"Yeah, with a whoosh." Tuoba Yan scratched his head, finally catching up with Ah Jiu's words.
Ah Jiu nodded thoughtfully. So this was what life was like for ghosts.
No wonder Xiao Yanyan wasn't used to the ways of this world.
"Kid, stop trying to fool my granddaughter." A head popped out from on top of the carriage, hanging upside down.
With a whoosh? Where did it whoosh? How did it whoosh? With a fart?
Back in his day, even a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage wouldn't dare say 'whoosh'. It required condensing spiritual power to manifest a spirit. This kid had no spiritual energy whatsoever, yet he claimed a 'whoosh'? Was he trying to fool a child?
"It really was a whoosh, Grandma. You don't know, but it's okay. Ah Jiu likes to hear it, so I love to tell it."
Tuoba Yan smiled harmlessly.
"Show me your 'whoosh' now," Madam Wang said, closing her eyes in boredom.
What 'whoosh'? Ghosts? What utter nonsense. Their sect had dealings with ghost talismans. They were the Yinshan Sect. This kid had absolutely no ghostly spiritual energy.
"I..." Tuoba Yan opened his mouth but couldn't respond. He gave an embarrassed smile to Ah Jiu inside the carriage window.
Ah Jiu covered her mouth, giggling. Her grandma naturally didn't know.
"Right, Xiao Yanyan, before you became a ghost, did you have a family?"
"And also, how did you become a ghost?"
Seeing Ah Jiu's excited interest, Tuoba Yan said as he ran alongside the carriage:
"There was an explosion. I was leading the army to resist an invasion. I don't know what happened, but I turned into the ghost you mentioned."
"Oh, how pitiful." Ah Jiu frowned. So he didn't even have a body left?
"Old Meng, do you see a firelight ahead?" Cai Lihua's voice came from up front.
Ah Jiu stretched her neck to look ahead: "We're here."
The carriage slowed down. They had been spotted by the night watch.
"Who are you? Refugees or bandits?"
Someone shouted from a distance.
"We're our own people, from Xinghua Village!" Meng Shaode cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
His voice was carried by the night wind, scattering in all directions, sometimes high, sometimes low.
After shouting, Meng Shaode flicked the whip, and the carriage accelerated, quickly approaching within ten meters.
The people on the other side seemed to understand: "We're also from Xinghua Village. Which family from Xinghua Village are you?"
"Meng family of Xinghua Village." Meng Shaode jumped off the carriage.
In this era of widespread panic, he had to prove his identity, otherwise, it would be bad if they were mistaken for refugee troops and attacked.
Meng Shaode strode forward.
"The Meng family?"
"Yes, I am from the Meng family, Meng Shaode," Meng Shaode replied as he walked.
Unexpectedly, the bonfire on the other side split into several torches, illuminating the scene brightly.
Seven or eight burly men stepped out, lined up, and looked anything but friendly.
The other dozen or so weak women and elderly people also got up from the ground, huddling together.
Wu Dalei, frightened, leaned against the carriage window and spoke to his wife: "Zhaodi, Mom, they're from Xinghua Village."
Ah Jiu could see Zhaodi's hands trembling as she held her baby.
"With... with Brother Meng here, we... we're not afraid."
Despite saying they weren't afraid, their faces had changed color.
Just as the words left her mouth, five or six burly men from the other side walked over, some carrying clubs, some with kitchen knives, and others with hoes.
"Meng Shaode, is it? You're not welcome here. You'd best get lost and stay far away."
Ah Jiu winced and covered her face.
She had said long ago that her father had an inflated self-image, but how could he forget his past arrogance in the village?
The main group of refugees had left days before them. Only the Li family next door would bother to rush them.
This showed how detestable their reputation was.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't start with your weapons. We're all family, why the need for fighting?"
Meng Shaode took two steps back in fright. Damn it, they had come looking for a beating.