TRT -Chapter 32 The Flood

The rain grew heavier and heavier…

None of us expected that it would rain for seven straight days!

When the sky finally cleared, a bunch of us disheveled “savages” couldn’t wait to crawl out of the cave.

Ying’s injuries were almost healed. He still limped a little, but he could walk. While we were in the cave, we had already discussed our plans: since Lord Luo’s fate was unknown and the Luo Prince’s residence in Qiuyue City was no longer safe, we might as well go find the Fourth Prince and decide our next move.

We walked along the valley floor until we reached the main road. Only then did we realize that the seven days of nonstop rain had been merely an inconvenience for us, but a disaster for the farmers who depended on the land for survival.

Out of forty major rivers in the later Ming era, thirty had overflowed!

Floods raged everywhere. Refugees filled the land.

The three of us—filthy, bloodstained, and disheveled—blended right in among the even more ragged refugees.

In TV dramas, refugees fleeing floods always seemed merely “pitiful.” But only after mixing in with them did I realize that crowds like this were often full of bandits and thieves. No wonder major cities were unwilling to accept refugees—it cost money, drained resources, and disrupted public security.

Guo’er told us to hide all valuables and not show our wealth.

Guo’er, you’re really suited to managing a household~

The refugee wave was stopped outside Yancheng. The city gates were shut tight. Officials lined up outside to block the crowd.

The refugees—exhausted and starving after long journeys—were denied entry. Conflict immediately broke out with the guards.

While I was worrying about how to get inside, Guo’er led us in the opposite direction. After winding around for a long time, we finally found an abandoned old district about ten li outside Yancheng and stayed temporarily at a farmer’s house.

This was a poor outskirts area. All the neighbors were destitute. Guo’er took out a few taels of loose silver, and they were overjoyed.

There were no decent clothes or meals, but after being filthy for so many days, just taking a hot bath made me feel refreshed from head to toe.

The coarse cloth clothes were itchy, but at least they were low-profile.

For safety, I asked the uncle for a man’s outfit. I had no idea how those layers of cloth were supposed to be worn, so I wrapped myself randomly, tied it up with a sash, and went to find Guo’er and Ying.

“Minmin, come eat!”

Ying sat at the table, waving his chopsticks while teasing the eight-and-a-half-year-old girl of the household. He also tossed bones to the big black dog rubbing against his ankles.

Laughter, barking, chewing—everything filled the air…

=_=### This guy really makes himself at home…

On the table were two plates of green vegetables, a big bowl of tofu soup, and a stack of yellow flatbreads. In the middle was a small plate of braised meat—probably the most presentable dish they had.

Compared with the Luo Prince’s residence, this food was terrible.

But after a week of eating plain boiled mushrooms and unsalted half-raw meat, my eyes turned green with desire!

I reached out to grab a flatbread—

And was stopped halfway by Guo’er.

Without a word, he hooked his finger and untied my belt.

My pants immediately tried to obey gravity!

I panicked and grabbed them.

“What are you doing?! What are you doing?! Sexual harassment! Ah—”

Ignoring my nonsense, Guo’er straightened the belt and carefully tied it again. Then he adjusted my collar and tucked in my sash.

“Alright. Go eat.”

For a moment, I felt like I had returned to the arena, when he brushed dust off my clothes for me.

Was he gentle to me… or only gentle for the sake of his mission?

I was confused.

After eating, we decided to head southeast.

The floods were in the north, and refugees were fleeing south. We could blend in. The Sixth Prince had defected to the east, so the Fourth Prince—who was pursuing him—should be there too.

So heading southeast should let us reunite with the “big fox.”

But in the following days, even food like that became a dream.

Traveling with the refugees was like experiencing hell on earth.

The flooded areas expanded. More and more people fled. Relief grain hadn’t arrived yet. Local tycoons hoarded supplies. Food prices skyrocketed.

Even our daily rations grew smaller. We could barely fill our stomachs.

The penniless refugees fared even worse.

The massive procession slowed. People kept collapsing. In a few days, corpses would be everywhere.

We—people from the peaceful 21st century—had never seen such horror.

Every fly-covered skeleton-like body by the roadside shocked us deeply.

“This has nothing to do with me,” I told myself.

“I can barely protect myself. This isn’t the time to be compassionate.”

When I saw refugees beaten to death for begging rice from rich caravans, I told myself again:

“This has nothing to do with you. This belongs to this era.”

At noon, while chewing half a rice cake under the city wall, a filthy little girl crawled over and grabbed my pant leg.

Only hoarse wheezing came from her throat.

Her cloudy eyes stared at my food.

“This has nothing to do with you,” I told myself.

“This is your only meal today. You’re not a fairy-tale heroine. You can’t save everyone.”

But I raised my hand to stop Guo’er and let her hold onto me.

After begging for a while, seeing no response, the girl collapsed at my feet.

I looked around.

Only young adults were still moving.

The elderly, the sick, and children had mostly fallen.

Nearby trees had been stripped bare—no leaves, no bark. When the wind blew, only mournful sounds remained.

A chill ran through me.

Suddenly, I stood up.

I helped the girl up, leaned her against the wall, and put my half cake into her hands.

She devoured it crazily, choking.

I gave her water and patted her back.

Ying and Guo’er silently handed me their food.

I shook my head and refused.

“This has nothing to do with you,” my heart kept shouting.

“You can’t save them all…”

“I’m staying,” I heard myself say.

My voice was hoarse, nervous, but firm.

“I’ll stay and help them as much as I can. Even if I can’t do much. Even if you won’t stay. Even if it’s just me.”

I looked at Ying and Guo’er.

We were all exhausted.

Ying squatted and grinned at me under the sunlight.

For the first time, I realized how warm his smile was.

He stayed.

Then… Guo’er?

We both looked at him.

After a long silence, he said:

“We’re only three people.”

“I know.”

“We don’t have much money.”

“I know.”

Finally, he smiled faintly.

“Come on. Let’s think about how to get money.”

“Yeah!!!”

Ying and I jumped up together, drawing stares.

He stayed.

He would always stand quietly behind me, wouldn’t he?

Until the mission ended…

But then came the hardest part.

Where would we get money?

Fast. Lots of it.

We thought until sunset. No ideas.

Performing? No stage.

Returning to the Luo residence? Too slow.

Borrowing money as ‘Miss Minmin’? Unrealistic.

What to do?

Suddenly, I slapped my thigh.

“I’ve got it!”

“Heh heh…”

Guo’er gave a sinister smile.

The air turned cold.

He whispered:

“We can… rob people.”