Chapter 74: Departure
Editor: Atlas Studios
Having found Liu He, Mu Shi informed him, “We’re running for our lives, not playing. Ask them to throw away anything burdening them. Ask them to carefully consider if they want their lives or money. Also, I’ll leave with my wife and children in half an hour. Whether they can catch up will depend on their ability. I won’t stop and wait for them.” Mu Shi looked at him seriously and said, “I’m not my father and mother. My wife and children are very weak. I’ll be with them every step of the way.”
In other words, Mu Shi would not sacrifice himself for the sake of Nearhill Village like Mu Yan.
Liu He’s expression changed. He looked at him with a complicated expression and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll get someone to inform them to prepare to escape immediately.”
Only then did Mu Shi turn around and return to his wife and children’s side. He took out the dagger from his pocket and handed it to Mu Yangling. “Good child, I have to take care of your mother and siblings, so I’m afraid I can’t take care of you. You have to stay by my side at all times and protect yourself, understand?”
Knowing this was Mu Shi’s greatest weapon, Mu Yangling hesitated for a moment before taking it and tying it to her leg. “Father, let’s take with us all the arrows at home.”
Mu Shi nodded. “Choose a sturdy stick, too. If you really encounter the Hus, snatch their sabers. With a weapon, your chances of survival will be higher.”
Mu Yangling ran back and carried her bow and arrow on her back. She chose a stick and placed it on the cart. Seeing that half an hour had passed, she ignored the villagers who were still packing and started pulling the cart with her father.
Madam Ma-Liu held Xiuhong’s hand and followed closely beside them.
When Liu He saw this, he shouted at the villagers, “Shut up! How long are you going to argue for? The Mu family has already left. Those who wish to follow, hurry up and follow. Those who are unwilling to leave, find a place to hide. Don’t guard the house. Otherwise, the moment the Hus come, you’ll just die for nothing.”
As soon as Liu He said that, everyone realized that Mu Shi had already pushed the cart 100 meters away. Liu Daqian, Liu Erqian, and their family were also following behind the Mu family. When Madam Fang-Liu saw this, she cried loudly, “Big Brother, Second Brother, Big Sister, why did you leave without me?”
Liu Daqian and the others did not even turn their heads. Liu He shouted in a low voice, “Shut up. The Hus are on the mountain. Are you afraid that they won’t be able to find our Nearhill Village?”
Madam Fang-Liu’s cries were stuck in her throat.
Because of Liu He’s prestige, everyone became much more orderly after throwing a tantrum. Liu He instructed, “Just take some cotton clothes, blankets, and grains. Don’t bring anything else if you can. Don’t start a fire and make any noise on the way. Try your best to keep up with the Mu family.”
Liu He glanced at the villagers before turning around to say to his sons, “In the face of disaster, fend for yourselves. Now that we’re fleeing for our lives, there will be constant conflicts on the way even though we’re a family. If we’re separated, try your best to stay alive. We’ll come back when the Hus retreat.”
Liu Dazhuang stood at the side with red eyes as he supported his mother. He glanced at his brothers and nodded in agreement.
Liu He and his family also followed the Mu family.
When the villagers saw that the village chief’s family had left, they no longer dared to continue packing. They hurriedly grabbed whatever they had packed and followed with their families. An hour later, there were only a few villagers left in Nearhill Village who refused to leave. The others had already grabbed their things to chase after the Mu family.
As there was snow on the ground, with the moonlight shone on the ground, the road was illuminated and they could see the road clearly even without lighting a fire. Other than the cold, the group did not have much difficulty.
Looking back, Mu Yangling saw that the road was filled with people. There were only about 300 people, but they were stretched out over a great distance.
Having graduated from a military academy, she felt that if they encountered the Hus now, they would only die. The best solution was to wait and wait for the people behind to catch up before forming a square formation and advancing.
Seeing that they were about to enter the main road, Mu Yangling pulled her father back and whispered, “Father, we can’t walk by ourselves. Otherwise, if the Hus are on the main road, we’ll meet them head-on. With only ten or so young men here, we are no match for the Hus. Let’s wait for them. When they catch up, get the village chief to form a square formation according to their families and advance warily. It’s best if we can choose a few people to scout the way. Otherwise, if we walk around aimlessly, we won’t even know how we died.”
Although Mu Shi had traveled extensively, he really didn’t know much about military formations. Hearing this, he pondered for a moment and felt that since his daughter was good at hunting in the forest, perhaps she had talent in this aspect. Hence, he nodded and said, “We’ll do as you say. It’s just that I’m the only male in our family. Since we’re the ones who mention it, we have to send someone from our family.”
Mu Shi didn’t want to abandon his wife and children to scout the way ahead, so he was conflicted.
Mu Yangling looked at Shu Wanniang and her younger siblings. Seeing that they were fine despite still being in shock as they sat on the wooden planks, and that Madam Ma-Liu and Xiuhong could follow Mu Shi closely, she said, “Father, let me go. I’m a hunter and I’m good at this. Just take good care of the family.”
“No way.” The first to object, Shu Wanniang almost reached out to grab her. “How can you do such a dangerous thing when you’re still a child? The Hus are different from the wild beasts in the forest.”
“Mother, I’m very fast. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Father. If I encounter danger, I can always run into the forest. Who knows this forest better than me? Someone has to step forward, after all.” Mu Yangling went to persuade Mu Shi again. “Father, you know my strength and martial arts skills well. I can easily defend myself against three to five people. Even if they’re Hus, they’re at most a tad stronger than Han Chinese. Don’t worry.”
Mu Shi looked at the team behind him and did not say anything. Mu Yangling pointed out the dreadful alternative to him. “If no one goes, our family will be walking right at the front. If we really encounter the Hus, Mother and my younger siblings will be the first to suffer.”
There was no way Shu Wanniang could escape, let alone the two newborn babies. When the Hus rushed forward, could Mu Shi protect every single one of them? Even if Mu Yangling was with them, there was no way to keep everyone in the family safe.
Therefore, the best way was to investigate the situation in advance. If there were any Hus ahead, they would avoid them. If they couldn’t avoid them, they could think of a way to take care of their wives and children who were walking in the back.
Mu Shi stroked Mu Yangling’s head as he said with red eyes, “Then you have to be careful. If you encounter danger, run into the mountains. Don’t worry about others. Protecting your own life is more important.”
Mu Yangling nodded.
Only then did Mu Shi turn around to look for Liu He.
When the people behind caught up, Liu He found the elders in the village and said, “Rocky said that if we continue walking like this, we’ll be cut down like melons by the Hus. We have to form a square formation. After discussing it with Daqian and Erqian, we’ve decided to split everyone into five teams like when we went hunting in the mountains previously. The family members of each team member will stick to that same group. Every group will surround the children and elders in the middle, while the young and strong will guard outside with their things. We’ll head west. Hopefully, we’ll reach the county safely tonight. Once we’re there, we’ll be safe.”
No one else had any objections. Since the elders had agreed, the young men could only listen to their orders. The gathered villagers of Nearhill Village quickly divided into five teams.
Mu Shi chose six more people to lead the investigation with Mu Yangling.
The six chosen people had all followed Mu Yangling into the mountain before, so they obeyed her orders very well. The group of seven left first and headed for the main road.