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Jiang’s old man didn’t even make it there before someone had already received Lady Wen and her servants.

Yingbao did not linger; she swiftly ventured further into the forest with Youyou under the light of the torch.

She needed to quickly find the cave described in the book, so that everybody could rest, and then she would make further plans.

Chun’niang was carrying Jiang Jie on her back, Jiang Cheng was carrying Jiang Wu on his back, Yanru with Huzi and Yuanbao quickly followed behind, with Wei Zhan and Dani also not far behind.

Jiang’s old man and his wife, Jiang Liu, didn’t fall behind either, leading their mules.

Jiang Quan was ahead, holding a torch to light the way for his little cousin.

Xio Zhenniang and her daughter Nanny followed close behind the Jiang household. Their horse was carrying food and bedding, led by Wen Fu, they were not slow.

The dozens of elderly and children quietly followed the team without any complaints.

Of course, except for Lady Wen, Mrs. Lin and her daughter Wen Tian.

“Mother, I can’t walk anymore.” Wen Tian said with a sad face: “My shoes keep falling off.”

“If you can’t walk, you have to!” Mrs. Lin, unable to see the road ahead in the rain, was incredibly irritated. Although she felt bad for her daughter, she had no choice but to keep up with the crowd.

Wen Tian eventually broke down crying, refusing to move: “Mother, I really can’t walk anymore.”

With no other choice, Mrs. Lin called to her servant, “Aqiu, you carry her.”

Aqiu, a 14 or 15 year old boy, struggled to carry the eight-year-old Wen Tian on the nighttime trail.

Even in the autumn rain, Mrs. Lin and her daughters soon fell behind the others

Mrs. Lin grew anxious, urging Wen Jiao’s maid and Aqiu, who was carrying Wen Tian, to hurry up. She kept calling Xio Zhenniang who was ahead, “Fourth Sister! Wait, don’t walk so fast, wait for us…”

But in these times, Xio Zhenniang wouldn’t care,

Even with the help of three servants, Mrs. Lin was still slow. Waiting for her was waiting for death.

In a hurry, thanks to the book, Yingbao was the first to find the cave. However, the trail leading up the mountain was narrow and difficult to climb.

Due to the rainy weather, the path was slippery and anyone could easily fall off the cliff.

Yes, the cave was halfway up the mountain. It was a natural cavern, once everyone was inside, and the mountain trail was guarded, no one else could climb up.

“Mother, you and the little one be careful,” instructed Yingbao “I’ll go up first and check it out.”

She was small and agile, often exercising herself, so walking this mountain path was not difficult.

Yingbao took the torch from Jiang Quan’s hand and walked directly up the trail while the Jiang family didn’t manage to react.

Wei Zhan, who loved adventures, quickly followed Yingbao up the trail.

Youyou became anxious as it could no longer see its little master, running in circles and making several unsuccessful attempts to follow. Carrying too many things on its back, it kept rubbing against the mountain wall and got pushed away.

In the end, Youyou could only be placed alongside the mules and horses, watching anxiously as everyone ascended the narrow trail.

Wen Fu didn’t go up. He stayed behind to look after the horses, mules, and deer – all of which were carrying the family’s food, blankets, and other belongings. They couldn’t afford to lose anything.

Without food, no matter how secure it was up there, they wouldn’t last more than a few days. So he had to stay behind, wait until the elderly, women, and children were all up, and then have Jiang Quan and Jiang Cheng come down and transport the goods up in batches.

After walking up the trail for a long time, Yingbao was the first to reach the cave entrance. It was incredibly dark inside, making it rather frightening.

Luckily, Wei Zhan and Jiang Quan quickly followed after her, shining their torches inside, “Let’s go in and have a look.”

Seeing that they were accompanying her, Yingbao bravely ventured into the cave.

The cave was very spacious, measuring more than 70 feet in length. The entrance was wide open, allowing wind and rain to blow in from time to time.

However, the interior of the cave was not too deep, extending only around forty-five feet. With a squeeze, it could comfortably accommodate around two hundred people.

The floor was smooth, as if it had been manually excavated. In the corners, there were still a few piles of ashes from past fires, suggesting that someone had lived here before.

At that moment, people began to enter the cave with torches, illuminating the space clearly.

Old man Jiang and his wife arrived, looking around and sighing from time to time, “It’s been so many years since we’ve been here, but it hasn’t changed at all.”

“This place is really good. If one man guards the entrance, no one can get through. It’s a great refuge.” The Clan Leader, supported by his eldest son and seated on a rock, asked old man Jiang: “How did you know there was a cave here?”

Old man Jiang replied, “In my youth, I used to come here often. This place is called Tiger Mouth.” Decades had passed in an instant, and he had not thought of it until he saw the plank road and suddenly recalled it.

A question arose in his mind, “How did my little granddaughter know there was a cave here?”

Upon further thought, he remembered the children had gone into the mountains to fetch firewood yesterday. It must have been that his little granddaughter wandered farther than the others and stumbled upon the cave.

The refugees began to come in. Some people walked around the cave and found two grey snakes. They split them into halves with a sickle and threw them out of the cave.

Chunniang arrived with her son. She settled her belongings and baskets in a clean spot and asked her daughter, “Baobao, is this place really safe?”

Yingbao nodded, “For now it’s safe. I’ll ask Grandpa Clan Leader to find two people to guard the entrance of the plank road. No one will be able to get up.”

In the book she had read, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan guarded the entrance just like this until the Imperial Court’s troops came to suppress the bandits.

“Are there really bandits circling the mountains?” someone raised a question, “We didn’t encounter anything on our way here.”

If they had come all this way in the middle of the night, enduring the wind and the rain, and it turned out to be a false alarm, that would be a real joke.

Yingbao did not respond to the question. She was busy helping her mother lay out the sleeping area for her younger brothers.

“Whether there are bandits or not,” most people said they would rather be safe than sorry.

“We’re not at a loss for coming here. At least, we can avoid the rain in the cave. It’s easier than staying under a bamboo shed. Tomorrow, we can go down to find food and water. We should be able to hold out until the Imperial Court comes to suppress the bandits.”

“Exactly!” someone echoed.

Everyone was content with the decision to stay in the cave.

The last few days of escape have left them physically and mentally exhausted. Now, they could finally have a good sleep.

Once everyone had entered the cave, Yingbao walked to the entrance of the plank road and tried to look below.

She saw the Lin family’s Mistress and several servants holding a torch, still standing at the entrance, dawdling. Wen Tian, the eight-year-old, stubbornly refused to set foot on the narrow plank road.

“Wuu wuu wuu, I don’t want to go, I might fall off.” Wen Tian refused to step on the rickety wood planks. She resolutely clung to Mistress Lin’s sleeves, unwilling to let go.

Mistress Lin felt helpless but did not dare to ask Aqiu to carry her up.

The plank road was so narrow that if Aqiu accidentally dropped her daughter down the mountain, it would be disastrous.

Mistress Lin looked at Wen Fu standing not far away and walked over. “Wen Fu, take Madam up there.”

Wen Fu glanced at her and refused immediately, “I’m sorry, Madam Three, I have to guard the grain.”

“You! You are a dog slave daring to disobey the owner’s order?” Mistress Lin grew angry. In all the years she had lived in the Wen Mansion, no slave had ever defied her command.

With neither arrogance nor humility, Wen Fu said, “I am a slave belonging to Fourth Lady and answer only to her commands.”

Mistress Lin was infuriated, but she understood, at this point, she really couldn’t do anything to this damned dog slave.

At this moment, the Clan Leader’s grandson came over with a torch, holding his hand out to Wen Tian. “Hold on to me, and I’ll help you up.”

Wen Tian still shook her head and continuously backed off, “No!”