The Reticent Blade-Chapter 201 – Desolate Liangzhou (Part One)

Ye Beizhi and his group had already stayed in Liangzhou Prefecture for three days. Except for Tang Jinnian, who had remained inside his room the entire time, everyone else went about their own business daily without interfering with each other.

Today, Rao Shuang returned with an unpleasant expression on her face.

Inside the room, Ye Beizhi sat by the window, gazing blankly outside. Chi Nanwei was playing with Xue Niang, Baili Gucheng was brewing medicine and feeding it to Yang Lu, and Xue Qiming was napping in his own room, absent from the scene.

"Something’s happened," Rao Shuang said gravely.

Ye Beizhi and Baili Gucheng didn’t turn around, but Chi Nanwei looked over and asked, "What is it? What happened?"

Frowning, Rao Shuang replied, "It seems that Northern Qiang forces are attacking Liangzhou. I don’t know if it’s true, but many people in the city are clamoring to leave. A large crowd has already gathered at the city gates, demanding that the authorities let them go."

"Attacking Liangzhou?" Chi Nanwei gasped softly. "Didn't they say earlier that Northern Qiang was attacking Jibei? How come they’re now attacking us here in Liangzhou?"

"I don’t know, but the city is already in chaos," Rao Shuang shook her head. "The authorities refuse to open the gates, claiming the news is fake and is nothing more than a rumor."

"Where did this information come from?" Baili Gucheng asked abruptly.

Rao Shuang glanced at him and said, "Refugees. Some fled from the north, saying that Ze’an City and Dengchang City, which are just before Liangzhou Prefecture, have already fallen. Many have fled to Liangzhou, in hopes that its ten-thousand-strong garrison can ensure their safety."

"It seems this isn’t fake news." Baili Gucheng nodded. "The authorities likely don’t dare to open the gates yet. Doing so would mean acknowledging the news of the unexpected invasion. If that happened, then the city would truly descend into chaos."

"What should we do? Should we leave?" Chi Nanwei asked Ye Beizhi by the window.

Ye Beizhi looked at Chi Nanwei, seemingly pondering the question, but didn’t speak.

Baili Gucheng squinted in thought.

"Who knows how much more time Forsaken Phoenix will need to finish refining the medicine? We can’t disturb him. Dengchang City is still a certain distance from Liangzhou, and there's Songqing City in between... it should hold out for a while longer."

"Songqing City has its back to the mountains," Ye Beizhi suddenly said, glancing at Baili Gucheng. "It’s defensible."

"You’ve been there?" Baili Gucheng asked with some surprise.

Ye Beizhi nodded. "I went there to kill."

Baili Gucheng understood.

"Then we should still have time. Songqing City is hard to attack and easy to defend. We can wait until Forsaken Phoenix finishes refining the medicine before leaving," Baili Gucheng decided.

Rao Shuang hesitated and asked, "Should we inform Tang Jinnian about the situation and ask him to hurry?"

Baili Gucheng shook his head. "Forget it. Better not to disturb him."

Rao Shuang thought for a moment and finally nodded.

Ye Beizhi suddenly stood up and headed toward the door.

"Dummy, where are you going?" Chi Nanwei asked hurriedly.

"Going out to take a look," Ye Beizhi replied.

"I’ll go with you." Chi Nanwei followed, handing Xue Niang over to Rao Shuang. "You take care of her."

The two pushed open the door and found the lobby of the inn was empty. There wasn’t even a single table of diners present.

Ye Beizhi led Chi Nanwei down the stairs and happened to run into their innkeeper who was hurrying out from the backyard. Upon seeing them, their innkeeper anxiously asked, "Why haven’t you left yet?"

"Huh? Leave? Leave for where?" Chi Nanwei asked in confusion.

"Not here! Where else? Run for your lives!" The innkeeper slapped his thigh. "The Northern Qiang barbarians are about to attack! Do you want to stay here and die?!"

"Didn’t they say they haven’t arrived yet?" Chi Nanwei tilted her head.

"Oh, you silly girl!" The innkeeper looked exasperated. "Can’t you see? Everyone in this inn has already left. Why haven’t you wisened up yet?"

Chi Nanwei opened her mouth, momentarily speechless. "Then... if you leave, what about this inn?"

Hearing this, the innkeeper froze for a moment, then gritted his teeth, took out a bunch of keys from his pocket, and shoved them into Chi Nanwei’s hands.

"Alright Miss, since I can’t take the inn with me, let me entrust it to you. If you’re not planning on leaving, help me look after it for a while. If... if Liangzhou Prefecture holds, I’ll come back for it. That’s that. I’m not staying a moment longer!"

As soon as he handed off the keys, the innkeeper hurried away with his belongings, not bothering to look back as he ran.

Chi Nanwei stared at the innkeeper’s departing figure, then looked down at the keys in her hand, still a little stunned at her unexpected promotion.

Chi Nanwei looked at Ye Beizhi and murmured, "Dummy..."

"Hmm..." Ye Beizhi nodded. "At least now I won’t have to sleep on the floor."

Chi Nanwei blushed deeply.

Setting their banter aside, Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei stepped out of the inn and onto the street, where they saw crowds of people hurrying toward the city gates, carrying everything they possibly could.

The street was noisy and chaotic. Children cried, unwilling to leave, and their adults shouting sternly. Broken families loudly called out to one another, and people banged on the doors of relatives and friends, urging them to flee.

Some, driven by ill intentions, took the opportunity to rush into shops along the street and loot all that they could. The cries, shouts, and curses melded into a lawless cacophony.

Chi Nanwei sighed. "Who would’ve thought? Just yesterday, this city was thriving and bustling. It somehow turned into this overnight."

Seeing Ye Beizhi remain silent, Chi Nanwei tugged at his sleeve. "Dummy, what should we do?"

Ye Beizhi nodded and said, "Let’s go to the city gates and see."

The two tried to make their way toward the city gates but couldn’t proceed further while they were still some distance away. The area was packed with people, making it impossible to move forward.

Ye Beizhi led Chi Nanwei to a restaurant by the street. They went up to the third floor and stood on the balcony, observing the crowd below.

People shouted angrily at the soldiers on the city wall, demanding for the gates to be opened. The avalanche of offensive words made it impossible to figure out who was saying what.

Those at the very front were pressed against the gates by the growing crowd. They desperately pushed and pounded on the gates in hopes of breaking free. Even though the massive gates were quite sturdy, they let out grating creaks under the strain of the frenzied crowd.

On the wall, an official dressed in formal attire was shouting something, likely urging the crowd to remain calm. However, his voice was too small to be heard over the chaos.

The crowd pelted him with eggs, stones, and even shoes, forcing him to retreat while shielding his head.

As the crowd was packed tighter and tighter together, tempers flared. Fights started breaking out between individuals. The scene descended further into chaos, as people confronted each other about being jostled or stepped on. Throughout it all, women and children were crying from being shoved this way and that.

The pandemonium only increased until a loud noise came from the city gates.

Creak. Thud, thud, thud—

The city gates, unable to withstand the press of the crowd, finally gave way.

The crowd paused, taking in their potential escape route in silence for a moment, before erupting into even louder cheers.

"It’s open! The gates are open!"

"People in front move! Hurry up!"

"Quickly! Run for your lives!"

The dense crowd surged forward like a desperate writhing worm. Those at the back pushed the ones in front, each person concerned only with getting out as fast as they could.

Some people were knocked to the ground and were trampled before they could stand again. Others tried to help the fallen but were also pushed down from behind by the surging crowd. The ground gradually grew stained with a glaring crimson.

Unable to bear the sight, Chi Nanwei buried her head in Ye Beizhi’s arm. Ye Beizhi gently embraced her and quietly watched the scene below, where every step the people took toward an uncertain escape left behind a crimson footprint.