Chapter 73: Birds Frightened and the Hu Soldiers Arrive
The mountains in the distance are connected to each other, and there is only one way to go back. Either you go back and find another way, wasting precious time; or you go deep into the mountains. As long as the general direction of south is correct, you don't believe that you can't get out.

After discussion by the whole family, they finally decided to continue into the mountains and head south.

Because they were walking on a mountain road, they didn't know if there were bandits ahead, and they were even more afraid of wild animals in the forest. This time, Cheng Su, the head of the family, no longer agreed to Li Yaoguang driving at night. If possible, if they had already completely distanced themselves from Kyoto behind them, Cheng Su even thought that it would be best not to travel at night, and to find a post station or inn. At the very least, they could just find someone else's place to rest and have a meal. It would be safer to travel during the day.

Unfortunately, none of these were possible at the moment, so he forcibly took away Li Yaoguang's right to drive at night and gave the daytime rights to his niece.

Li Yaoguang was no match for her uncle, and even her aunt refused to help her. The couple's front was surprisingly united, and Li Yaoguang had no choice but to be defeated. Although she regretted that her lantern could no longer be used in the battle, she thought that they were already several days away from Kyoto, so she decided to go there in the daytime. Li Yaoguang accepted the advice.

So in broad daylight, she would force her uncle to go to the carriage to take a nap, saying that he had been tired at night. She would then occupy the C seat and drive her BMW through the mountains and forests. On such a large official road, perhaps because there was no village or shop in sight, they seldom encountered people.

The lonely mule cart kept moving, and the scenery kept changing. The only thing that remained unchanged was the withered and yellow grass in the bleak winter, and heavy snow fell one after another. Not only did people, but even animals had nothing to eat.

The snow finally melted and the ground appeared. At the foot of the mountain, on both sides of the road, in the dry grass, and in the woods, many birds were crowded on the ground foraging for food.

Li Yaoguang drove the carriage over, and the birds near the roadside were startled and flew away, but those in the distance were not afraid of people. Perhaps they were extremely hungry, and they were still pecking at their food.

It's hard to live.

It's quite depressing to see such a bleak scene for a long time. Li Yaoguang felt depressed while driving. Yu Meixue, who was in the carriage and occasionally cared about her niece and handed her water and food, noticed her niece's depression at the first time.

She remained calm, returned to the carriage, wrapped her son into a ball, pointed at the person outside the door, and patted her son's little butt.

The little guy likes to play with his cousin the most, because he has few friends since he was young. There are children in the mansion, but they only bully him. Only his cousin plays with him, tells him stories, and buys him all kinds of snacks that he has never eaten before. Therefore, his cousin is the best relative in the world besides his mother, and his father has to give way to him.

After getting permission to go out and kiss his cousin, Yang Ge'er became very excited. He didn't mind being wrapped up like a ball. He lifted the heavy car curtain, opened the door and rolled out like a ball. Li Yaoguang, who was in a depressed mood outside, was surprised to see him.

"Yangyang, why did you come out? It's cold outside."

The little guy patted his heavy clothes and replied in a baby voice: "Don't worry, cousin, Yangyang is fatter than before, Yangyang will accompany you."

Who can refuse the care of a white little ball? Since the aunt can give birth to a child, she is eager to have someone to accompany her.

He pulled the hood of the little guy's cloak tighter, dragged a cushion to the back seat beside him, bent one of his legs that were hanging down under the car board and held it horizontally, and Li Yaoguang patted the cushion to signal the little guy to sit down.

"Come on, since Yangyang is so well behaved, how about I tell you a story?"

When the little guy heard this, he sat down quickly and clapped his hands, "Great, great, what story will cousin tell Yang? Monkey King?"

"Yes, it's Monkey King, but today's Monkey King is different. How about we tell a story about Monkey King collecting all seven dragon balls to summon a dragon?"

Thinking about the current situation and looking at her tiny little cousin, for some reason, Li Yaoguang was eager to teach this little guy something, even if it was just to leave a trace of bravery in his heart, so she changed the Dragon Ball.

"Once upon a time there was a monkey named Sun Wukong who lost his ability because he had lost his memory. In order to find his memory, reunite with his family and regain his ability, he needed to collect seven dragon balls and find the Dragon God to make a wish. These seven dragon balls are courage, faith, sincerity, hard work, perseverance, cheerfulness and self-confidence..."

As a storyteller, she is good at telling stories vividly and the little one listened attentively.

As the story was being told, the mule cart rattled up the mountain. When they were about halfway up the mountain, the cart turned a corner and happened to be able to see the foot of the mountain they had just passed through through the top of the trees. Suddenly, the birds that had not been afraid of people before suddenly flew up in panic, making rapid and sharp bird calls. There were so many birds, and I was afraid that they were all the ones I saw before. What was going on?

Li Yaoguang narrowed his eyes, feeling inexplicably uneasy, and the story he was telling came to an abrupt end.

The little cousin looked up adorably and urged her to continue in a baby voice. Then, Li Yaoguang didn't have time to say much. The uneasiness that surged in her heart prompted her to stop the car immediately. She didn't have time to explain. She turned around quickly and called "Auntie", pushed the little guy into the car, and quickly stood up, took out the single-aperture telescope she had bought when she traveled and climbed mountains, opened it and took a look. Li Yaoguang's legs instantly went weak.

She wondered why a flock of birds were startled and flew away at the foot of the mountain. It turned out that a large group of soldiers dressed very differently from the soldiers of Dajing were riding past. Looking at their attire, although it was different from the Hudi Tartars she had seen in film and television works, it was obvious that they were dressed like foreigners.

Li Yaoguang was horrified, wondering how Hu Di could come so quickly!
Although she could not hear any sound of the galloping horses on the mountainside, she felt as if the ground was shaking with her beating heart.

It’s too late, it’s too late…

Almost subconsciously, Li Yaoguang pushed the car door open and shouted, "Hurry, uncle and aunt, get up quickly. Hu Dibing has arrived at the foot of the mountain. I just saw it with my own eyes!"

"what!"

The aunt who was untying the cloak for the little guy froze, her voice full of fear. Cheng Su, who was lying on the side of the carriage, suddenly woke up from his sleep. He subconsciously jumped up, but was dragged down by his broken foot and stumbled to the side. Without time to say anything, he asked the aunt to speak in a low voice while holding onto the wall of the carriage.

"How many people are coming with my son?"

Li Yaoguang shook his head. "I don't know the exact number, but it was definitely a lot. All the birds that were safe on the roadside were startled and flew away. And they were all cavalrymen."

"What should we do? What should we do? Husband, what should we do?"

Yu Meixue, who had never encountered such a scene before, panicked instantly and almost cried, grabbing her husband's arm, at a loss;
Although Yang Ge'er didn't understand what was happening in the carriage, he was affected by the atmosphere and wanted to cry. However, when he thought of the story his cousin had just told him, he kept repeating the names of the seven dragon balls in his mind, while covering his mouth tightly with his hands to calm himself.

Cheng Su was actually at a loss at the moment. Looking at his wife and children, and then at his niece in front of him, he hammered his legs angrily. Never before had he felt so disgusted with himself as a burden as he did now.

It was a critical moment and there was no time to lose. For the sake of his family, he made a choice in an instant.

"Meixue, take Guang'er and Yang'er and leave quickly. Climb up the mountain and hide. Let your husband drive the carriage and lead the way..."

"Uncle, what are you doing? We are a family and we only have one life. If you are not well, what's the point of us living alone? Stop it! There is no time to say more now. So, listen to my arrangements. Aunt, take Yang'er out of the car quickly, and uncle, you come out too."

"You intend to ..."

"Don't ask, just listen to me, hurry up! Don't want anything anymore!"

At the critical moment, Li Yaoguang made a strong decision for her family. She didn't want anyone to sacrifice, so she had to give it a try.

After saying this, she quickly got off the carriage, pulled out a sharp butcher knife, and cut the rope on the mule's back that connected it to the carriage frame. She then swung the knife to cut off the copper bells hanging on the necks of the two mules and put them into the space. She then led the two mules to the shaft of the carriage.

"Uncle, you and aunt each take a mule, and you take Yang Ge'er with you, and quickly go up the mountain!"