Chapter 72 - 66 Village
The group quickened their pace, and in less than half an hour, they saw houses. It should be a small town, with houses sporadically scattered at first, but following the terrain upward, they could see smoke rising in the distance, clearly indicating this was a large village.
A few households living at the entrance of the village heard the commotion and peeked out. Seeing so many people and horses shocked them, and they quickly slammed their doors shut, hiding inside.
Zhao Hanzhang heard the slam and looked towards the sound. She saw a young man sneaking out of a courtyard, avoiding their gaze, and darted into the village.
Seeing this, Zhao Hanzhang raised her hand to stop everyone and, after glancing around, pointed to a deserted area nearby and said, "Let’s camp here tonight. Uncle Qianli, make sure to keep everyone in check; no one is allowed to disturb the villagers."
Her gaze fell on the refugees following them, and she said to Uncle Cheng, "Give them some bread, and tell them if they want to follow us, they must abide by the rules. If anyone commits murder or theft, I’ll treat them as if dealing with chaotic soldiers."
Uncle Cheng agreed, reached for the grain sack, thought for a moment, and decided to take half of it over to them.
Zhao Hanzhang helped Mrs. Wang down from the horse and found a stone for her to sit on, "Mother, do you have anything valuable on you?"
Mrs. Wang: "..."
She instinctively touched the hairpin on her head and looked at her daughter. She still poked her forehead lightly and scolded in a low voice, "You really are a little troublemaker."
She took it off and handed it to her, whispering, "All our family possessions have been robbed, and we can barely have a meal, yet you are being so generous."