Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 244: Five-Person Team

Immediately, the man apologized to Cheng Xiaoxiao, "Miss, our child is ignorant and speaks and acts without discretion, please don’t take it to heart, we will take this job."

"It’s no big deal!"

Thus, Cheng Xiaoxiao’s solo journey turned into a five-person team.

During casual chats, through the boy’s talkative nature, Cheng Xiaoxiao learned that his name was Li Jiasun and his father, Li Desheng, worked as a porter at the dock. He only attended school for two years; because he mischievously burned the teacher’s beard, he was expelled, and afterward, he had no interest in studying. So, he helped with house chores at home and later worked as a waiter for others as he grew older.

Originally, the family included a stepmother and a stepsister, but unfortunately, when King Yu invaded, the stepmother was killed protecting her daughter, and the sister was taken away by King Yu’s people.

At that time, neither the father nor son was at home.

They learned about the family’s situation from neighbors who managed to escape. In fact, the father and son weren’t very attached to the stepmother and her daughter; it was the grandfather, before he passed away, who forced the father to remarry.

In these past few years, the mother and daughter stirred up turmoil at home, disrupting the neighborhood’s peace, and many times the father and son were at their wit’s end.

Therefore, despite feeling some remorse about their fate, they weren’t deeply saddened.

Instead, it felt like a burden had been lifted.

As dusk approached, the group found a hill to camp on.

In the flickering firelight, four people gnawed on dry coarse grain cakes, while Cheng Xiaoxiao, feeding the baby in the distance, felt a pang of discomfort in her stomach. Having eaten dry food twice today, she decided to treat her own five-bowls temple.

She then took out a small pot, some fine rice, two eggs, a bit of salt, and oil.

Li Desheng hurried to help with the congee, thinking how a little girl and her child shouldn’t eat coarse food. Unfortunately, all he had left was coarse grain cakes, and not much good stuff, but at least he had some strength and could do all sorts of work, as long as the lady didn’t mind.

Fang Zheng and Lu Jingtian were worse off; they didn’t even have coarse grain cakes and were eating those provided by Old Li.

Fang Zheng stared intently at Cheng Xiaoxiao’s bundle, puzzled about how a small bundle could hold so many items.

That brazen gaze startled Cheng Xiaoxiao.

System: "Host Fang Zheng suspects you."

"Suspect him all he wants, he doesn’t have evidence anyway."

Cheng Xiaoxiao sweetly smiled, "Brother Fang, is there any problem?"

"No, nothing!" Fang Zheng felt embarrassed, caught like a guilty child.

He awkwardly diverted his gaze and turned his attention to chat with Old Li.

You see! As long as I don’t feel awkward, it’s the others who do.

"..." System: My host really has a thick skin.

When the group drank the hot egg congee, it felt flavorful, and in this winter, being able to have a bowl of hot porridge felt so blissful.

However, the nighttime temperatures were unbearably low; they dared not sleep deeply and had to take turns keeping watch, occasionally adding wood to the fire. If the fire went out, those sleeping lightly would surely wake up from the cold.

Unnoticed, the temperature dropped colder every day.

According to Old Li, usually year-end was the coldest, but not this bad. Now, even in November, there’s already a sign of snowfall, this year’s winter might be tough.

With Old Li and his son’s help, their pace quickened considerably. Gradually, they caught up to the tail end of the fleeing main group.

Lu Jingtian awoke on the third day; greatly grateful to Miss Xiao who saved him, he expressed his thanks repeatedly, so much that Cheng Xiaoxiao’s ears began to harden.

Moved by his good brother’s willingness to risk his arm and not abandon him; the nearly 1.8-meter-tall man wept with nose and tears.

Truly an eyesore!

After several days of continuous travel, the group was noticeably more dispersed, now standing at a crossroads. To the right lay Jingyu County, going further east would lead to the Capital City; to the left were towering mountains, along the way might be some small villages, but not ideal resting spots. Ahead was Liao City, and beyond it was Yu King’s territory.

Cheng Xiaoxiao asked Fang Zheng and Lu Jingtian. They were unsure about which route their family took for evacuation and feared choosing wrongly might distance them from their families.

Old Li and his son had made their intentions clear; they intended to follow Miss Xiao, with the old man offering to help push the cart. Even though Lu Jingtian had improved a lot, he was still restricted to lying on the cart, unable even to consider walking.

Seeing the indecisive hesitation of the two men, Cheng Xiaoxiao felt mentally drained.

She sincerely spoke, "Brother Fang, although you have relatives in Jingyu County, uncle and auntie may not necessarily seek refuge there, you know Jingyu County further ahead is Yan State, beyond Yan State is King Yu’s military base.

Perhaps Yan State has already been plundered by King Yu. Jingyu County falls under Yan State’s jurisdiction; whether it has been affected remains uncertain." Had King Yu not attacked the Capital City, she’d have gone directly from Yan State to Yuan Yang City, avoiding detours.

After contemplating for a while, they figured their parents were more likely to head toward Liao City. Despite Liao City being adjacent to Yu King’s territory, as the young girl mentioned, Liao City in the northeast direction had Yuan Yang City, which was safer than Jingyu. So they decided unanimously to follow Miss Xiao’s advice, head together to Liao City, and inquire further.

The 132th Regiment left marks along the way for Cheng Xiaoxiao; even if they hadn’t, she wouldn’t lose her way, as their initial target was already set.

Cheng Xiaoxiao wasn’t surprised by their decision; anyone with sense would choose Yuan Yang City.

With the route confirmed, they continued for three more days.

During these three days, they encountered some locals and caravans of dignitaries, each minding their own business.

When some unfriendly eyes fell on Cheng Xiaoxiao, Fang Zheng would shield her from their probing gaze like an older brother. Anyone who was unruly and wished to make a move would instantly be made aware of Fang Zheng’s stern glare, his hand gripping a blood-stained dagger from his waist. Such a display left would-be troublemakers no choice but to abandon their plans.

So, having a few strong and mighty men in the team was indeed good.

If she were to travel alone, she’d likely be robbed multiple times; dealing with it could be manageable, but it’d be truly troublesome.

Some people rushed to escape, after more than ten days of travel, the dry food they brought was nearly gone, leading to frequent robberies and fights.

Some robust men formed robbery squads, targeting the elderly, weak, women, and children.

Cheng Xiaoxiao had witnessed several thrilling scenes already.

Kind-hearted citizen Fang Zheng often intervened, being fearless, he frequently thwarted bad deeds, without fear of someday being caught off guard.

After these ten or so days of camaraderie, Cheng Xiaoxiao discovered Fang Zheng and Lu Jingtian were originally working under Governor Ke, holding not too big, not too small positions as Colonels.

Unfortunately, all their men had died, leaving just the two managing to escape with their lives.

When they escaped and reached home, seeing their empty dwelling, they realized the family had fled, and thus hurriedly pursued after them.