newbobooks Chapter 68 Traces of the Hu People
Chapter 68 Traces of the Hu People
Meng Fuqing found the cave, went inside, hid behind a rock, and then went into the space to cleanse himself in the hot spring.
The hot spring water is hot and has self-cleaning properties, so she isn't afraid of the cold and doesn't need to suffer.
After a quick wash, Meng Fuqing found an inner lining in her space to change into. Just as she was about to put on her dirty winter clothes, she suddenly heard someone outside the space calling her.
She slipped out of the space and peeked over to see that the person who came in was one of Xie Jin's female subordinates.
She thought, "He's quite thoughtful."
Raise your hand to indicate, "Here!"
After getting dressed, the two returned home, only to find that there were two more households where they stayed.
These were her family members who rushed over after receiving the message. They all came in a hurry, pulling carts and carrying large and small bags.
Cui Miao'er was the most excited. She had thought that Meng Fuqing had embezzled their money and hadn't sent a message to her family. She was also thinking that she would definitely question Meng Fuqing when he returned. Who would have thought that her family would come just before she was about to set off!
Just as dawn broke, Meng Bochang discussed with Niu Da the idea of having the villagers of Mengjia Village rent Niu's empty carts. Two or three households would share a cart, only carrying heavy items, to avoid being towed too slowly.
The Niu family naturally had no objections; why not make money while fleeing?
Out of respect for Meng Fuqing, Niu Da said he would put the bill on his tab first and pay it later when he found a new place to stay.
The people of Mengjia Village were extremely grateful.
They had already loaded their things into the car and were ready to set off at any time.
As Meng Fuqing was about to drive the carriage and follow the caravan, he suddenly noticed several more people approaching on the road not far away.
They looked like they had been on the run for a long time; they carried very little, and their expressions were terrified and exhausted.
A woman in Mengjia Village suddenly cried out, "Father!"
She ran over with all her might.
Seeing the tragic state of her family, she cried and asked, "Big brother, little sister... how did you all end up like this? Didn't you pack anything when you came? Where's Mother? Where did Mother go?"
A little girl, barely ten years old, suddenly sat down on the ground and burst into tears, crying, "My mother is dead, waaaaah..."
The woman's father, brother and sister-in-law, and the child being held by her sister-in-law all started crying.
Meng Bochang quickly stepped forward to inquire further and learned that the family lived in the far north. After learning about their daughter's whereabouts last night, they hurriedly packed their things. However, as soon as they left the village, they heard the sound of horses' hooves.
The Hu people, traveling south, passed through their village and committed arson, murder, and looting. They hid in the mountains and forests to escape the calamity, and afterwards, they rushed towards Wild Boar Gully without pausing for a moment, fearing that they would miss it.
However, during their escape, a lone Hu man with a large knife caught up with them. The woman's mother had bad legs and fell to the ground while running. She grabbed the Hu man's leg and sacrificed her life to save her family.
Those who survived had no choice but to run nonstop, until finally they had only a small bag of food left in their hands.
Before they could even react in shock, everyone hurriedly urged each other to leave, as they needed to get out of Qingping County as soon as possible.
This decision was quite overwhelming for the three families who had rushed over overnight. They had been traveling all night and were physically exhausted, but they also knew that not leaving meant they could lose their lives at any moment.
With the convoy, the speed of travel was much faster than before, but everyone became even more silent.
The news they brought was certainly not good, and it's unknown what those relatives who didn't leave will suffer. We can only hope they receive the news and leave quickly.
After walking all morning, the group finally left Qingping County around noon.
Meng Bochang chose the edge of a grove and had everyone rest there for a quarter of an hour.
Meng Fuqing approached Meng Bochang and told him about the wild boar. Meng Bochang was surprised, "This is meat, you really don't want it?"
“Our family can’t eat that much, and besides, the young master Xie also contributed to the hunting of the wild boar, so it’s not appropriate to keep it for ourselves. Just give us a leg of the wild boar.”
Meng Bochang nodded, "Alright, Grandpa Village Chief thanks you on behalf of the villagers. I'll go ask Young Master Xie again."
With so little rest time, it's not worth firing a shot.
While sitting in the carriage eating dry rations, Meng Fuqing noticed that someone was watching her. She looked up and saw that it was Meng Xiaocong.
Staring at Meng Fuqing's sharp gaze, Meng Xiaocong couldn't help but shiver, recalling the scene of the other party repeatedly stabbing the wild boar's neck with a dagger.
Meng Fuqing frowned impatiently, "Don't you want your eyes anymore?"
Meng Xiaocong swallowed hard, stepped to stand a foot away from Meng Fuqing, and said in a barely audible voice, "Thank you for the morning."
"What are you saying? Speak louder."
"Thank you for saving me this morning." Although Meng Fuqing's kick still hurt terribly, if it weren't for Meng Fuqing, he would have lost his life to the wild boar.
Meng Fuqing said calmly, "Even if it's a dog, I'll kick it away, since it's blocking my way."
Meng Xiaocong gritted his teeth, but in the end he thought better of it; his life was the most important thing.
"If there's anything you need me to do in the future, just tell me, and I, Meng Xiaocong, will definitely not refuse!"
He finished speaking quickly, placed the small piece of smoked meat he was carrying next to Meng Fuqing, and then turned and ran away.
The smoked meat was a special gift from his parents to thank Meng Fuqing.
Seeing this scene, Meng Linlang felt a pang of sadness.
Meng Xiaocong used to love following her around. She thought Meng Xiaocong disliked Meng Fuqing as much as she did, but she never expected him to change.
She couldn't help but compare herself to Meng Fuqing again, and finally realized that without the spiritual spring space, she was barely able to take care of herself while fleeing, let alone save others.
She clenched her fist, her fingertips digging into her flesh.
"Linlang, why aren't you eating? How can your body take it if you don't eat more?"
Seeing that Meng Linlang looked preoccupied, Madam Meng Lin couldn't help but feel sorry for her and handed her a small piece of dry food.
She watched Linlang grow up and always believed that Linlang was a good child. She just didn't know what method Meng Fuqing used to force the once talkative and cheerful girl into the taciturn girl she is now.
Meng Linlang smiled and said, "Second Grandmother, I'm not very hungry. You can give it to my uncle."
The person she called her "little uncle" was none other than Meng Linshi's mentally challenged son.
“Your little uncle eats the most, why are you still worried about him?” Madam Meng stuffed the dry food into Meng Linlang’s hand.
"You're too preoccupied these days. You should try to be more open-minded. Whether things are good or bad, we should just observe them objectively. Time will tell. As long as we have a clear conscience, that's enough."
Meng Linlang nodded; that was her current thought.
After resting, the caravan set off again. This time, the group took the official road.
They had encountered few people before, but once they got on the official road, they realized that there were many refugees on the road, and only a few had carriages and horses. As soon as they got on the road, everyone's eyes fell on their carriages and livestock.
The strong laborers outside were all tense, gripping their sticks, axes, hoes, and other tools tightly, for fear that some fool might try to take advantage of them.
However, their concerns were far too great. Even disregarding the black-clad leader at the front, their sheer numbers on the official road already put them far ahead of the others.