Chapter 346: Escaping Overnight

Zhou You preferred to keep a low profile; taking his parents, Tie Niu, Zuo Shier, Qi Qingdi, and others—no more than ten people—to escape would be small in scale and have the highest success rate.

However, he was not a loner; he had connections in Gongliang City and many martial artists under his command.

Facing danger, abandoning so many friends, family, and brothers was truly unjustifiable.

Although he did not state it explicitly, by giving the martial artists the choice to stay or go, Zhou You had already done all that was humanly possible.

Inside the Zhou family residence, the crowd whispered to one another, and after a moment, most of the martial artists expressed that it was hard to leave their native land.

They were also worried that if Zhou You left without a word and snuck out of the city privately, it would be no different from defecting; once the two great clans investigated the matter, they would inevitably be doomed.

Those martial artists who were not deeply tied to Zhou You expressed their apologies one after another and bid farewell with cupped hands.

"Go!"

With a rustle, including people and their families, 500 to 600 people left in an instant, and the courtyard suddenly became empty.

Those who remained were Zhou You's closest group of people.

"Commander Zhou, the dry rations are ready."

Someone poked their head out from the back kitchen and shouted loudly, "Should we load the carts now?"

"Yes, right now."

Zhou You turned to Shen Sijing, "Senior Brother Shen, what do you say?"

"Could you give me a few hours to settle my family affairs!"

Zhou You was resolute, "No. Travel light with few followers, do not bring burdens, there is no time to pack valuables; we only take dry rations and water."

Master Shen, standing to the side, gritted his teeth, "We shall listen to Master Zhou; even if it turns out to be a false alarm, we can come home and pack later."

He still held onto a glimmer of hope, believing that Zhou You's actions were making a mountain out of a molehill.

Outside the gate, the sound of mules and horses was noisy; Tie Niu had requisitioned all the livestock nearby and driven them over.

We are leaving just like this?

It is too fast.

Master Shen and Manager Xu's families hadn't even eaten dinner; they thought they were just coming over for a drink, never imagining that once they left... they wouldn't be coming back.

At this point, those who still trusted Zhou You were the ones who had deep faith in him and were deeply bound to him in their relationship.

Zhou You looked around; there were fewer than a hundred people, still within a controllable range.

"Tie Niu, you must leave the city immediately, exit through the gate we are responsible for, and return to Zhou Family Village at full speed without stopping to fetch reinforcements. Remember, you must return to meet us outside the city."

Tie Niu nodded upon hearing this, turned, and rushed out the door; his back disappeared within a few breaths.

A soldier is kept for a thousand days to be used for a single moment! Zhou You's investment in his hometown, Zhou Family Village, had already exceeded 200,000 taels; stockpiling grain, training soldiers, and digging tunnels were all for this very moment.

With the rebel army's heavy encirclement outside the city, they had to break a gap from the outside to have a chance at survival.

Besides this surprise force from Zhou Family Village, Zhou You had one final trump card... Lu Zhigang.

This Poison Palm martial artist possessed extraordinary destructive power and lethality amidst thousands of troops; at a critical moment, he could turn the world upside down.

"Everyone, take one last look at Gongliang City!"

For over half an hour, there was a bustle; the families either took carriages or rode mules and horses, and dry rations and water were all prepared.

Zhou You and a group of martial artists escorted the procession; behind them, the gates of the Zhou residence closed, and the copper lock clicked shut.

Under the night sky, the city looked even more magnificent and serene, like a sleeping white ox.

"Mother, this is too rash. Why should we abandon our family business and follow him just because of a word from him?"

Shen Siying rubbed her stomach and expressed her dissatisfaction in a low voice, "Our family doesn't owe him anything?" "Child, the things men consider are far beyond what we women can understand."

Lady Shen sighed softly, "At least since our family has known Zhou You, when have we ever suffered a loss? Even if this is a mistake, we are repaying his kindness, and no one can say anything against the Shen family."

The carriage moved forward along the street with a clatter, and not far away came the painful, dying wails of those near death.

They had clearly won, so why were people still dying in the city? What has this world come to? Shen Siying shuddered and bit into a piece of dry ration, fearing she would make a sound if she couldn't hold back her fear.

"Why won't they let us leave the city? It was clearly possible a few days ago?"

Shen Siying suddenly heard a familiar voice; she lifted the curtain and saw a former close friend from her boudoir, the daughter of a merchant family, kneeling on the ground and crying while holding her father.

The overturned carriage nearby and the shop assistants and servants scrambling for property all indicated the bankruptcy and downfall of this family.

It turned out that their family wanted to take advantage of the fact that they had just defeated the rebels and the area outside the city was safe to leave with all their family assets.

Unexpectedly, they were detained at the city gate; their vast fortune was confiscated, and the master and his daughter were driven back empty-handed.

Halfway there, the assistants and servants rebelled, overturned the carriage, looted the supplies, and fled in different directions.

Shen Siying still remembered this close friend, once such a proud young lady; now, her gorgeous dress lay in the filthy mud, and she cried like a beggar woman, stripped of all dignity.

She couldn't help but shudder.

From a distance, Shen Siying vaguely heard the sound of fabric tearing and pleas for mercy; she covered her ears, trembling.

Shen Sijing, who was driving the carriage in front, sighed, "If we weren't following Master Zhou, we would be in the same situation."

In the current Gongliang City, without a powerful backer, a vast fortune is merely being kept for someone else.

Master Shen expressed his agreement and nodded; he also saw that something was wrong.

They had clearly just repelled the rebels, yet the city defenses were even stricter, and people were actually forbidden from leaving the city; there was something strange about this.

Perhaps Zhou You really knew something; if they didn't leave now, they might never be able to leave Gongliang City.

Zhou You led the people all the way to the city wall; they encountered other martial artists along the street who all thought he was heading to defend the city, so they did not stop him. Under the pitch-black night, the city wall looked like a ridge protruding from the back of a crouching giant beast.

The city gate was wide open; this was something Zhou You had arranged in advance, focusing on moving without stopping and never letting their feet touch the ground.

As the convoy passed through the city gate tunnel, a piece of Human Bone embedded in the corner glowed in the darkness, illuminating the way like a street lamp.

Not long ago, hundreds or thousands of people had been crowded here, fighting desperately, but in the blink of an eye, it had returned to being calm and empty.

"Junior Brother Zhou, where are you going?"

A person looked over from not far away; it was actually Shi Gaofei, who had come to visit in the middle of the night.

Zhou You waved at him from afar, "Senior Brother Shi, there is no time to explain; hurry home and pick up your mother."

The two Senior Brothers did not even have time for small talk, brushing past each other and gradually drifting apart.

Shi Gaofei looked at Zhou You, then saw Shen Sijing driving the carriage, as well as Xu Ying, Zuo Shier, and the others, and suddenly shivered.

Something big has happened!

Without a moment's hesitation, he turned, vaulted off the city wall, and sprinted toward his home.

"Senior Brother Shi, where are you going? You're on duty tonight!"

Several Apprentices from the martial arts school were hopping mad, shouting loudly at his retreating back.

"Forget about that; even if Master wants to beat or punish me, it will have to wait until after today. If it really turns out to be a false alarm, I'll kneel and kowtow to him to apologize."

Zhou You had just broken through to Martial Master; what could possibly scare him enough to abandon his family business and flee? And he even took his core team with him! I heard Zhou You is very close with Qi Fengzhang; perhaps he received some inside information.

Shi Gaofei was no fool; he was nicknamed the Lazy Tiger, and knowing how to slack off was a manifestation of his intelligence.

(End of chapter)