The night passed peacefully until dawn. Old Gu Six rose and stretched lazily before leading his mule to a nearby grove to graze.
Chang'an climbed into the carriage and entered her space, steaming the buns and brewing two cups of milk. She then went to groom herself.
When Old Gu Six returned from outside, he found his daughter missing from the carriage. She often disappeared and reappeared suddenly, returning with food in hand. He acted as if he knew nothing, standing guard outside and keeping others at bay.
Chang'an let the steamed buns cool slightly before bringing them out of her space. Having only drunk one cup of milk, she was already full. The buns were steamed for her father—six large ones and a big cup of milk should suffice.
"Father, come have your breakfast," Chang'an called out, tugging at Old Gu Six's sleeve as she exited the carriage.
"Alright," he replied, patting his daughter's head out of habit before climbing into the carriage.
Half an hour later, the Village Head struck the gong. "Pack up, we're moving out!"
With nothing to pack, Chang'an and Old Gu Six simply hitched the mule to the carriage and waited for the others.
It took another quarter hour for the caravan to finally start moving slowly forward.
"Father, where are we headed?" Chang'an asked.
Old Gu Six bit into a strip of beef jerky and drawled, "No idea. My guess is the Village Head plans to take us south."
"But Father, we can't go south. There's been flooding there, and the locals are fleeing famine themselves. With all that flooding, disease will be rampant. We'd best avoid the area."
"I'll have a word with the Village Head when we stop for the midday break."
"Mmm, just say you heard it from the refugees. With more and more of them on the roads these days, who knows whose words they are?"
"Daughter, if not south, where would be safer?"
"Let's head north to the wilderness."
"I've heard the northern wilderness is vast yet sparsely populated. The people are fierce, the land unsuitable for crops, and the winters unbearably long and cold—not conducive for survival."
"Father, do you trust me?"
"I trust whatever you say, daughter."
"In the southwest, there are locust plagues. In the west, drought. In the south, flooding. In the east, drought again. We only have two viable options: Lingnan or the northern wilderness."
"Then why not Lingnan?"
"Because someone told me we must go to the northern wilderness." As for why not Lingnan, she had no clue herself.
A small voice chimed in, "But why? That's where the war began. I've been sick with worry over you two little calves."
Old Gu Six didn't pry further, assuming Chang'an's teacher had advised her.
It's best not to inquire too deeply into the affairs of immortals.
The sun scorched the earth, and plumes of dust rose where the travelers passed.
Groups of famine refugees could already be seen on the road, though their numbers didn't exceed those from Qingfang Village.
Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out from ahead: "Ahhh!"
Chang'an jumped, dropping the skewered shrimp on the mat below.
But she could still eat them if she picked them up within three seconds.
The scream brought the caravan to another halt.
Chang'an stood on her tiptoes atop the carriage canopy, peering ahead, while Old Gu Six shifted aside, worried she might fall.
"Daughter, lean on my head for better balance," he offered.
Seeing no grease atop his head, Chang'an steadied herself by resting her plump little hand there as she continued watching the spectacle unfold.
The scream had come from Gu Dagou's daughter-in-law.
As they marched along, she saw a chunk of flesh fall from her father-in-law's face, terrifying her. She now crouched, retching violently—having eaten nothing, only bile came up.
Just how large was the psychological scar this incident left her?
Her scream drew everyone's attention to the sight of the eight Gu brothers losing flesh from their faces before the crowd's eyes.
Imagine the psychological scar inflicted upon the entire caravan.
Those with slightly weaker constitutions promptly vomited in unison.
As flesh fell away, gaping holes were left on their faces—a horrifying sight that drove the children to tears.
Voices rose, demanding the Village Head "Expel Gu's entire family from the caravan! They've been cursed by the heavens. Don't let them bring ruin upon us all!"
"That's right, Village Head. Drive them out! The refugee trail is arduous enough without such monsters among us. What if they provoke the wrath of the heavens?"
Chang'an averted her gaze, nearly vomiting herself at the revolting scene.
So her thunderbolts had this... interesting ability?
Gu Dagou's furious roars came from ahead: "The real monster is Old Gu Six! He's the one who did this to us!"
The angrier he grew, the more flesh fell away—even from his body.
Everyone, family included, shrank back from them in revulsion.
Recalling Old Gu Six's reputation, some villagers wavered, their eyes drifting toward the back of the caravan.
Then a young man spoke up in dissent. "If Old Six had such powers, could the Gu family have bullied him so?"
His mother chimed in, "My Mu is right. If Old Six could summon the wrath of the heavens against anyone, the oldest Gu would have been struck long ago instead of waiting until now!"
This was the young man Old Gu Six had fed those rock-hard buns to up in the mountains.
The villagers found his logic convincing.
Seeing their waver, Gu Dagou cried out through his agony, "It was scolding him that brought this curse upon me! He's a monster, I tell you!"
Those present that day affirmed, "That does seem to be what happened."
The Village Head then intervened. "If you believe this is Old Six's doing, we'll settle it directly. Whoever's at fault will be expelled from the caravan." With such constant infighting disrupting their already arduous refugee journey, better to banish the source and find some peace.
The father and daughter ignored the ruckus ahead. Old Gu Six was whispering to Chang'an, "Daughter, might they turn into skeletons still drawing breath?"
Chang'an stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I suspect the pain would kill them before they became mere skeletons."
From the corner of her eye, Chang'an glimpsed the Village Head approaching with Gu Daquan's entire family. With a subtle motion of her small hand, she summoned a flash of thunderbolts—this time striking the oldest Gu, who collapsed frothing and convulsing.
A warning to the Village Head: If he dared bring these people to make trouble, she would give him an electrifying massage next.
The bolt struck the ground at the Village Head's feet, nearly knocking him over backward a few paces.
Those accompanying him swiftly backed away.
Phew, that was a close call with that lightning strike!
Chang'an and Old Gu Six looked ahead with feigned surprise, as if witnessing something remarkable for the first time.
The villagers believed the father and daughter's heresy.
"Look, they themselves don't know what happened. If they were playing tricks, why would they spare your lives? A bolt of lightning could have struck you dead instantly."
"Surely the Oldest Gu's family must have done something extremely immoral to anger the Heavens, which is why they were struck by lightning."
Chang'an did not have the mind to look for Old Gu Six now. He had almost been struck himself and his heart was still pounding rapidly. That was too close!
No one should associate with the Oldest Gu's family, or they would meet with misfortune.
Chang'an really did not understand the Village Head's thought process. If you said he was a good person, he would often do foolish things. But if you said he was not a good person, he acted justly and strictly, which was very contradictory.
The Village Head immediately ordered, "The entire Oldest Gu family is to be expelled from our group. They cannot travel with Qingfang Village. Whoever dares to help them will also be expelled."
Gu Er and Gu San, who had been restless, immediately settled down. They were brothers with the Oldest Gu, but they could not put their brother before their families.
The villagers did not wait for the Village Head's command and collectively pushed the Oldest Gu's family out of the group.
The nine brothers who had been struck by lightning were still shedding flesh from their bodies and cried out in pain whenever they were moved.
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