Before confiscating their property, they emptied the imperial city and exiled them!

Lin Xiaoxiao had actually noticed it as soon as these people turned their gazes toward her.

After pondering it over in his heart, he decided to deliberately stop the carriage slowly at the foot of the towering city wall.

Based on her observations, the few villagers in front of her did not seem to pose much of a threat.

But as the saying goes, one should always be wary of others, and caution is always the best policy!

After all, who knows if these seemingly ordinary villagers might suddenly harbor malicious intentions?

She didn't want to get into unnecessary trouble because of a moment's carelessness, and she didn't want to be constantly remembered and schemed against by others.

After everything was arranged and the villagers had a place to stay for the time being.

Song Huai'an then led the village chief toward the tightly closed city gate, intending to inquire about the situation.

Song Huai'an arrived at the gate and raised his right hand to forcefully knock on the heavy city gate.

However, after knocking several times, no response was heard from inside the city.

Just then, an old man who had been waiting not far from the city gate saw what they were doing.

He quickly stepped forward to dissuade them, saying, "Young man, stop knocking! It's no use, they won't open the door for us anyway."

We've been waiting here for two whole days, and they haven't even bothered to acknowledge us!

Song Huai'an's gaze fell on the old man in front of him, carefully examining his clothes and appearance.

The old man was wearing a tattered long robe, covered with patches and stains, as if he had weathered countless storms.

He was wearing a pair of badly worn straw sandals, with his toes sticking out, making him look rather disheveled.

Song Huai'an took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then politely asked, "Grandpa, may I ask which village you come from?"

Their village, Peach Blossom Village, is very close to the town, making it one of the villages in the area with the closest ties to the outside world.

Therefore, when the devastating news of the massacre arrived, Peach Blossom Village naturally became the first place to learn of this terrible news.

However, the old man in front of him claimed that he had arrived here two days ago.

This truly puzzled Song Huai'an, and he couldn't help but become very interested in the origins of their group.

“We are from Gaojia Village, and we came here from Pingcheng to escape the disaster.”

“An earthquake struck our hometown, and our entire family perished, so we moved here.”

"Who would have thought that they would disregard our lives and refuse to open the city gates? We have been here for two days. If they don't open the gates, we won't be able to stay here any longer tomorrow."

Their once peaceful and tranquil hometown was suddenly struck by disaster. Houses were destroyed, fields were left barren, people were displaced, and life became extremely difficult.

This family was not spared either, and they lived in dire poverty.

After careful consideration, they decided to travel to the town closest to their hometown, hoping to start a new life there.

However, reality dealt them a heavy blow—when they arrived in town full of anticipation, they were refused entry.

At this point, they had very little food left, and if they could not find shelter and a source of food soon, they would probably not be able to survive.

Left with no other option, they could only place all their hopes on the next town.

After learning the whole story, Song Huai'an first gently comforted the old man with a worried expression.

He told him not to worry too much, and then resolutely walked towards the tightly closed city gate and continued to knock on it forcefully.

Seeing Song Huai'an's stubbornness, the old man shook his head gently, but ultimately chose not to interfere any further.

After all, if Song Huai'an could successfully open the city gates, those of them who came with him would also benefit.

Time passed second by second, but Song Huai'an never gave up.

He kept pounding on the heavy city gate, repeatedly shouting for it to be opened.

Finally, through his persistent efforts, a small opening in the city wall slowly opened...

The person inside was probably thoroughly enraged by Song Huai'an's persistent knocking.

Therefore, the officers and soldiers spoke without the slightest bit of politeness.

One of the soldiers, his face contorted with rage, glared menacingly at Song Huai'an through the narrow door.

He started yelling at the top of his lungs, "Knock! Knock! Knock! What are you knocking for? Didn't you hear me tell you before? This city gate absolutely cannot be opened! Don't waste your energy!"

However, Song Huai'an did not get angry despite such a terrible attitude.

He remained calm and composed, only raising his voice slightly as he asked, neither servile nor arrogant, "Why can't this city gate be opened? Could you please provide a reasonable explanation?"

The soldier's anger grew even stronger when he saw that Song Huai'an dared to question him.

He roared without any mercy, "Hmph! Why should I explain to you? If you know what's good for you, get the hell out of my way!"

If you keep banging on the door like that, you'll be in for a world of hurt later. Don't blame me for not warning you beforehand!

After saying that, the soldier made a gesture as if to close the small door.

However, just as the small door was about to close, Song Huai'an reacted quickly and stretched out a hand to firmly block the door panel.

With a serious expression, he shouted loudly, "Wait! Sir, please hear me out. We are villagers who have come from Taohua Village in Qingshan Town."

The day before yesterday, the entire town of Qingshan was massacred by enemy troops and has been reduced to ruins. If nothing unexpected happens, that vicious enemy army is heading towards this place.

I believe we will arrive here soon. The situation is extremely critical at this moment. If you do not let us into the city, the city's troops alone may not be able to withstand the enemy's attack.

"It would be better if we quickly entered the city, and together we could resist the invasion of foreign enemies. Only then could we possibly keep the region safe!"

To everyone's surprise, after hearing this, the soldier showed no intention of opening the city gate.

Instead, he threw his head back and burst into laughter, then said contemptuously, "Hmph! I think you've lost your mind. You actually dared to utter such an absurd lie just to get into the city!"

Massacre of a city? That's utterly delusional!

If such a tragic event truly occurred as you describe, why haven't we heard a single word about it? Has the news grown wings and flown away?

Yang Chunsheng couldn't stand the man's utterly foolish appearance any longer, and he shook his head helplessly.

Then he slowly opened his mouth and explained, "Why can't you understand the reason behind this?"

Since those cities have already suffered the horrific massacre, all the inhabitants must have perished. Under such circumstances, who could possibly deliver this terrible news to us?

As soon as Yang Chunsheng finished speaking, the other soldiers standing by the door covered their mouths with their hands and couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

The soldier who had just asked the question was now blushing furiously, clearly feeling that he had lost face in front of everyone.

Enraged, he suddenly raised the spear in his hand and swung it forcefully at Yang Chunsheng and Song Huai'an.

He shouted, "Get out of here! Get as far away from me as you can! If you dare to come here and spout nonsense again, don't blame me for my stick being merciless; I'll beat you until you're crying for your parents!"

After saying that, he didn't give Song Huai'an any chance to explain and closed the small door.

Then, he impatiently said to the brothers around him who were laughing at him, "Laugh, laugh, what's so funny?"

These unruly people outside are getting bolder and bolder; they even dare to utter words like "massacre the entire city."

One of the soldiers nearby said with some concern, "But what if what they're saying is true?"

If the news is true, wouldn't we be in danger here?

"How could that be? You believe everything they say? Be careful, or you might get bought off one day and not even know what happened."