By the time the first ray of sunlight from the east shone on the earth, the city of Huizhou, which was still emitting thick smoke, had already been left far behind by Yan Liqiang and his party, and its shadow had completely disappeared.
The last time the group encountered the zombies was an hour ago. Yan Liqiang led everyone around a large town, and then when they were crossing a wetland, they heard some noise on the side of the road. Suddenly, more than a hundred zombies rushed out from the reeds, staring with bloodshot eyes, and rushed towards the middle of the convoy.
This time, Concubine Rong and the others were frightened and screamed in the carriage, because the zombies that were rushing over had hit their four-wheeled carriage. They could hear the sound of the zombies' nails scratching on the iron plate outside the carriage. But in the end, the more than one hundred zombies were quickly wiped out, and Concubine Rong and the others who were sitting in the carriage got through it safely.
After this, Yan Liqiang led everyone onto the official road again and continued heading west. From then until now, no zombies were seen along the way. However, at this time, the ditches and grass on both sides of the official road were full of discarded broken boxes, shabby furniture, overturned and damaged vehicles, broken bottles and jars, and the like. It seemed a bit chaotic. Everyone had become numb to these things and turned a blind eye to them.
The rising sun in the morning also shone warmly on everyone's backs, making everyone feel like they had survived a disaster. Everyone thought to themselves that those zombies should no longer exist. Thinking about the experience of escaping from the Deer Park for two days and two nights, many people in the team felt that it was a miracle that they could still come out alive...
There were rolling hills on both sides of the road. The hills were lush and green in the early spring, but there were no large villages along the way. There was an inn on the side of the road just now, but there was no one in the inn. The whole inn looked like it had experienced a terrible disaster. Everything inside was smashed to pieces, even one side of the wall was pushed down, and the pillars collapsed, like a demolition site after a failure. There were several pools of dark brown blood on the ground outside the inn. There was a faint stench of corpses in the grass next to the inn, and mosquitoes were flying around - no one went to see what was in the grass, because everyone had seen too many such scenes along the way, and that scene would never make people happy.
The team ran silently on the road, the sound of hooves rumbling. Although it seemed that they would no longer encounter zombies, no one dared to let their guard down.
Finally, Yan Liqiang, who was at the front of the team, slowed down and raised his hand to signal everyone to stop. After everyone stopped, they saw a boundary marker on the side of the road ahead with four big red characters written on it - Hualan County Boundary...
"Ah, Hualan County is just ahead..."
"Hua Lan County, we are in Hua Lan County..."
"We have already broken out of the capital and entered Huizhou..."
The whole team cheered at once, countless people were rejoicing, the atmosphere of the team changed all of a sudden, it was full of joy and excitement, even those who had just felt tired, at this moment perked up and started shouting.
Several officers from Luyuan rode up on their rhinoceros horses. When Meng Hui saw the words on the boundary marker, he shouted with joy, "So, we have left Jingxiji..."
"Hahaha, the most important thing is that we are still alive!" Liu Xitong also laughed, and he breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Yan Liqiang, "Along the way, thanks to you for overcoming obstacles and building bridges when encountering water, especially last night, you led the way, we passed through the entire Huizhou city, and did not encounter many zombies..."
Yan Liqiang breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but he could not relax. Instead, he took the opportunity to remind everyone and said loudly, "Don't let your guard down. We are not out of danger yet. Although those zombies are gone for the time being, it does not mean that there are no other dangers. The situation in the states and counties around the capital is very chaotic now. A large number of refugees are fleeing and many people from the White Lotus Sect are taking the opportunity to stir up trouble. Don't be careless!"
After hearing Yan Liqiang's words, the whole team suddenly quieted down.
"Xitong, which county of Hualan County is ahead?" Yan Liqiang asked Liu Xitong. Liu Xitong was like a living map. He was very familiar with the roads and terrain around the capital, and he was smart and capable. Having Liu Xitong by his side made things very convenient along the way.
Liu Xitong looked around and said, "From the terrain, it should be Wuting County in Hualan County!"
"How far is it from here to the county seat of Wuting County?"
"About forty miles more!"
"Okay, everyone, work hard. Let's go to the county seat of Wuting County first and find a place for everyone to rest..."
Hearing Yan Liqiang say this, everyone became happy and started running along with Yan Liqiang's mount.
Although the forty-mile journey seemed far, it did not seem far when traveling on the official road, especially with the help of carriages and horses. After just over an hour, Yan Liqiang and his party could already see the county seat of Wuting County from afar.
Four or five miles away from the county town, the team led by Yan Liqiang had to slow down because a large number of refugees had begun to gather on both sides of the official road. Those refugees were resting in the woods and on the roadside on both sides of the official road, with their families, and each of them was dishevelled. Some were alone, and some were carrying a few simple luggage. Hearing the sound of carriages and horses on the road, those people turned their heads to look at Yan Liqiang and his team. Some of them had numb faces, and some looked astonished, as if they had never expected that there would be a team coming from the direction of western Beijing.
All the refugees looked at Yan Liqiang and his team in silence. Some of the refugees stood up. The military uniforms of the Imperial Mabu Division worn by Yan Liqiang and the soldiers around him seemed a little special at this time, and also had an indescribable deterrent power.
There were too many refugees on the roadside, and the further they went, the more refugees they saw. Looking at the silent eyes of the refugees, Yan Liqiang felt his scalp a little tingling for some reason. He had not felt his scalp tingling in the past two days when facing thousands of zombies, but at this moment, his heart was beating a little faster.
Yan Liqiang gave a look, and Liu Xitong squeezed the horse's belly, making the Xilong horse quickly come to Yan Liqiang's side.
"Tell the brothers to be careful and protect the carriages of Prince Min and the ladies..." Yan Liqiang said in a low voice.
"I understand!" Liu Xitong looked at the densely packed refugees around him, his face became serious, and then he gently turned his horse's head, turned back and spoke to the few people around him, asking them to pass the message on.
Just as Liu Xitong turned around, a man suddenly rushed out from the roadside and stopped Yan Liqiang's Rhino Dragon Horse. If Yan Liqiang had not been quick-witted and stopped the Rhino Dragon Horse, Caiyun Zhuiyue would have crashed into the man directly. Several soldiers next to Yan Liqiang wanted to draw their weapons at their waists and chop him, but were stopped by Yan Liqiang.
"Have you seen my wife and son?" The one who stopped Yan Liqiang was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair, untidy beard, and dull eyes. The middle-aged man's clothes were torn and he looked a little embarrassed. He looked up at Yan Liqiang, but his eyes were a little empty. "My wife is wearing a blue long coat, and my son is this tall. His name is Fusheng, and he has two dimples on his face when he smiles. Have you seen them..."
Yan Liqiang only took a glance at this man and knew that he probably had mental problems. He might have been under too much stimulation and was a little abnormal. He sighed in his heart, shook his head, and said calmly, "I'm sorry, I didn't see it. Please get out of the way. Be careful not to be hit by vehicles..."
The man stepped aside and watched Yan Liqiang riding Caiyun Zhuiyue past. Then he looked up and kept asking the people passing by the team the same question, "Have you seen my wife and son? My wife is wearing a blue long coat, and my son is this tall. His name is Fusheng, and he has two dimples on his face when he smiles. Have you seen them..."
"Have you seen my wife and son? My wife is wearing a blue long coat. My son is this tall now. His name is Fusheng. He has two dimples on his face when he smiles. Have you seen them..."
The team passed the man in silence, and no one answered the question. However, before they had walked a mile, Yan Liqiang discovered that the refugees on the roadside saw his team coming, and gradually some of them took staggering steps and followed the team forward. Gradually, more and more people followed his team, from one or two people at the beginning to hundreds of people...
“Sir, please give me something to eat. I can go without food, but the child in my arms hasn’t eaten for more than a day. I have no milk left. If I don’t eat, my child will starve to death…” Seeing Yan Liqiang and his men’s carriage coming, a woman holding a crying baby in her arms knelt on the side of the road and kowtowed to Yan Liqiang, begging loudly. The woman kowtowed very hard. When she kowtowed for the first time, her forehead was swollen when she raised her face. The second time she kowtowed, her forehead was cut by the gravel on the side of the road and began to bleed, but she kept kowtowed. Every time, she slammed her head heavily on the ground, leaving a blood mark on the side of the road…
Looking at this woman, Yan Liqiang's heart trembled!
“Sir, please give us something to eat. We haven’t eaten for two days and are too hungry to walk…” Several elderly people on the side of the road also stretched out their hands, looking at Yan Liqiang eagerly.
"Sir, please give us something to eat..." A bunch of refugees nearby rushed over...
Yan Liqiang raised his hand, signaling the convoy to stop, and then gave an order, calling Manager Wen over, "Take out the food and water from the No. 3 car and distribute it to the refugees!"
(End of this chapter)