Chapter 114: Refugees Looting Food
The wild dog looked up in their direction, its eyes completely red.
Gu Fei didn’t dare look again. She quickly turned her head and pulled Lan Zhi, quickening her pace for a few steps.
Fortunately, the weather was cold now. The daytime temperature was only a few degrees, so the bodies of those who died on the roadside, unburied, had not yet begun to rot quickly.
Once spring arrived and the temperature warmed, one could only imagine how much bacteria the rotting corpses everywhere would breed. A plague would surely follow.
At that point, it would be truly impossible to leave even if they wanted to.
Gu Zhang, leaning back in the cart, saw it too. He said to Gu Fei, who was walking beside him, "Sigh, how has the world come to this? I should have gone to your uncle’s house myself. I would have had to drag him, but I should have made him come with us. The way things are, if it doesn’t rain this spring, there’ll be no way to survive."
The village head shook his head. "We really must hurry. I’ll only feel at ease once we reach Huainan County."
As they walked on, around noon, they saw a large group of refugees ahead on both sides of the main road, some sitting, some standing. There were over a hundred of them, by the looks of it.
There were men and women, old and young. On the ground lay some tattered bundles and jars, along with a few sickles and cleavers. It looked as though these people had all fled from the same place.
Uncle Ma’s guard went up in an instant. He shouted to the people behind him, "Everyone, grab your weapons! Move faster!"
He struck the mule with his whip, and the animal broke into a trot.
Everyone walking beside the cart quickened their pace as well.
Gu Fei quickly snatched Little Cao from Li Chunhua’s arms and tossed her onto the cart, then turned her head and shouted to Hu Zi, "Quick, climb onto the cart!"
The mule was trotting now, and Hu Zi’s short little legs couldn’t keep up, much less climb onto the moving cart.
Gu Sanlang ran over, grabbed Hu Zi, and tossed him onto the cart’s shafts. Hu Zi scrambled and tumbled his way into the carriage.
Gu Zhang held Little Cao in one arm and Hu Zi in the other, his eyes fixed intently on the world outside the cart.
As the mule cart drew alongside the crowd, Gu Fei gripped her long blade, watching their surroundings with vigilance.
Just then, someone in the crowd yelled, "Everyone, up and at ’em! Rob the bastards! They have a mule cart, so they must have grain!"
"If we have grain, we can live!"
The words had barely been spoken when the crowd by the road surged forward.
Uncle Ma stood by the cart, his hawk-like eyes overflowing with murderous intent. When he saw a man swinging a sickle at him, Uncle Ma dodged aside, and the large blade in his hand fell, hacking into the man’s shoulder.
Uncle Ma wrenched his blade free and struck again, cutting the man down.
Lian’er stood at Gu Fei’s side with Lan Zhi hiding behind her. A group had also swarmed in front of them—a man, a few women, and a half-grown child. Unarmed, they lunged for the cart.
Gu Fei swung her long blade, tracing a bright arc in the air. "If you value your life, don’t come any closer."
The group hesitated at the sight of the blade, but the man ignored it and scrambled toward the cart. He grabbed onto the shaft with one hand, shouting, "What’s there to be afraid of? We’re dead either way! If I have to die, I’ll die with a full stomach!"
Gu Fei’s expression turned cold. The long blade in her hand swept across the man’s neck. The man staggered, clutched his throat, and collapsed.
A woman shrieked, "My husband!" and threw herself onto the man’s body.
Gu Fei stared at the people around them and said in a low voice, "All of you, back off. I’ll kill anyone who comes closer!"
The few people nearby backed away, looking at Gu Fei with fear in their eyes.
The woman on the ground suddenly stood up and lunged at Gu Fei.