At Xu, the sky gradually darkened.
Cheng Ling carefully observed her surroundings through the cracks in her shack.
There was no moon in the sky, and the starlight was sparse.
The hazy night blurred everything, including the various bitter winds and rain in the refugee area outside the city. It seemed to have disappeared into silence as the sunset.
"Mother, we can go now," Cheng Ling said softly.
"Why don't we wait until after midnight?" Mu asked.
The latter half of the night was usually the time when the human body was the most tired. At this time, one's vigilance would also be at its lowest. Logically speaking, the best time to leave quietly would be the latter half of the night.
Cheng Ling's eyes moved slightly. Although the night was blurry, she could more or less hear the subtle sounds of people moving and the movements of shadows.
Therefore, the current refugee camp was like a barrel of explosives that might explode at any time even though it appeared to be quiet!
"Mother, did you see that? Those people are moving around and colluding," Cheng Ling said in a low voice.
During the day, Chief Guo had run into a wall at Cheng Ling's place, but this obviously didn't dispel his thoughts of starting a riot. On the contrary, because Cheng Ling had leaked the news, it was likely to make him even more anxious.
Based on what she observed, Cheng Ling concluded: "Mother, there's a high possibility that by the second half of the night, they'll be charging through the city gates!"
"Alright, we'll leave immediately." Mu stated
Why can't I leave?
In the beginning, they had cooped up in this place because the nobles in the city would give out porridge. Those who were afraid of hunger wanted to take a rest and get a few mouthfuls of food.
On the other hand, he had also fantasized about living in the city ...
It was just a fantasy, but how many could actually be realized?
Cheng Dani's eyes were filled with tears, and she only said softly, "We've only stopped for a few days, and we'll be leaving again. "
Where should he go?
He did not know.
Cheng Danni wiped her tears dry and took the initiative to pick up the heaviest bag.
In fact, there was not much. The heaviest bag was filled with their clay pots and broken bowls, as well as a few bamboo tubes of water.
These things were not valuable but indispensable on the escape road.
Cheng Erni and Mu Sanniang each carried a bag, while Cheng Ling was empty-handed.
She quietly held a Switzerland army knife in her hand. If anyone tried to stop her on her way out, she wouldn't think twice before using the weapon.
Cheng Ling took the lead, and the group of four silently walked out of the shack.
The night gave them the best cover, and the four of them used their fastest speed to enter the forest behind the shack.
When they entered the mountain, Cheng Dani took a heavy breath.
"Great!" Cheng Erni whispered happily, "No one is stopping us!"
Cheng Ling also heaved a sigh of relief. However, she didn't feel that her previous vigilance was unnecessary. On the contrary, she became even more cautious after entering the mountain.
"Mother, wait for me here for a moment," Cheng Ling said. She then came to the big rock where she had hidden before.
Using the stone as a cover, she quickly took out a dark green canvas bag from the space and put the telescope, insect repellent, small composite crossbow, windproof matches, compass, survival whistle, binding belt, strong flashlight, and other things in the canvas bag.
Of course, Cheng Ling also didn't forget to take out a few more compressed biscuits. She tore off the packaging, put them in a preservation bag, and then put them in her canvas bag.
After doing all this, she walked out from behind the rock and returned to her mother and her two older sisters.
Mother Mu's eyes were sharp. Even in the dim light of the night, she could see that there was an extra bag on her. She was a little surprised. "Xiao Ling, is this the bag you said you picked up in the mountains?"
That's right, Cheng Ling's previous excuse was to wait here for a response.
"Yes, mother. I was afraid that it would be inappropriate if someone saw me, so I hid the bag behind the rock." Mother, there are a lot of rare things in the bag. I took a look, and they are all very useful. "
As she spoke, she took out the bottle of insect repellent from her bag.
The insect repellent was a spray type. Cheng Ling pressed down on the pump head and sprayed it on the legs of Mu Sanniang and her two sisters. At the same time, she also sprayed herself.
Cheng Dani took a step back in shock, while Cheng Erni covered her mouth with her hand. Mu Sanniang cautiously said, "Little Ling, what are you doing?"
"Mother," Cheng Ling said, "The first thing we need to do when we enter the mountain is to get rid of mosquitoes. This thing can get rid of insects."
After that, she put the bug repellent back into her canvas bag.
She didn't need to explain how she knew that "This thing could drive insects away." There was no need for that, and now was not the right time.
Cheng Ling took out the composite crossbow from her canvas bag as she spoke.
This composite crossbow was foldable and portable. It could hold five arrows at a time. The widest part was only a foot wide when opened and could be used with one hand.
Cheng Ling held the crossbow in her left hand and casually broke a three-foot-long Branch with her right hand. She led the way, tapping the sides of the road with a branch as she walked up the mountain.
The purpose of this was to alert the enemy.
After the summer floods, the weather in Ping County was still hot. There were insects and snakes everywhere on the mountain. Going up the mountain at night was a very dangerous thing.
However, Cheng Ling had already planned to cross the mountain tonight and head to Wei County.
They had to stay as far away as possible from the refugees who would start a riot. Cheng Ling didn't think they would succeed in breaking into the city at all. Therefore, the best way to avoid the settling of Ping County's officers and soldiers was to leave as soon as possible.
Just like that, the four of them groped in the dark and walked under the sparse Starlight for who knows how long.
It was not easy to walk halfway up the mountain. Cheng Erni was panting and could not help but suggest, "Mother, why don't we stop for a while and light a torch before we go?"
Just as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt the sky above her light up!
"Ah!" Cheng Erni yelped and turned around to look. She suddenly realized that it was not dawn. Countless torches suddenly lighted up the location of Ping County below.
Under the fire light, the four stood on the mountain and looked down. From a distance, they could see everything clearly.
The city gate on the other side was wide open, and countless soldiers rushed out, fighting with the crowded refugees at the city gate.
Blood splattered everywhere, and screams resounded through the night sky.
They were clearly very far away, but at this moment, the four people standing on the mountain simultaneously felt that those distant screams seemed to be right next to their ears.
Cheng Dani bit her lip, and Cheng Erni couldn't help but say in a trembling voice, "If we didn't leave ..."
Suddenly, a gust of wind came from the side. Cheng Ling was instantly alert. She raised her left hand, and an arrow shot out like a meteor towards the black shadow.
"Ah!" Cheng Dani exclaimed.
Before the scream could stop, the black shadow was shot in the neck and instantly fell to the ground.
"It's a wolf!" Cheng Erni exclaimed.