A man with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes walked in from outside, his face still bearing a sickly pallor.
He appeared to be a few years older than Old Gu Six, probably around thirty?
He wore a cyan cotton robe, his stature matching Old Gu Six's, though he looked much sturdier in build.
Old Gu Six appeared to be a frail scholar who couldn't take care of himself, but in reality, he was a formidable fighter with a wild streak.
Sheng San, on the other hand, looked tall and strong but was actually quite weak.
Since he had come looking for them, Old Gu Six didn't chase him away. His ability to appear here openly during the day meant that those hunting him had left the small town.
The room was spotlessly clean, with only two rickety stools left by the landlord.
Father and daughter: ...
Sheng San waved his hand dismissively and said in a gentle voice, "It's no trouble. I've come to thank you. I'll just say a few words and be on my way."
The tall and small figures looked at him as if to say, "Go ahead, we're listening."
He chuckled softly and took out a pouch from his sleeve pocket. It was not small and felt heavy.
Old Gu Six took it, opened it to find it full of silver ingots and three or four banknotes. He didn't refuse, accepting it without hesitation. He considered the silver as payment for saving Sheng San's life, settling any debt between them.
Seeing him accept the money, Sheng San took out the Dark Iron Token again. "I can see you're no ordinary person, and quite clever too. You were willing to save me after seeing this token, so you must have guessed what it is.
This is what those people were after – a military seal that can command three hundred thousand troops. Now the world is in chaos, with heroes rising up everywhere.
If you have such ambition, it can help you succeed. Don't worry, they now know the seal isn't with me, so they won't come looking for you."
"The one looking for me is Chen Su, General Chen's son. He's not someone worth associating with. If you ever encounter him in the future, never trust him lightly."
"Listen to me rambling on – you're from the south and north, so you probably won't ever meet. Take the military seal. Even if you don't want to fight for the world, it can still help you achieve great things."
"I originally intended to give this to an old friend, but unfortunately, he's gone now. Keeping it with me won't let it serve its purpose."
Old Gu Six looked at him with full alertness, as if to say, "Don't even think about endangering my life."
"You've already given me money, so the debt is repaid. Keep that thing for yourself. I'm not interested in the exhausting work of conquering the world."
Sheng San was stunned by his reaction. After a moment, he understood and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face.
See, not everyone in the world desires power and authority.
Seeing that Old Gu Six truly didn't want it, Sheng San opened his mouth as if to say something but ultimately remained silent.
After a while, he cupped his hands in farewell, tucked the military seal into his robes, and slowly left the small courtyard.
The father and daughter watched his somewhat melancholic figure disappear around the corner. They didn't know how he had managed to convince Chen Su's men that the military seal wasn't in his possession.
But they didn't want to know either. The world was vast; perhaps they would never meet again.
Since they didn't want to get involved in the world's conflicts, there was no need to seek trouble. They hitched up their mule cart and set off on their own path.
Back on the right road, they began to see scattered groups of refugees. Compared to Chang'an and Old Gu Six, these people were the true embodiment of fleeing from disaster.
They were in tattered clothes, skin and bones, covered in dust, with hair as messy as straw. Each carried a large bundle on their back, some with baskets.
Those slightly better off pushed wheelbarrows loaded with household items and food.
Some women carried children in their arms, their backs bent under the weight of their belongings. Each person held a stick as a walking aid.
They moved from south to north, as many towns refused to take in refugees, so they kept heading northward.
After fleeing for so long, people's emotions were prone to breaking down. At times like these, elderly mothers became burdens on the journey.
A man cursed his old mother with tears in his eyes as she sat on the ground, unable to get up. "Why won't you just die? Because of you, my children are all dead. Can't you stop being a burden to us?"
The old woman remained silent, enduring the man's scolding. She struggled to her feet using her walking stick and picked up the bundle she had put on the ground, painfully shouldering it.
Each step seemed to take all her strength. Though the man who cursed her kept asking why she wouldn't die, seeing his mother like this, he and his wife still came forward to support her as they slowly moved on.
On this endless journey, they didn't know when they would reach the end.
At each town, they hoped for refugee settlements, but as they passed town after town, their hopes were dashed. They could only continue numbly.
The northern lands, once feared and avoided by all, had now become their last hope for survival. How ironic.
Chang'an and Old Gu Six continued at their own pace, neither hurried nor anxious.
They became a conspicuous presence on this refugee trail. No matter the circumstances, those who stand out will always face envy. Even in such dire situations where people had nearly lost their lives fleeing, there were still odd characters with the energy to cause trouble.
"Stop that mule cart ahead! Quickly, stop!"
An elderly voice suddenly rang out, attracting the gaze of most people on the road.
Old Gu Six ignored it, even speeding up the cart a bit.
Seeing that the cart not only didn't stop but was moving faster, the old woman jumped up and down in anger, spewing rather vulgar curses.
She insulted various body parts and cursed their ancestors back eighteen generations.
A six or seven-year-old boy sat down hard on the ground, kicking and wailing loudly: "I want to ride in the cart! I don't want to walk! You old money-losing wretch, go chase that cart! I want to ride!"
Seeing her grandson cry, the old woman quickly squatted down to pick him up and comfort him. "Grandma's good boy, don't cry, don't cry. Grandma will definitely find you a cart to ride in."
"You always say that, but I've been walking for so long. Liar, liar!"
The boy wouldn't stop, punching the old woman repeatedly. She seemed not to feel the pain, holding the boy tightly and cooing endearments.
"Enough, are we going to keep moving or not? It's almost dark."
The boy's father, his face full of impatience, roughly pulled the boy from the old woman's arms and gave him a harsh slap.
Then he said, "If you don't want to walk, you can stay here and feed the wild beasts."
Seeing his father angry, the boy shrank his neck and didn't dare make a sound, enduring even though his face was swollen from the slap.
The old woman and the boy both hunched their shoulders and didn't dare to speak. Ever since fleeing from the famine, her son's temper had become particularly nasty. Everyone in the family except for the eldest granddaughter had been beaten by him—and beaten within an inch of their lives at that. His daughter-in-law had even died from his beatings.
Fearing they would meet the same fate as the daughter-in-law (mother), the grandmother and grandson obediently kept quiet and followed silently behind the man. Even though their legs were so tired they could barely take another step, they gritted their teeth and kept up.
Old Gu Six drove the mule cart far ahead of the others before finally slowing the mules back to a normal pace.
"Father, it looks like we really are going to keep heading north," Chang'an said, timely offering two dried persimmons to her father. She glanced at the refugees trudging along the road with their heads down. If other towns were willing to take in these refugees, she thought most of them wouldn't continue northward.
"Don't worry, daughter. It's for the best to go there," he said, not explaining how it was for the best as he was busy eating the persimmons.
Chang'an took his words as mere small talk and didn't ask further.
As they passed by a small stream, they saw a group of seven or eight people crouched by the water's edge, staring intently into the stream. Behind them, over a dozen more people sat collapsed on the ground.
They were huddled together, looking at the people by the stream with terror in their eyes.
Old Gu Six took a longer look at those frightened people. One middle-aged man seemed familiar, but he couldn't recall where he'd seen him before.
As the mule cart passed by them, the men and women crouching by the stream suddenly turned to look at Old Gu Six.
