It's really hard to just farm peacefully.

The days are short in winter and the sky quickly darkens.

The group walked with difficulty on the snow-covered mountain path, taking one step deep and one step shallow. In just half a day, one after another became exhausted and gasped loudly.

Especially for the miners who were rescued, their spirits suddenly relaxed, and their bodies, which had been severely damaged by long-term beatings and exploitation, suffered a massive attack of pain.

In addition to the cold weather and thin clothing, some people started to have fever.

After an unknown amount of time, a man with gray hair, a hunched body, and skin and bones on his body weakly pleaded with the soldier who was supporting him, "Soldier... please let me go... I don't have the strength to go forward... I will stay here... Don't delay your work..."

"Don't be discouraged, I'm here to support you." The soldier who was originally just supporting him changed his posture and directly lifted him up, so that he wouldn't have to spend too much effort.

In the past, the soldiers would not have paid any attention to them, let alone helped, but this time, the people who were rescued looked so miserable that he couldn't help but feel sympathy.

"Thank you for your kindness, soldier... It's a pity... My body can't take it anymore... If I walk for another day or two... I will fall down... and never wake up again..." The man tried several times before he successfully raised his head and forced a grateful smile to the soldier who helped him.

His voice was extremely vague, but it was carried by the howling cold wind in the forest and reached the ears of the people who were busy on their way.

"My name is Fu'an... I'm from Xiaochai Village, Rongnan County, Heding Prefecture... I'm twenty-three this year... Five years ago, my parents and I... wanted to go to the city to find work... and then we were brought here... My mother was in poor health... and she died soon after... Three years ago... my father also died... They're all here... I want to go back and be with them... I want to be closer to them..."

The forest was completely silent, and the intermittent panting sounds were gone.

Not long after, another weak voice floated out from the crowd.

"My name is Li Laosi... I'm from Xiaoxi Village, Xiangbei County, Heding Prefecture... I'm twenty-four this year... Three years ago... One of our county magistrate's stewards... took a fancy to the fertile farmland in our village... and wanted to seize it... We refused... Then the government said they were recruiting soldiers for the front lines... and they took away the only twenty-eight remaining men in the village... I didn't expect that after arriving here... Zhao Shitou and I would be the only ones left..."

"My name is Zhu Dashan... I'm from Jinjiazhuang, Rongcheng County, Heding Prefecture... I'm thirty-eight this year... Five months ago, there was a flood... The village, houses, food, and people... were all washed away... Later, I was begging for food outside the county gate... The county magistrate said he would send us to a good place..."

"My name is Gong Wangcai... I'm from Chen Township, Nanjiang Prefecture... I'm forty-four this year... Five months ago, I went to Rongcheng County, Heding Prefecture, with two servants to visit relatives... Unfortunately, we ran into a flood... On the way, soldiers rescued us and brought us here..."

……

The team's speed slowed down and then stopped completely.

Song Gui, the soldiers, Jiang Fu and others all silently but seriously memorized the testimonies of the victims.

They knew that these people, who were so calm that they had difficulty breathing but still insisted on telling about their sufferings, were unable and unwilling to leave the deep mountains that imprisoned them with them.

In the end, among the rescued miners, only less than 30 were able and willing to follow everyone to the Nanqi Mansion. Most of them were newcomers who had just been sent in to mine and were still in good health.

The two teams separated, one in the south and one in the north.

As they passed Jiang Fu, Zhao Quan, Zhu Xiaohu, and Gao Zhuang, the man who had spoken at the beginning suddenly turned around and asked, "If you come here again in the future, could you do us a favor and bury us together?"

Jiang Fu and the others nodded heavily and promised in a hoarse voice: "I will definitely do it."

In the wind and snow, the miners who were too weak to walk independently were already humming songs from their hometown. They supported each other and staggered but firmly back on the road.