Chapter 43 She is Su Yao!

Lu Huaijin had never felt such panic in his life.

Hearing that there was a riot among the refugees at the city gate, the image of Su Yao flashed instantly into his mind.

Without a second thought, he spurred his horse toward the city gate.

A cloud of dust trailed behind him as he rode relentlessly without stopping.

Brandishing his sword all the way, he forced his way through the obstructing refugees, burning with anxiety.

When he saw Zhao Zhifu standing there all alone, his heart instantly plummeted to the bottom.

A suffocating sensation engulfed him, making his chest feel unbearably tight and rendering him unable to breathe.

He had never imagined that Su Yao would vanish from his side.

Just this morning, she had been sleeping quietly beside him, and her warm body heat still seemed to linger on his fingertips.

She was someone whom he could simply reach out and gather into his arms whenever he pleased.

Yet at this moment, not a single trace of her could be found.

Su Yao's stubborn yet submissive expression kept replaying in his mind.

When he first laid eyes on Su Yao, she was a clean, pure, and flawless young girl.

Under the pear blossom tree, every smile and glance of hers remained vivid in his memory.

Even when she angered him, causing him to scold or punish her,

As long as she docilely admitted her fault, he would never hold it against her in the slightest.

How dared this girl—whom he both loved and hated—simply disappear?

Had he known this would happen, he never would have allowed her out of the house.

He should have kept her locked away in the back courtyard, isolated from the rest of the world.

Or perhaps chained right by his side, never letting her leave his sight for even a single step.

Lu Huaijin's body trembled slightly, his eyes bloodshot.

His gaze exuded an unprecedented chill and ruthlessness, resembling a wounded, near-mad beast.

He took a few strides forward, grabbed Zhao Zhifu by the collar, and spoke in a voice forced out from between his clenched teeth.

"Where did she go?"

Startled out of her wits by this sudden move, Zhao Zhifu shook her head instinctively.

"Speak!" Lu Huaijin roared again.

Trembling all over with fright, Zhao Zhifu stammered, "There were so many refugees just now... we... we got separated in the crowd."

Su Yao walked along with the tide of refugees.

Where was she going?

She did not know.

Yet her heart felt joyous.

She laughed.

Freely and wildly.

Suddenly, the rain began to fall once more, pattering heavily against her face.

Blurring her vision.

Rainwater streamed down her cheeks, and she could no longer tell whether what flowed on her face was rain or tears.

But what did that matter?

At this moment, she was free.

She could finally laugh out loud without any reservations.

She could weep without restraint as well.

She was no longer the little bird trapped by Lu Huaijin's side.

She was Su Yao.

The Su Yao who had regained her freedom.

"Lass, you've lost your home, why are you still laughing?"

Su Yao turned her head to see an elderly woman looking at her with a puzzled expression.

The refugees had no destination; they simply walked forward blindly.

As night fell, the crowd began to search everywhere for a place to rest.

Some went to ruined temples, while others had no choice but to settle beneath bridge arches.

Supporting the old woman, Su Yao found a secluded corner inside a ruined temple and sat down to rest.

"Granny, where is everyone going?"

The old woman gently shook her head and sighed, "To a warmer place."

Lost in thought, Su Yao asked again, "Is it the south?"

The old woman nodded slightly. "Perhaps. We walk as we look, and as long as we find a secure place, that will be enough."

Su Yao calculated quietly in her heart; she wanted to go to Lingnan.

Lingnan was right down there in the warm south.

Most of these refugees came from the same village or neighboring villages. Traveling together, they supported one another on this arduous journey of escape.

Along the way, if anyone had surplus food, they would generously share it with one another.

However, they were extremely wary of outsiders and would not easily allow strangers to mix into their ranks.

At that moment, a burly man walked over. Seeing that Su Yao and the old woman had no food, he proactively handed over a flatbread.

Yet his eyes were filled with wariness as he looked Su Yao up and down and asked, "Who are you? I haven't seen you before."

A chill ran through Su Yao's heart, and she instinctively gripped the old woman's hand tightly.

Reacting quickly, the old woman immediately spoke up, "She is my granddaughter. We are from Shahe Village."

Upon hearing this, the man pressed further, "Does anyone recognize them?"

Someone in the crowd chimed in, "I've seen this granny before."

Pointing at Su Yao, the man continued relentlessly, "Then what about her?"

Seeing this, the old woman quickly turned to block the crowd's line of sight, feigning anger as she said, "Are you trying to bully us because there are no men left in our family?"

Choked by these words, the man was left speechless for a moment. With an awkward expression, he stopped asking further questions, placed half a flatbread on the ground, and turned to leave.

"Thank you, Granny."

Looking gratefully at the old woman, Su Yao picked up the dry flatbread and began to bite into it hungrily.

The flatbread was dry, hard, and difficult to swallow.

Yet she felt incomparably satisfied.

In her heart, the taste of this flatbread far surpassed the sea cucumbers and abalones of the Lu estate.

After filling her stomach, Su Yao leaned slowly against the corner of the wall and soon drifted into a hazy sleep.

She did not know how long she had slept when she suddenly felt someone gently nudging her a few times, causing her body to tense up instinctively.

Slowly opening her eyes, she made out through the dim light of the ruined temple that the person standing before her was none other than the burly man who had given her the flatbread earlier.

Vigilantly glancing around, Su Yao realized that the old woman beside her had vanished without a trace, and alarm bells instantly went off in her mind.

Fixing her gaze on the man, she asked guardedly, "What are you doing? Where is my grandmother?"

The man grinned, revealing a row of uneven yellow teeth.

"Your grandmother went to the latrine. I was a bit offensive earlier, so I specifically came over now to greet you properly."

Su Yao's guard against him did not lessen in the slightest. She merely murmured a vague acknowledgement and turned her head away, unwilling to have any further conversation with him.

Acting as if he had not noticed her coldness, the man leaned closer and pursued, "Which part of Shahe Village are you from?"

A jolt of shock went through Su Yao's heart as she silently cursed inwardly. Why was this man so persistent? It seemed he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Feigning composure, she hesitated for a fleeting moment and replied, "The northern part."

The man rubbed his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

"Then do you know Dazhuang? He's also from the northern part of Shahe Village."

Su Yao felt her scalp tingle. The man's persistent questioning made her increasingly uneasy. Lowering her eyelids, she spoke with a heavy wave of drowsiness, "I'm a bit tired, big brother. Let's talk about anything else tomorrow."

"Don't be like that. The night is long, let's chat a bit more."

Showing no intention of leaving whatsoever, the man instead leaned closer still.

Frowning, Su Yao anxiously glanced toward the entrance from time to time. "Why hasn't my grandmother returned yet? It's so late, and the path is difficult to navigate. I'll go check on her, I'm afraid she might trip."

As if deliberately obstructing her, the man took a step forward, blocking her path entirely.

The smile on his face gradually vanished, replaced by a scrutinizing gaze. "Don't be in such a rush, we haven't finished talking yet. From your accent, you don't sound much like someone from our hometown."

Sinking into despair, Su Yao realized the situation had turned critical.

Striving to steady her mind, she straightened her spine and demanded loudly, "What on earth are you trying to do!"