Who Wants to Leave?

"Months ago, rumors were spreading that the Rebel Army was about to attack. At first, no one took it seriously.

There was panic for a while, but the ones fleeing were all from several counties outside Hanshan Commandery.

This was the commandery city. The walls were so thick. It should be fine, right?"

"I wasn't sure. I had considered leaving, and my wife urged me to go too.

But this was the family business I'd built over half my life. If I left, it would all fall apart. I couldn't accept that.

I thought that if anyone was going to leave, the children should go first. I could wait and watch a little longer."

Many people thought the same way I did. No one was willing to abandon their livelihood. Everyone was waiting.

Later, the Imperial Court issued a notice saying the Rebel Army had been repelled. They wouldn't be able to break in anytime soon.

Everyone believed it. I hurriedly wrote to my wife and children, telling them to come back. Thankfully, they hadn't gone far.

And so the days passed, one after another.

Fang Yuan turned another page.

The handwriting grew more disorderly. The ink had changed from dark red to rusty red, as though the writer had dipped the brush in rust water.

"The Rebel Army didn't break in, but life grew harder by the day."

"At first, everyone encouraged one another. It was war, after all. How could things possibly remain the same as in peaceful times?

We donated money and grain. We did everything we could."

"But I noticed something was wrong."

"There were no wounded soldiers in the city."

Fang Yuan's finger stopped on that line, his nail leaving a shallow mark beneath the four words, "no wounded soldiers."

Qian Duoduo's breathing grew heavier.