Heavenly Blessed Baby: Fleeing Famine, Busy to Prosper!-Chapter 35: The Village Is Burned Down

The mountain behind Yongping Village isn’t very high, and as Mrs. Lai Sr. and Er Laizi entered the forest, the Qi Family, leading the way, was already nearing the halfway mark.

The dense forest surrounding them nearly blocked out all the daylight.

At that moment, Qi Manman, who was in the basket on her mother’s back, suddenly patted her mother’s shoulder: "Mom, stop."

Yi Meng was already exhausted and breathless, so she stopped when she heard the voice.

When she stopped, others followed suit, and eventually, the villagers bringing up the rear also halted.

Yi Meng thought her daughter wanted to relieve herself, so she set the basket down.

Mrs. Qi hurried over to help.

"Shh, tell everyone to be quiet."

Qi Manman put her chubby finger to her lips, signaling for silence.

Mrs. Qi instinctively exchanged a glance with Yi Meng, both of them looking tense.

The young girl asking them to be quiet now, could it be something was about to happen again?

"Old man, have the village chief tell everyone to stay quiet."

Mrs. Qi didn’t dare say in front of so many people that it was Qi Manman who wanted everyone to be quiet.

Qi Zheng frowned, about to speak, but then saw his old wife glance at Qi Manman.

In an instant, Qi Zheng understood what she meant and immediately sent Qi Quanli, the sixth brother, to deliver the message.

Qi Quanli, aged seventeen, was a young man, though not as robust as his older brothers.

But still, he was a village-born child, with agile limbs, and he quickly went to find the village chief.

When the village chief heard it was Qi Zheng asking for silence, he was a bit puzzled as to what this meant, but given the current noise, he had to send the children back to inform the villagers to stay quiet.

The villagers, already weary from the climb and tense with anxiety, naturally complied.

Soon, the procession quieted down.

Only the villagers at the very end hurried to catch up with the front.

This shortened the line of the entire village significantly.

As everyone waited quietly, taking the opportunity to rest, two voices could be heard from the mountain’s base.

One was crying, while the other was breathlessly shouting something.

Er Laizi dragged his old mother along, running for quite a while before he faintly saw people and urgently shouted, "Here, they’ve come, the rebels are coming!"

The villagers, hearing this, immediately grew tense and were about to continue climbing.

The village chief’s children and grandchildren didn’t rush back; seeing everyone in chaos again, they quickly urged everyone to remain silent.

Qi Quanjin and his elder brothers arrived at this moment.

They were commanded by their father to help maintain order.

Seeing the chaos, even the village chief’s offspring couldn’t maintain control, Qi Quanjin angrily roared, "Quiet! If you don’t want to die, be quiet!"

This sudden shout did shock everyone present into silence.

The villagers all looked at Qi Quanjin expectantly.

Someone said, "Qi the Fourth, you, don’t stop us, the rebels are here, we have to run!"

"Yes, if we don’t go now, what if we’re caught by the rebels?"

The villagers, one by one, were almost in tears.

Qi Quanjin, with a stern face, rebuked, "If we run now, we’ll definitely bump into the big trees. If the leaves shake and the rebels at the foot of the mountain notice, what then? Stay quiet, I’ll go down to take a look."

When the crowd heard this, they dared not make a sound.

Qi Ercai frowned, "Fourth Brother, let’s go together."

Qi Quanjin didn’t refuse and, with Qi Ercai, headed in the direction they had come from.

By this time, Er Laizi and his old mother had finally caught up with the main group. Seeing Qi Quanjin and his brother heading down the mountain, he hurriedly tried to stop them, "Third Brother Qi, Qi Si, don’t go down! Both roads in the village, both have people, lots of horses, so many, you, you..."

"Both roads?"

Qi Quanjin asked.

Er Laizi, gasping for air, couldn’t talk and could only nod vigorously.

Next to him, Mrs. Lai Sr., suddenly summoned some inexplicable strength, wailed loudly, "So many rebels, what about my belongings?"

"Shut up!"

Qi Quanjin glared at Mrs. Lai Sr. and said to Er Laizi, "Keep your mother’s mouth shut. If she dares to scream again, I won’t need the rebels; I’ll deal with you myself!"

Qi Quanjin usually hunted in the mountains; although not a professional, he was tall and burly. With a stern face, his words indeed intimidated them.

Er Laizi quickly covered his mother’s mouth, fearing Qi the Fourth might really do something murderous.

"Second Brother, let’s go."

Qi Quanjin looked at Qi Ercai.

The brothers continued down the mountain.

But before they reached the foot, they saw thick smoke through the gaps in the trees.

"Are, are they planning to burn the village?"

Qi Ercai felt his legs weaken and almost fell.

Qi Quanjin was equally shocked.

He had suspected the rebels would loot and plunder, but never anticipated they would burn the village.

"Second Brother, let’s hurry back!"

Qi Quanjin decided not to move forward any further and supported Qi Ercai as they rushed back up the mountain.

When they returned to the group, they found there were low sobs among them.

Turning back, they saw black smoke billowing into the sky.

Such black smoke indicated a massive fire.

Qi Quanjin’s heart sank, finally relinquishing any false hope.

The rebels truly intended to burn the village.

"Fourth Brother, how is it?"

Qi Dafu rushed forward upon seeing his fourth brother.

Qi Quanjin shook his head, "Tell everyone to stay silent. When we set off again, pay attention to the surroundings and try not to touch the big trees."

With that, Qi Quanjin went in search of the village chief.

At that moment, the village chief was also wiping his tears as he watched the black smoke in the sky.

He had hoped that once things stabilized, he would bring everyone back.

Though Yongping Village was impoverished, it was still their home.

But now, that home was utterly destroyed.

"Village Chief..."

Qi Quanjin opened his mouth but found he couldn’t say anything else. His throat felt blocked, and he wanted to cry.

The village chief wiped his tears with his sleeve and shook his head, "It’s okay, just tell everyone to keep moving. It’s not right to stay here forever."

"Yes, I’ve already told them to be careful not to touch the big trees as they move forward."

After Qi Quanjin finished speaking, the village chief nodded and said, "You’ve arranged it well."

The procession started moving again, but this time everyone was very cautious, terrified of brushing against the trees.

This time, the pace wasn’t any faster, but a more suppressed atmosphere hung over them.

Qi Quanjin and Qi Ercai resumed pushing their wooden carts without saying a word.

Mrs. Qi helped Yi Meng adjust the basket on her back, and looking at her granddaughter sitting inside, her heart grew increasingly conflicted.