Falling into the mortal world

If we were to clearly explain the impending danger to the village to everyone, it would be tantamount to bringing up Yuanyuan's situation again, something she naturally wouldn't want to do.

Just as Lan Qingqing was thinking about how to persuade the villagers of Xiaowang Village, new news came from the village.

Aunt Wang, the village chief wants everyone to come over; he has something important to say. A woman rushed over, said only one sentence, and then hurried off to spread the word elsewhere.

"Auntie, you go ahead, I'll stay here with Yuanyuan," Lan Qingqing said to Aunt Wang.

"Okay, I'll go take a look first." With that, Aunt Wang hurriedly walked towards the area where the villagers were gathered.

Soon Aunt Wang arrived at the wasteland. The terrain here was flat, perfect for everyone to hold a meeting, and a number of villagers had already gathered there.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, the village chief loudly addressed the noisy crowd below: "Quiet down, everyone! Listen to me."

The noisy crowd immediately fell silent upon hearing the village chief's words.

So, the place we're in now has been noticed by the Liu Army. Just yesterday, Chunzi's grandfather saw the Liu Army entering the mountains.

The old man was so frightened that he fell into a ravine and couldn't climb out. He wasn't discovered until the villagers found him early in the morning.

Upon hearing this, the village chief immediately became restless. The appearance of the roving army meant that it was only a matter of time before they were discovered. Therefore, the village chief immediately sought out respected elders in the village to discuss countermeasures.

Finally, they decided to go through the mountains. Only by passing through the forests and crossing the canyon could they leave Hongcheng's territory and escape from Hongcheng.

Crossing the mountains meant they might become prey for wild animals, but how could they be content without trying?

The mountains are rarely visited by humans year-round, and are often inhabited by ferocious wild animals. In the valleys, there are even bandits who occupy the mountains as kings.

Their fate was in the hands of fate, so the villagers' opinions were needed. If everyone agreed, they would immediately set off to escape.

Upon hearing the village chief's words, every villager's face showed a look of fear.

No matter what they choose, they are gambling with their lives.

If they fell into the hands of the Liu army, their fate would be self-evident. But if they were to cross the mountains, the danger would be nine out of ten times dead.

If they had chosen to leave the mountains, as long as they could have crossed them alive, they could at least have lived like human beings, without having to hide and live in constant fear like they do now.

The Liu army was extremely cruel, treating human life as worthless. Staying in Hongcheng would only mean living a life of uncertainty, so it was better to fight to the death and at least secure a future for their descendants than to live a life that was neither human nor ghost.

The reason we've gathered everyone here today is for the evacuation. Since everyone agrees, please go back and pack your things quickly. We'll meet here at noon and set off from here.

After the village chief finished speaking, he told everyone to hurry back and pack up. This place wasn't originally their village; they were only there because it was secluded. Now that their location was at risk of being exposed, they naturally had to leave.

Although the army stopped slaughtering these people, if they were caught, they would be severely punished, if not killed. For their own sake and that of their families, they had no choice but to flee the place.

They wouldn't have chosen the most dangerous mountain path if they hadn't had nowhere else to go.

They fled in such a hurry that they had very little food to carry. So they packed up very quickly, as each family had very few belongings to pack.

When Lan Qingqing saw the people's bundles, she sighed sincerely, "Without food, if they don't go out to find food, it won't be long before they all starve to death, even if they don't die under the swords of the Liu army."

Survival is a human instinct, even when filled with despair for the future. They still want to live; if they could live, who would want to die?

The people who gathered on the wasteland all had solemn expressions; they were truly fearful and uneasy about the future.

Lan Qingqing leaned on a wooden cane, walking rather slowly. For someone with an injured leg, deciding to walk along mountain paths was undoubtedly difficult.

There's no way to contact her men now, and the weapons she was carrying have all disappeared when she fell off the cliff; they're probably smashed to pieces.

"Village chief, may I speak to you privately?" Lan Qingqing asked the village chief.

It's convenient. I wonder if Mrs. Lan has anything to say to me?

That's right. I saw that no family in the village had enough food and they were not getting enough to eat. Given the current physical strength of the villagers, it would be quite difficult for them to cross the mountains.

The village chief sighed and said, "Ah! How could I not know that? Life is tough these days, so we have no choice but to go into the mountains and look for food as we go."

Lan Qingqing disagreed, saying, "Without food, we'll all starve to death if we encounter any unforeseen circumstances in the mountains. My idea is that we find some food to take with us first."

The village chief sighed again: "With war and chaos going on, where are we going to find food? Right now, there are roving soldiers guarding everywhere in the village and on the streets. Our people have no way of finding food."

I know where there is grain. If the village chief trusts me, we can set off a day later and transport the grain at night.

The village chief's eyes lit up when he heard this; what Madam Lan said was true.

"It's true, of course," Lan Qingqing said with absolute certainty.

Thus, the team's departure was delayed by a day. Some villagers, unaware of the situation, questioned the village chief's decision. Fortunately, although the villagers were puzzled, they did not question the village chief's decision. That day, the men of the village scouted the surrounding area, while the women and children dug for wild vegetables near the hills, mainly so they could evacuate immediately in case of an emergency.

Lan Qingqing was discussing the route with the men arranged by the village chief. These men were not trained by Lan Qingqing, so they naturally didn't have as much tacit understanding. Therefore, Lan Qingqing had to explain the code words and personnel allocation to them in detail.

Although the villagers didn't say much to Lan Qingqing, an outsider, their expressions revealed their goodwill towards her, which she could sense.

Perhaps because she had saved them before, they harbored no ill will towards her.

That's why she was willing to provide them with grain. Her shop's basement was equipped with the best moisture-proof and anti-theft technology, so the grain wouldn't spoil even after several more years.

The plan was in place, and we were just waiting for nightfall to take action.

Knowing that the grain was in the cellar and that she was the owner of the cellar, these people felt even more respect and gratitude towards Lan Qingqing when they saw her.

Although Wang Yuanyuan no longer had any thoughts of dying, her spirits were still rather weak. Even though they noticed the little girl's poor condition, they simply assumed it was due to hunger. No one would associate this with Liu Jun.

Lan Qingqing's plan was not to travel with the villagers. Her leg was only injured, and she would be free to come and go as soon as it healed.

As for these villagers, she could take them back with her if they wanted, but not now. It would be easy for her to go back alone, but it would definitely be difficult for these people, as the rebel army would be keeping a close watch on that road.

The moment these people appear, they will definitely become the target of the fleeing army.

Let's go with them for now, and figure out a solution once we get into the mountains.