CHAPTER 105: CHAPTER 103: CAN’T EVEN START A FIRE

"Nanfeng nephew, the court is about to change dramatically, do you still think you can stay safely in Wuheng? Only by leaving with me can you find a way to survive!"

Qi Nanfeng braved the wind and snow to run to a high place, where he could only faintly see some firelight amidst the blizzard but couldn’t see clearly.

He turned his head and looked deeply at Li Mao, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, a strong wind had begun to blow at the entrance of the cave, carrying large snowflakes inside.

The fire could not be kept alive.

Ruan Mian saw this and decisively took a piece of fabric from the supply box, calling Shaoxi and the others to temporarily block the lower edge of the cave entrance.

Then she had everyone disperse to various corners of the cave, staying close to the cave walls to avoid the wind, which made it somewhat better.

Looking at the almost obstructed view outside, everyone felt a sense of fear.

Among them, an elderly man, stooped, with his white beard frozen into a chunk.

He hoarsely walked up to Ruan Mian and bowed deeply.

"Miss Ruan, I am the steward of this village, Xue Yuanzhao. Today, thanks to your timely warning and leading us here to take refuge, we were spared from disaster."

"I am immensely grateful."

Ruan Mian quickly helped him up: "It’s nothing, you chose to trust me, that is your own path to survival. This snowstorm won’t stop anytime soon, we can only hide here for now."

Currently, those government officers are probably too occupied to care about us.

But what she didn’t expect was a man in a green robe galloping on horseback, his heart tightening at the sight of almost flattened grass huts in the blizzard.

Beside him, Vice Minister Dong’s heart also sank: "Sir, were we ultimately a step too late? Miss Ruan and the others..."

"Up the mountain, to the nearest cave."

By now, the wind and snow had become unbearable for the horses, yet Xie Huai’an and Vice Minister Dong were injured during their escape from the post station.

They had no choice but to abandon their horses and quickly head into the mountains.

...

Ruan Mian cooked some hot porridge for the group.

During their conversation, she noticed that Mr. Xue, despite his age, was accompanied by over a dozen children.

Initially, they blended in with the crowd, so Ruan Mian hadn’t noticed.

It was only when delivering porridge that she realized there were so many children.

The oldest was only twelve or thirteen, and the youngest was even younger than Rui.

Mr. Ruan also saw this scene and took the initiative to chat with Xue Yuanzhao.

Later, it was discovered that Xue Yuanzhao was once appointed as the third place in the imperial examination by the late Emperor and had been selected as Prince Consort by the Eldest Princess.

But he already had a wife from his hometown before the imperial examination, and unwilling to abandon her, he defied the Imperial Decree and was imprisoned and exiled.

Knowing he had no good outcome, he divorced his wife through a letter and was exiled alone.

These children were all those he picked up in Wuheng over the years.

Either their parents had both died, or they were abandoned by their families.

He was able to teach them to read and write and lived day-to-day by working for simple food.

It was better than being homeless and dying outside.

Hearing this, Ruan Mian was moved, having seen too many unsavory characters along the way, such selfless kindness was rare.

Especially in this ruthless place where survival was difficult.

Seeing this, Ruan Mian comforted him: "People living have a way to get by."

Moreover, she had spatial abilities, even if there was nothing here, she could lead everyone to create a good life.

They just needed to patiently wait for this storm to pass.

However, after a day, although the snowstorm had lessened, Ruan Mian still felt a slight unease.

Logically, with so many exiles scattered everywhere, the officers should have had some reaction.

Moreover, the snowstorm had subsided a lot, yet there was no commotion.

So she planned to wait for the weather to improve a bit before going down the mountain to check. Once confirmed safe, she could lead everyone back.

But unexpectedly, someone unexpected arrived at the cave entrance.

Vice Minister Dong suddenly rushed in, shouting: "Miss Ruan! Miss Ruan, are you here?"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mian stood up abruptly, puzzled upon seeing Vice Minister Dong: "Vice Minister Dong? Why are you here?"

There was no time to explain much, Vice Minister Dong first took her to the cave entrance to bring in the unconscious Xie Huai’an.

Seeing this sickly person injured again, Ruan Mian was astonished.

"What happened? How did he get injured again?"

At this moment, Xie Huai’an was already exhausted, his whole body freezing cold.

Ruan Mian quickly instructed someone to start a fire and fed him some spiritual spring water and medicine.

Once he regained some strength, and Vice Minister Dong’s body gradually warmed, they finally listened to Vice Minister Dong explaining that the Lanqiang Army launched a coup taking advantage of the Wuheng blizzard.

The reception camp was in chaos due to the unauthorized excavation of clay coal, and the newly assigned officers had gone to the camp to deal with the exiles.

With the dual chaos of harsh weather and military rebellion, the other side had an opportunity to act.

The post station fell, and they had no choice but to hide and avoid conflict.

"We searched in the blizzard for a whole day, unable to find where you were. It was our lord who suggested that since there were many rocks here, there might be caves. That’s why we came to explore, and unexpectedly, we found you."

As Vice Minister Dong finished speaking, the weakened Xie Huai’an slowly spoke.

"This place is also not suitable for a long stay, Miss Ruan, once the snowstorm lessens, we must head deeper into the mountains, or else the enemy troops could find us here anytime."

Here, it’s not far from the Exile Village and the post station.

No wonder there was no reaction from the officers, it turned out to be a military rebellion.

Ruan Mian first comforted them before discussing with her family.

Upon hearing of the rebellion, Ruan Qingsong’s expression became solemn.

"Mianmian, if we continue into the deep mountains, the chances of survival might not be high."

"We have limited supplies, and with so many people, the deep mountains are fraught with danger; we don’t even know how many days we can survive. But... if there’s a rebellion outside, encountering enemy troops after descending the mountain means a dead end."

Mrs. Chen, upon hearing this, immediately got teary-eyed.

Feeling like they were at a dead end and couldn’t bring her child into the world.

Ruan Mian quickly comforted her: "Descending the mountain is a dead end, but the mountain offers a chance of life. As the saying goes, rely on the mountain to survive, rest assured, we will survive in the mountains."

If necessary, they could migrate further to a place away from conflict, even in uninhabited land, they could become rulers and not be subjected to others’ control, wouldn’t that be even better?

Seeing Ruan Mian’s determined gaze, they had no way back.

By evening, the snow had lessened again.

Snow piled up thick at the cave entrance, and everyone worked together to clear it while Ruan Mian took Yun Xiuxi and the others outside to find some food.

Using this as an excuse, she took the opportunity to take some bird and chicken eggs, as well as some wild sour dates from her spatial storage.

The big White Tiger following closely behind her like a clingy little creature gave her a sudden idea.

She turned and patted its big head, asking: "Little Spirit Beast, you can surely catch some rabbits, right?"