Chapter 32: The Sound of Hooves Rises!
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“If they want to leave, let them. Everyone has their own fate.” Bai Ruyu rolled her eyes.
Sure enough, she was not suited to being a pushover.
She had kindly warned them, only to receive no gratitude in return.
“Everyone, be quiet! Let’s hear what Ruyu has to say.” Village Chief Bai raised both arms, signaling for the chattering crowd to fall silent.
The voices gradually died down.
Looking at the village chief’s aged face, Bai Ruyu sighed. “Grandpa Village Chief, judging from Uncle Daniu’s account, I feel the barbarians are already close to this area. For safety’s sake, I think we should escape first and worry about the rest later.”
Especially after seeing how ungrateful these people were, she had originally been unwilling to say anything more.
But Grandpa Village Chief was different from the others. He had helped her family, devoted half his life to Five Mountains Village, and always been fair and upright, never taking so much as a single coin from anyone.
In the face of such a man, she could not help softening.
A few words of warning would not cost her anything.
“Grandpa Village Chief, if you can’t make up your minds, you could also take some food and hide in the mountains for a few days before deciding what to do.”
After saying this, Bai Ruyu took her father, who had already come to her side, and turned to leave.
Time was pressing. They could not delay any longer.
What these people chose to do was up to them.
After the two of them left, Chen Daniu and several others who had always been on good terms with Bai Xiuming’s family immediately hurried home.
Whether the news was true or not, saving their lives came first.
The village chief pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and announced, “Everyone, go home and pack your things. We’ll gather at the ancestral hall in one hour.”
At his words, some people turned and rushed home to pack.
Others, however, wore frightfully dark expressions and remained rooted to the spot.
Liu, the wife of the Bai family’s eldest son, was one of them.
Thinking of the people in her household, she could hardly put on a pleasant face. “Village Chief, my father-in-law and my husband are both bedridden, and my younger brother-in-law isn’t in good health either. How are we supposed to get up the mountain?”
The village chief’s brows furrowed at her words.
Although Old Bai’s family had never done anything decent, as village chief, he could not simply ignore whether they lived or died.
Still, three grown men who could barely move presented a real problem.
“Liu, don’t panic. Let me think of something.” The village chief paced back and forth, calculating what could be done.
At that moment, several young men stepped forward and eagerly volunteered.
“Village Chief, I can help!”
“I can help too. Auntie Liu, let’s go pack your things right now.”
Delighted, Liu hurriedly thanked them.
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“Oh my, thank you so much! Then let’s hurry home.”
She knew perfectly well what these men were scheming.
But someone nearby muttered under his breath, “They can barely finish packing their own homes, yet they’re rushing to curry favor at someone else’s house. I wonder if they’ll even get a kind word in return.”
The speaker was a young girl.
She found it laughable whenever people fawned over Bai Ruzhu.
Compared with Bai Ruzhu, who appeared gentle, delicate, kind, and docile on the surface, she still preferred the foolishly innocent Bai Ruyu of the past.
As for the Bai Ruyu now…
The village chief cast the girl a stern look and scolded her lightly. “Yingying! Why aren’t you hurrying home to pack? What nonsense are you spouting here?”
When it came to his granddaughter, the village chief felt more than a little helpless and weary.
Bai Yingying stuck out her tongue, then turned and hurried home to pack her belongings.
She had only spoken because she could not stand Liu’s smug, self-satisfied expression.
Seeing this, the others also hurried home. Time was short—only one hour—and no one knew how long they would have to remain in the mountains.
It could never hurt to bring more supplies.
Meanwhile, when Bai Ruyu and her father returned home, they saw one adult and three children bustling back and forth, while the courtyard was piled high with belongings.
Bai Ruyu tilted her head back and stared at the heap, which rose like a small mountain before her.
“Oh, you’re finally back! Come and see whether we’ve left anything behind.” Noticing their return, Madam Jiang placed a chipped bowl on top of the pile.
Her tense face brightened with delight.
“Mother… didn’t you pack a little too thoroughly?” Bai Ruyu pointed at the heap, utterly bewildered.
How had they even spared a broken bowl?
Jiang’s expression darkened. She slapped Bai Ruyu’s hand down heavily. “What do you know? Your mother has been through this before.”
Whether fleeing from disaster or escaping famine, unless one was certain of being able to protect oneself, one absolutely could not eat too well or use anything too fine.
Otherwise, it was far too easy to attract unwanted attention.
“Later, put the good things into your grandfather’s treasure. We’ll keep the inferior ones for ourselves,” Jiang whispered as she leaned close to Bai Ruyu.
“All right, Mother. I understand.” Bai Ruyu nodded.
The hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Bai Xiuming pushed the family’s only handcart, which was piled with grain, pots, bowls, utensils, quilts, mats, and more.
Jiang carried two bundles, while Ergou shouldered two wooden buckets containing several other items.
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Sanwa carried a small cloth bag and held Little Ya by the hand.
Bai Ruyu carried two bundles and locked the door.
“Let’s go. I thought it over, and it’s safer if we go with the people from the village.” Bai Xiuming’s gaze rested on the lock, and a trace of loneliness gradually entered his eyes.
Fate truly toyed with people.
He had only just reclaimed what belonged to him.
His parents’ memorial tablets had been placed on the altar only a few days ago, and now they had to leave…
When the family reached the ancestral hall, quite a few people were already gathered outside, along with numerous handcarts and ox carts.
“Brother Ming! Over here!” Chen Daniu waved both hands and shouted.
Bai Xiuming nodded, then said to the others beside him, “Let’s join Uncle Daniu’s group.”
Compared with the others, it was better to stay with people they knew.
Beside Chen Daniu’s family stood Auntie Wang’s household and three other neighboring families. They had all gathered together.
However, just as Bai Xiuming pushed the handcart over, a burst of commotion suddenly came from the distance, accompanied by what sounded like the thunder of galloping hooves.
Bai Ruyu’s expression changed drastically. “Quick! We’re leaving now. We can’t wait any longer!”
With that, she scooped Little Ya into her arms and ran toward the rear mountain.
Bai Xiuming hurried after her, pushing the wooden handcart. Jiang picked up Sanwa and followed, while Ergou, carrying the supplies, brought up the rear.
Seeing this, Chen Daniu and the others each gathered their families and hurried after them.
“Move, move, move! Everyone, hurry and follow!” Village Chief Bai instantly broke into a cold sweat and began urging the villagers on.
By then, everyone had realized what was happening.
They fled toward the rear mountain, each scrambling to get ahead of the others.
The pounding of hooves rolled closer like thunder. Roosters crowed, dogs barked, and then came the screams of human beings.
Those who finally reached the foot of the rear mountain were deathly pale.
Who would have thought it was all true?
The barbarians had really reached them so quickly.
Standing halfway up the mountain, Bai Ruyu pressed her lips together as she watched black smoke and flames rise from the village below.
The others covered their mouths, tears streaming down their faces as they collapsed weakly onto the ground.
Five Mountains Village had contained a little over a hundred people. Only seventy or eighty had managed to escape.
The rest were most likely doomed…
“Good heavens! Damn the Southern Cang Kingdom! Damn those barbarians! My home! My grain!”
“We escaped, but what about the neighboring village? My parents are still there!”
“How are we supposed to live from now on? Is Heaven trying to drive us all to our deaths?”
Heart-rending cries echoed from halfway up the mountain.
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