A young man in light blue cotton robes with dripping wet hair suddenly appeared, startling the two men in black clothes. They knew it was unlikely for a lone young girl to spend the night in this desolate wilderness.
They did not expect to encounter a young man. The man had piercing black eyes and an aura of chilling severity that was intimidating.
The two men halted their steps, not daring to approach further. They could not afford any complications in their current situation. Silently changing direction, they stopped about fifty meters away from Chang'an.
Chang'an sniffed, the fragrance seemed familiar, was it the scent of a Shusheng moisturizing soap?
She had been careless, simply grabbing a bar of soap without realizing it was the most strongly scented Shusheng.
Tsk, she would need to be more careful next time.
"Young lady, your dad will clean up a bit. Shout if anyone else comes," Old Gu Six said.
Seeing Chang'an nod, Old Gu Six added two sticks of firewood before leaving.
Half an hour later, as Old Gu Six returned, Chang'an willed the bathtub back into her spatial dimension with a thought.
The night was not very peaceful. Around midnight, a group of yamen runners wielding torches and wearing official uniforms appeared noisily in the woods.
These men looked intimidating, but they did not give Old Gu Six and his daughter any trouble. At first glance, a child and a young man were clearly not the ones they were searching for.
One of the runners was about to question Old Gu Six, but was stopped by another leader.
"Don't bother them. Questioning them is useless, those who fled have already escaped. Let's search further ahead."
"Yes," the man agreed after some thought. Even if this father and daughter had seen the fugitives, they had already fled.
They would continue searching ahead. If there were no signs, then the fugitives might have entered the mountains. A woman and an injured man would not find it easy to survive in the mountains.
The ones they were searching for were likely the couple Chang'an had seen. If they moved quickly, they might still catch up.
After the yamen runners left, another thirty or so soldiers arrived, giving Chang'an and Old Gu Six only a cursory glance before rushing ahead without pause.
Really, did they not look like decent people?
What heinous deed had that couple committed to provoke such a widespread manhunt?
Even after the soldiers had passed, three more groups gave chase, by which time Chang'an had already fallen asleep. Old Gu Six would cover her ears whenever someone approached to avoid waking her.
The two fugitives in black seemed to have good luck, eluding capture despite the intense pursuit.
The next morning, the weather was a bit cooler, signaling the arrival of early autumn.
Chang'an changed into warmer clothes, but Old Gu Six still wore his summer short garment. Chang'an offered him a thicker robe, but he waved it off, saying he was not cold.
"Dad, autumn is here again. We should find a place to spend the winter," Chang'an said. Over a year had passed since they had fled, and they were still on the road.
Those refugees who had gone south to Lingnan had probably already settled down.
Some had indeed settled, but others wanted to escape and could not.
Before even reaching the borders of Lingnan, they turned around and fled north.
Chen Su had initially led his troops south, but upon witnessing the devastation there, with the region contested by several local warlords, he quickly abandoned the plan and went to Lingnan instead.
After arriving in Lingnan, he began actively recruiting and purchasing soldiers. When he could no longer attract voluntary recruits, he resorted to conscription, drafting able-bodied young male refugees into his army camps.
Among them were the third and fourth sons of Village Chief Yang, who bitterly regretted their decision, weeping as he watched only the elderly and women left in his family.
More than just the Yang family shed tears of regret after arriving in Lingnan. Some even wailed and beat their chests, lamenting why they had not listened to those who urged them to go north instead.
Now they had to face the consequences, with all the able-bodied men in their families conscripted into military service.
Chang'an did not know the current situation in Lingnan. She and Old Gu Six traveled leisurely.
Chang'an rode a mule while Old Gu Six led it, crossing mountain ranges, fields, and streams, from early autumn into early winter.
What had initially been a journey for just the two of them gradually drew a scattered trail of refugees fleeing northward.
Then Old Gu Six realized they had gone astray, ending up in the vast northwestern wilderness.
Gazing at the boundless desolation, a cold gust of wind swept up the yellow sand in a howling frenzy, a bleak and chilling sight.
Chang'an and Old Gu Six: ...
The refugees following behind: ...
Sitting atop the mule, Chang'an casually remarked, "Dad, we may not make it to the north this year either."
"Shall we try again next year?" Old Gu Six wondered where they had gone wrong, as they had been heading north all along. How did they end up in the northwest?
"I suppose that's an option."
The refugees trailing behind them suddenly realized that following this father and daughter would be futile. Otherwise, they might never reach the north even after the drought ended.
Old Gu Six led the mule, turning back, this time taking the rear as those who had followed them took the lead.
In the distance, the jingling of bells could be heard. A caravan of over a hundred people, their goods marked with two different colored flags - one a triangular khaki color for an escort agency, the other blue with a large Chinese character 'jiang' (river).
Each wagon bore these flags, likely belonging to a merchant caravan guarded by the Qingyuan Escort Agency.
"That's the merchant caravan of the Jiangnan Jiang Family, escorted by the Qingyuan Escort Agency. The Jiangnan Jiang Family is the second-largest merchant house in the Ye Dynasty, conducting business with the western regions."
Chang'an gazed ahead and asked Old Gu Six, "Dad, do you know anyone from the Jiang Family caravan?"
"I know someone from the Qingyuan Escort Agency. They once invited me to join, but I declined. Later, I was hired to escort one of their caravans. The weapons they used were forged by your grandfather."
"Wow," Chang'an remarked, her late grandfather was indeed no ordinary man.
Father and daughter withdrew their gaze as they passed by the distant caravan.
The lead escort of the Jiang Family caravan, Wan Ke, also noticed Old Gu Six. Despite the distance, he recognized him.
Wan Ke was momentarily stunned, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. It was indeed Old Gu Six. He let out an exclamation of surprise - fleeing the famine had led them all the way to the northwest? What a remarkable feat.
Wan Ke surmised that Old Gu Six was likely aiming for the north but had taken a wrong turn along the way.
Old Gu Six had made such navigational mistakes before when escorting caravans for them, so Wan Ke immediately guessed the truth.
He burst into loud laughter, nearly scaring the life out of his comrades.
"Let me catch my breath first, I'll be right back."
Wan Ke's horse shot out like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived before Old Gu Six.
"Whoa!" Wan Ke tugged hard on the reins, and the horse reared up, neighing twice before finally coming to a halt.
The mule was startled by the horse, almost causing Chang'an to fall off, but thankfully Old Gu Six reacted quickly and caught him.
"You're seeking death," he put down his long sword, wasting no words as he drew his blade and thrust it toward Wan Ke.
The killing intent that rushed at him made Wan Ke break out in a cold sweat, and he barely dodged that sword strike.
It had only been three years since they last met, but Old Gu Six's martial arts skills had advanced by at least two levels, and the substantial pressure he exerted almost left Wan Ke with no strength to retaliate.
Wan Ke apologized as he evaded, "Old Gu Six, Old Gu Six, quickly stop, I was wrong, I was wrong."
Old Gu Six flicked his wrist, and the fierce sword gleam flashed by, slicing off half of Wan Ke's sleeve. It was only then that he withdrew his attack, twirling the sword flower lightly before sheathing his soft sword back at his waist.
