Chapter 29: Devoting Your Life?
An old lady drenched from head to toe kneeled in front of the bailiffs and kept kowtowing to them, begging for food.
A tender-looking and kind-hearted bailiff couldn't stand such a scene. He took out a piece of food from his pocket and was about to hand it to the old lady, but Li Da grabbed his hand.
The young bailiff raised his head in surprise and saw Li Da glaring at him with a fierce expression. He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Idiot, you're trying to get us killed. Hurry up and put it away, or else you won't be able to eat anything on the way!"
The young bailiff was frightened by his appearance and quickly put the food back into his sleeve pocket.
Li Da looked at the people coldly. It wasn't that he didn't have pity, but there were too many of them. The consequences would be unimaginable if they took out food and tempted them.
"We have hundreds of mouths to feed and don't even have enough ourselves. There is nothing to give you. If you still have the strength, go to Yunshui City. The government there will open the city gates and set up porridge stalls to accommodate you."
After Li Da finished shouting, he quickly had the bailiffs move the things from the carts inside. Then, he followed them into the hall and closed the broken door.
Su Ying took in the entire scene. They couldn't leave this place in a short time, but more and more refugees would be coming. Sooner or later, something would happen.
The cloudy night came quickly. Su Ying took out the pancakes she had bought in the county town and dried tiger meat and gave them to everyone.
At night, Su Ying planned to take turns with Jiang Yang to watch, just in case.
Su Ying hummed a melody and got Ling to sleep. She turned around and saw Ji looking at her with his big eyes. He immediately looked away when their eyes met.
Ji rested his head on Xiao Jin's shoulder and peeked in Su Ying's direction.
"Father."
"Yes?" Xiao Jin replied indifferently.
"Father, I will never like that evil woman." After saying that, he clenched his little fist as if he was making a promise. Stupid Ling, she actually let that woman hug her to sleep. She was not afraid of being eaten by the evil woman!
"If you don't like her, then so be it." Xiao Jin said after a long silence. "You will accept her if she can make you. However, she did save your father and you."
Ji's eyes widened. "Then... Then, father, do we have to devote our lives to her?"
Xiao Jin was speechless.
Jiang Yang listened on their side and silently looked away. He noted that he would definitely not tell stories to Young Prince next time. The stories in those storybooks were really... What "a life-saving grace should be repaid with one's life"? He just remembered it casually and said it casually, and Young Prince remembered it in his heart.
At night, Su Ying sat cross-legged against the wall. In the dark, her sharp gaze swept across the prisoners.
The rain outside started again, and the raindrops were so heavy that it was the only sound to be heard.
Su Ying took a deep breath and directed it to her dantian. Just as she was about to circulate her Qi and practice, Xiao Jin's deep voice suddenly rang in her ear. "Someone's coming this way. There's quite a number of them."
Su Ying raised her head and glanced at him. She listened carefully and heard footsteps in the rain.
Su Ying immediately alerted.
Soon after, there was the sound of the temple gate being pushed open. Through the broken window, with the help of faint moonlight, she could see many people coming in from the courtyard.
Su Ying stood up and walked to the window, and looked out. Those people were all wearing straw capes. Wide hats covered their faces so that no one could see them.
After they entered the courtyard, they saw Su Ying's carriage parked outside, and greed flashed in their eyes. However, they saw that bailiffs guarded the main hall, so they did not approach. Instead, they went to the back of the temple.
When the guards saw those people go to the backyard, they let out their breath. These people looked a little different from ordinary refugees. If they wanted to snatch food, even all of the bailiffs together might not be their match.
As for the prisoners, they didn't care about the bailiffs' lives.
Su Ying leaned against the window. Jiang Yang took the watch, and the newcomers made no move.
When Su Ying opened her eyes again, it was light. The rain was still falling and didn't look like it would stop anytime soon.
"Boss, more and more refugees are coming this way. Yunshui City did not open its gates today. It must be because they were worried that the refugees entering the city would cause unrest, so they simply kept the gates shut." The bailiff went in the morning and returned with this news.
Li Da's expression became even more unsightly when he heard what he said.
At first, he had wondered if he could enter the city and ask the Yunshui City government to help him think of a way. Now, it seemed that the government could not even protect itself. They would not have the time to care about them.
"How much longer can our rations last?"
"Two days at most." There were a few hundred mouths. Even if they only had one meal a day, a meal of dry food the size of a fist, it was still a considerable amount. Their small carts could only carry five days' worth of rations.
Two days at most meant that they would not have anything to eat after that. With the current situation around Yunshui City, the people at the supply point might not have any food for them. According to the rules, they could only restock once at every place they passed. There was no more after that.
"Where are the boats? Have you not found them yet?"
"The water is huge. The official boats have been driven away by those dogs from the county government. There's none for us."
They could not leave, and they could not stay. Li Da was in a difficult place.
He subconsciously raised his head to look at Su Ying but quickly felt that he was crazy. He actually thought that Su Ying might have an idea!
At the back of the temple, in an empty hall, dozens of burly men sat cross-legged on the ground. The leader looked at the small amount of food in front of him, and the scar on his face looked even more ferocious.
The side hall door was pushed open, and a sneaky-looking man walked in.
"Chief, I've got information. Those at the front are escorting the exiled prisoners. They have food!"
"I see that the hall is full of people. If we were to fight, we might not be able to win with the few of us." One of the burly men said in a muffled voice.
"Hey, you don't believe me when I say you're stupid. Those people are leaving Chu and going to the northern wilderness. They will not care about the lives of the bailiffs. If we let them escape when we make a move, they'll be grateful to us. Why would they turn around and attack us?"
"Iron Head is right. We'll be running out of rations soon. They have so many people and must have a lot of supplies. We have to snatch it no matter what!"
Iron Head looked at the leader of the group. "What do you say, Chief? "
The knife-scarred man's eyes narrowed. "Let's do it!"