Village Chief Shi still remembered Lan Yun. 'This man is no good,' he thought. 'Looks like he's trying to use us as scapegoats again.'
"So it's him," Shi Dayong said scornfully. "That kid offended the Lord Prefect of Dao City with his lies. Why else do you think he's sprawled out over there?"
"You people are kind, I'll give you that, carrying him all this way without even knowing what kind of trash he is."
Wu Changping said, "That's not what Brother Lan told us. He said your people found a water source but abandoned you all because you're old and infirm. They wronged you, so there's no need to keep their secret."
"A secret?" Village Chief Shi scoffed. "We're just ordinary refugees. What kind of secrets could we possibly have?"
"Besides, we aren't hiding anything. A group ahead of us already took a batch of refugees to find water. If you don't believe me, you can find out just by asking anyone."
