Sold immediately after wearing it? I took my family and fled the famine.

Just then, a man's roar rang out from outside the shed, followed by the crackling of fire and cries from the direction of the camp.

The firelight spread rapidly from afar, turning the night sky over the entire camp red.

Jiang Xing turned around abruptly, shoved Zhang Shi awake with one hand, grabbed Xiao Niu with the other, and called out in a low voice, "Third Uncle!"

Third Uncle had already woken up, and then quickly tidied up his things, carrying half a bag of grain on his shoulder and tying a large bag of smoked jerky with hemp rope around his wrist.

Jiang Xing lifted a corner of the tarpaulin tent and glanced outside. The "refugees" who had sat at the city gate and talked to her during the day were now carrying gleaming knives and moving in groups between the tents.

They would rob any valuable items they saw, slash any man who resisted, and forcibly drag any young woman away.

By the light of the fire, one could see people dressed in military uniforms mixed in with the others, helping them to throw the looted items into bamboo baskets.

Her gaze swept quickly across the surrounding terrain. The low hills to the east were blocked by the firelight, the north was full of bandits, and the south was the base of the city wall with the city gate tightly closed. There was no cover under the city wall.

Only on the west side, in the direction of that dried-up river ditch, are there few torches, and it has not yet been occupied.

"Third Uncle, head west," she whispered as she turned around.

Third Uncle carried the grain sack and took a step westward, his other hand already reaching for the old ox tied to the withered tree.

"We don't need the ox anymore." Jiang Xing's tone was urgent; every second counted. "Give me the grain, and Third Uncle, you carry the quilts. If there's too much stuff, we won't be able to run. If we don't leave now, the whole family will perish here!"

She snatched the grain sack from her third uncle's shoulder and threw it onto her own, then grabbed his wrist and shoved him to the west.

Only then did Third Uncle notice that in the distance, at least five or six torches were moving rapidly toward them.

Someone pointed at the oxcart and shouted, "There are oxen over there! There are grain sacks!" Several people rushed into the shed they had just set up, smashing pots and pans all over the ground, and led away the old ox tied to the dead tree.

The old ox was being dragged forward by the stranger. It struggled to turn its head and mooed, the long, drawn-out sound particularly jarring amidst the chaos.

Zhang staggered after them, clutching the quilt, her eyes constantly looking behind her. The calf was being dragged along, and when she turned her head, she saw the oxcart being overturned, and her lips moved slightly.

The four men fled westward along the path beside the ditch. The chaotic shouts behind them grew fainter and fainter, but the torchlight continued to move toward them. Someone noticed that they were running away.

At the end of the path was a steep stone wall.

A large thicket of thorns lay across the stone wall, its dense branches covered in sharp thorns, stretching as far as the eye could see in the night, like a dark wall blocking the way.

A rustling sound suddenly came from the left side of the thorn bushes, followed by Shen Dehou's extremely low voice: "Is that Jiang girl?"

The calf, nestled in Zhang's arms, blurted out, "Uncle Village Chief!"

"Quickly! Come in from the left! There's a narrow gap on the left side of the thorn bush, squeeze through! There's a hidden little cave behind it!" A hand reached out from the thorn bush and beckoned to them twice.

Without a second thought, Jiang Xing told Zhang Shi, his third uncle, and Xiao Niu to crawl in first.

Once the calf had completely disappeared into the thorn bushes, she stood up straight.

"Hide inside and don't make a sound," she said, her voice carrying through the branches.

"Xing'er, aren't you coming in?" Zhang's voice came from behind the thorn bushes, trembling violently.

"Hide well and don't make a sound." After saying that, she turned around and walked back the way she came.

If there is trouble behind you, you must resolve it before it gets close to your family.

After walking about 600 meters, the torchlight emerged from behind the low hill on the left.

Five men, each carrying a large knife blade, its edge gleaming a dark red in the firelight. The one at the front was bald with a thick beard, and had an old knife scar on the web of his right hand.

Behind them followed a tall, thin man carrying a knife, his mouth crooked. The other three walked on either side, spreading out in a semi-encircling formation, clearly seasoned veterans.

Upon seeing a girl standing at the corner of the path ahead, the bald man paused for a moment.

"Oh, it's just a little girl." The tall, thin man put the knife off his shoulder and carried it under his arm, taking two steps forward. "Hey, didn't you just run this way with your whole family? Hand over the grain, obediently come back to Black Wind Stronghold with us, and we'll spare your family."

The bald man added leisurely from behind, "Take care of this woman first, then go find that family. There's only this narrow path leading to this road, and no one can squeeze into the thorny thicket, so they must still be ahead."

Jiang Xing looked at them expressionlessly, his right hand already drawing a short knife from his waist.

The five men saw that she was holding a short knife, exchanged glances, and then burst out laughing.

The tall, thin man laughed the loudest, his knife tilting precariously: "This little chick's got some fire. Alright, this bitch's got the hang of it, she'll wake the brothers up."

He lowered the knife slightly, intentionally or unintentionally revealing his bare chest, and took two steps closer to Jiang Xing: "Come on, let me see how steady you can hold a knife."

The next second, his laughter was replaced by a muffled sound in his throat. He looked down and saw the short knife stuck in his chest, the hilt still trembling slightly. He hadn't even seen how she had done it.

The bald man's laughter abruptly stopped as a blade flashed horizontally, slicing through the throats of him and another bandit beside him. The remaining two turned to run, but Jiang Xing caught up, slashing the third in the back and then plunging the last one into his ribs.

In no time, five corpses lay scattered on the withered grass.

Jiang Xing searched through them one by one; there were no documents, no travel permits, only a few pieces of silver and a handful of copper coins. She dragged the corpses behind the bushes and stuffed them in, covering the bloodstains with dry branches and soil. She then picked up the scattered broadswords, stuck them in the ground, and broke off the handles. After finishing, she straightened up and ran back to the thorn forest along the same path.

She crawled into the hidden little cave and discovered that Shen Dehou's family wasn't the only one inside.

The dim light from the tinderbox illuminated the crowded figures on the stone wall. Doctor Gu was squatting in the innermost corner, holding his medicine box. His blue cloth robe was covered in mud, and his white beard was matted with cold sweat.

Widow Sun huddled behind a stalactite, holding Niu Niu in her arms. Aunt Wang and her husband, Wang Laoshi, squeezed among a pile of bedding. Jiang Erzhu crouched in the darkest recess, protecting Laifu and Caiyun behind him. There was also Carpenter Liu and his wife, as well as several villagers from Zhoujiazhai and Wangjiagou whom she didn't recognize. Everyone was there, so quiet that even breathing was extremely low.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Jiang Xing enter.

Shen Dehou moved the stone at the entrance of the cave to make way for her and explained in a low voice, "This cave was first discovered by carpenter Liu. I had just led my men in when I saw your family running this way. I only dared to speak up to test you after seeing the old lady's clothes."

"Before we ran over, Dr. Gu got up in the middle of the night and heard those thieves muttering outside the tent. The more he listened, the more suspicious it seemed, so he quickly woke me and a few other sharp-eyed people up. He was going to call you, but then those guys suddenly attacked. Dr. Gu narrowly escaped, but he didn't forget to throw clods of dirt at your shed in an attempt to wake you up."

Doctor Gu forced a smile and said in a hoarse voice, "I almost couldn't escape... I only managed to throw down two clods of dirt, you should have heard that."

Jiang Xing nodded without speaking. Zhang had already turned her over and looked her over to make sure there were no new injuries before she patted her shoulder with trembling fingers.

Jiang Xing settled his family in the cave, then crawled out again and climbed to a high point under the cover of night.