"Xiao He is still young and doesn't understand the wickedness of the human heart," Granny Bai said with a faint smile, then turned around and walked into her room.
...
I couldn't help but fall into silence.
I was not yet seventeen years old, but I had already experienced both the glory and wealth as well as the sorrow and misery of the world.
In the first sixteen years of my life, I was raised in a deep courtyard by my parents, innocent and ignorant of the ways of the world.
Except for the occasional times when I slipped out of the house with A Wen to wander the streets, everyone I met would smile at me and say, "Miss, you've slipped out to play again..."
I thought everyone was kind. Even the beggars on the street would say "thank you" to me when I dropped a few copper coins into their broken bowls.
However, all this happiness was like a colorful bubble. When the sun came out, it burst, as if it had never existed.
My first clear memory was of A Wen.
He accompanied me as we fled from Duyang Town.
He accompanied me as we evaded all kinds of pursuits... At first, it was the bandits who had massacred Duyang Town, and later it was some uncles from the collateral branches of the Du family. I didn't know why so many people hated me and wanted to kill me. In the end, we shaved our heads and mingled with the wandering beggars and refugees, and only then could we finally breathe a sigh of relief...
The days of fleeing with the refugees, although only half a year, had made me taste all the evils and sufferings of the world!
I had seen people cut off others' wrists just for the bracelets on their arms. I had seen people steal and eat other people's children when they were starving. More often, there was no enmity at all. People would just push others into the well and drown them because they didn't like the look of them...
In the most difficult times, I had witnessed the most vicious things, and I felt that my heart had already become as hard as a rock.
Now, after just two days of good life with Granny Bai, why did I want to be a soft-hearted fool again?!
Laughing at myself, I walked towards the room that A Wen and I shared.
A Wen was a child who slept a lot. I stepped forward and patted his bald head. "A Wen, get up! Pack your things. We're leaving again!"
"Okay!"
A Wen was still a bit drowsy at first, but as soon as he heard that we were leaving again, he immediately jumped up. "What? Are the Du family here again? Run! Run!"
I quickly covered his mouth, half laughing and half crying. "No, no. Your wound isn't healed yet. We're going with Granny Bai. She's moving."
"...You scared me to death!"
After hearing my words, A Wen let out a long sigh of relief and lay back on the bed.
I didn't dare to tell him that Granny Bai and I had met Si Jiangchen last night. I was afraid that if he knew, he wouldn't even bother to pack his things and would drag me away overnight!
Granny Bai didn't have many belongings. She only packed some rare and precious medicinal herbs in a bundle and carried it on her back. She asked A Wen and me to carry the valuables and the cooked wheat cakes respectively. As soon as the sky began to turn gray, we opened the door of the medical clinic and left.
When I was closing the door, I noticed that Stone's mother was still in the side room. She was quietly lying on the window, peeping at us.
"Granny Bai, Stone and his mother haven't left," I said as I caught up with Granny Bai in front. "If they stay in the medical clinic, they'll have a place to settle down."
There was rice, firewood, and some gifts from the patients in the medical clinic. It should be enough for the mother and son for a while...
"I hope they'll leave there," Granny Bai said without turning back. She walked towards the city gate of Luocheng.
"Why?" I asked in confusion.
Since we didn't need these things, it would be good to let them take advantage of it.
"...Never mind, Xiao He. We have to leave the city quickly!" Granny Bai looked at the sky.
It was still early, and the city gate hadn't opened yet. I thought Granny Bai would trouble the guard at the city gate again, but unexpectedly, she led A Wen and me to a deserted house that was next to the city wall of Luocheng.
"Granny Bai, what are we doing here?"
I saw her skillfully lift a few bricks on the ground, revealing a narrow hole that could only accommodate one person.
"We're on the run. The fewer people who know, the better!" Granny Bai said with a smile, pointing at A Wen. "The kids go first..."
Although A Wen was woken up early in the morning to travel, he didn't ask any questions. When Granny Bai told him to go down, he really crawled in little by little.
"Granny Bai, are you afraid that guy will come after us and implicate the guard at the city gate?!"
As I crawled into the hole, I suddenly understood Granny Bai's intention.
My whereabouts had been exposed to that man named Si. Granny Bai was forced to flee because of me.
Not only should our escape route be kept secret, but she would never let the people she knew be in the slightest bit of danger.
"Go quickly!"
Granny Bai laughed and gently pushed me from behind.
This narrow hole was winding and tortuous. The exit was set in a wasteland not far outside the wall.
A Wen and I crawled out covered in dirt from head to toe, while Granny Bai didn't even mess a single hair on her head.
"Granny Bai, where are we going now?"
Finally, A Wen asked the question.
"Follow the Yi River..." Granny Bai thought for a moment. "Go east. There's a county called Zheng. It's a big town. We'll settle there."
I had also heard from the refugees that Zheng County was a good place. There was a kind of road called a railway, and the cars on it could run very fast without the need for livestock to pull them!!
If we could get there, when we were chased again, I could take that kind of car with A Wen and Granny Bai and run so fast that no one could find us!
Along the way, we mingled with the refugees. We had only walked less than two miles when suddenly there was a rush of horseshoes behind us.
"Stop!!"
"Stop!"
The voices of the shouts came from around us. A group of dozens of soldiers on horses surrounded us.
The refugees were already used to this kind of situation. They immediately squatted on the ground with their hands on their heads obediently. A Wen and I also quickly squatted far away from Granny Bai...
Because without even looking up, I had already caught a glimpse of a pair of long legs in military boots riding on a black horse whose fur shone like satin. The horse walked back and forth, inspecting us common people who were squatting on the ground like radishes.
"Are they in there?"
Sure enough, I heard the voice of that man named Si.
"Let... let me take a look..."
A timid voice came into my ears. It was... Stone's mother?!
That woman! She actually repaid kindness with hatred and betrayed us!!
Now I finally understood what Granny Bai meant when she said she hoped they would leave.
If she and Little Stone had left the medical clinic, that man named Si wouldn't have met her, and she wouldn't have had the opportunity to provide clues for him...
We had all changed our clothes when we left home, and it was not easy to distinguish us from the hundreds of refugees.
However, with Stone's mother as an insider... the outcome was hanging in the balance...