Chapter 11: Rescue (1)_1
"Father, that old count mentioned there’s a Longshi Town not far ahead. Shall we enter the town? Let’s not hurry on this afternoon and rest there for the night!" Mo Yan was gulping down water from the bamboo tube as he relayed to Mo Qingze the information he had just learned from an old count passing by.
Mo Qingze looked at his listless young daughter and son sitting on the ground, then glanced up at the sky and nodded, "It seems like the weather is going to change tonight. We shall stay in the town for a couple of days and continue our journey after the heavy rain has passed."
Mo Yan had great faith in his father’s ability to predict the weather. Looking at the piercing white sunlight outside the shade, he couldn’t help but wipe the hot sweat from his forehead! Since their arrival half a month ago, they had been traveling non-stop. Fortunately, the journey had been smooth so far; aside from encountering some people fleeing northward for refuge, they had not met with any calamities such as robbery or child abduction.
The last couple of days had been unbearably hot, and the young ones could no longer withstand it. If they were to continue on in the rain, they would probably fall ill.
...
"Please, kind sirs, show some mercy. My grandfather is critically ill. Let us in to find a doctor!"
At the entrance of Longshi Town, Liyan knelt on the ground in agony, pleading desperately with the government official guarding the gate. Clinging tightly to her grandfather, who was lying on the ground with barely audible breaths, she couldn’t hold back her tears. Her parents were already gone; she could not afford to lose her grandfather, her last remaining relative.
"You, a pauper who can’t even come up with twenty wen money, want to enter Longshi Town? You must be daydreaming!" One of the broad-faced government officials, apparently the leader, waved his hand impatiently, shoving Liyan. The young girl lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Ignoring the pain of the abrasions on her palms, she climbed back up, knelt on the ground again, and latched onto the official’s robe, sobbing, "Our family was traveling to the capital to seek relatives and was robbed by bandits. Both my parents were killed, and all our silver was taken. I truly can’t come up with twenty wen money. My grandfather is my only relative left. Please, kind sir, let us into the town to find a doctor!"