group.

Su Yin nodded, understanding his concern, and said to him, “Thank you.”

Nan Jingzhi waved his folding fan nonchalantly.

After the discussion, Su Yin deliberately adjusted her team’s pace to match Nan Jingzhi’s group.

The Zhang family was the first to notice that Su Yin and her party were slowing down.

“Dad, they seem to have slowed down,” the second son of the Zhang family said in surprise.

The rest of the Zhang family also looked surprised. “Finally, I don’t have to run all the way to catch up. My legs really can’t bear it.”

“Okay, stop being so long-winded.”

Su Yin, walking at the front, looked at the official road ahead. There were people lying on both sides.

Some of these people had already lost their breath, while others still had a faint pulse but were unable to move forward.

Many crows, flies, and mosquitoes landed on these corpses. When someone passed by, they would fly away, only to gather back together once the person left.

A putrid smell hung in the air. It was faint but very pungent, and it wouldn’t be long before the smell intensified exponentially.

Su Yin distributed the masks she had prepared long ago to Su’s mother, Su Baozhu, and Wan Sanye, as well as several children in her uncle’s family.

As for the other adults, she let them figure out their own solutions.

She couldn’t possibly make enough masks for everyone.

“Uncle, find something to cover your mouth and nose. Remember, you must do it. No matter how hot it is, you must do it.”

“Okay.”

Su Yin gave instructions one by one.

Madam Xu smiled and said, “I watched you make them before, and I’ve already made a few. If you don’t have enough, I have some here.”

“I have some over there.” Su Yin thanked Madam Xu for her kindness.

The Zhang family noticed the commotion on their side, and before Su Yin could go over to notify them, their people came to inquire first.

“What’s going on?” Zhang Bingliang asked.

“The corpses are left here exposed to the sun. The gases they emit, along with the flies and mosquitoes around them, may carry diseases.

Dr. Li suggested that we all cover our mouths and noses.”

“Okay, okay.” Zhang Bingliang nodded, immediately going back to tell his family.

“Hey, where did you find this thing?”

“Just find an unwanted piece of clothing and cut it so that it can cover your mouth and nose.

You girls, hurry up and don’t wait too long. Miss Su and the others are already here before you see them. Put it on.”

Nan Jingzhi didn’t need anyone to tell him, and the people below all found pieces of cloth that could cover their mouths and noses.

The corpses they saw now were only a small part, but they knew very well that as they went further back, there would be more and more such corpses.

“It’s not that Nanshan County is similar to Nanping County, but I think Nanshan County is more serious.”

Mother Su looked at the increasing number of corpses on the roadside. When she passed through Nanping County before, she only saw clusters here and there. Occasionally, they saw some corpses of people who had been killed.

But after entering Nanshan County, there were more and more corpses. Most of these corpses were not killed by people, but died of starvation, thirst, or even illness.

Su Baozhu said, “Many people failed to persevere and fell here. In Nanping County, they might still have had the strength to carry on, but they would probably be exhausted by the time they got here.”

How long can a person endure without food or water?

They were very fortunate. Aside from having to walk for days at the beginning, their feet were bruised and blistered from time to time. Even when their feet hurt unbearably, they still had to hurry.

But since they got the carriage, they seldom walked and felt much more relaxed.

Apart from the wealthy, there were very few escape groups like theirs.

As Su Yin and her party traveled through Nanshan County, something happened back with the Su family.

Su Xiaozhong had just picked up firewood from the woods when Su Xinguang rushed up to him, grabbing at his legs and feet, crying loudly, “Dad, go and save my brother. My brother has been taken away!”

“What?” Su Xiaozhong was so shocked that he dropped the firewood he was holding.

He looked around anxiously but did not see his eldest son. His parents and second brother lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze, while only his sister-in-law looked on with a smirk.

“Where are they going?” Su Xiaozhong asked anxiously.

“They went in that direction.” Su Xinguang pointed east.

When Old Man Su and his wife saw him preparing to leave, Old Mrs. Su quickly stopped him.

“It’s too late for you to chase them now.”

“It’s too dangerous right now, so you should stay here.”

Su Xiaozhong gritted his teeth. “Mom, that’s my son; I have to bring him back.”

Su Xinguang quickly added, “Dad, my brother wasn’t taken away by anyone just now.

It was my uncle who deliberately stuck out his leg to trip him and let those people succeed.”

“Dad, Mom, is this true?”

“What’s not true? Don’t listen to the children’s nonsense,” Mrs. Su retorted.

The second brother’s family also joined in the conversation.

“Third brother, don’t get me wrong. That kid from Xinyang fell down on his own. Xinguang didn’t see clearly and misunderstood.”

“I didn’t! It was my uncle who caused my brother to be taken away!” Su Xinguang retorted angrily, his eyes red with fury.

Su Xiaozhong walked around Mrs. Su, insisting on chasing after them.

“It’s useless for you to chase them. Don’t do anything pointless.”

If Su Yao and Su Ya could be found, those two children wouldn’t just disappear.

“Whether it’s useful or not, I’m going to find him. I can’t leave my son alone. You don’t care about his life or death, but I do!”

If he didn’t care about Xinyang’s life or death, then no one truly would, leaving him with only one way out.

“Okay, okay.” Mrs. Su was also furious and stopped caring about him.

Su Xiaozhong told his youngest son to stay there and ran toward the east as fast as he could, keeping an eye out as he ran, afraid he would miss something.

From sunset to darkness, he found no trace of his eldest son. His heart grew heavier, and a sense of powerlessness weighed on him, making it hard to breathe.

Suddenly, his feet stumbled, and he fell heavily to the ground, bruising and bleeding his elbows and legs.

Weakly, he lay on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

“Ayang, I’m no use. I’m so sorry.”

“I’m too ashamed to face your mother.”

At that moment, he heard a vaguely familiar voice.

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”

“Ayang, are you here?” Su Xiaozhong stood up in a hurry, looking around like a headless fly.

After running forward for a few hundred meters, they saw several men setting up a fire. On one side, a boy was stripped naked and ready to be cooked.

The light from the fire allowed him to see clearly the boy’s appearance.