allonlinenovel Chapter 526: Rescue of Refugees Fleeing South
Chapter 526: Rescue of Refugees Fleeing South
Chapter 526: Rescue of Refugees Fleeing South
The air was damp and stuffy after a spring rain. Outside the city of Deng County in Jingsong State, a horse-drawn carriage drove out of the bamboo forest and slowly stopped by the roadside. Old Zhou held the reins and looked around vigilantly before jumping off the carriage and taking off his raincoat that was still dripping with rain, leaving only the bamboo hat still on his head.
"Where are we?" Honghua asked softly in the car.
"We have entered Deng County of Jingsong State." Old Zhou replied while shaking off the water stains on his straw raincoat.
"According to the calculation, Xuanyu has already arrived in Xuancheng, and will be able to return to Southern Xinjiang soon." Honghua couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard this, and then turned to thank Si Yao, who was dressed as a young woman beside him: "Thank you sister Si Yao for your great help this time. This favor is owed by me, Honghua, and I will repay you in the future if I have the chance."
"Yueyu is a patient that my master has taken great pains to cure. I cannot bear to watch her get into trouble just after leaving the pharmacy. I did not save her for Madam, so there is no need for Madam to do this."
Si Yao wore no makeup and was dressed in a coarse blue cloth. A wooden hairpin tied her black hair into a loose bun, but a few strands of hair still hung down on her slender neck, adding a touch of gentleness to her cold temperament.
"I know that you doctors are kind-hearted and don't ask for anything in return, but we sisters are not ungrateful. Sister Si Yao may not care about this kindness, but we must remember it." Honghua felt warm in her heart after hearing this, and she also admired such a kind-hearted person.
In the past, she blamed everyone and everyone for her bad luck and for bringing trouble to her family. Until she met some good people in the past two years and saw what it meant to help others without asking for anything in return, the resentment that had accumulated in her heart for decades was no longer as solid as a rock.
Si Yao just nodded without saying anything. Although Madam Honghua was the master of the Poisonous Insect Valley, it was a good thing that she was grateful.
"We're here, we've arrived in Deng County!"
At this time, there was a noise coming from behind the carriage, and a group of old, young, women and children were seen rushing forward. They were all tired and dishevelled, as if they had fled here after a long journey. When they saw the city wall not far away, they all showed joy on their faces.
Watching these people passing by, Lao Zhou was puzzled but knew that the important things to do were urgent. He lowered his hat and was about to jump onto the carriage to continue on his way, but he noticed a little girl covered in mud standing alone beside the carriage. When she saw that she had been discovered, she timidly stepped forward and said in a trembling voice:
"My kind uncle, my grandpa has been hungry for two days and has no strength to walk. Can you give him something to eat?"
After the little girl finished speaking, she turned around and pointed at the old man who was leaning against a big tree behind her and was in tattered clothes and dying.
"I'll be back soon." Seeing this, Old Zhou couldn't bear to refuse, so he took the water and dry food in the car and followed the little girl to the old man.
"With a chivalrous heart and heroic spirit, I wonder what virtue I, Honghua, have to make such a man so devoted to me?" Honghua lifted the car curtain and looked at Lao Zhou's tall and straight back, and couldn't help but smile gently.
"Since you know how good he is, you should not let him down in the future." Si Yao smiled, then took out some small change from her bag and handed it to Hong Hua, and continued, "You ask Mr. Zhou to give them the money."
"What? Are you worried that a vicious woman like me might become vicious and harm him one day in the future?" Honghua took the silver change and joked at her.
"Since you have Mr. Zhou by your side in the future, why don't you quit drugs? Drugs are not good things and can easily hurt others and yourself." Si Yao suppressed her smile and continued to advise earnestly.
"If one day the Shadow Clan disappears and Xuanyu no longer has to worry about her life, I will listen to Sister Siyao and never touch drugs again." Honghua blinked charmingly, then turned around and leaned out of the window to call Lao Zhou.
Si Yao was speechless for a moment, and she had indeed forgotten about Yingmen. She hoped that Honghua and Yanyu could return to southern Xinjiang and live a stable life, but with Yingmen relentless, she didn't know whether such stability could last long.
"Thank you so much, my benefactor! Thank you so much, my benefactor!"
Not long after Lao Zhou fed the old man some dry food with water, the other party gradually recovered some strength, and then he brought his granddaughter to kowtow to Lao Zhou to express his gratitude.
"Please stand up!" Lao Zhou hurriedly helped him up and asked curiously, "You don't sound like southerners from your accent. Are you from the north? What happened over there that made you flee south during the farming season?"
Seeing the benefactor asking, the old man sobbed and wiped his tears, and after a while he spoke: "Your benefactor may not know that Jing Song is going to fight with Xiyue. We are originally from Mo City, but Mo City is in chaos today. We ordinary people are powerless and can only flee to save our lives!"
"What? Jingsong and Xiyue are going to fight?" Old Zhou was also shocked when he heard this. When the Zongwang army went north, the rumors only said that Xiyue was going to fight against the two small countries of Zhongshan and Xuanmeng. How come it is now going to fight Jingsong? If these two big countries fight, I am afraid that the world will be in complete chaos.
"Yes, I thought the imperial court had solved the bandit problem and we common people would be able to live a few years of peace, but I didn't expect that the war would start again!" The old man continued to cry and sigh.
"Do you have any relatives to live with when you go south? Is there no one else at home?" Old Zhou also sighed helplessly, and then asked again.
"My husband passed away early, and my grandson's mother died of illness less than half a year after giving birth. I haven't heard from my two sons since they were forcibly taken to the military camp. Only the two of us are left at home. I do have a distant relative in the south, but it's a long journey, and the dry food and money are far from enough for the two of us. I could only feed the child first, and I begged for food along the way to barely make it here. Fortunately, I met my benefactor today..."
Old Zhou was in a hurry to get on with his journey, so he stuffed the silver coins into the old man's hands without waiting for him to finish his crying. He continued, "Time is tough, and the child is still young and needs your protection. You must live well, old man."
"Thank you so much, benefactor! Thank you so much, benefactor!" The old man was so grateful that tears streamed down his face. He wanted to pull his granddaughter to kowtow again, but was stopped by Old Zhou.
"What? Xiyue and Jingsong are going to fight?" The carriage did not enter Deng County but continued to move east. Si Yao was also surprised to learn from Lao Zhou the reason why the refugees fled south.
"It seems that Xiyue temporarily turned her attention to Jingsong. I wonder what happened?" Old Zhou sighed as he drove the carriage.
"For hundreds of years, disputes between countries have never stopped. It is only a matter of time before Jingsong and Xiyue go to war. What are you surprised about?" Ran Honghua yawned as if it had nothing to do with her. However, she hoped that Jingsong would win this time and Xiyue would be defeated, and Yingmen would be in a mess. In this way, Youmei would have no time to take care of the two sisters.
"careful!"
As soon as Honghua finished speaking, several dark shadows flashed around the carriage, and Lao Zhou hurriedly pulled the reins to remind him.
"Finally here." Honghua sneered, and then said to Si Yao: "We are here, sister, don't be afraid." After saying that, she stood up and rushed out of the carriage.
Si Yao had to remain silent about what was on her lips. She was not afraid of the Shadow Gate, she just hoped that they could delay the Shadow Gate as long as possible to buy time for Yan Yu.