The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 87 Who wasn't born of a father and raised by a mother?
The flames of war in the prefectural city did not reach Gan Minglan and the others.

At this time, they had arrived at the town where Hangu Pass was located, intending to enter the ancient road and head west out of the Central Plains.

In the past, this would have been a rather risky plan.

The two leaders discussed the matter for a long time, and this is what they said to the other escorting officers:
"We've been traveling for over two months since we set off from Daming Prefecture! If we stick to the original plan and only take the official road, we're bound to run into those rebel troops!"
It's hard to say whether the rebel army is friend or foe to the exiled prisoners. But those of us with the status of county yamen runners should still be cautious.

Although the ancient road has been abandoned, its current condition is unknown.

But one thing is certain: this is the shortest route from Zhongzhou to the Three Qin regions!

As long as we bring enough food and water, we should be able to get through the border within half a month.

The subordinates nodded repeatedly:
Compared to the harm caused by displaced people, the abandoned ancient roads were not so terrible.

Although the ancient road is abandoned, its special geographical location makes its importance undeniable.

Here, the State of Bei stationed a garrison of guards.

Hangu Pass.

The most eye-catching building is the three-story blue brick gate tower that spans the passage.

It has high platforms facing each other on the north and south sides, and a high mountain on the south side as a natural barrier.

The passage runs east-west.

On the north side of the passageway, there are some low-rise houses, as well as small restaurants, grain shops, and grocery stores.

It's practically a small town.

Most of the residents who participated in the event were family members of Guan Jun.

The only rest stop was less than 100 meters from the gate tower.

It's possible that very few officials stay here throughout the year.

The postmaster and the post station's only assistant were so idle that they sat on the door threshold picking lice off each other.

Suddenly, I looked up and saw hundreds of guests descending from the sky.

The man was so excited he almost ripped out a handful of the postmaster's hair.

The postmaster, forgetting to scold his staff, stood up and repeatedly bowed to the two leading officers, saying, "Please come in, gentlemen! Please come in quickly! You must be tired from your journey."

Their enthusiasm was so intense it made my scalp tingle.

Gan Minglan privately believed that this was a side effect of watching someone pick lice.

Before everyone could even step into the post station gate.

Suddenly, a wail came from behind them.

Turning my head, I saw fifty or sixty sturdy women, who were between twenty and forty years old.

Behind them followed a string of children dressed in mourning clothes, pulling and tugging at each other as they headed towards the gate tower.

Upon reaching the door, they all knelt down with a thud, pounding their chests, stamping their feet, and wailing loudly.

She cried as she spoke:
"Waaaah, God! Why don't you open your eyes and see? My eldest son is only eighteen years old, and he's only been married for less than six months! How can you bear to do this? How can you bear to do this?"

"Oh, my dear husband! You were a guard at the pass! What deadly mission did you go on that led to our separation by death overnight?"

"Waaah, my third brother! My third brother who died without even a proper body! Your death was so tragic. Our parents are still bedridden and can't get up. Your wife saw you once and went into premature labor at seven months! It almost resulted in the death of both mother and child!"

"Father, don't die! I want my father! I want my father!"

"Chief, why don't you say something? Tell us, your family members, who killed them? Why don't you avenge my brother?"

"Come out, come out"

"."

No one even bothered to check into their accommodations; they all crowded around the entrance of the inn, standing on tiptoe to watch the spectacle.

The leader surnamed Huang also whispered to the postmaster about the situation across the street.

The postmaster's face, which had been beaming with joy upon seeing so many guests, immediately turned cloudy.

Looking at the group of women and children, he let out a long sigh.

After much thought, I simply concluded:
"Just when Guan Jun went out for a short while, disaster struck! Many people died, and the families of the soldiers naturally wanted to find the higher-ups to get an explanation."

It turned out to be the case.

They cried their hearts out, their grief so intense it brought tears to the eyes of all who heard them. Yet, for a long time, they couldn't even get the gatekeeper to cry.

Naturally, they won't get any explanation.

In the end, she cried herself to exhaustion and had no choice but to go home.

The officials escorting the soldiers naturally didn't want to pry into the soldiers' own affairs.

Everyone thought that the matter would be dropped.

Unexpectedly, half an hour later...

More than fifty corpses lying on door panels were carried and dragged by their families and placed in front of the inner city gate.

A gust of wind blew.

The white cloth covering the body was lifted, revealing the body.

After a night, the corpses had developed some lividity and even emitted a foul stench.

The family members seemed oblivious to the stench, kneeling upright beside the body, silently weeping.

This lineup is far more impactful than the previous mourning and wailing.

Because it wasn't far away, people with good eyesight could see it clearly from the window.

A real-life headless corpse!

He quickly explained the situation to the people around him.

The women covered their mouths, almost screaming in surprise!
Even though they have suffered hardships along the way, they have developed a more resilient mentality than ordinary people.

Everyone who saw this was shocked.

This one is wiping away tears:

"Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. To die without a complete body is the greatest act of filial impiety! We will be reborn as cripples in the next life. How tragic!"

The one who blew his nose:

"This method of murder is utterly inhumane! It's too cruel to let loved ones witness it!"

Some people also speculated:
"I wonder if it was those refugees who did this! The refugees these days are not the same as the ones we saw in Lushan County back then!"

They dared to kill any official. I heard that Master Huang changed his route to the ancient road precisely because he was afraid of encountering them again.

The most common sentiment expressed was: "Alas, they're all born of parents! How pitiful!"

A group of women who knew nothing about the situation showered people with tears of sympathy.

Only Gan Minglan remained expressionless, not even raising an eyebrow.

Her mental strength was enough for her to see the details of the severed necks of those corpses.

This perfectly matches the powerful and domineering method for killing two-legged beasts that King Atu reported back after completing his mission last night!
Haha, so it turns out that the ones who massacred the village last night were this group of Guan's soldiers!

They still say they were born of a father and raised by a mother?!

Weren't those innocent mountain men who were beheaded also someone's sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers?
The poor thing has no family to mourn or weep for them.

Anyway, the whole village is dead.

No one saw the fleeting sarcasm in her eyes.

Fatty kept a gloomy face and didn't say a word after his mother left the window.

The little guy was a bit scared and shrank his neck.

He's not tall; even standing on tiptoe, he can't see what's outside the window.

He really wanted to know what was making his mother unhappy.

He has a very strong thirst for knowledge.

He tugged at his mother's sleeve longingly, pointing his chubby paw at the window, indicating that he wanted to see too.

Gan Minglan said speechlessly, "Zizai, you're such a young child, wanting to see everything will only harm you!"

Fatty was very naive: "I'm not afraid, I have my mother!"

Someone: I can't refute that!
(End of this chapter)