The tidal flat outside Dawan Fishing Village had never been so lively. The twilight, like a thin layer of gold dust, fell over the muddy dirt road, making it look a little less terrible than usual.
The commoners flooding from the direction of Wuling City walked unsteadily, forming a dusty, gray stream of people.
Some leaned on crutches, some carried children on their backs, and others had to stop to catch their breath every few steps. They propped themselves up on their knees, the veins on their foreheads bulging one by one.
The first to arrive were the young people who still had the strength to run.
Panting heavily, they stepped onto the wet sand at the edge of the tidal flat, stretching their necks to look around.
However, as far as the eye could see...
There was only the empty tidal flat, a few lopsided thatched huts, and two or three bottom-leaking fishing boats stranded on the shore.
There was no Divine Lady, nor was there any white porridge...
The young people looked at one another, the excitement on their faces receding inch by inch like the ebbing tide.
“This is indeed Dawan Fishing Village, but why don't we see the Divine Lady? Were we tricked?”
“I knew it. Why would a Divine Lady bestow porridge on us? How could there be such a good thing in the world?”
“Let's wait a bit longer. It's not completely dark yet.”
The people behind them arrived one after another.
As the crowd grew larger and larger, some began to cough, while others squatted on the ground and sighed. A few exhausted elderly people simply sat down on the sand, staring blankly at the horizon with turbid, hollow eyes. The sea breeze blew their gray hair, pasting it strand by strand against their withered faces.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Even as the sun sank below the horizon, the Divine Lady they had all hoped for still did not appear, and disappointment settled over everyone's face.
The elderly had sat for too long, and their knees had grown stiff. As they pushed themselves up from the ground, their joints popped and creaked.
Some had already begun to turn back, dragging their feet and leaving shallow tracks in the sand.
“Let's go, let's go. It was a lie.”
“Maybe some noble was just looking for amusement, playing with us poor folks for their own entertainment.”
“Let's head back. Once it's pitch black, the road will be even harder to walk.”
The crowd began to shuffle back toward the path they had come from.
Right then, the sound of many voices suddenly drifted from the low woods behind the tidal flat.
“Mother, give me that basin of clothes. Let me carry it. I have strength, don't look down on me.”
“Oh, you're so clumsy. Don't cause trouble. These clothes were just washed clean. If you get them dirty, I'll have to wash them all over again!”
“Don't worry, Mother, my hands are very steady.”
“Auntie, just give it to her. Ni'er has been strong since she was little. I think she's a blessed child. Who knows, maybe our Ni'er can become a Great General in the future, just like General Feng of the Zhenbei Army. How majestic that would be!”
“Exactly! If Ni'er becomes a Great General, no one will dare bully you widowed mother and fatherless daughter anymore.”
“Auntie Liu, when I become a Great General, I won't just protect my mother. I'll protect the village too... Mmph...”
“Just a child talking nonsense.”
“Hahaha...”
Along with the laughter and chatter echoing from the woods, a group of figures parted the low shrubs and walked onto the tidal flat in twos and threes.
Leading them were several young men. They were barefoot, their trouser legs rolled up above their knees, and they carried wooden basins on their shoulders. The basins were piled with freshly washed clothes, which were still dripping wet.
Behind them followed a group of women.
Some were young, while others were elderly, all cradling wooden basins piled high with clothes.
Among them were also several teenagers, who helped carry quite a few of the wet clothes.
They were the villagers of the fishing village.
They had clearly just finished washing their clothes and were heading back from the other side of the tidal flat before it got completely dark, planning to pass through this patch of low woods to return to the village and hang their clothes to dry.
Who would have thought that the moment they stepped onto the tidal flat and looked up, they would see a crowd of unfamiliar, uninvited guests?
Everyone was startled by the sheer size of the crowd before them.
Thousands of ragged, gaunt strangers had suddenly appeared on the tidal flat outside their village.
Anyone would feel a tightening in their chest upon seeing such a sight.
In these troubled times, not only did rogue armies pillage and plunder, but refugees driven to the brink of starvation would also enter villages to raid for food and belongings.
The commoners from Wuling City also stopped in their tracks. The massive crowd turned to look back at the villagers emerging from the woods, their eyes filled with surprise and wariness.
They had all heard what was said just now.
This group of people knew some General Feng.
To be a general meant having soldiers under their command, which made them people the commoners could not afford to offend.
Both sides stood frozen in place, neither making a move.
Seeing that the villagers did not dare speak, Zhu Jingzhe realized things couldn't go on like this. He turned, signaling his sister with a glance not to move, and squeezed through from the back to the front.
He held his head high, forcing a calm expression on his face, but his hands constantly tightening around the wooden basin betrayed his inner tension.
“Who are you people? Why are you gathered here? Let me warn you, the Zhenbei Army is camped just ahead, and our villagers are currently working for them. You'd better not cause trouble; the Zhenbei Army's weapons are no joking matter!”
The commoners from Wuling City shrank back in fear at Zhu Jingzhe's threatening words.
“Don't... don't misunderstand!” One of the commoners spoke up, his voice trembling slightly from nervousness, though he tried his best to speak clearly. “Little brother, we aren't bad people! We came from Wuling City. Today, a lot of white paper suddenly floated down from the sky, saying that the Divine Lady was giving out white porridge here at Dawan Fishing Village, so we came to have a look...”
Zhu Jingzhe frowned. “What white paper?”
“I can't really explain it. When it drifted down from the sky, it looked like ordinary white paper, but once we caught it, it turned into light, and then a voice spoke...” The commoner gestured with his hands, sweat breaking out on his forehead in his anxiety.
He probed cautiously.
“That voice told us the Divine Lady is giving out porridge at Dawan Fishing Village. Do you... do you really not know?”
“The Divine Lady did indeed descend upon our village, and she even killed the pirates to save us all.”
Zhu Jingzhe thought for a moment and added, “As for the porridge-giving you mentioned, I'm not aware of it.”
“However, I can take you to find the Zhenbei Army. They are believers of the Divine Lady, so perhaps they can clear things up for you.”
With so many refugees gathered near the fishing village, there was no guaranteeing that nothing would go wrong. The best course of action right now was to lead them to the rocky beach and hand them over to the Zhenbei Army.
Besides, judging by their expressions, they did not seem to be lying. Perhaps the Divine Lady really had guided them here.
Although he could not fathom the Divine Lady's intentions, since she wanted these Wuling commoners to come to Dawan Fishing Village, it certainly wouldn't be wrong for him to bring them to the Zhenbei Army.
The Wuling City commoners hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
“Brother Zhuzi, you guys head back to the village first. These clothes need to be hung out to dry soon.” Zhu Jingzhe handed his wooden basin to the young man next to him and continued, “I'll take them to the rocky beach by myself.”
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