Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 124: The Sound of Hooves

Qi Quanjin naturally agreed continuously.

But Qi Dalang and the others at the back also wanted to stay when they heard this.

Yi Meng waved his hand: "No need, just hurry up and push the water back, I’ll be fine after a short rest."

Qi Ercai looked at Yi Meng, then at Qi Dalang, and finally at the water pit with a layer of water, and made the decision: "Okay, we’ll go back first and come back later to fetch the rest of the water."

Yi Meng felt a little blocked in his heart.

Great, more water fetching? Should I continue releasing or stop?

Qi Quanjin didn’t think much about it, they had enough water for a few days, and his wife’s health was more important.

After everyone else left, Yi Meng leaned against Qi Quanjin and closed his eyes to rest for a while, and only then did he feel recovered.

He added some more water to the pit, filled the water trough, and then walked out of the forest with Qi Quanjin.

Qi Ercai really brought people back to fetch water again.

Yi Meng didn’t bother with them, let them fetch if they want, anyway, there’s only so much water, and they don’t have containers for more.

With water, everyone’s spirits lifted again.

In the journey that followed, with water, food, and carts, their speed increased significantly.

But now, they no longer knew exactly where they were.

Even though they had seen a map at the village chief’s before, it was just a map and not detailed.

Additionally, no one had taken this road before, leaving no one to provide experience.

After walking for five days, on the sixth day, they finally saw a road.

The road wasn’t wide, just slightly wider than a cart.

They couldn’t see the end of it either way, not knowing exactly where it led.

No one was on the road, with a layer of dried weeds on the ground, showing that no one had been here for a long time.

"Let’s follow the road! It’s not a solution to keep finding our own way."

Qi Quanjin said to everyone.

No one had any objections.

Although they were living fairly peacefully now, remaining ignorant of outside news wasn’t ideal either.

They walked on this winding path for nearly two days, and by evening, they heard the sound of gurgling water.

Following the sound, they saw a small river less than two meters wide.

Seeing the exposed riverbed, they could tell this river used to be quite wide, but the drought had shrunk it to this extent.

But for them, even such a small river was something to rejoice over.

"Let’s spend the night by the river tonight!"

Someone suggested.

Everyone looked at Qi Quanjin.

Whether it’s feasible or not, he still had to say.

Qi Quanjin, who was initially worried about troubling his wife for water again, was unexpectedly pleased with the river they found and readily agreed.

As usual, everyone filled all their containers with water and began preparing dinner.

Large pots from each household all boiled water.

With many fires blazing, boiling water was convenient.

Though they had hot water, it was still cold weather, so no one thought about bathing, but washing clothes was possible.

They were busy until midnight before everyone gradually fell asleep.

They set out again near noon the next day.

They thought today would be like any previous day, but at sunset, as they were considering finding a place to camp, they saw an intersection ahead.

One path led in the direction of distant mountains, while the other veered towards the small river.

"What should we do now?"

Everyone turned to Qi Quanjin again.

Qi Quanjin looked left and right, saying: "Let’s find a place to rest nearby tonight! Tomorrow, when it’s light, we’ll split into two groups to explore both paths."

That evening, just as they were about to settle down to rest, they heard a sudden rush of hoofbeats in the distance.

The sound was so urgent, it turned everyone’s faces pale.

"Why so many hoofbeats? Could it be trouble?"

Someone asked.

Others shook their heads.

They, too, wanted to know the answer.

Qi Quanjin didn’t have time to respond and hurriedly instructed, "Get everything on the carts, ready to flee at any moment."

Qi Quanli couldn’t help but ask, "Fourth brother, where should we run?"

"Towards the mountains!"

Qi Quanjin pointed towards the path leading to the mountains and forest.

The hoofbeats were coming from the other direction.

So if they had to run, naturally they would choose the other path.

If it weren’t already pitch dark and they were unfamiliar with the surroundings, running now would be even more dangerous; otherwise, he would have already started fleeing with the carts.

Upon hearing, everyone quickly and efficiently loaded the things onto the carts.

Just as they secured the items with vines, the hoofbeats came nearer.

All of them gripped various farm tools, vigilant in the direction of the sound.

The speed of the hoofbeats slowed, and the closer they got, the slower they became.

This slowing pace made everyone’s heart jump to their throats.

Yi Meng had already gathered all the elders and children and instructed everyone to huddle near her in case of danger.

If necessary, she planned to take everyone into her space.

But, that was a last resort.

If there was a choice, she preferred to pass through this potential danger peacefully.

The hoofbeats drew increasingly closer, eventually allowing Qi Quanjin and the others to see the newcomers—twenty or so soldiers on tall horses.

Each was dressed uniformly, with the leader wearing a silver mask that glistened in the firelight.

As the leader raised a hand, his followers all halted their mounts.

The leader drove his horse close to the nearest fire pit, looking at the people around it, he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you people?"

Qi Quanjin stood at the front and replied, "Replying to the official, we are from Yongping Village in the neighboring Prefecture City. Calamity befell our homes, so we’re seeking a new place to settle down."

"Yongping Village?"

The leader thought for a moment, then asked, "How long have you been traveling?"

"It’s been almost half a month now."

Qi Quanjin quickly answered.

The leader nodded, "Do you have identification papers?"

This time, Qi Quanjin hesitated, but seeing these people dressed in uniform and the leader not resorting to violence upfront, he had the elders of each family gather their ID documents and handed them over with both hands.

The leader didn’t personally take them; instead, a soldier dismounted to inspect the papers before giving them to the leader.

After reviewing them, the leader ordered his subordinate to return them to Qi Quanjin and then pointed with his whip in the direction they had come from: "Cross the bridge ahead, travel another hundred or so miles, and you’ll reach Tabei Prefecture. There, register your family’s information with an official; then you’ll be assigned a place to live."

Upon hearing this, Qi Quanjin and the others were all overjoyed.

It turns out, during their isolated journey, they had inadvertently crossed Tanan Prefecture and were near entering Tabei Prefecture!

Their destination was Tabei Prefecture all along!