Chapter 16: Chaos
Gu Yunshu clutched her hand, “Eldest sister, has Dad already entered the city?”
“I’m not quite sure. I’ll ask around first.”
Gu Yundong located a nearby piece of land and led a few people to sit down and take a break. Once rested, she began to inquire about Father Gu’s whereabouts.
She didn’t dare to leave the Yang family alone, so she stayed with them.
The city gates swarmed with a dense crowd, akin to a mix of people and snakes—it was extremely challenging to locate a single individual.
Worse still, many onlookers gave them predatory stares, as though they were ready to leap at them at any moment. Gu Yundong remained on high alert, keeping a firm grip on her dagger.
After traversing much of the ‘refugee area’ without success, there were no signs of Father Gu—even Old Man Gu and the rest seemed to have vanished.
Gu Yunke, who was carried in front of Mrs. Yang in a basket, began to complain of hunger. After enduring it for so long, she couldn’t help but poke half her small head out and whispered, “Eldest sister, I’m hungry.”
Before Gu Yundong could reply, Gu Yunshu already offered soothing words, “Little sister, we have nothing to eat right now, so we need to find Dad quickly. Maybe we’ll find something to eat there.”
“Really?” Gu Yunke gulped down her saliva, her eyes lighting up with hope.
Gu Yunshu nodded earnestly, “Yes, so can you hang in there for a little longer? Okay?”
Their conversation wasn’t particularly loud, but it was audible to everyone nearby.
Gu Yundong raised an eyebrow in surprise, gently caressed her little brother’s head, and whispered affirmingly, “Well done.”
She still had some food left, but considering the many eyes fixated on them, revealing any food would likely lead to a robbery.
She was also impressed by her little brother’s response.
Gu Yunshu felt a wave of nervous excitement—he worried that he might have misspoken and misled his sister. But receiving the eldest sister’s praise, his chest swelled with pride, “I… I understand.”
Along their journey, he observed how the eldest sister handled those with ill intentions. He wanted to offer her support, but feared causing more trouble through any misguided actions, so he remained silent.
His reply was instinctual, and to his delight, it turned out to be the right one.
Gu Yunshu felt a surge of happiness, and all his fatigue seemed to evaporate.
As the day transitioned into night, they continued their search for Father Gu, interjecting occasional questions among the crowds.
Regrettably, as darkness set in, no useful information surfaced.
Clearly, Father Gu had either entered the city, hadn’t yet arrived, or—in the worst-case scenario—wasn’t among the living.
The hope that previously lit Gu Yunshu’s face faded, his spirits sinking.
Beside him, Gu Yundong’s countenance also grew more serious—a sign that something was amiss.
Walking about, they noticed groups of young, able-bodied men huddled in pairs or small clusters, their eyes gleaming with a raw urgency bordering on madness.
The situation was palpably dangerous.
The four family members returned to their spot to rest. Their anxious uncle inquired, “Any news?”
“Not yet,” Gu Yundong replied.
With a sigh, the uncle remarked, “In this world, finding someone is too difficult. But don’t lose hope; you’ll find him.”
“Yeah.” Gu Yundong set down the Yang family’s back basket and finally took a moment to drink water from a bamboo tube. After a short pause, she handed the tube to Gu Yunshu and voiced her concern, “Uncle, I fear that it’s not safe here.”
“I’m aware.” The uncle replied with a wistful smile, “The city gates are shut, no one is distributing porridge—it’s getting crowded, and hunger is mounting. Pressure like this can drive a person to desperation, how could chaos not ensue?”
Gu Yundong bit her lip, sensing that in the coming days, the refugees would resort to any means necessary to breach the city gates.
When that moment arrived, turmoil was inevitable.
✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧ 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓉𝓎𝓃𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 ✧˚·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥·̩̩̥͙✧·̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥˚·̩̩̥͙✧
