67: Chapter 67 The enemy is at the gates, there is no way to retreat.

"It's not just Qingping; Shiqiao, Wangjiang, and Heming counties are gone too. That garrison commander from the Taiyi Sword Sect just abandoned the cities and ran."

"Ran away? What about the commoners?"

The speaker lowered their voice, their Face turning pale.

"Commoners? Do you know what those soldiers did after entering the city? I have a relative in Qingping County who managed to escape. He said those soldiers acted like bandits the moment they entered the city. They searched house by house, looting all the gold, silver, valuables, grain, and cloth. They didn't even leave a cooking pot behind!"

"Weren't they supposed to be the imperial army? They're even operating under the banner of 'Pacifying the Chaos'!"

"Pacifying the chaos? Bah! I think they're just soldier-bandits! If someone didn't open the door, they'd kick it in. They beat the men, and the women…" The speaker didn't finish, but everyone present understood.

"What about those Grandmaster Disciples? Won't the people from the Cangyun Sect do anything?"

"The Cangyun Sect Disciples are the officers, but the soldiers underneath are all stragglers and deserters recruited from various places—a bunch of people who were bandits to begin with. Just because they put on official uniforms doesn't mean they're soldiers. Who can control them?"

The teahouse fell silent.

After a long while, someone whispered, "Qingping County is less than a hundred miles away from us now, right?"

No one answered.

But everyone did the math in their heads, and their Faces turned even paler.

On the third day after the news arrived, the major factions within Linyuan City could no longer sit still.

They held a banquet at the "Jinyun Pavilion," the largest restaurant in the city, and invited all the influential figures to discuss countermeasures.

You also received a gold-stamped invitation.

You went.

There were over thirty people sitting in the hall on the second floor of the Jinyun Pavilion. By the time you arrived, it was already chaotic.

"I say we take the northern mountain road, cross over Daliang Mountain, and enter Yuzhou Province…"

"Bullshit! Banditry is rampant in Daliang Mountain. You want to take your whole family on a mountain road? Are you in a hurry to die?"

"Then what about going south?"

"The southern ferry crossing was requisitioned by the Taiyi Sword Sect long ago; all the boats are gone!"

Zhou Gui tapped on the table, silencing the noise.

"Everyone, everyone, please stop arguing." He scanned the room, his gaze pausing on you for a fleeting moment. "Everyone understands the situation. The Zhenluan Army is less than a hundred miles from Linyuan City. At their current rate of advance, they'll be here in ten days at most. My proposal is to retreat."

"Retreat where?"

"In the southeast direction, bypass Qingniu Ridge, and enter the territory of Liangzhou." Zhou Gui unfolded a map. "Liangzhou is currently controlled by the Qingfeng Sect. The Qingfeng Sect hasn't participated in any faction and remains neutral. We can take refuge there and return after the Zhenluan Army has passed through."

"Is it reliable that the places the Zhenluan Army conquers won't be looted a second time?"

"Reliable." Zhou Gui nodded. "After all, they are operating under the imperial banner, so they still have to maintain appearances. The first time they enter a city is the most chaotic, but once they've secured it, order will be restored. They need people to pay taxes, don't they?"

Everyone looked at each other, finding the logic sound.

"Then it's settled." Zhou Gui made the final decision. "We leave in three days. Travel light; each family shouldn't bring more people than necessary. Dragging the whole family along is too conspicuous."

After speaking, he turned to you.

"Miss Lin, you have over a hundred children with you, this…" He hesitated for a moment. "We discussed it, and we can give you ten spots at most. Too many people will slow down our marching speed, and the target will be too large."

You glanced at him.

You refused directly.

You turned and left the Jinyun Pavilion.

A chorus of murmurs followed behind you.

"Is this woman crazy?" a merchant head shook his head. "Dragging over a hundred burdens, where does she think she's running? If she doesn't run, is she just waiting to be ruined?"

"Womanly benevolence," another Gang leader sneered. "Taking in so many wild children, now she can't run, can she? She brought this on herself."

"Indeed. Just because she knows a few tricks, she thinks she's invincible? When the Great Qing troops arrive, she'll learn what it means to be unable to fight against the tide."

"Let her be. We just need to take care of ourselves." Zhou Gui put away the map. "We depart in three days. Everyone go back and prepare."

You didn't hear these words.

Even if you had, you wouldn't have cared. You only went to hear what they were planning anyway.

You weren't leaving, not because you were stupid, but because you didn't need to.

The commander of the vanguard of the Zhenluan Army advancing toward Linyuan City was Senior Brother Gu Changfeng.

Furthermore, you had exchanged letters over the past two years, and he knew you were living in seclusion in Linyuan City.

To you, this was like someone from home arriving.

You wrote him a letter and sent it off.

But plans couldn't keep up with changes. Early the next morning, news arrived.

A detachment of the Zhenluan Army had bypassed the outer side of Daliang Mountain and struck directly at Wutong County, sixty miles south of Linyuan City, cutting off the southern escape route.

Linyuan City was now pinched from the front and back.

That morning, when the news spread, the whole city exploded like a drop of water thrown into a frying pan.

"It's over, it's over, it's over! Blocked in front and blocked behind, where are we supposed to run?!"

"Zhou Gui and his group left overnight yesterday, heading in the southeast direction. Is that way still open now?"

"Open my foot! Once Wutong County was lost, that road was finished! Zhou Gui and his Gang probably ran right into them!"

"Then what do we do? Just wait to die?"

The streets were filled with people dragging their families along, trying to flee, but no one knew where to go. The city gates were jammed with carriages and pedestrians; the sounds of pushing, shoving, and crying created chaos, and some even came to blows over a carriage.

You stood at the window on the second floor of the bookstore, watching the chaos below, and sighed.

There was still no reply to your letter.

Had the messenger not arrived, had Senior Brother Gu Changfeng not received it, or perhaps, had he received it but hadn't had time to issue an order?

Regardless of which it was, the situation was already out of control.

Five days later, the Zhenluan Army arrived at the gates of Linyuan City.

The siege didn't take much effort. The Taiyi Sword Sect hadn't set up any defenses here at all. The county walls were built decades ago, and three breaches had gone unrepaired. The garrison soldiers in the city numbered less than two hundred in total, and their leader, the county lieutenant, was an old man at the Early Stage of the Innate realm who stood on the city wall holding a sword for an hour.

The county magistrate, however, was impassioned.

Standing on the city wall, facing the dark mass of the Zhenluan Army below, he shouted loudly about "duty to defend the land," "living and dying with the city," and "eating the sovereign's salary and bearing the sovereign's worries."

After he finished shouting… he ordered the city gates to be opened, surrendering…

The moment the city gates swung open, the garrison soldiers on the walls breathed a sigh of relief and threw down their weapons; some even stripped off their armor on the spot and scrambled into the crowd.

The Zhenluan Army surged in.

Within the first hour of the Zhenluan Army entering the city, Linyuan City changed completely.

The sounds of doors being smashed, shouting, and crying came from all directions, occasionally interspersed with the sound of shattering porcelain and women's screams.

You didn't go to look.

You stood at the main entrance of the Lin family courtyard and hung up the plaque you had prepared long ago.

After hanging the plaque, you turned and walked into the courtyard.

More than a hundred children had already followed your instructions and moved into the cellar in the backyard. You had spent money to expand the cellar last year; it was originally for storing grain, and while it was crowded to cram a hundred children inside, at least it was safe.

"Are they all down there?" you asked.

Xiaoyu ran over from the backyard and nodded. "They're all down. The youngest ones are crying, and Zhuzi is down there comforting them."

"Good, you go down there too."

Xiaoyu shook her head, stood by your side, and gripped the wooden stick in her hand tightly.