Chapter 28 Being Watched

From Pingcheng to Yuncheng, a normal carriage would take about twenty days to travel during the day and rest at night. Old Man Lin said that if they traveled day and night, it would take eleven or twelve days.

He Yuping and her daughter planned to travel day and night, but the reality did not allow it. After traveling for a day and a night, they encountered more and more refugees on the road.

This afternoon I encountered a group of refugees, at least two or three hundred people, and the way they stared at the mule carts was anything but friendly.

Old Man Lin hung a large knife directly on the curtain of the carriage, while Uncle Lin held another one in his hand.

The greedy looks those men had initially given the car vanished the moment they saw the two large knives. Of course, many others were still unwilling to give up, but they were too afraid of the knives to approach, and instead followed quietly from behind, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

"Uncle, it seems like someone is following us." He Yuping was frightened.

"It's alright, young man, you can just sit inside the cart. My son and I will handle things outside ourselves, so you don't need to worry." Grandpa Lin was clearly used to this kind of thing, so he wasn't worried at all and steadily continued to drive the mule cart forward.

He Caiwei tugged at her mother's sleeve. Her mother's appearance was still too delicate. Even with makeup on, she still looked like a frail scholar. It was better for her to stay quietly in the carriage.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" He Yuping thought her daughter had something to tell her.

"Mom, paint your face again. It's still too eye-catching. Also, don't stick your head out. Otherwise, those people outside might see you and have bad intentions towards you." With such a beautiful mother, He Caiwei felt immense pressure walking around outside.

"Oh, I won't draw anymore, I won't draw anymore. I don't want to scare the Lin family father and son when I go out. I won't go out." He Yuping was still afraid of scaring others. After all, if her appearance suddenly changed, would it frighten the father and son who were driving?

By the time they found a place to rest after dark, about ten people had caught up with them.

After walking for several days, He Yuping felt a little scared on the first day when someone was following her.

"Don't be afraid, Mother. Have you forgotten that we have weapons for self-defense?" Seeing that her mother was a little scared, He Caiwei reached out and took a gun and put it in her hand to reassure her.

Sure enough, as soon as He Yuping touched the gun, she felt relieved. They had something to rely on, so they weren't afraid of any danger. They could fight them to the death. She just didn't know how strong the father and son sitting outside were.

They found a sheltered spot at an intersection to rest. He Yuping and her daughter got out and moved around for a bit, then walked a little further away pretending to go to the toilet. After a while, they came back.

The mother and daughter returned to the carriage. He Yuping went back to her space first, where she steamed some white buns and made two bowls of millet porridge in the kitchen. No milk was added to the buns, so the taste was a bit bland.

The mother and daughter had agreed that the food they ate during their stay outside couldn't have any smell. They were worried that the smells would attract the attention of the refugees, who might then rush in and steal their food.

He Yuping brought out steamed buns and millet porridge from the space on a white plate. The mother and daughter had agreed that He Caiwei would keep watch for the first half of the night, and He Yuping would keep watch for the second half.

He Yuping was initially reluctant, after all, her little one was only 5 years old and was at the age when he was growing, so how could he stay up most of the night with the adults?

He Caiwei told her that she could go back to her space during the day to catch up on her sleep. Moreover, her five senses were quite sensitive, and she could detect even the slightest movement from the other side, which would increase the chances of them leaving sooner.

He Yuping had no choice but to compromise. However, she would not go back to her space to sleep, but would only sleep in the carriage. She would have to be woken up if anything happened outside.

He Caiwei knew that she was worried, so she nodded in agreement.

Sure enough, the first half of the night was quite peaceful, but around four o'clock in the morning, some strange noises suddenly came from outside.

He Caiwei judged that it was the sound of a truck, but it was still some distance away. Unsure whether the approaching people were friend or foe, He Caiwei could only gently nudge her mother awake to rouse her.

"Mother, wake up."

"Hmm, what time is it?" He Yuping woke up groggily and looked outside, only to find it was still pitch black.

"It's four o'clock, there's some trouble outside." He Caiwei took a towel from her spatial storage and wiped her face.

"What's going on? Did those people sneak over in the dark? Give me the dagger, and the gun too." As soon as He Yuping heard that something was wrong, she immediately reached out to her daughter, ready to grab a weapon for self-defense.

“Those people are coming too, but a convoy of six trucks is coming from not far away. Let’s hold our position for now and wait for them to arrive.” He Caiwei handed her mother a dagger for self-defense; it wouldn’t be safe to carry a gun when a convoy was approaching.

He Yuping became somewhat nervous after her daughter spoke, gripping the dagger tightly with both hands and holding her daughter's hand tightly with the other.

"It's alright, relax. At this time, apart from the army, no one else should have trucks. After all, even someone like my dad wouldn't be eligible to buy a truck, let alone others." He Caiwei said this because she knew a bit about history. Otherwise, a five-year-old girl like her, confined to the yard all day, doing nothing but reading, writing, and playing, wouldn't know anything about the outside world.

This is an intersection. The truck stopped here, and a tall figure jumped out and stood at the intersection, turning left and right, as if he was struggling with which way to go.

"What are we going to do if we can't even recognize the road in this pitch black at night?" The big man shouted loudly at the people inside the car, startling the several vagrants who were about to approach them.

He quickly ran away in a panic, and then burst into laughter when he saw the mother and daughter inside the car.

The group of people quickly spotted them, and the big guy ran straight towards them: "Hey folks, can I ask you for directions?"

When Grandpa Lin saw someone rushing towards him, he was startled and quickly gripped his broadsword. However, the person was not afraid of their broadsword, but stopped and stood about a meter away from them to ask questions.

"Okay, where are you going?" Grandpa Lin nodded when he heard that they just wanted to ask for directions, but he still didn't put down his knife.

"Sir, there are two roads here, one on the left and one on the right. We want to go to Yuncheng, so which road should we take?" The tall figure didn't hesitate and asked directly.

"Yuncheng, you have to go left to Yuncheng. We're going to Yuncheng too. You go this way, then turn right at the next intersection," Grandpa Lin pointed out the way.

People like them who travel around here year-round can still find their way even in the dark.