Seeing his daughter-in-law had stopped fussing, Top Scholar Lv turned his head to look at his youngest son, who was trailing despondently behind the cart, his face pale and drawn.
"Son, what's wrong? Are you scared?"
Scholar Lv forced a smile, his head drooped listlessly, like that of a sick hen.
"Don't be afraid. Those stinking soldiers are nothing but paper tigers. If they really had any courage, why aren't they on the battlefield fighting the enemy?"
Despite Top Scholar Lv's empty words of comfort, the color didn't return to Scholar Lv's face. The images of the marauding soldiers still loomed in his mind, their blades pressed against his neck.
"Dad... Dad, why are we leaving the pass? Weren't we supposed to go home first?"
Top Scholar Lv lit his dry tobacco pipe and puffed away, white smoke veiling his eyes. "I've been thinking, this isn't an ordinary military disaster. The world is descending into chaos, so our family needs to go and lie low for a while."
