All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

Perhaps Shi Yingfeng was right. The bandits of Ciyun Mountain were afraid of the Mongol army's fearsome reputation, and the two of them did not encounter any bandits blocking their way until they walked out of the entire mountain range.

After leaving the mountains, although they were already far from Tongjiang County, the two dared not walk on the main roads, but only on some mountain paths, hoping that they would be lucky enough to encounter a village that had not yet suffered disaster. Otherwise, the two of them might be fine, but Huang Hui might be in trouble.

However, the two also knew that it would be difficult to find any surviving villages. The Mongols were brutal and tyrannical, and Tongjiang County was a prime example of this. It seemed that Huang's life was now in the hands of fate.

They traveled along the way, stopping frequently. Although they mostly followed mountain trails, they encountered many refugees along the way.

Most of these people were dressed in blood, probably civilians from Anqing Prefecture who had escaped from the Mongol soldiers. Yang Pan and Shi Yingfeng sometimes blended in with these refugees and were indistinguishable from them, because at this moment they looked even more miserable than these refugees.

"Brother, where are you headed?"

As they walked along the road, seeing the increasing number of refugees, Yang Pan felt particularly puzzled. Originally, Yang Pan and his companion's goal was to reach Jiaxing City directly, and since the refugees they encountered along the way were traveling the same route, they assumed that these people were also preparing to flee towards Jiaxing.

However, after walking for a while, I realized that these people seemed to have a purpose. After traveling together for a while, they turned directly in another direction, as if someone was waiting for them ahead.

The person Yang Pan called out to was a middle-aged man covered in blood. The man's eyes were glazed over, and he was like a walking corpse. Even when Yang Pan called out to him, he did not respond. He simply turned his face blankly toward Yang Pan.

this......

Yang Pan and Shi Yingfeng exchanged a glance, then silently released the middle-aged man. Along the way, they had encountered mostly people like this middle-aged man. These people had managed to escape death from the Mongols, but their families might not have been so lucky.

"Junior Brother Yang, should we follow them and see?"

Yang Pan fell silent upon hearing this. The group of people all turned in another direction, likely because someone had notified them, but they didn't know who the person was or what their purpose was.

Yang Pan naturally wanted to ignore all this and continue heading towards Jiaxing. According to Shi Yingfeng, they should arrive in another day or two at the latest. However, Huang Hui, who was on his back, probably couldn't wait any longer.

Feeling the other person's increasingly weak breathing, Yang Pan gritted his teeth. He knew that Senior Brother Huang had actually done the most work to save them; without him, they wouldn't have escaped Tongjiang County, and would likely have died at the hands of the Green Mountain Gang. This was a life-saving grace!

Moreover, Yang Pan was also somewhat interested in the third level of the Iron Shirt technique on the other party's body.

Although he could join other martial arts schools to learn martial arts after going to other prefectures, it would never be easy to learn internal energy cultivation techniques from any martial arts school or gang.

If Senior Brother Huang can be saved now, once he wakes up, given our shared experience of going through life and death together, he might very well teach me the third level of the technique.

If we follow these refugees, perhaps we'll find a doctor who can heal us at our destination.

"Let's go, Senior Brother Shi, let's follow them."

......

Sanhezhuang is an abandoned village that was looted by Mongol soldiers and is now just ruins.

Houses were destroyed and collapsed, and embers still lingered on some charred and damaged wooden planks.

In the center of the village, there once stood an ancestral hall where the village's ancestors were enshrined, but now it was in ruins. However, in contrast to the desolation and decay of the village, the ancestral hall was bustling with activity.

Sobbing and screams echoed through the ancestral hall. In a side room, several people dressed in short, tight-fitting clothes were gathered together, seemingly discussing something.

The clothes these people wore were of decent quality, even cleaner than those worn by the crowd in the lobby. However, several patches were deliberately sewn onto these clean robes, making them quite conspicuous.

"Master, most of the disciples we sent out have returned. If they encounter any civilians along the way, the disciples will have them gather here," the young man with five patches sewn onto his body said to the middle-aged man above him.

"Master, we have also sent out disciples to investigate the movements of the Mongol Tartars. We will report any unusual activity immediately." After the young man finished speaking, the others reported the news to the middle-aged man in turn.

"Yes," Wang Yue nodded, a satisfied look on his face, then sighed as if he had thought of something, "It's a pity we were a bit slow in receiving the news. Now that Anqing Prefecture has fallen, I'm afraid Chief Qin and the others are already..."

As the largest gang in the martial arts world, the Beggars' Sect has disciples all over the land. It has numerous branches and halls, with one branch in almost every prefecture. The communication between these branches is very close, so the Beggars' Sect's intelligence capabilities are arguably the best in the martial arts world.

Unfortunately, the distance between the prefectural cities is far, and even if news is sent out, it takes several days to reach the destination.

Just as Anqing Prefecture was about to fall, the Beggars' Sect sent word that they hoped to send Beggars' Sect disciples to provide support. Unfortunately, by the time the message arrived, Anqing Prefecture had already been captured, and the Beggars' Sect's outpost in the prefecture was not spared either, with its disciples suffering heavy casualties.

Although every leader of the Beggars' Sect is quite strong, what can a martial artist do against an army of thousands if they don't flee and instead charge into battle? The only outcome is certain death.

Although these people rushed to Anqing Prefecture, they dared not provoke the Mongol army and could only try their best to gather and treat some surviving people.

"How is the gathering of the surrounding people going?" Wang Yue asked.

"Most of the surviving people are here. Anqing Prefecture was captured two days ago, and the surrounding villages were basically wiped out. These are the only ones who survived."

"Yes, we'll stay for two more days, and then we'll lead the people away early the day after tomorrow."

After listening to his subordinates' report, Wang Yue finally made up his mind. After all, there were many people here, and the longer they stayed, the greater the risk of exposure would be.

……

"This is the gathering point. I wonder if they are people sent by the imperial court." Inside Sanhe Village, Yang Pan and his companion finally arrived with the surviving villagers. But looking at the dilapidated and desolate village, they found nothing except for the villagers who had come from the surrounding area.

"Let's just follow them for now. Hopefully, there's a doctor here."

They continued following the surrounding villagers until they reached the center of the village. Seeing everyone else enter the dilapidated ancestral hall made them realize that this ancestral hall was probably the real stronghold.

Carrying Huang Hui into the ancestral hall, they indeed saw the large hall crowded with injured people, and among these people were several people carrying medicine boxes who were applying medicine and bandaging them from time to time.

"Great! There's a doctor! Senior Brother Huang is saved!" Shi Yingfeng exclaimed excitedly, and Yang Pan also swiftly walked straight to one of the middle-aged men who was being bandaged.

"Doctor, please save him! His back wound is festering and he's unconscious." Yang Pan laid Huang Hui face down on the ground, unwrapped the bandages, and made sure the doctor could see the injury clearly.

"It's a really bad injury; the wound is starting to smell."

The doctor frowned, clearly considering Huang Hui's injuries quite serious. However, he didn't delay and quickly called for a few more people to help. Yang Pan and Shi Yingfeng, on the other hand, tactfully withdrew from the crowd, watching the doctor treat the patient; all they could do was not interfere.

The two sat quietly in the crowd. Having barely rested during their escape, they could no longer hold on and found a corner in the hall to fall into a deep sleep. The noise and commotion around them did not disturb them at all. It wasn't until dusk that Yang Pan slowly opened his eyes.

With his arms outstretched, all his fatigue vanished. Yang Pan gently lifted his tattered clothes to check his injuries. Although the fighting in Tongjiang County was fierce, he had not actually suffered any serious injuries; they were mostly superficial wounds.

Looking at the wounds on my body now, I was surprised to find that they had already scabbed over without me noticing, and the wounds seemed to be improving.

"The restorative power of the Longevity Fruit...?"

Yang Pan understood that if his injuries were in the hands of an ordinary person or a martial artist, the recovery speed would definitely not be this fast. Only the blessing of the Longevity Fruit could bring about such a result.

Covering himself with his clothes, Yang Pan reached down and touched his waist, feeling the irregular bulge of silver coins. He breathed a sigh of relief. This was all his possessions; his food, drink, and daily necessities after arriving in Jiaxing would all depend on them.