Chapter 316

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"Don't speak, walk faster."

Wei Mother urged Wei Minzhi to speed up; even with the exceptionally well-behaved Wei Chengning in her arms, Wei Mother's walking pace remained remarkably steady.

Wei Chengning wrapped his little hands around Wei Mother's neck, the tiny child curling up into a ball in a cute and obedient manner; his little head looked especially adorable because of the raincoat hood.

Plop—

The crowd walking ahead was splashed by muddy water thrown up by passing vehicles; stained with filth, they couldn't help but complain.

Wei Chengning buried his little head tight, not speaking if he could avoid it.

Wei Mother carefully asked how he was doing; children may look lively and cheerful, but adults can't endure the journey, let alone a delicate child — she truly worried that a moment's inattention would lead to illness and suffering.

"If anything happens, you must tell Grandmother, don't endure it," Wei Mother said as she walked; beside her Wei Minzhi reached out to support her, but accidentally failed to watch the road and nearly dragged Wei Mother down with her.

Wei Mother: ……

Wei Mother sighed helplessly, "You walk on your own; I'm still holding Wei Chengning, I can't bear your body weight."

Wei Minzhi: ……

Wei Minzhi's face flushed with embarrassment; she let go with a sheepish look and added a couple of remedial words.

Wei Mother looked up, "The surroundings are wild ridges; you walk in front of us."

That way she could see her daughter just by raising her head, and wouldn't worry about Wei Minzhi getting lost.

"Mother, you and Chengning still walk in front; I'll stay behind to watch the rear for you."

Wei Minzhi felt she couldn't be insensible; she was an adult now, not a few-years-old child like Wei Chengning, muddleheaded and without much consideration.

Now Sister-in-law's car had fallen behind, Brother and the others didn't know where they'd been squeezed to in the crowd — it was her turn to step up and protect Mother and her niece.

Wei Mother didn't argue much with Wei Minzhi, knowing her daughter meant well; she repeatedly urged her not to fall behind, then quickened her pace and walked ahead.

The line was very long; quite a few people got out of the vehicles at first, and the journey forced them to cluster together.

One could say that under the premise of a dense rain curtain blocking vision and the road being unclear, it was very easy to fall behind and get lost in the crowd.

Wei Minzhi had agreed properly at first, but later because people kept passing her, until she could no longer see Wei Mother and Wei Chengning ahead.

Wei Minzhi's heart gave a jolt; she immediately stopped and looked left and right, not wanting that she could stop, but the people behind wouldn't stop.

In the mutual shoving, Wei Minzhi fell; dense footprints covered her body — if she hadn't rolled away fast enough, clearing a path for the crowd, she might have lost her life right there.

"Miss, Miss?"

Wei Minzhi's head was muddled; she heard someone calling her from not far away, narrowed her eyes slightly and lifted her head, using the pair of hands extended to her to stand up.

Her raincoat was already filthy, with marks left on it. Wei Minzhi wiped her face with her sleeve, and the person who had pulled her up dragged her back into the line.

"Don't speak, keep up, fall behind and you can't go back," the person pulling her was a spirited young woman; though wearing a raincoat, she had no hood, a short, rather androgynous hairstyle.

If not for her particularly distinctive voice and lack of an Adam's apple, Wei Minzhi would have suspected her rescuer was a man.

But at a time like this, everyone's busy fleeing for their lives — who has the mood to cherish fragrance and jade?

"Thank you just now; if not for you, I'd have taken ages to get up," Wei Minzhi spoke her thanks; she'd been dizzy ever since she fell, and even after being pulled up felt some physical discomfort.

Secretly marveling that merely two days out and she'd already fallen behind — what worldly suffering; Wei Minzhi only hoped that when the line stopped she could smoothly find Sister-in-law and the others, otherwise the coming month would be an ordeal.

"No need for courtesy, just a convenient hand; how do you feel physically?"

The girl was about the same age as Wei Minzhi; her voice sounded crisp and dashing, like those heroic swordswomen in TV dramas.

Wei Minzhi nodded and shook her head; her voice was soft and gentle, not deliberately so, but that's how she'd been since childhood — even after going to work at the Animal Husbandry Garden, she still couldn't change Wei Minzhi's speaking style.

The young lady finished her delicate, soft words, then heard the swordswoman who saved her bring up what came after, describing it in an extremely exaggerated tone.

Wei Minzhi: …… Hah?

"That serious? The officials didn't intervene?" They left early and didn't see it, but Wei Minzhi had once listened in on the commotion behind, thinking it was just verbal disputes — never expected it actually involved lives and lawsuits.

"Officials did intervene; if officials hadn't stepped in, even more people would have died."

The young woman touched her chin, incidentally wiping away the raindrops on her face, "The dead were buried on the spot, the injured simply bandaged and left with us; we were still lucky, our line was in the middle — those at the rear were the unlucky ones, blocked there unable to advance or retreat, forced to slowly journey together with those people."

"I see; then won't our journey time be extended today?" Delay on the road means more time spent journeying.

"Most likely; so your body — if uncomfortable, say so early; hard endurance will cost you, no one is willing to wait for strangers unrelated to themselves."

Wei Minzhi smiled, "My body's fine; after a rest I'll go find Sister-in-law and them; then take some medicine to ease the body's pain, and I'll be a good man again."

Young woman: ……

The young woman raised an eyebrow, thinking this person is quite optimistic; the crowd surges, people all around front, back, left, right — even if they stop it's not easy to move freely; how is this person so sure she'll definitely find her relatives, could it be empty boasting?

Facts proved Wei Minzhi wasn't boasting; when everyone found a tree shade to shelter from rain, Wei Minzhi really found her family.

Oh, can't say Wei Minzhi found them; it was Wei Minzhi who was found.

Shen Yao possesses a system cheat; locating people is still very easy.

After confirming with Wei Mother that Wei Minzhi was missing, Shen Yao nimbly went out; in just a moment she brought Wei Minzhi back.

Wei Minzhi wore a smile, not a trace of worry or gloom from having gotten lost.

Shen Yao sighed helplessly, "Mother and them are frantic with worry; this child doesn't seem to take it to heart at all."

"Sister-in-law, how are Mother and them? I accidentally tripped and fell on the road," that was why she got separated from Wei Mother; otherwise just falling behind she'd surely have caught up.

"Nothing major, just some worry about you; but once you're back it'll be fine."

Shen Yao touched Wei Minzhi's little head; though covered by a layer of raincoat, it still couldn't block the traces of rainwater soaking her face.

Their stopping place wasn't far; the two walked about ten-plus minutes and saw Wei Father and Wei Mother looking around everywhere.

Wei Minzhi waved her hand, ran over and hurriedly let Wei Mother examine her thoroughly, only then letting the constantly anxious Wei Mother set her heart at ease.

"You, you scared me to death," Wei's mother patted Wei Minzhi on the back, and seeing the raincoat covered in dirt, she hurriedly pushed her back into the car to clean up.

Wei Minzhi kept laughing and joking, her complexion unchanged by Wei's mother's attitude; back in the car she quickly changed into fresh clothes and came out.

Lunch was simple cooked food—tear open the package and put it straight into your mouth to chew.

Wei Mingyu tossed Wei Minzhi two bags, telling her to drive once they set off; this time the journey would be handled by him and Shen Yao.

"The ground ahead is firm, so having a few more people in the car is no problem," so Wei Minzhi and Wei's father drove, letting Wei's mother and the three little ones hide in the car—a good arrangement.

Shen Yao also told them not to worry about getting lost; when they rested at nightfall, the two of them would go back to find people, as long as they looked after their own safety.

Wei's father and Wei's mother still hesitated after hearing this; elders always want to sacrifice themselves so their children can live easily and enjoy life.

Wei Minzhi was quick to agree, knowing the arrangement was reasonable; she not only accepted at once but promised she could take care of the two elders and three little ones at home.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao held back her laughter, hummed in response, and exchanged a glance with Wei Mingyu; the couple neither confirmed nor denied, deciding to wait until they stopped at night to discuss it.

After eating and drinking their fill, everyone continued on the road.

As Wei Mingyu had said, the ground ahead was no longer muddy and damp; stepping on it wouldn't splash mud onto their bodies.

Those on foot walked lightly, following the crowd, inching forward on their journey.

Until the raindrops in the sky stopped and the ground was dry without a trace. Staff members ran over with a speaker to notify them they could stop and rest, continuing the journey early tomorrow morning.

Human speed couldn't match the cars, so Shen Yao and Wei Mingyu fell behind, only able to keep running forward to find people while others sat down to rest.

This time they spent more time than at noon; whether the cars were too fast or something else, their current position was at the front of the team.

"Brother, Sister-in-law."

Wei Minzhi waved her hand; on the ground were the soup pot and food just taken out, and she was about to cook soup and rice.

Wei's father and Wei's mother were arranging the tent; they would rest here tonight, and still had to lay out their sleeping gear just like yesterday, so they wouldn't be flustered in the dark after nightfall.

"Why park the car here?" Wei Mingyu frowned, looking around with an unreadable expression; most were able-bodied men, not suitable for their family.

Wei Minzhi puffed her cheeks, "There are fewer cars ahead, and someone is retreating backward," which directly made their unremarkable group stand out.

Originally, according to Wei Minzhi's thoughts, they wouldn't stay here.

"Forget it, we're already here; let's talk about it tomorrow," it wasn't good to move positions now, with people everywhere around, and taking anyone's spot would be troublesome.

Shen Yao stopped Wei Mingyu, smiling as she took the food from Wei Minzhi's hands.

The soup pot brought out was already steaming hot, and the water inside was bubbling gurgle-gurgle.

Heaven is big, earth is big, but eating is the biggest.

Shen Yao made dinner first, filling the empty bellies of the family, then sent the three little ones to sleep in the tent, while the five adults gathered together to chat.

Wei Minzhi recounted what had happened that morning, focusing on the officials' ruthless methods; coupled with the cold weather, it sounded hair-raising.

"This is a necessary means of management; there are too many people, and without a tough attitude, trouble would break out and couldn't be suppressed," which could easily trigger riots, causing more innocent deaths.

Often natural disasters and human calamities cannot afford to lose more lives; only humans themselves court death, and each time only a few are left alive.

Shen Yao and the others had people all around them—front, back, left, and right—so there wasn't much they could say.

After night fell, she took out the prepared perfume and sprayed it around; Shen Yao arranged for herself, Wei Mingyu, and others to keep watch.

The first half of the night was definitely Wei Minzhi and Shen Yao; the second half was handed to Wei's father and Wei Mingyu, while Wei's mother, busy caring for the three children, didn't need further trouble.

"There's still a little over a month left; once we reach the true wild ridges, we truly won't eat or sleep well," so seize the time to rest as much as possible, otherwise later there won't be a chance to rest even if you want to.

Wei Mingyu, as the former main force on missions, knew the outside situation best; right now they weren't tired and still had the mood to argue about this, but when they could no longer walk later, they'd probably just want to lie down and sleep straight through.

Going on missions isn't as easy as traveling, and to a certain extent, traveling is more tiring than missions; there's a set daily quota, and even if unfinished, you can't stop to rest.

She waved her hand; outside the tent only Shen Yao and Wei Minzhi remained.

They didn't stay in the empty space but went to sit in the car to keep watch.

The car faced the tent, with several meters of empty space between; others parked the same way, turning a perfectly good plaza into a mess.

Shen Yao rubbed her wrist, took out a blanket from behind, and draped it over herself and Wei Minzhi beside her.

Wei Minzhi leaned on Shen Yao's shoulder and softly called out "Sister-in-law."

"Close your eyes, I'm here," the system was also monitoring at all times; the slightest disturbance would be clear to her.

Hearing this, Wei Minzhi hummed and nodded, directly closing her eyes to rest.

In the second half of the night, the awakened Wei Mingyu and Wei's father called Shen Yao and Wei Minzhi away; they got in the car to wait for dawn.

The night passed safely; early in the morning they drank porridge and ate pickled vegetables, waiting for the notification to set off.

The drivers switched to Shen Yao and Wei Minzhi; Wei Mingyu and Wei's father each went to sleep, to take over driving after they finished lunch at noon.

Walking and stopping along the way, in less than half a month they were extremely far from Rimu City.

Correspondingly, at this time they were also half the distance closer to their destination; as long as no accident occurred, they would surely arrive within the set time.

Wei Minzhi, tormented for half a month, bore an air of dejection all over; from afar, she was nothing like the sunny person she had been at the start.

Shen Yao wanted to take care of her, but as a mortal flesh-and-blood body, how could she withstand the torment of the journey?

Wei Mingyu told Wei Minzhi to rest as much as possible, including Wei's father, Wei's mother, and the three children; at least they shouldn't look so pitiful.

But the strange thing was that natural disasters came as soon as they were said; clearly it was a sunny sky with the sun high above, and in the blink of an eye, hail the size of glass balls came clattering down.

Shen Yao's family hid in the car, listening to the clattering sounds outside, including the car shaking slightly; they had no choice but to step on the accelerator and speed up.

They couldn't stay too long; the hail's power was not small; if they didn't hide, the car couldn't withstand it for long.

"What do the officials say? Continue on the road?" Wei Minzhi looked up at the window; the dense hail was like a tool blocking vision, also blocking Wei Minzhi's sight.

"The officials haven't said; let's hide first," they would know only after the hail ended; not continuing forward, Shen Yao shook the steering wheel in her hand and turned directly, simply entering a dense forest.