The past few days, He Sheng had been in a daze. He would never forget the day someone had acted opportunistically, thinking that since the rebels had entered the city, they would surely pillage and kill everywhere, and perhaps he could even seize some benefits. After all, fortune favors the bold.
However, they weren't entirely reckless. To ensure their safety, they shared their idea with these refugees. Thus, some people became restless, gathered a group of two hundred, and cautiously headed towards the city gates.
The rest watched, and since the original owner only set out from her hometown a month later, she was not in the mood to pay attention to the outside world at that time. She had no idea about this incident, nor the attitude of these rebels. She could only drag her family and retreat to the back of the crowd.
After waiting for a full two hours, someone ran back in a panic, with rebels following closely behind. The swords of the pursuing rebels still bore red bloodstains.
Seeing that things were not good, Wu Caiwei quickly grabbed her family and fled. At this moment, some people reacted and also fled immediately. However, some ordinary citizens whose families had entered the city hesitated, cherishing their lives while also wanting to see if their family members were still alive.
Wu Caiwei looked back at the surging crowd and couldn't help but frown. This wasn't going to work. There were too many people, and the rebels emerging from the city were clearly targeting them, and would not let them go easily.
As she had expected, the rebels were in a phase of expanding their forces. Seeing so many young and strong men, they were excited. Those who were caught, except for a few who resisted fiercely and had their throats slit, were all captured alive. They intended to keep these men to fight for their cause.
Wu Caiwei deliberately or unintentionally pulled her family towards the side of the larger group, observing the surrounding terrain as they ran, looking for an opportunity to hide. Although they tried their best to run, they were burdened with things and two children, making them no match for those pursuers. If it weren't for the people falling behind slowing them down, they would definitely have been caught.
Some people noticed Wu Caiwei's family moving further away from them, and the clever ones followed their pace, while the majority chose to follow the crowd.
The commotion here naturally alerted the rebels following behind them. A small team rushed towards them.
Wu Caiwei, holding her son who was carrying two children with one hand and her daughter-in-law with the other, tried her best not to go in the same direction as them.
Unfortunately, a household next to them, for reasons unknown, clung to them tightly. Wu Caiwei took the opportunity while fleeing to size them up and found that their household consisted of burly men.
Knowing that things were going to be bad, it turned out that the rebels, initially seeing only a few people with one man, didn't want to waste their energy. However, beside them were seven or eight men. Thinking that these were good fighters for the battlefield, a few rebels on tall horses relentlessly pursued them. Sudan Fiction Network.
Xia He watched the receding trees with sadness. Although she tried her best to keep up with her mother-in-law's pulling, she knew her own limitations. She couldn't run anymore. Despite giving her all, her legs felt numb, as if they were not obeying her commands. A tree branch caused her to fall. As she fell, she wanted to get up, but her strength failed her.
"You all go quickly, don't mind me." As she said this, tears streamed down her face, and she prepared for the worst.
What she didn't expect was that her husband and mother-in-law stopped. Wu Caiwei watched the panicked flight of that family with anger, guessing that they were using them as a shield. It was true that one shouldn't be kind on the road to survival; those who survived were not to be trifled with.
They had miscalculated. The rebels' ultimate target was them. So, they left two men on horseback to deal with them, and the rest continued towards that family. To buy time, Wu Caiwei put on a frightened expression and stood in front of her son and daughter-in-law.
He Sheng looked at his mother with surprise. He had witnessed his mother fighting before. To see her tremble facing only two people, he wanted to step forward and shield her. As a son and a man, he knew it was like hitting a rock with an egg, but he should still stand up. He didn't expect that as soon as he made a move, Wu Caiwei would hold him back, telling him not to act rashly.
The two men saw their fear in their eyes and unconsciously showed smug expressions, sizing up Xia He with ill intentions. They hadn't expected such a rich haul this time; not only could they take a soldier back, but they also had a woman to serve them.
Seeing that the other rebels had disappeared from her sight, Wu Caiwei quickly drew the spatula from her embrace and leaped forward to fight them. It was called a fight, but it was actually a one-sided scuffle. The two men had little combat ability, but they had knives and swords, and rode horses, which gave them an advantage in morale over these refugees. Moreover, they had trained to some extent and mastered some tricks, so they were always victorious. However, facing an iron plate like Wu Caiwei, he fell in disbelief without even lasting a move.
Wu Caiwei knew that even if that family used them as a shield, they were still no match for these rebels. Once they were subdued, the rebels would definitely return, and then it would be difficult. Without further delay, she quickly searched them, found some silver, tucked it into her sleeve, and tied their swords to herself.
Together with He Sheng, she helped Xia He onto a horse. She herself took the other horse with the two children. With one hand on the reins and the other holding her son and daughter-in-law's horse, she rode off in another direction.
As she rode, she taught her son how to ride a horse. He Sheng was young and learned quickly. In just one morning, he was riding like a pro.
Soon, they caught up with the fleeing crowd. It was good to have horses. The refugees looked at them with envy, but because they were riding horses and moving fast, and because the others were afraid of being kicked by the horses, no one dared to approach them for a while.
Of course, they also stopped, as they had to have lunch. Wu Caiwei signaled her son to stop the horses by a small river, letting the horses eat grass, while they set up a pot to cook lunch.
As she was cooking, Wu Caiwei suddenly felt that the light was wrong. She looked up and saw four or five people approaching them with ill intentions.
Because there was water here, many refugees had stopped to rest. She scanned the surroundings and saw that no one was helping, but instead, they were looking at her two horses with greedy eyes, realizing that these two animals had attracted their attention.