PFC Chapter 146 Leaving the City
Chapter 146 Leaving the City
The hand that appeared silently made Li Lanzhen break out in a cold sweat. She grabbed the hand with her backhand.
Only then did she realize that what she was holding tightly in her hand was the soft, dry hand of a child.
She felt relieved and turned around to look. In the dim light, she saw three pairs of black eyes.
Li Lanzhen simply sat down and leaned against the city wall.
"Tell me, who are you? What did you see? Why are you pulling me?"
The child who had just been pulling his backpack whispered:
"Aunt, are you going to leave the city? The soldiers have sealed this dog hole. Moreover, they are guarding here and have captured many brothers and uncles."
This time, Li Lanzhen looked at the three of them and saw that they were wearing tattered clothes, their clothes and pants were much shorter, they were barefoot, their faces were pale and skinny, and only their big eyes were rolling around.
This time, it was the child who spoke while holding her hand.
"Aunt, the three of us are orphans. We used to live in the City God Temple outside the city, but..."
Before he could finish his words, the boy at the back spoke angrily.
"Humph! It's all because of that damn uncle!"
The boy looked at him comfortingly and continued talking to Li Lanzhen.
"Some time ago, that damn uncle of the emperor said that the City God Temple was too shabby and affected the reputation of Youzhou City, so he burned it down. There were more than a dozen children living in that temple, and now we are all homeless."
The three children lowered their heads and kept silent.
Li Lanzhen felt nervous again after hearing his words, so she asked him, "Are you three from the same family?"
"No, the three of us have been together since we were little, just like siblings."
The boy glanced at the two people who were leaning against him and continued.
"Aunt, I'm 12 years old. I'm the older brother. My name is Shitou. This is my younger brother. He's nine years old. His name is Yanming. That's our little sister. She's only five years old. Her name is Yanzi."
Li Lanzhen felt so distressed when she looked at these three children.
He lost his parents at such a young age and had to make a living on his own. I don’t know how many times he was beaten, scolded and looked down upon. He must have been hungry and cold.
What she actually took out from the backpack were three wild vegetable cakes and a water bag from the space. The water was the spiritual spring water from the space.
Li Lanzhen thought that it could at least provide some energy to the three children.
"Come on, the three of you, eat the wild vegetable cakes first, then drink some water. Auntie will be leaving soon."
Shitou took the three wild vegetable cakes and the water bag with both hands and said with a sob.
"Thank you, Auntie. Are you going out of town?"
Li Lanzhen said, "Yes, I want to go out. My relatives and children are waiting for me outside the city."
Shitou said, "Aunt, the dog hole here is blocked, but we still know a way out. We came in from there, and during the day we asked people on the street for food, or worked for others to earn a few cakes, and then went out from the dog hole at night."
Li Landzhen was happy when she heard it.
"Okay, you guys eat first. After you're full, take me to find that dog hole, okay?"
Shitou agreed, but the three children did not eat the wild vegetable cakes.
Li Lanzhen saw them carefully take out a piece of cloth, wrap the wild vegetable cake, and hand it to Shitou.
He held the stone in his arms and patted it with his hands. Only when he felt it was secure did he put it down.
Li Lanzhen clearly heard the sound of the three children swallowing their saliva.
They were hungry, but they didn't eat.
He looked up and met Li Lanzhen's puzzled eyes, and said embarrassedly.
"Aunt, we didn't eat the wild vegetable cakes you gave us, but packed them up. Would you be angry?"
Li Lanzhen shook her head and said, "I won't be angry. What I give you is yours. You have the right to make your own decisions."
Shitou lowered his head and then raised it again and said to Li Lanzhen.
"Aunt, we have to take these three wild vegetable cakes back with us. After the land temple was burned down, more than a dozen of us children were left homeless and had no place to stay, so we found a small cave in the nearby mountains and hid in it.
Every day, we would come out to ask for some food to take back to our sick brothers and sisters, as well as those younger than us. "
Li Lanzhen asked hurriedly when she heard this.
"How many children are there in the cave?"
"Aunt, there are only six people left in the cave now, and there are nine people in total including us." The little girl Yan Zi said in a low voice.
Li Lanzhen asked, "What about the other children?"
Maybe it was because Li Lanzhen’s attitude was gentle, the little girl Xiaoyanzi said again.
"Aunt, these brothers are here to find food for us.
They didn't go back at night, so when we went to look for them the next day, we heard that when the brothers came to the city, they were captured as soldiers and sent to the front to fight."
After saying that she started crying quietly and rubbing her eyes with her hands.
Li Lanzhen sighed inwardly, what kind of world is this!
Such a young child was captured and sent to the front line. That would be his only way to death!
Yan Ming said, "Aunt, let's go now. It's dawn and none of us can get out!"
Li Lanzhen thought so too, so she stood up and said, "Okay, let's go quickly, you lead the way, and I'll follow behind!"
At this moment, Li Lanzhen followed the three children along the city wall, but she was thinking in her heart when to take Xue Bao out of the space.
I guess he would still be confused if we take him out now, so let's talk about it after we get out of the city.
Li Lanzhen followed the three children until they stopped not far from the gate of Youzhou City.
Shitou squatted down and immediately pulled aside the thatch, revealing a dark dog hole.
As soon as Li Lanzhen saw the dog hole, she praised the children for their cleverness in her heart.
As the saying goes, it is darkest under the lamp. The most dangerous place is also the safest place.
This place is not far from the city gate. As long as you are careful and don't make too much noise, the guards at the city gate will not think that there is a dog hole here and that someone will enter and exit from here.
Li Lanzhen was thinking, the stone had already been drilled through, he went out for a while, and then he heard him say.
"Come out quickly, it's safe outside."
It turned out that Shi Tou first drilled out of the dog hole to find out what was happening outside.
Li Lanzhen thought that this was a really smart child.
Yan Ming let Yan Zi go out first, and then spoke to Li Lanzhen.
"Aunt, you go first. I'll go last."
Li Lanzhen sighed again, what a good child!
Know how to protect the youngest and know how to be humble!
After they all went out, Shitou reached his hand into the dog hole and pulled the thatch inside the city wall that was blocking the dog hole. Then he covered the dog hole outside the city with stones and thatch.
Then he turned around and stood up and said.
"Aunt, let's go."
Yan Ming said, "Aunt, even though we are out of the city, it is not very safe. We must leave quietly."
Li Lanzhen felt amused. These three children really regarded her as a woman who knew nothing.
Li Lanzhen followed the three children up the mountain. Not long after they went, they saw a fire.
"Brother is a cave!"
"No! Something happened!"