My strength increases by one percent every day; I can destroy stars with my bare hands.

"When the barbarians saw the signal from the army, they quickly retreated, and I was lucky to escape with my life."

Li Xuancang made up a reason to get by.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoniu suddenly realized what was going on and clearly believed the reason.

"Your Excellency is truly blessed by Heaven. You have survived a great calamity and are sure to be blessed with good fortune in the future."

Wang Xiaoniu was genuinely happy.

"The barbarians will catch up soon, let's go!"

Li Xuancang was worried that the barbarians would catch up, so he needed to leave as soon as possible.

The two left quickly, without even having time to bury the bodies of their fallen comrades.

When Li Xuancang and Wang Xiaoniu successfully reunited with the others, everyone stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

They all thought Li Xuancang was doomed, but to their surprise, he survived.

"Sir, are you alright?"

After the initial shock, everyone erupted in jubilation. Li Xuancang was not dead, and they could continue to follow him, having someone to rely on in this chaotic world.

"I'm fine, you should leave now!"

Li Xuancang urged everyone to leave quickly, saying that there was no time to lose.

Along the way, Wang Xiaoniu explained to everyone why Li Xuancang had survived, and everyone couldn't help but marvel at Li Xuancang's good fortune and long life.

Anyone else would have no chance of survival against a Blood Condensation Realm barbarian, yet Li Xuancang survived; it was nothing short of a miracle.

Li Xuancang and his group paid a heavy price to escape alive, but the others were not so lucky.

Of the three thousand soldiers, more than half were killed or wounded, and only a little over a thousand escaped.

"Quickly, head to the county seat."

The surviving soldiers all spontaneously rushed to the county seat.

At the same time, news that the imperial army had abandoned Cangyun Ridge and that barbarians and demons were about to attack spread like wildfire throughout Xuanyang County.

"This is terrible! The imperial army has retreated, and the barbarians and demons are about to attack!"

"The imperial court has abandoned its defenses; what should we do?"

"The imperial army has retreated to the county seat, and now only the county seat has a glimmer of hope."

"..."

Upon hearing the news, the people lived in constant fear.

If the army abandons its defenses, the barbarians and demons can advance unimpeded, and they will all become lambs to the slaughter.

"Damn it, how could the imperial court withdraw its troops?"

"The imperial court has abandoned us; it is truly despicable."

"Run for your lives! It'll be too late if you don't leave now!"

"..."

The cries of agony filled the air, and the people were filled with fear and panic, not knowing where they could find a way to survive.

Those with power and money still have the ability to escape to the county seat, where they have a glimmer of hope.

But ordinary people don't even have a place to live tomorrow, so where would they get the strength to travel thousands of miles to escape to the county town?

In chaotic times, rebels, demons, bandits... any one of them can be deadly. Trying to escape to the county town is a pipe dream.

When the villagers of Qingxi Village received the news, they were terrified and couldn't help but think of the Li family members who had left earlier, and they all harbored resentment towards them.

"Damn it, damn it!"

"The Li family must have known about the army's withdrawal in advance, but they refused to tell us. They are truly despicable."

"The Li family is utterly depraved and deserves a terrible death."

"..."

The villagers hated the Li family to the core, believing that if the Li family had informed them of the army's withdrawal earlier, the village could have made preparations sooner and would not be in such a state of confusion and helplessness now.

"Barbarians and demons are about to attack. If you don't want to die, leave together and head to the county town."

Qingxi Village quickly made a decision to have the entire village flee together.

Many hands make light work; it's always better for thousands of people from a village to flee together than for one person to escape alone.

The entire Xuan Yang County was thrown into complete chaos. Officials fled ahead of time, order collapsed, and many people who were usually bullied now turned the tables, picked up knives, and became demons, hacking at other people.

As Nangong Zhan and his group gradually approached the county town, things went smoothly at first. However, as they got closer to the town, they encountered a large number of people fleeing from disaster.

Among the three thousand soldiers, Li Xuancang was not the only one with family; the other soldiers had also notified their relatives in advance, allowing them to escape as soon as possible.

At this point, Nangong Zhan no longer concealed the truth and told the Li family everything.

"Luckily, my brother-in-law made arrangements in advance, otherwise we would still be waiting to die in Zhangjia Village."

After learning the truth, Zhang Erzhu and his companions were still shaken but secretly relieved.

If Li Xuancang hadn't arranged for their early evacuation, they would still be just like those ordinary people, helpless and with little hope of survival.

After learning that their son was about to be transferred to the county town, the Li family's excitement and anticipation grew stronger along the way. After more than two years apart, the family was finally able to meet in the county town.

After days of travel, the group was getting closer and closer to the county town. The once wide official road was gradually filled with a tide of refugees.

People from all directions, with their families and belongings, flocked to the county town.

Pushing carts, carrying loads, helping the elderly and children.

The noise of people, crying, and arguing mingled together, dust flew everywhere, and chaos reigned.

The original official road was completely blocked, making it impossible for vehicles and horses to move an inch.

Nangong Zhan protected Li's father, mother, and Li Xiu's family, sitting in the carriage, while other yamen runners stood guard on either side of the carriage, desperately moving it forward.

The closer they got to the county seat, the more crowded the crowds became.

Many migrants, eager to be the first to enter the city, disregarded others, pushing, shoving, and recklessly charging, causing traffic jams.

Suddenly, several burly men dressed as servants, their faces full of anxiety, drove several carriages forward and rammed into them, cursing under their breath.

"Make way, make way, don't block the way."

They charged recklessly, and some civilians were unable to dodge in time and were immediately knocked over.

"what!"

Some people were knocked to the ground and seriously injured, and the little food they had left was also knocked to the ground.

Seeing the miserable state of these people, the burly men did not linger for a moment, but instead wore mocking smiles, clearly doing it on purpose.

"Get the hell out of my way, all of you."

A group of people acted recklessly and were about to crash into the Li family's carriage.

"Stop right there."

The county guards shouted loudly, trying to stop the group.

The group ignored the guards' attempts to stop them and instead sped up their advance.

"Get out of the way."

The constable's face changed drastically; he dared not resist and hurriedly dodged away.

"Bang!"

Their vehicle crashed hard into the shaft of the Li family's carriage, causing the carriage to shake violently. Dou Dou, who was inside, burst into tears, and Li Xiu nearly fell over as well.

Li's father quickly reached out to protect his family, and Nangong Zhan rushed in front of the group of people, glaring at them angrily.