Xiao Yuan

No one objected. This was their final plan, and also their worst-case contingency.

They lacked the ability to lead their people through the ash fog. If it were Lin Shan... perhaps it could work.

Zhang Zhonghua gave a bitter smile. "We relocated once before. We traveled less than three kilometers and lost over two thousand people. During a relocation, the barrier draws in the dangers lurking in the ash fog."

"The main problem was that even after moving three kilometers, the Cat Clan still found us... They seem to have some means of tracking us."

"Where are you planning to move us? Do you have a specific location?" Wu Wang asked from beside him.

"Beside the Purple Soul Flower Forest," Lin Shan said.

"That place..."

It wasn't too far, but it wasn't close either. The barrier around the Human Race's Clan Territory now covered a radius of twelve kilometers, with a diameter approaching twenty-five kilometers. That was an enormous area. Who knew how many dangers would be drawn in when the time came? Hopefully, they could hold out...

"Spread the word. Take everything you can, especially food. Leave whatever you can't carry. Finish packing within two days. We start moving the morning after tomorrow!"

Lin Shan was somewhat worried that the Cat Clan would quickly reach a consensus. Then, as though something had occurred to him, he thought, Perhaps Shashali will help stall them for a few more days... Even so, two days was still the safest option. Only a fool would believe everything an enemy said.

"I'll be going now." With those words and a flash of red light, Lin Shan appeared a thousand meters up in the air and flew toward the camp.

"Tsk." Wu Wang looked at the empty spot where Lin Shan had stood and clicked his tongue. "He's becoming more elusive than a ghost."

"Hmph." Zhao Xiao An gave a soft snort.

Xia Xuan pressed her lips together in a smile. "So General Zhao has this girlish side too. Where's that ruthlessness you show when killing enemies on the battlefield?"

"None of your business." When Zhao Xiao An was angry, she snapped at anyone, completely forgetting how she'd been calling her "Sister Xia" just moments earlier.

"Ahem." Zhang Zhonghua cleared his throat to interrupt them. "Get ready. Organize your troops and tell them the war is over for now. Their next task is the 'Long March'!"

Everyone nodded and returned to their respective areas to organize their troops.

As Lin Shan sped through the air, he suddenly remembered that he'd forgotten to ask how they had made it back from the Purple Soul Flower Forest.

"Never mind. I'll ask later..."

Flying swiftly onward, he soon spotted the settlement. Looking down from above, he saw a dense spread of hemp-cloth tents, with leaves laid over them to keep out the rain. The gaps left between the tents served as streets.

If not for the Cat Clan, the Human Race's ingenuity and the abundant resources here would have made it possible for everyone to have at least a wooden house, if not one built of brick and tile.

He found a secluded corner to land in, then walked along the street.

Everyone on the street had numb eyes, though there were occasionally a few newly arrived transmigrators brimming with curiosity about everything.

Suddenly.

"Stop running, thief!"

Lin Shan looked over. A young girl was running ahead, with a young boy chasing after her.

As the girl ran, she stuffed something into her mouth and swallowed it in one gulp, her face turning bright red as she choked.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Only after a violent bout of coughing did she finally feel a little better.

Then she stopped, opened her mouth, and pointed inside, indicating that there was nothing left. She had eaten it.

"You... you, you thief! That was the only piece of candy I brought from Earth! I kept it as a memento and couldn't bear to eat it. I've had it for half a year! You owe me!" the boy said, looking close to tears.

Lin Shan breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. Thankfully, it wasn't the scene he'd imagined. Though life was hard now, people still had enough food and clothing to get by.

"You stare at that candy in a daze every day. Better to let me eat it. At worst, I'll pay you back someday," the little girl replied.

"How are you going to do that? We're not even on Earth anymore." The little boy looked miserable.

"I can make some for you!"

"Who'd believe you! Come on, let's go home. We have to work in the fields soon."

"Okay."

Lin Shan continued onward, seeing all sorts of people along the way. He also noticed that almost every tent had a strip of white mourning silk hanging from it. Some had two, and the most he'd seen was four.

Because of forced conscription, no family here remained whole. Every one of them had lost at least one loved one.

Lin Shan suddenly thought of his own parents, wondering how the two of them were doing now.

After walking for another ten or so minutes, he once again saw the tallest building in the Clan Territory—the Human Race's Clan Hall. He went straight into Jin Tianzong's wooden house across from the Clan Territory.

Jin Tianzong was busy writing and drawing inside, with all sorts of blueprints spread across the floor. A shadow suddenly fell over them. He looked up, saw Lin Shan, then lowered his head and continued drawing. "What is it?"

"Where's Yan Ruxin?" Lin Shan asked.

"At your place," Jin Tianzong answered without looking up.

"Huh?"

Lin Shan had only just stepped over the threshold before he backed out again.

He turned, walked to the front door of his villa, and knocked.

"Who is it?"

Click!

Before Lin Shan could answer, the door opened.

The one who opened it was a child of twelve or thirteen, with the appearance of a little girl.

Lin Shan paused at the somewhat familiar face. Wasn't this the same child he'd just seen on the street?

"Xiao Yuan, who's here?" Yan Ruxin's voice came from inside.

"Someone I don't know," Xiao Yuan answered.

Lin Shan's face darkened. "Little one, this is my house."

"Bleh, bleh, bleh." Xiao Yuan stuck out his tongue and ran inside, calling loudly, "Director, that man says this is his house."

Yan Ruxin, who had been cooking, wiped her hands and hurried out when she heard that. Seeing that it really was Lin Shan, she said apologetically, "Sorry, we've taken over your house. My place was too small to fit so many children."

Lin Shan smiled. "It's fine. It was sitting empty anyway."

"Come in. We're just about to eat, so you can have some too," Yan Ruxin invited.

Lin Shan nodded. It seemed he hadn't eaten in a very long time.

Inside, there was only one large round table, with over a dozen children seated around it, both boys and girls. A long strip of cotton cloth lay on the floor beside them, presumably serving as their shared bed.

"Wait here a moment. I'll go see if it's ready," Yan Ruxin said, then hurried into the kitchen, the house's only partitioned room.

The table was already full, with only one empty seat, presumably Yan Ruxin's own.

Lin Shan simply sat on the floor to wait, listening to the children chattering away at the table.

If he wasn't mistaken, this place had been turned into an orphanage. These children hadn't been orphans to begin with, but now they were...

"Thank you for letting us use your house. Here, take my seat." Xiao Yuan suddenly climbed down from his seat and tugged at Lin Shan as he spoke.

"Are you sure you want to let me sit there?" Lin Shan asked with interest.

"Of course. It's just a seat. I, Xiao Yuan, am no stingy person," Xiao Yuan declared generously.

"All right." Lin Shan sat down without any ceremony. "If you need anything in the future, come to me. I'm no stingy person either."

"It's only right. No need to stand on ceremony with me. You help me, and I'll help you!" Xiao Yuan said, still brimming with generosity, even patting his undeveloped chest as he spoke.

Amused, Lin Shan looked at him with a smile. "Are you sure?"

"This fellow is no ordinary person, Xiao Yuan." Yan Ruxin emerged from the kitchen carrying a large iron pot.

At those words, Xiao Yuan's eyes rolled around, and he declared loudly, "I'm not sure!"