Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

At this point, the old woman rolled up the corner of her clothes to wipe away her tears, and continued...

"For safety reasons, the village chief called on everyone to walk together, saying that this way they could look out for each other on the way. When they arrived at their destination, they would stick together and not be bullied by others."

"But then, I don't know who suggested it, but before leaving, they said they wouldn't go to the county town anymore, but would go to the mountains to hide. At first, we all went, but after walking for two days, we found that we couldn't get to that place. The mountains were high and the roads were dangerous, and we had to trek through mountains and rivers. But that wasn't a problem, my two sons could carry me across, but who knew there was a ravine that was two zhang wide, with a large tree that had been cut down lying across the middle, which served as a bridge."

At this point, the mother-in-law became somewhat agitated.

“That place was too dangerous. We old folks didn’t dare to go. My son said he would carry me across, but he’s not even steady on his own, so how could I let him carry me? Later, the eldest son of the Liu family said he would carry his mother and then slowly move across by riding on that tree. Everyone thought it was a good idea. But…but…but who knew, a strong wind blew in from somewhere, and the two of them, who were just about to reach the other side, were blown off by the wind.”

The old woman wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes and sighed.

"Later, we old folks who were too scared to cross the log bridge came back. Anyway, those soldiers only came to rob us and didn't kill anyone. And the reason we moved away was because we were afraid the men in the village would be conscripted. We old folks weren't in any danger in the village. So now there are only a dozen or so of us left in the village."

Hearing her say this, Xia Yu felt that the matter could be explained. If it were just ordinary deserters, why would they leave their parents in the village without taking them with them?

At this moment, the heavy rain that had been falling for more than an hour finally stopped, and raindrops dripped down from the eaves.

Xia Yu had Da Niu and Shi Jiu take some people to check the two neighboring houses, especially places where people might be hiding, to make sure it was safe before settling in.

Even so, they still arranged for people to take turns keeping watch that night, and the night passed peacefully. Before leaving the next day, Xia Yu left some corn kernels and silver coins at several households as payment for the night's lodging and firewood.

The closer you get to Jialing Pass, the stronger the atmosphere of war becomes. There are no people to be seen in the villages and towns, and everything seems so desolate.

"Reporting, General. A group of about ten women on horseback are approaching on the official road. They look like they're heading to Jialing Pass." A soldier ran up to report from inside the tent, panting.

"A group of women? All riding horses?" General Meng stroked his stubble and pondered for a moment, wondering what these people were.

"Where are they? Have you stopped them?"

"Reporting to the General, Vice General Wang has already stopped and questioned the man, and ordered me to come and inform the General immediately."

"Let's go take a look." With that, he took his sword from the table next to him and strode out.

When General Meng led his men to the place the soldier had described, they saw about twenty corpses lying on the ground. Judging from their clothes, they knew that all the dead were their men. There was no sign of the woman on horseback.

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them. They had only been gone for half an incense stick's time from their encampment to this place, and these twenty-odd brothers had died silently. They hadn't even heard a sound of fighting.

"You stay here and check if there are any survivors. You few come with me to chase after them. You must avenge our fallen brothers!" General Meng was furious at the scene before him. He immediately led his men to give chase.

"General, please reconsider. We only have a dozen or so men with us. If we chase after them like this, we're afraid we won't gain anything!" A deputy general surnamed Tang hurriedly spoke up to dissuade us.

General Meng was angry, but not to the point of losing his mind; he had anticipated this situation. He couldn't pursue them, but he couldn't say it aloud. After all, his men had died, and if he didn't speak of revenge, his men would feel disheartened. Therefore, Tang Fujie's words were exactly what he wanted. He frowned, glanced at the people following behind him, and sighed helplessly.

"Let's see if anyone is still alive."

He examined all the corpses; none of them were still breathing. Almost all of them had died from having their throats slit by a sword. Looking at the rows of corpses on the ground, General Meng habitually stroked the stubble on his chin.

"Deputy General Tang, what do you think of this matter?"

"General, this killing method was clean and efficient, it doesn't look like something an ordinary person would do. It feels like someone who has been specially trained."

"Specially trained people, you mean secret guards or assassins?" General Meng countered.

"Yes, that's what I think."

General Meng looked in the direction of Jialing Pass, his eyes narrowed, seemingly lost in thought.

"Miss, won't those rebel soldiers chase after us?" Da Niu glanced back and then turned to Xia Yu, asking loudly. Although they both knew martial arts, two fists couldn't fight four hands. If several thousand people really caught up, they would still be at a disadvantage.

"Don't worry, even if they catch up, I have a way to deal with them." Xia Yu wasn't worried at all; if all else failed, she could just put everyone into her spatial storage.

"Giddy up!" Xia Yu lashed the horse's rump with his whip, and the horse, in pain, galloped off at breakneck speed, kicking up clouds of dust behind it. They were only a hundred li from the village where they had stayed the previous night, yet not a single drop of rain had fallen.

As the sun gradually set, the towering walls of Jialing Pass finally came into view for the group.

"Whoa..." Xia Yu tightened the reins and stopped her horse a hundred meters below the city walls. She looked up at the archers on the city walls who were aimed at them.

"Who goes there?" the soldiers guarding the city wall shouted when they saw the group of women. If they hadn't realized they were all women, they would have already drawn their bows and shot them.

"Princess Wenfu Zhenguo has arrived! Open the city gates immediately!" Nineteen used his inner strength to ensure that his words reached the ears of every guard on the city wall.

The guards on the city wall were a little confused when they heard the title, "Princess Wenfu, the Grand Princess of the State?" They had heard that the late emperor had bestowed the title of Princess Wenfu, so how did it become the Grand Princess of the State now? However, they were besieged by the rebel army and news from the outside could not get in, so they did not know whether the person below was real or not.

"Does the princess have any token to prove her identity? We can report to the general." The people on the city wall dared not open the city gate rashly, but they were also afraid that the other party was really sent from the capital. While saying this to Xia Yu, they ordered someone to quickly invite the general from above.

Xia Yu took out a gold medal engraved with "Wenfu Zhenguo Changzhu Ling" from her spatial storage and handed it to Shijiu.

"Wait here, I'll take the princess's token up to you," Nineteen shouted to the people on the city wall, to avoid any misunderstanding about his next move.

After speaking, Nineteen took a bow from her horse and tightly bound the token to the arrowhead. Having done this, she channeled her inner strength and leaped from her horse, soaring upwards like a spring rising from the ground. During her ascent, she drew her bow and released an arrow. At her highest point, she fired the arrow with the princess's token attached, striking the city wall.

The people on the city wall watched her movements nervously, and the archers kept changing the direction of their arrows in response to her movements, ready to shoot her down immediately if they noticed anything amiss.