The grandparents didn’t want to leave.
One reason was because the fishing boat was small; with things and people, it was already heavily laden. Adding two more people could very well result in being unable to bear the weight.
The second reason was that they were old and could not withstand the turmoil. They knew staying ant certain death, yet they chose to remain because they had lived here their entire lives and didn’t want to go anywhere else.
For the sake of their two children, the couple bid farewell to their parents with tearful eyes.
But their luck was not good. After they had packed and placed the brother and her onto the boat, soone suddenly appeared behind them and called out.
"Hey, Old Shen ah, what are you doing here in the middle of the night without sleeping?"
Upon closer inspection, "Hey, and Sister-in-Law is here too? Why are you taking the kids out to sea as well? That’s not right, not the right ti, what are you actually up to?"
As he spoke, he even tried to board the boat to investigate further.
This person’s voice imdiately caught the attention of the soldiers guarding their village. At the quiet ferry in the dead of night, it was especially conspicuous, and they even ca their way carrying knives.
Father Shen and Mother Shen knew that if the soldiers discovered the nurous valuables and packages they carried, most importantly, even live chickens, being exposed was inevitable.
What would happen then, no one knew.
Father Shen and Mother Shen quickly exchanged a look. One went forward to take the villager aside to talk, while the other ran to the siblings’ side. They told Xiao Yu to row the boat away quickly because the soldiers were about to co over. They couldn’t allow them to discover it; once they were safe, they’d figure out a way to find them...
The mother’s voice was very urgent. Xiao Yu didn’t think too much at that mont, truly believing that the parents would soon catch up with them, so she obediently and quietly rowed the boat away. Under the ancient darkness without the illumination of lights, and with the help of the sea breeze, she successfully evaded the soldiers’ sight.
What Xiao Yu did not know was that, after she and her brother left, the villager let sothing slip. Although the luggage wasn’t seen, why would their whole family run to the seaside in the dead of night? Even if they were going out to sea, the early morning would be the ti, not this early.
By talking back and forth, the soldiers beca suspicious, and to make matters worse, the villager, perhaps having just returned from outside, had drunk so alcohol. Otherwise, why would he stir up trouble in the middle of the night? So, while coughing, he went aside to vomit.
His coughing was harsh, and his vomiting forceful; this behavior terrified the soldiers, who imdiately went back to report.
The County Magistrate had already planned to massacre the village that night, and now that soone had beco aware of his intentions, he would no longer show any rcy.
Seeing that the situation was irretrievable, Father Shen and Mother Shen started shouting at the top of their lungs to the villagers.
"Quick, get up! The County Magistrate is going to massacre our village, they want to kill everyone here, everyone get up quickly and run for your lives!"
Since leaving was not an option, they figured they might as well do what they needed to do.
Staying on the shore ant certain death. Blades were indifferent, fires rciless, and the slightest mistake could result in losing their lives.
Rather than leave their fate in others’ hands, they’d rather seek a glimr of vitality in the sea. At least they were fishern who grew up by the sea; there would be so hope, right?
Children.
Thinking of their son and daughter, the couple looked back resolutely. With tears in their eyes, they glanced toward where their parents were, clenched their teeth, took each other’s hands, and together plunged into the sea.
The small fishing village was ablaze. After the fire ignited, Xiao Yu and her brother saw the faint glow from the fishing boat and cried their hearts out.
But there was nothing they could do.
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