Chapter 246

Chapter 246

Flickering clusters of flames flickered in the boundless dark night.

After walking for several hours, they encountered a few refugees traveling at night in the first half of the night, but by the latter half, there was not a single person on the road, not even a ghost in sight. All around was silent, snowflakes mixed with the cold wind whistling straight into their faces, freezing their noses bright red and making their noses run with clear snot.

Heavy breathing, billowing clouds of white mist, weary legs—fatigue and drowsiness enveloped their entire bodies.

After walking dozens of li, the darkness made it impossible to see the road ahead, so they could only follow the wide path. Ma Erniang and Sun Silang, who had been leading and recognizing the way, were no longer much use. Up ahead, the main group had been following the refugee tide, staying close enough not to lose them but far enough not to spook them.

Everything had been going smoothly until now, but that's no longer the case. News that Suiyun Town did not check for travel permits was spreading everywhere. Many refugees whose rations were running low or about to run out decided to stop at the city for a short stay. In the first half of the night, when they passed Suiyun Town’s city gate, they saw a large crowd of people sleeping outside, all waiting to enter the city tomorrow.

Without anyone to guide them, they had to rush off in a general direction.

They marched swiftly through the night, from dusk when the sky was about to darken until the eastern sky turned a pale fish-belly white. Counting the day's walking, they had walked a full day and night. Not even the donkeys could take it anymore—though they hadn’t yet given out, they occasionally kicked at small stones and snorted loudly, looking completely worn out and sluggish.

“Da Gen, it’s almost dawn. Those people probably haven’t chased us. How about we let everyone rest for a while?” Old Man Zhao and Village Chief Sun, who had been leading at the front, were now bringing up the rear, far behind. Around them were many able-bodied men, shielding the women, children, and elderly in the center. Hoes and knives were hidden in the nearest carts, within easy reach so they could respond promptly to any emergencies.

This tense formation had stayed the same since they set off again yesterday.

“Da Niu, Quan Zi, would you two mind heading back to check? If there’s no movement behind, let San Wang come back.”

Zhao Sanwang had volunteered to stay behind and keep watch. If anyone chased them, he would run back quickly to warn everyone to get ready to fight. If he didn’t catch up by dawn, they shouldn’t wait for him and should high-tail it out of there, as he would likely have been caught for mining.

Stopping here to wait for San Wang to catch up was an option, but Old Man Zhao couldn’t rest easy and decided to call him back. It was agreed they wouldn’t fall too far behind—probably just five or six li—and a fast walker could make it back and forth in no time.

Zhao Daniu and Zhao Quan called back from the group.

“Take the knives,” Old Man Zhao instructed. “Be smart. If anything happens, run first. Your life's the most important thing.”

“Got it,” they both answered at once.

Village Chief Sun’s old wife, ignoring her own fatigue, took a cloth bag of steamed corn buns from the cart beside her and handed it to them. “Take this to eat on the way. At least take the edge off your hunger. How can you walk without strength?”

“Thanks, Auntie.” Zhao Daniu grinned and didn’t refuse. He took the cloth bag.

Zhao Quan grabbed two knives from the cart. Without another word, they turned and headed back.

As their figures disappeared around the bend, Old Man Zhao withdrew his gaze and looked around at the surroundings. It wasn’t the best hiding spot, but at least there was a grove that blocked the wind. He yelled up ahead, “Let’s stop for now! Rest here!”

Everyone was exhausted to the point of dizziness and blurred vision, kept going only by the stubborn thought: if you haven't dropped, I can't be the one to give out. Their ears throbbed with loud, ragged breaths. When someone grabbed their arms, they finally slowed down and stopped, dazedly looking around. They saw people unloading carts and realized they could finally rest.

“We’re stopping?” Lv Xiuhong’s lips were pale, and her shoulders had gone numb from the shoulder straps.

“Mom, we can rest. Take off your backpack first. I'll snag a good spot out of the wind.” Seeing others running toward the middle, Da Luo Bo was afraid of being squeezed to the edge, so he quickly pulled his younger brother to claim a spot.

Although there was never a serious fight over spots, no one was stupid. The most comfortable place to rest was always the very center, while the most coveted positions while traveling were beside Old Lady Wang and Aunt Xiaobao’s donkey cart—one for warmth, one for safety.

As a widow and her orphaned children, they usually couldn’t compete with others. In the past, Uncle Sanwang would save a spot for them in advance. Now that he wasn’t here, Da Luo Bo had to do it himself. Thinking of Sanwang who stayed behind to keep watch, Da Luo Bo couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry. He usually disliked Sanwang for always hanging around his mother, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Worrying about Sanwang’s uncertain fate, he couldn’t help but glare at the two unfamiliar faces that had suddenly appeared.

It was all their fault! If they hadn’t attracted bad guys, they wouldn’t have had to travel through the night, and Sanwang wouldn’t be lagging behind.

All because of this old woman and child. Da Luo Bo, with bias, glared fiercely at Chen Pingan, who was tightly held by the old woman.

Chen Pingan shrank his neck in fear and avoided his gaze.

A child who had lost his father’s protection and his mother’s love, worn down by the daily exhaustion, hunger, and fear of fleeing the famine, had shed all the pampered airs of a rich family’s son.

Now he was like a fragile weed growing by the roadside—anyone could step on him.

No one paid attention to the children’s squabbles. Even if they did, it was already a good thing that boys like Er Lai and Zhou Santou didn’t come over to glare at him. Everyone was exhausted to the extreme, only wanting to lay out their mats and rest immediately, with no spare energy to care about anything else.

Even the usually noisy old lady Zhou was silent, too tired to mind the cold ground. She sat down and couldn’t get up, listening in a daze to Old Man Zhao and the others talking nearby.

“What?! Iron mine?!” Several exclamations.

Old Man Zhao glared at them. Some village elders were so frightened their beards trembled. They couldn’t care less about being overheard: “You mean there’s an iron mine in Suiyun Town? Those people following us are spreading rumors to lure refugees into the city and capture able-bodied men to work the mine?!”

Zhao Shanao and a few other old men couldn’t get to the front, but it was easy for them to deliberately fall behind. Yesterday, when Da Gen brought back the old woman and child, they didn’t have a chance to ask who they were or what Da Shan and the others were called over for. They had made a big fuss with knives, and Da Gen told them not to ask anything, just to notify everyone to continue.

His face was so tense that no one dared to complain, especially with a group of menacing-looking men standing nearby. They had to leave or something bad would happen.

Fortunately, that group followed them to Suiyun Town and then stopped, not pursuing further.

But even so, Da Gen was still worried. San Wang, being clever, sensed something wrong and volunteered to stay behind to keep watch. If there was any movement, he would run back immediately.

In the rush to travel and fear of being chased, they hadn’t stopped all night, so naturally they had no time to ask what had happened. Now that they knew, they were stunned!

“Da Gen, are you sure you heard right? It’s really…” Li Laiyin lowered his voice, “Really an iron mine?”

Old Man Zhao rubbed his fingers, pondering the matter. He roughly explained what had happened yesterday, especially the old woman’s mad rant—talking to Chen Pingan about his father, then about her son, then about her grandson. It seemed confusing, but now he thought about it, it was like she was pretending to be confused, deliberately telling them something.

“From what I heard, the old woman was originally like us, fleeing the famine with her whole village. When they passed Suiyun Town, some families entered the city to buy rations, while the rest waited outside. Then something happened in between. The old woman’s man was captured, and her daughter-in-law left with the villagers. Unwilling, the old woman stayed in the city, searching for news of her missing son. That’s when she met Chen Pingan, who had lost his father. She used a piece of flatbread to trick the child into calling her ‘Grandma’…”

After that, he could more or less piece it together. The old woman left her village and stayed in Suiyun Town. The able-bodied men captured definitely weren’t only from her family. The city guards didn’t check travel permits, and people could come and go freely. If anyone paid attention, they would definitely notice something amiss.

Captured people had no escape. Those who couldn’t find their relatives could only follow the refugees to leave or stay.

There was only one road to Liangjun Prefecture, and Suiyun Town was a must-pass. Countless refugees passed through every day, all thin and dirty, faces unrecognizable. If someone was lost or missing, besides the family’s wailing, even close relatives probably wouldn’t dare to cause trouble in someone else’s territory. Those who suffered earlier either swallowed their grievances or dared not speak up. Later arrivals, unaware of the situation, rushed in blindly, falling into the trap one after another. Old Man Zhao dared not imagine how many travelers Suiyun Town’s maw had devoured.

If she said there was an iron mine, it was very likely true. Suiyun Town’s open-arms policy was precisely to draw this endless stream of free labor.

“This matter is probably not false.” Old Man Zhao shook his head and sighed.

Village Chief Sun was also sharp. Following the thread, he roughly figured out the situation and broke into a cold sweat. He had almost fallen for it!

These people probably exploited the refugees’ psychology: those with rations feared running out later, and after finally reaching a place that unchecked anything, they would want to rest for a couple of days and buy some grain and medicine. Those without rations even more so—they couldn’t leave and had to stop.

In a strange place, once you stop, everything is out of your hands. Whether to stay or go, others decide.

An iron mine… Could it be a monopoly of one big family? If not, involving the yamen and thinking of the current situation in Fengchuan Prefecture—the land ablaze with warfare, rebels, bandits, and outlaws stirring a pot of chaos—the situation would be murky and dangerous!

Once involved, could you survive?

The more he thought, the more alarmed he became. The more he pondered, the more he felt yesterday’s events were not simple, especially that old woman.

If she really had been watching those people for a long time, as she claimed, then she must have memorized the faces of those spreading the news and planned to follow them to the mine to find her son.

If so, from her perspective, he would never expose himself. But she jumped out, pretending to be mad, and exposed that group. It was truly baffling.

Could it be… Could it be that she saw Da Gen valued that child Chen and, seeing their large group with weapons, decided to latch onto them to help her find and rescue her son?

He couldn’t help but think this way, because Chen Pingan’s father was also captured!

If they saved the child, could they abandon the father?

Thinking this, sweat again covered his forehead. He looked anxiously at Old Man Zhao: “Da Gen, this matter is quite complicated. Listen to me, you absolutely cannot be soft-hearted! That old woman probably has ulterior motives. We mustn’t fall for i…”

"I can't stand being lied to." Old Man Zhao pressed his hand down. "You don't need to worry. I know all this."

He wasn't a fool—otherwise, how could that big son of his have turned around and chopped her on the neck, and she didn’t wake up till late that night, and then they were hauled in a cart all night by Man Cang and the crew?

He was worried that the old woman was pretending to be crazy and causing trouble. They were busy fleeing for their lives, and he really didn't have the energy to deal with her. No matter what, nothing was more important than getting away. But he couldn't bring himself to leave the old woman behind. From the moment she saw through their plan, she had no way out in Suiyun Town.

So they had to take her along for now.

"But that's an iron mine..." He let out a long sigh, still shuddering at the thought.

Even ordinary folks knew how strict the court was about controlling weapons. An iron mine was like an arsenal that could endlessly produce weapons. The law was clear: if any prefecture, county, town, or village discovered an iron mine, gold mine, silver mine, or other mineral deposits, they were to report it immediately. If they concealed it and mined it privately, they would be charged with a serious crime, and their entire clan would be executed.

Back in the lean years before Xiaobao was born, Old Man Zhao had fantasized countless times about discovering a gold mine, secretly digging out a chunk or two before reporting it to the authorities. He never dared to think about hiding it or keeping it secret.

Now, in these chaotic times, wars were raging everywhere, prices were skyrocketing, and the value of an iron mine was obvious. He figured that the hard currency of the day was food, medicine, salt, sugar, gold, and weapons.

An iron mine in Suiyun Town... No, he didn't even dare to think whether it was Suiyun Town that had the iron mine, or Liangjun Prefecture next to it.

In any case, no matter what the original intent of the commotion was, or what happened in between, the moment she said there was an iron mine in Suiyun Town, he didn't dare stay a moment longer.

Mining was more terrifying than marching to war. On the battlefield, you risked your life, but at least there was a chance to earn military merit. Wearing armor and holding a sword, standing guard at the city gate, you could be respectfully called "Sir Soldier," and nobody would mess with you. But miners had it rough—locked away in a dark, sunless little room for the rest of their lives, treated like livestock by the overseers, eating little, working like dogs. If you were even a little slow, the whip would crack across your back immediately. Once you went down into the mine, you'd never see the sun again. Your bones would rot in the mine shaft, like rats that never see the light, never returning home to your roots, never seeing your family again.

You couldn't escape, and you couldn't survive.

With their mere dozen or so blades, no matter how many men they had, pitted against an iron mine that might be heavily guarded, it was like an egg hitting a rock—completely useless.

So Old Man Zhao ran faster than anyone.

"We can't get involved in this at all." He shook his head repeatedly. "Even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive this."