During this time, Ren Lin delivered some food to him. After he drank a few sips of water, they walked to a shaded area in a dense forest, where Lin Ya finally pulled on the reins. He got off the carriage to give water and some dried beans to the mule, while the others also disembarked to stretch their limbs.
With so many people in the carriage, everyone could only sit. Although Lin Ya had sewn soft padding around to make it more comfortable, it still wasn’t particularly pleasant. Lin Ya munched on some jerky to regain some energy and wiped his sweat with his sleeve, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, feeling somewhat better. After staying out in the sun for a long time, even he, with his good physical condition, found it a bit unbearable.
After a brief rest, the group entered the forest to relieve themselves before continuing on. Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was evening. The sun had not yet set. Lin Ya stepped out of the carriage and exchanged places with Xu Jin. He took off his straw hat, revealing a sweaty forehead and dry lips.
“Let’s go drink some water. Although we don’t have much, it should last until we get to the capital city. We can find more water once we arrive there,” he suggested. Xu Jin nodded with a smile and pointed ahead, “Brother-in-law, I just saw what seems to be a caravan up ahead, but I’m not sure how many people there are…”
Along the road out of the county town, they occasionally saw a few people resting by the roadside who were pushing carts. There weren’t many, as the main group was still behind. Naturally, it was normal to see others ahead as well.
“It’s fine; we can just follow behind,” Lin Ya replied. He quickly spotted the caravan Xu Jin mentioned—they had four horse-drawn carts, comprising young and old, and guards following with wooden sticks. The women in the caravan wore exquisite clothing, and the leader appeared to be a prosperous middle-aged man, likely from the county or another town.
The caravan halted in a relatively spacious area of the forest, where the grass was sparse, and the leaves on the trees had turned yellow. It would indeed be a good spot to camp for the night. Lin Ya continued to drive the carriage forward, ignoring their watchful glances, until he rounded a bend and could no longer see them.
As the sun was almost setting and taking away the last bit of light, Lin Ya stopped the carriage by a straight dirt slope, took out a flint, and used it to ignite two pieces of straw. He placed the straw on the dry branches he had prepared, laying a few stones to secure it and prevent the fire from spreading.
The fire served not only to provide light so that they could see their surroundings, but also to keep warm, as the temperature at night would drop to around twenty degrees Celsius; it would be much colder without a fire.
Dinner consisted of dry rations and snacks for the children. After eating, there wasn’t much to do, so it was time to sleep. “We can fit four adults in the carriage, so Mom, Dad, and my little sister can squeeze in together. The two kids can sleep with their feet opposite each other, and Xu Jin and I will sleep outside,” Lin Ya proposed. No one objected, as they were all fleeing and were not overly concerned about gender segregation.
Lin Ya took out a few blankets from the back of the carriage to cover the people inside, then pulled out two thicker outer garments and handed one to Xu Jin. He spread some straw from the roof on the ground not far from the campfire, scattered some medicinal powder around to deter insects and snakes, and then lay down on the straw bed to sleep.
It was Xu Jin’s first time sleeping on straw, and she initially thought she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, but to her surprise, she was too tired and fell asleep within five minutes of lying down.
[Host, host! I’m here to help you keep watch!] The counterattack system 123 transformed into a fluffball and nestled beside Lin Ya.
[Thank you, 123.] Lin Ya smiled slightly and closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
The next morning, at dawn, everyone woke up early. Without much grooming, they hastily had breakfast and set off. As they followed the official road, they encountered more people. On the fifth day after leaving the county, they took shelter in a larger clearing with more people and witnessed several disputes and even thefts.
That day, because the sun set early, Lin Ya and his group had to remove the carriage setup as quietly as possible in the corner of the crowded area, closer to the roadside. Ren Lin gave water and food to the exhausted mule while Ren Zhao crouched nearby, watching.
It was rare to see someone with a mule cart who also had food and water for their mule. Consequently, they drew attention that night.
Fortunately, Lin Ya was aware that more people meant more trouble. Even with 123’s assistance in keeping an eye out, he still managed to get very little sleep.
Around midnight, a few nimble-fingered thieves approached the carriage but were abruptly pulled to the side and beaten in the dark before they scurried away. Lin Ya rekindled the campfire and lay back down on the straw pile.
Xu Jin continued to sleep soundly beside him. “Brother-in-law… are you okay? I think I heard something…” the carriage curtain was pulled aside, revealing Xu Yue’s head as she whispered her concern.
Lin Ya sat up and shook his head, reassuring her, “It’s nothing. Go back to sleep.”
Xu Yue relaxed, released the curtain, and quietly lay back down.
Lin Ya looked around and noticed that everyone was still asleep. Thinking no one would be foolish enough to approach again, he let 123 monitor things and fell back asleep.
He awoke to hearing someone crying and shouting.
“My food! Who stole it?!”
“Wuu… my money is gone too! Who took my silver?”
“Was it you?! I saw you sneaking around; you definitely meant no good!”
“Damn it, how can you slander me like that?!”
“It must be him!”
“This person doesn’t look like a decent human being!”
“I can’t believe he’s one of those kinds of people…”
Xu’s father and the others were awakened, their bleary eyes squinting towards the commotion outside. Though they were curious about the argument, seeing it was morning, they hurriedly packed their things.
After getting out of the carriage for breakfast, they learned the cause of the shouting.
“This is what happens when there are many people. Luckily, we slept in the carriage and they didn’t dare steal anything; none of our things are missing,” Xu’s father remarked with a sigh, as he and Xu Jin headed to the woods to relieve themselves.