The grass hats on the heads of the Mohist people were soon soaked through, and the only function they could still serve was to prevent the rain from falling directly on their faces.
He Zhiran came up with an expedient plan for everyone to open up the tents a little wider to serve as temporary shelter from the rain.
The dirt road beneath their feet was also becoming increasingly slippery.
He Zhiran and Mo Jiuye both ran to Old Lady Mo, afraid that she might accidentally slip and fall.
Indeed, walking was difficult for Old Lady Mo. Only with the support of her son and daughter-in-law did she feel balanced.
The sisters-in-law and Mo Hanyue also helped each other walk, tightly holding on to one another. Not only that, but everyone tried their best to quicken their pace.
The other families also followed the example of the Mohist people, keeping up with their footsteps.
At this moment, things were most difficult for the He family.
Not only were they usually unable to eat their fill or sleep soundly, they also had no tools to fend off the rain. Now they still had to push that heavy wooden cart forward with great difficulty.
Their current plight was a perfect embodiment of the common saying: when it rains, it pours.
What was even more annoying was that at this moment, the wooden cart got stuck in the mud.
With He Zhiyuan being the only adult man in the He family, and the others being elderly, weak, women, and children, even with several people coming to help, they were unable to pull the cart out.
The officers were already in a hurry to get going. Seeing the He family falling behind, they went up without hesitation and whipped them a few times.
It made the He family members cry out in pain.
Considering that there were also the Mohist family’s food, vegetables and some daily necessities on the wooden cart,
Mo Jiuye walked with large strides towards the cart.
Seeing Mo Jiuye come over, the He family immediately stopped screaming.
Mo Jiuye didn’t even glance at them. He grasped the cart handle tightly with both hands. With a force, he single-handedly pulled the cart out.
Seeing that Mo Jiuye had already pulled the cart away, He Zhiyuan wiped the rain from his face and hurried to catch up, very proactively helping to push the cart.
Thanks to Mo Jiuye’s actions, the He family was finally able to keep up.
He Zhiyuan looked at the lonely, proud figure ahead.
“Thank you for helping.”
Mo Jiuye hadn’t pulled the cart to help the He family.
Hearing He Zhiyuan’s thanks, he said coldly, “I did it for my own family's supplies. Don't think too much.”
He Zhiyuan’s thanks came from the bottom of his heart. No matter what Mo Jiuye's attitude was in pulling the cart, after all he had helped resolve a crisis for the He family.
"In any case, I have to thank you this time."
Mo Jiuye didn't speak again, but lowered his head to keep pulling the cart...
The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping at all.
The water on the road soon rose above everyone's ankles.
He Zhiran inexplicably felt a sense of crisis rising in her heart.
In ancient times, roads had no drainage facilities. If the heavy rain continued, it was hard to prevent some unpredictable disasters from happening.
At this time, Peng Wang pointed to the front and said, "Everyone hurry up. The village ahead is not far away."
He Zhiran looked in the direction Peng Wang was pointing.
Faintly visible through the rain was a village.
As if seeing hope, everyone quickened their pace.
Soon, following Peng Wang, they arrived at the entrance to the village.
Fortunately, the accumulated water here was not as deep as on the road.
Peng Wang didn't seem unfamiliar with this village. He directly led everyone along the road towards the inside. Soon he stopped in front of a rather large courtyard and went up to knock on the door.
"Is Village Chief Liu in?"
Perhaps due to the heavy rain, Peng Wang shouted several times but no one responded.
With no other choice, he opened the door and entered himself.
Not long after Peng Wang entered, the door opened again. Coming out with him was an old man who looked fifty or sixty years old.
Peng Wang pointed to the crowd at the door and said: “Village Chief Liu, you just arrange a place for us to take shelter from the rain.”
Village Chief Liu looked at so many people standing outside, instantly speechless.
“Your Honor, I’m afraid my house doesn’t have room for so many people!”
“Village Chief Liu, as long as it shelters from the rain, they can squeeze together, and it will be no problem.” Not wanting to give Village Chief Liu a chance to refuse, Peng Wang finished speaking and waved for everyone to enter the yard.
Village Chief Liu was helpless, and could only open the doors to his family’s two side rooms.
“These are the only two empty rooms. I'll leave it to you to handle, Your Honor!”
Peng Wang chose a room for himself and the officers, and the rest of the people all entered the other wing room.
Seeing a place to shelter from the rain, the people swarmed inside. Fortunately, the size of the wing room was not small. After all the prisoners entered, although they could only stand shoulder to shoulder, at least they no longer had to stand in the rain.
The heavy rain still showed no signs of stopping or weakening. The accumulated water in Village Chief Liu's yard had already started to deepen, and there were even signs of it seeping into the house.
Standing at the door, the Fang family shouted, “Oh no, rainwater is flowing into the house!”
He Zhiran inexplicably felt a wave of panic stirring in her heart.
She tugged at Mo Jiuye’s sleeve at her side and said in a low voice, “I feel we can’t stay here to take shelter from the rain.”
At this moment, Mo Jiuye also frowned.
“Yeah, I’m worried that if the heavy rain continues, flooding is very likely to occur here.”
He Zhiran continued, “I just saw a mountain south of the village. We’d still be safer going there.”
Mo Jiuye pondered for a moment, then nodded, "I’ll go discuss with Eldest Brother Peng right away to see if he agrees."
Peng Wang sat on the only chair in the wing room, looking bitterly at the still overcast sky.
Seeing Mo Jiuye come, he took the initiative to ask: “Brother, it’s too cramped over there. Why not squeeze over here with us for now?”
Mo Jiuye didn’t have the heart to squeeze together here at all. He got straight to the point.
“Eldest Brother Peng, if this rain keeps up, I'm afraid the whole village will be submerged in just a few hours.”
Upon hearing Mo Jiuye’s words, Peng Wang unconsciously glanced at the accumulated water in the yard. Indeed, it was much deeper than when they first arrived here. Mo Jiuye’s words were not alarmist.
“So, what do you suggest we do?”
Mo Jiuye pointed to the nearby mountain top,
“When there’s flooding, the best thing to do is go to high ground.”
Although Peng Wang knew Mo Jiuye was reasonable, he still hesitated.
Apart from not knowing if what Mo Jiuye said would actually happen, even if there really was flooding, with so many people going up the mountain, what if they couldn’t find a place to take shelter from the rain? They’d only get soaked to death.
Peng Wang directly expressed his doubts,
“Brother, if we can’t find a place to shelter from the rain on the mountain, what should we do?”
Originally thinking Peng Wang was a wise man, who knew he would make such a foolish decision at this critical moment?
“Eldest Brother Peng, there are two choices: one is we might get soaked by rain on the mountain; the other is to stay at the foot of the mountain and be washed away by the flood.”
At this point, Mo Jiuye felt it necessary to portray the situation more gravely.
Peng Wang also knew it was reasonable, but he still held a trace of wishful thinking. What if the rain stopped? Wouldn’t they have gone through the trouble for nothing?
