Chapter 33: Still Not Enough

He Da and Yu Er scrutinized each other: You brat actually hid such a trick!

He Da had secretly hidden a cow from the yamen, originally intending to use it to trade for supplies later. Having decided in these past two days to follow Wen Gu north, He Da secretly felt smug: I truly have foresight; Heaven is helping me!

Never expected that this Yu Er had actually hidden a cart as well!

Yu Er's thoughts at this moment were much the same, only feeling that he had underestimated the other party before.

But, regardless of how he grumbled internally, only by pairing the water buffalo with the wooden board cart could they achieve maximum utility.

However, now is not the time to fuss over such things; whatever thoughts he has, he must suppress them for now.

The two groups kept a clear distance between them as they arrived in front of the shed where Wen Gu and his party were staying.

Wen Gu performed a refined bow: "I ask that you all wait a moment; Qingyi Daozhang needs to perform an Exorcism. Please excuse us."

Everyone knew this was to verify once more whether they were possessed by evil, and they did not feel offended; in fact, they even felt a bit of joy.

Such things never came their way before. This Qingyi Daozhang looked like a high-level master of the Dao; perhaps he even possessed immortal arts!

"It is only right, it is only right."

"Many thanks to the Daoist Priest for performing the rite!"

"Please, Immortal Master! We guarantee we won't move!"

Qingyi Daozhang maintained the indifferent posture of a high-level master, holding an exquisite Incense Burner in his hands, and walked with what seemed to be mysterious steps, circling these people once before finishing... *cough*, finishing the technique!

Wen Gu had asked him to put on this show, and Qingyi Daozhang was, of course, willing. He knew all too well the attitude these commoners had toward gods, immortals, demons, and ghosts; as long as he used a few tricks, this bunch would have to treat him with respect all the way.

Regardless of what Wen Gu's intentions were, Qingyi Daozhang believed that as long as it was beneficial to him, he would do it.

Feeling the reverent gazes of the new members, Qingyi Daozhang remained indifferent on the surface, but was secretly pleased inside.

It still has to be me; this team wouldn't work without me!

The brief ritual ended, and the group did not exchange many pleasantries, lest the various factions in the County Town take notice; they had to run first.

By the time the County Town realized that the blacksmith and Yu Wushu had both disappeared and wanted to pursue them, there was no one left outside.

The hidden shed they had stayed in was also searched, but the people were gone and the shed was empty.

The residence where the He brothers had lived was left to another villager with whom they had a decent relationship; others wanted to seize it, but having lost the initiative, the house was already occupied.

Setting off once more, the original team of eight had already increased to over twenty members.

However, the three groups of people maintained clear boundaries.

In the leading section were Wen Gu and his cousin, the Daoist Priest, Xiao Liu, and County Lieutenant Zhou with three children. There was one donkey cart and one mule cart.

Walking in the middle, He Da led the water buffalo, He Xiaodi sat on the water buffalo, and He Da's three followers were beside them.

At the very back was the Yu family group. Yu Er and two friends, Yu Wushu, the blacksmith and his wife, and their daughter Yu Xiaocai. Several adults took turns pushing and pulling the Wooden Board Cart, which was loaded with goods and carried one child.

Eight, five, seven.

Exactly twenty!

Wen Gu was happy in his heart; the small team fleeing north had increased from the two Wen brothers to the twenty-person level!

If one added the donkey, the mule, the cow, and the aerial scout Matuan.

That made twenty-four members!

Not bad, not bad; the new recruits were many excellent talents, and they even managed to get a cow cart beyond expectations!

Although the cow cart hadn't been assembled yet, it was only a matter of time.

Calculating this way, their offensive capability, defensive capability, cargo capacity, and so on, had all improved in every aspect.

Next was communication and integration; that wouldn't be difficult.

But it still wasn't enough.

Nowadays, there were certainly many escape teams heading north from the south. The teams of noble families were well-equipped, and they might encounter bandit groups while heading north. For this team composed of commoners, it was safer to have a larger number of people.

Wen Gu pondered in his heart and looked forward to it; as long as they encountered people on the road later, provided they weren't vicious villains, no matter their temperament, he would pull them into the team to work.

It had been over a year since the chaotic times began; those who could survive until now all had a certain ability to protect themselves, or were lucky enough, and perhaps they had even hoarded quite a few supplies.

By noon, the temperature rose, and they found an empty house in a Village to rest.

"The Tan County Magistrate previously brought people from the yamen here to clear it out; we won't find anything useful, but it's enough for a rest stop. The people in the County Town won't dare to chase this far."

He Da came over to chat with Wen Gu for a few sentences, using fine feed to trade for a small bottle of cloudy wine.

The fine feed was something they had obtained from the warehouses of the various groups in the County Town before they set off. They had originally intended to eat it themselves and save some to feed the cow, but upon learning that Wen Gu and his group used cloudy wine to wipe their bodies for Exorcism, they got the idea.

The small pottery bottle filled with cloudy wine carried the fragrance of alcohol; He Da and his few followers swallowed their saliva.

How long had it been since they tasted wine?

But now, saving their lives was the priority; each of them tasted a small half-spoon, and the rest was wiped on their bodies.

Smelling the wine, the whole person felt dizzy—not from being drunk, but from feeling like it was a dream, always thinking of the times before when they took their reward money to buy wine to drink.

It was too luxurious.

Life back then was truly too luxurious!

The more they reminisced, the more tears were about to flow from the corners of their mouths.

On Yu Er's side, they also wanted to spare an iron spoon to trade for a small bottle of cloudy wine.

However, Wen Gu and his group didn't need iron spoons right now.

Wen Gu thought for a moment and said: "How about this, starting from next time, when we rest, Ma can help us cook when she cooks porridge."

Wen Gu and his group provided their own grain, while the Yu family provided the firewood and did the cooking.

With the two groups eating together, it saved firewood and was also more convenient.

The Yu family had no objections; in any case, they had to chop wood and start a fire to eat themselves.

County Lieutenant Zhou and Xiao Liu had no objections either; they only needed to give away a small portion of cloudy wine to save the time spent chopping wood and cooking.

Wine was precious, but it wasn't impossible to find more later. Moreover, the further they went, the colder it would get, and the fewer evil things would appear outside.

Having seen so much life and death, County Lieutenant Zhou now wanted to spend more time with his own child. Xiao Liu, on the other hand, wanted to see if there was any suitable prey; eating only vegetables wouldn't do, as he was still growing.

The iron pot that Yu Er and his people brought was not big enough, so they switched to the one Wen Gu and his group had; although it had a crack, it was indeed a large iron pot, enough for them to use.

He Da's side wanted to join in, but the food they brought was of a lower grade and the quantity was insufficient, so they had to make do for now. There was a matter that had to be handled first.

He took a moment to find Yu Er, and the two whispered for quite a while, settling the matter of the ox cart.

Wen Gu did not get involved.

It wasn't just the ox cart; Wen Gu did not bring up the issue of unified management of supplies with everyone from the beginning.

Right now, everyone was still unfamiliar with each other and usually kept a tight watch on their own belongings; furthermore, this was a chaotic time of fleeing, and they were wary of one another, not easily trusting others.

Everyone wanted to keep important supplies like food in their own hands.

Wen Gu was not in a hurry; it was fine, take it slow.

In any case, one way or another, those supplies were all within the group.

They continued on their way.

The small cliques of the He family and the Yu family had argued at first, but as they moved further away from Feng County, leaving behind the places they were familiar with and entering strange regions, they all quieted down, their eyes filled with more trepidation than vigilance.

The atmosphere became increasingly silent.

Wen Gu waited for two more days in this silent atmosphere before making adjustments during a mid-journey rest.

Their small escape squad was currently stopped at a post station.

This post station was different from the one where they had scavenged for wine previously; it was clear that northward-migrating groups traveling along the post road had passed through here, and the food, wine, cloth, tools, and all sorts of items had been scavenged who knows how many times, leaving the post station completely empty.

Much of the wooden building material had also been dismantled, evidently burned as firewood.

Wen Gu and his group stopped here and pried off quite a bit of timber from the post station.

It was mainly used to modify the ox cart.

Once the ox cart was about ready and both He Da and Yu Er had some free time, Wen Gu called them over, saying he wanted to discuss something.

When the two arrived, Wen Gu's gaze slowly swept over the surroundings:

"By this time next year, many post stations along the way might have turned into ruins. Therefore, this matter of migrating north should be done sooner rather than later; the further back a group is, the harder it will be to find free supply replenishment along the way."

When He Da and Yu Er heard this, they realized it was true!

Those who passed through here earlier could find grain, clothing, and weapons; although they were a bit late, they could still dismantle timber to modify their ox cart, but by next year, the groups behind them would only be able to eat grass!

Thinking of this, the trepidation and anxiety in their hearts lessened.

We are still lucky!

Seeing the expressions on the two men relax, Wen Gu continued:

"Everyone must be very tired and unaccustomed to the journey these past few days. However, we cannot rest yet!"

Wen Gu's expression was serious: "Take advantage of the recent stable weather, when the morning and evening temperatures are lower, and hurry along the road. If we encounter a village or town that no one has passed through, it will be more favorable for us to search for and hoard supplies. If the weather suddenly turns warm, it would be a disaster."

Exhausted and not yet accustomed to long-term travel, the two men nodded.

Right, we must take advantage of the cold weather; if it turns warm, that would be too dangerous!

It doesn't matter if it's hard work, as long as it's safe!

Wen Gu took out his Notebook, which was a rough map he had drawn based on information provided by both the He family and the Yu family.

Their consistent strategy was to pass through villages and towns, not County Towns.

Not every County Town had a capable person like County Magistrate Tan; once they fell, they would become huge nests for monsters.

On the route Wen Gu had planned, they would reach a small town tomorrow.

"I suspect that if the northward-migrating groups are large, the possibility of them going there is not high. Since we are few, we can go around and take a look; if we can scavenge some food, that would be great."

Upon hearing "food," He Da and Yu Er also perked up.

"Fine!" the two said.

"If we want to arrive before tomorrow night, we have to work a bit harder on the road," Wen Gu said.

"No problem! We can make it!"

For the sake of food, as long as it was possible, they had to give it a try.

Especially He Da; the quality of the food in his hands was low, and he was thinking of hoarding more grain to improve their lives and give his younger brothers something good to eat.

The next day, the small escape squad set off.

The newly assembled ox cart was convenient to use, and the personnel from both the He family and the Yu family had adjusted their mindsets, bracing themselves to push forward.

Finally, in the afternoon, they arrived earlier than the estimated time.

Wen Gu observed the ground and the surrounding withered trees.

"No one should have come to this small town; at least no large groups have passed through this autumn."

Hearing this, everyone felt their exhaustion lighten. Their eyes shone.

Grain!

We are coming!

(End of this chapter)