Flames leaped unceasingly in the burning city.
The fire at the city gate was shattered.
"It's raining..."
"Oh, it's raining..."
Zhao Kun watched, stunned, as all the enemy soldiers raised their weapons and leaped in the rain.
Little did they know, most of these were press-ganged laborers who were forced to fight.
If this rain had come two years earlier, they wouldn't have been captured, nor would they have been willing to be captured.
A large portion of them had been rounded up while fleeing famine, and some willingly joined, thinking they'd get military rations.
"Brothers, it's raining, the crops will grow."
"Let's go home, there's food." A stream of people dropped their weapons and ran towards the darkness.
The group had lost all will to fight, scattered like sand.
"Mother, Father, it's raining. Can you see this from the underworld?" Someone knelt and wept.
Zhao Kun regained his senses and had no intention of fighting further. "You all stay here. Anyone who dares to block the way will be killed."
With that, Zhao Kun hurried back to the city gate.
At this moment, Cai Lihua looked at her mother-in-law, who was still sitting cross-legged on the ground, forming distorted hand seals, and looked up at the sky in confusion.
Meng Shaode's mouth hung wide open, staring intently at his mother, who was still emitting smoke from her head despite being drenched by the rain.
Nanzhou County.
Ajiu clearly saw the area receiving rain, and the dampness carried by the evening breeze could be felt from here.
Everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"Why didn't it rain here?" Elder Liu frowned, turning to look at the sky, hoping to find a rain cloud appearing overhead in this area.
"Exactly."
"Let's be content with what we have. Naming City has had two rains in just three months this year. Perhaps the heavens are reluctant to let Naming City be burned."
"Alas, that's true." Elder Liu's brow was furrowed with worry.
If it weren't for the rain three months ago, he would have his water skins completely empty while fleeing famine with his family.
"Let's go." Ajiu felt a surge of happiness in her heart as dusk fell. Grandma was so capable; with this, the enemy's fire attack would naturally be rendered ineffective.
Once the enemy retreated, Father, Mother, and Grandma could be safely sent out of the city by Zhao Kun.
In Nanzhou County, it was slightly better than before, with a few scattered lights from some households, but most areas were still pitch black.
Everyone followed Ajiu's previous instructions and found uninhabited houses to knock on first.
Once confirmed to be empty, they could temporarily stay there, but they were not to disturb those who were already residing there.
Actually, Ajiu wasn't worried about disturbing the residents, but rather that those people might be patients who had recently recovered.
Though their illnesses were cured, their appearances would still require time to recover to normal, so if they opened the door, it would be quite frightening.
Soon, thousands of refugees from Naming City flooded into Nanzhou County, their knocking echoing incessantly.
Ajiu watched the throng of refugees scrambling through the streets, filled with emotion. Even so, the people of the former Naming City were still objects of envy from all directions.
There was a benevolent ruler who cared for his people as if they were his own children, but now, fate was unpredictable.
Ajiu looked up at the sky. Apart from a red star that seemed brighter than before, everything else was as usual.
Unknowingly, Ajiu arrived outside the posthouse.
"Who's there?"
Eight tall, robust, and cold-faced individuals suddenly stood at the entrance.
All dressed in black, with their hair tied up in topknots, if one didn't look at their faces, they could have been mistaken for the same person.
Most notably, their clothes were without a single wrinkle, indicating these people were of no small caliber.
"Refugees, from Naming City. Excuse us, we are just passing through."
Ajiu, with light steps, was about to leave, intending to find another place to stay and await news from her parents.
"Eh, Benefactor, Doctor Meng."
Ajiu abruptly stopped and turned back.
A tall, thin middle-aged man was bowing deeply and respectfully to the stern-faced guards.
"Sirs, this is no stranger. This is Doctor Meng, the one who healed the people at the ancestral hall. She is someone personally rewarded by the King of Naming!"
Only then did Ajiu recognize him: it was Zhang Dadan, the one who had almost choked her while treating her illness.