"It..... it shouldn’t be like that."
Old Uncle Qiu was somewhat uneasy.
Although his two younger sons had stood closer to the front during the conflict with the bandits, there had been so many people that day, surely the young officer wouldn’t be able to recognize them, right?
"That young officer might not recognize them, but what about Cai Jiang?"
Qiu Da looked perplexed, "He... he was captured by the young officer, wasn’t he? He’s probably dead by now."
"Don’t forget the relationship between Mighty Hall and the Xuanwei Army." Bai Junjun hinted no further.
The Qiu family turned pale in an instant.
"No wonder the Seven-Person Team told us to leave as soon as possible, even saying that the young officer would definitely come after us! Could it be that the Seven-Person Team also guessed their connection?"
"That young officer... Tsk!"
Qiu Da shook his head and sighed, regretting that he had admired the young officer, only to discover he was not as he appeared.
He guessed the young officer had not acted rashly at the time because they had been deterred by their fighting ability, hence he staged a great play of retreating in order to advance.
In that case, they really needed to escape during the period the Ninth Guard was in control; otherwise, once the young officer and Cai Jiang arrived, it would be okay for the others, but Miss Junjun would certainly be the first to be recognized!
This simply cannot happen!
"So what should we do?"
"I shall observe for two more days and think of a strategy; if nothing unexpected occurs, we’ll leave the day after tomorrow." Bai Junjun instructed calmly.
"Okay." Everyone nodded seriously.
"However, in these chaotic times, I hope everyone understands that it’s already not easy to save ourselves; we really are powerless to concern ourselves with others."
"Miss Junjun, don’t worry, we understand."
Old Uncle Qiu was a man of clear understanding; although Bai Junjun didn’t spell it out, he grasped the implication.
Indeed, no sooner had they finished their meeting than people began seeking out Old Uncle Qiu, subtly inquiring about his decision.
Old Uncle Qiu didn’t hide anything, simply stating his family chose to cross the bridge.
People were overjoyed and immediately expressed the desire to team up with Old Uncle Qiu for mutual advancement and retreat.
Yet, Old Uncle Qiu rejected each proposal.
"My family has many members, which is conspicuous enough. If we move in such large groups as we are doing now, I fear we’ll still end up at the back of the pack after all our efforts. It’s better not to drag others down with us and to act alone. Perhaps we might even be able to push a bit further ahead that way."
Even though people pleaded repeatedly, Old Uncle Qiu remained very firm.
In his refusal, there was a mix of tact and self-deprecation, which prevented any hard feelings even in the face of denial.
After all, during a flight, it’s only natural to be self-centered—the idea of reverting to the neighborly, mutual assistance from before is unrealistic.
Besides, didn’t everyone want to group together for the sake of mutual use?
If he didn’t want to, there was nothing they could do.
People had to look elsewhere for their solution.
In the end, out of this crowd of over four hundred, four hundred chose the first route, and thirty to forty people chose the second route, which included Doctor Wang’s daughter-in-law and grandson.
Li Wenli, upon hearing this, even drew a map of Nameless Mountain for them and had Xiao Chan escort them for a few miles.
This act was also a way to repay Doctor Wang for the past life-saving grace of the wild ginseng.
As for the third option, oddly enough, not a single person in the large group chose it.
Xiao Chan looked at Old Uncle Qiu’s family with a bit of regret.
Deep down, she had hoped Old Uncle Qiu’s family would join them because both Old Uncle Qiu and his three sons, along with the disciple, were quite capable. If they could unite, their plan had a better chance of success.
But then she thought about the Qiu family’s children and women and realized it indeed was not fitting for them to take the risk with her, so Xiao Chan’s regret was less intense.