Chapter 10: Simple Disaster Victims

Tian Dabiao and Tian Mi led the way with their large knives, moving left along the foot of the mountain. Behind them were the bodies of the constable’s group. Tian Mi didn’t want everyone to pay attention to them, so she quickened her pace.

Today, the journey was relatively smooth. By noon, under the bright sun, they spotted a village and hurried to find a shady place to rest, only to discover that the village was only occupied by a few groups of disaster victims resting, all exhausted with cracked lips, lying under the eaves.

There were no villagers; they had surely fled to escape the disaster.

The disaster victims rested for a bit before heading to look for the village’s well. Tian Mi also took a bucket to search for water. She wanted to find it first, so if there was no water, she could put some in. However, when the victims saw a fat woman running with such vigor, they feared she would fill the bucket before they could get there and rushed forward in a frenzy.

Tian Mi was speechless!

Fortunately, the village was large enough, and she soon found a well. The well was deep, and at the bottom, there was only a thin layer of water. Tian Mi quickly reached down, and water from her space flowed into the well like a column. Before long, the well was filled to more than half with water.

Turning around, she saw several disaster victims approaching her with buckets.

Tian Mi had tied a rope to her bucket. She dropped it down to draw water, but no matter how she turned it, the bucket just floated on the surface and wouldn’t sink.

What the heck? What are you all trying to do? Bully me because I’m new here?

The victims drew closer.

Tian Mi said to them, “There’s water here, but I can’t get it up.”

Upon hearing there was water, their eyes lit up. They had just checked another well nearby, but it was dry.

A few of them rushed over to the edge of the well to look. Seeing so much water, each of them could fill their buckets.

Then, they unexpectedly sat down by the well and began to cry, which made Tian Mi feel particularly heartbroken.

“Don’t cry, brothers! Help me see why this bucket won’t sink.”

Only then did they feel embarrassed, wiping their tears. One man, looking to be in his thirties, took the bucket from Tian Mi and said, “Miss, give me the bucket. You have to swing it hard, and then the water will go in.”

As he spoke, he demonstrated, and the bucket obediently plunged into the water, filling up instantly.

The wisdom of the working people! Tian Mi was quite impressed.

Then this older brother shook the bucket a bit, letting some water spill out, and said, “Don’t fill it too full; it will spill on the way, which is too wasteful.” He carefully lifted the bucket, waiting until it stopped dripping before handing it back to Tian Mi.

Tian Mi felt like crying at his carefulness! Her nose tinged with emotion.

“Take your time, don’t spill it!”

Okay! Tian Mi nodded!

Aunt Feng, seeing Tian Mi had brought back water, happily said, “Let Dahu and Erhu do the heavy work, and take a break for a while.”

Tian Mi loudly replied, “There’s plenty of water in the well, so don’t worry; everyone can fill their buckets.”

The few elderly women lying on the ground perked up, sitting up to ask, “Miss, where is the well?”

Tian Mi pointed out the location to her, and she immediately shouted in another direction, “Shanwa, there’s water over there!”

Hearing this, several young disaster victims rushed toward that direction.

Once the elderly woman shouted, everyone around quickly understood.

Tian Dabiao found a large courtyard to stay in. Tian Mi and several sisters were assigned to one room. As they were fleeing, this household had taken everything they could carry, leaving only an empty bed frame in the room. With no way to sleep, they had to lay down some dry grass on the ground and sleep on it.

Everyone slept soundly until the afternoon before getting up to prepare food. Tian Mi couldn’t stand the sweat and grease on her head anymore.

Tian Mi softly said, “Aunt Feng, there’s a lot of water in the well. Let’s go get some to wash up and clean our hair!”

Aunt Feng’s expression changed immediately.

“Are you washing yourself and your hair? You’re washing the lives of people behind you!”

The common folks are truly kind. The older brother from earlier was the same; with so much water, they surely had enough, yet every drop that dripped from their buckets back to the well was left to ensure there was enough for those who came later.

Tian Mi could only feed the livestock!

After finishing the meal, Tian Mi made an excuse to fetch water for the animals, filling the well again.

They set out again in the evening.

Tian Dabiao said, “We won’t rest tonight. We’ll head straight to Xingrong County. The last part is a major road; everyone must stay vigilant to prevent robbery.”

Everyone nodded. Although nervous, they felt more at ease as they were finally regrouping with the main party.

As they set off, they noticed the disaster victims from earlier had changed completely, each of them looking spirited. Even when they saw the group carrying large blades clearing the way, they felt bold enough to approach them.

“Miss, where are you headed?”

Tian Mi replied, “We’re going to Xingrong County!”

The old woman smiled and said, “Oh! We’re headed there too. You go ahead; we’ll catch up after we tidy up.”

Tian Mi smiled back.

This old woman was quite sociable.

Tian Mi was puzzled. Why were they all carrying large blades, yet she deliberately walked in such a bold manner, and these people didn’t seem afraid of them at all?

With the stars shining on those who travel, it seemed they were getting closer to Xingrong County, as more travelers appeared along the road. There were also small campfires set up for resting, but no one spoke; it felt like everyone was silent.

In the deep of the night, there was a large open space where more than a hundred people were resting by a campfire, both young and old. From their appearance, they looked like farmers and posed no threat.

Tian Dabiao ordered everyone to stop and said they should eat and drink until they were full before setting off again, as they would soon be on the main road.

Aunt Feng distributed three steamed buns to each man and two to each woman, saying they could drink water freely, and the group should fill themselves up.

Suddenly, an old man from a group across came over, bowing to Tian Dabiao. “We are villagers from Fengqiu Village. We’ve been seeking water for several days. Could you sell us a bit of water?”

He presented two small silver ingots, probably weighing about two taels.

Water is life now!

Who would sell water to others? The old man, feeling a bit embarrassed, continued, “Just a small bucket, I beg you!”

Tian Mi spoke up, “Dad, give them some! Soon we’ll be on the main road with many people. It would be a shame if they spilled it while bumping around.”

Everyone looked at the group, thin and dry from thirst, watching them closely.

Aunt Feng said, “Let’s give them something!”

Tian Dabiao thought the same. They had quite a bit of water themselves, and once they hit the main road, they would attract attention. It would be a shame if they got robbed or overturned. These villagers looked desperate, unlike those disaster victims they met on the main road in a frenzy to rob them; they seemed much more refined.

Tian Dabiao took the silver ingots, handed them to Uncle Liu for bookkeeping, and gave them three buckets of water.

The old man and his group were thrilled and offered their sincerest gratitude, but Tian Dabiao stopped them.

The old man glanced at their livestock and said, “You’ll be heading to the main road soon. Make sure to tie the water beneath the grain to keep it hidden. The city gate of Xingrong isn’t open, and you don’t know how many people are at the gate. Once they see food or especially water, they won’t act human.”

Everyone had anticipated the situation but hadn’t expected it to be this severe.

Tian Dabiao felt a bit of a headache; they couldn’t avoid the major road no matter what, even if they didn’t want to go to the county seat, they still had to use the main road.

What should they do?