Chapter 1411: "Sly Rat (2)"
Suddenly, Jun Wu Xie discovered a place that was suspicious.
"Wu Yao, look here." Jun Wu Xie said as she placed her finger on a spot upon the map.
Jun Wu Yao looked at the spot Jun Wu Xie's finger was pointing at and his brow lifted slightly in thought.
The places that Jun Wu Xie had marked out did not focus on any particular area and it could even be said to be highly scattered. If one did not look very carefully, no one would discover anything wrong with it. But with just one point of the finger from Jun Wu Xie, everything marked out upon the map seemed to be calling out.
The black dots marked upon the map that numbered more than ten of them were placed on many areas but if one looked carefully enough, the black dots still seem to circle around a particular place, forming up a strange and irregular circle.
And right in the centre of that circle, was a virtually unheard of city, That city belonged to a little country called the Fan Country. They were not powerful and did not command much of a presence in the Lower Realm and that city was one that could be considered to be slightly large, not too prosperous but due to its proximity to a mine, it enjoyed rich resources, which gained it a little bit of fame.
Qu Ling Yue had initially carefully recorded the details of the places the Poison Men appeared and everywhere where that they had been spotted before, she had marked them out clearly. And when Jun Wu Xie saw the scrolls that Qu Ling Yue had recorded all the details in, she saw that the places the Poison Men had appeared was highly scattered and had not seemed to have any specific direction. But there was one point that stood out. The places that the Poison Men first attacked were all small countries who were incapable of putting up any significant resistance and they were carried out in places where the results would be thinnest before the calamity spread to the rest of the Lower Realm.
The Fan Country was also within their scope of attacks but what was strange was that the places where the Fan Country was first attacked was not at their borders, but from a city much further inside.
Although the number of time they were attacked was very little, but when compared to the multitude of other attacks they carried out, that fact began to stick out.
"They're a bunch of really sly rats." Jun Wu Yao said as a cold smile curled up the corner of his lips.
The city pointed out was close to the border and the first city that was first to be attacked was not too far off, and the places where the Poison Men had appeared right after that were also rather close to that city, forming up into an irregular circle.
Only for this one city that had never suffered a single attack from the Poison Men.
Based on reason, quite a number of places close to this city had been visited by the Poison Men before but they had miraculously missed out such a large target, which made it a little hard to explain. And the first places that the Poison Men had been places surrounding this place which made one can't help but think there's more to it than meets the eye about the place.
"If my guess is not wrong, inside this city, we might just gain a significant result." Jun Wu Xie said with a slight curl of her lips. Regardless how sly a rat was, their tails would finally still betray them.
"Little Xie wants to go there?" Jun Wu Yao asked with a laugh.
"Naturally." Jun Wu Xie replied.
Jun Wu Yao smiled and then said: "Alright, as you wish."
Upon saying that, he suddenly carried up Jun Wu Xie horizontally in his arms, and with a tap of his feet, he went soaring up into the air.
And Ye Sha, Ye Mei and Ye Jie who had been standing at the side immediately saw their expressions twist up upon seeing Jun Wu Yao leave.
Their Lord Jue leaving just like that was a little too debonair and carefree. Although they were able to make use of the magical artifacts that enabled them to temporarily fly, but they had already depleted a good part of their strength the entire way and they really found that they were not able to be like their Lord Jue who could just "go on a trip" anytime and anyplace he wished!
Ye Jie silently touched the Spirit Shackle Mask and instantly turned into Ye Gu.
"You two morons can just continue to stay here, your Great Lord here will make a move first!" Immediately upon saying that, Ye Gu crushed the magical artifact in his hand to go catch up!
[Bloody bugger who abandoned us! Scoundrel!] The two men who were left behind cursed and swore miserably aloud.
Chapter 1412: "Sly Rat (3)"
The Fan Country's Clear Breeze City was a city that had a little fame due to it having a vein of ore as resources and that fame was limited only within the Fan Country itself.
About a year ago, this place was not considered to be a rich nor comfortable but just that like any other large city, it stood on a larger piece of land and that's all.
But now, the situation at the Clear Breeze City was wholly different.
When the Poison Men started spreading devastation, the Clear Breeze City became one piece of tranquil paradise within the Fan Country. The place had never had any Poison Man appear before and the inside of the city was the same as it was in the past. As the Clear Breeze City had a vast and wide area but the original inhabitants in the city was not that many, after the Poison Men started appearing everywhere else, quite a number of people from nearby cities began to head to the Clear Breeze City to seek refuge.
Although these people were escaping from calamity, what these people encountered was just small waves of attack from the Poison Men. They had sustained losses, but it had not hurt them right to their bones. After they came to the Clear Breeze City, they had spent quite an amount of money to settle down in there which made the situation in the Clear Breeze City take a big turn in fortune, to the extent that in certain aspects, they had even overtaken the Fan Country's Imperial Capital in terms of prosperity.
The walls of the Clear Breeze City were high and mighty as it was originally the Capital City of the Fan Country when it was founded. Over time, as the Fan Country's lands increased, the ruler had better choices and he had then moved the capital elsewhere. But having been once the Capital City, the construction of the Clear Breeze City was highly secure and that became one of the reasons that many people grew to firmly believe why the place would not fall under the attack of the Poison Men.
With the lands under the Heavens in chaos, refugees frequently escaped to the Clear Breeze City seeking protection and the soldiers guarding the city were highly used to seeing that. They would let a batch of people in everyday and would fish for bribes from there.
Outside the Clear Breeze City, it was filled with a dense squeeze of refugees who had escaped from disaster and these people were physically and mentally exhausted. No one had noticed that in the forested mountain not too far away, a suspicious black shadow had silently descended from the skies, to land within the dense forest.
Jun Wu Yao carried Jun Wu Xie and quietly fell among the trees. Jun Wu Xie peered through the gaps between the trees and saw that Clear Breeze City was blocked up by the the mass of refugees surrounding it.
Outside the Clear Breeze City, many simple and crude tents could be seen and many of the refugees have already erected a sort of temporary abode for themselves.
Jun Wu Xie watched those refugees and then looked at the set of clean and neat clothes upon her body. If they went over there like this, they would surely drawn a lot of attention to themselves immediately and that would not make for a good start for them.
But, when she turned around and saw the so tragically good looking Jun Wu Yao, her heart nearly made her vomit out a mouthful of blood.
She felt that she might be thinking too much about it but after having altered her own looks, standing beside such a brilliantly shining example of a man like Jun Wu Yao, she felt just as inconspicuous as dust.
"I think that there is a need for us to disguise and alter our looks a little." Jun Wu Xie said.
In these matters, she had had a lot of experience but Jun Wu Yao.....
It seemed like with the exception of the colour of his eyes, his face had never changed by much before.
Jun Wu Yao looked at Jun Wu Xie and put on pained look as he lifted an eyebrow in an arch and said: "Could Little Xie have tired of looking at this bag of skin and now dislikes it?"
[That's not true!]
Jun Wu Xie rubbed at her temples. At times like this, only he would still be in the mood to joke around.
Seeing Jun Wu Xie looking like she was beginning to get a headache, Jun Wu Yao began laughing without restraint and in the end, he received a sharp strike on his abdomen from Jun Wu Xie's elbow!
"Stop fooling around."
Jun Wu Yao rubbed at his belly, not feeling any pain but liked it rather much instead.
"As per your command my Young Miss. This highly reprehensible countenance of my humble self shall be placed in your hands, and to be dealt with as you deem fit." Jun Wu Yao said with a smile as he held Jun Wu Xie's tiny hand up, to place it upon his face.
Chapter 1413: "Getting Into the City (1)"
Jun Wu Xie stared at the mirth hidden deep within Jun Wu Yao's eyes and sighed slightly exasperated. She then took a slight step back and crossed her arms before her chest as she stared unruffled at Jun Wu Yao feigning docility.
"Then....."
"Take off your robe first."
Jun Wu Yao was immediately stunned in his spot.
After working on it for a while, Jun Wu Yao's handsome face was transformed under Jun Wu Xie's experienced hands to turn into a cultured and refined face, suddenly stripped of some of that blinding handsomeness, and looking a little bookish instead. He then changed into a light blue robe that Jun Wu Xie threw at him with a folding fan hanging from his hip. At one glance, he looked completely like a scholarly and gentle intellectual.
From being an almighty and powerful demon lord to become a frail and modest scholar, that transformation completely caused the little black cat watching on the side to feel its skin crawl in horror.
Under the entire Heavens, it is thought that only its Mistress alone would dare to mess around on that face.
Compared to the change that Jun Wu Yao had undergone, it had been much simpler for Jun Wu Xie. She only needed to adjust her features that she had already altered and just grabbed a robe to change into.
In the process of her changing, before Jun Wu Xie could prepare herself, Jun Wu Yao lifted his hand in a wave, which gathered all the leaves from all the surrounding branches to fall in a spiral ringing around Jun Wu Xie, that shielded her within a simple and independant space, a space where even Jun Wu Yao himself was excluded without.
By the time Jun Wu Xie changed and came out, she had turned into a delicate youth who looked like he was down and out.
The two of them were dressed in coarse and crude clothes, their faces unremarkable, and they would blend in inconspicuously within the crowd.
The cautious Jun Wu Xie then proceeded to slightly mess up Jun Wu Yao's hair as he looked smilingly at her, putting on a tormented and aggrieved look to ask: "Little Young Master, why humiliate your servant like this? Could your humble servant have done anything inappropriate?"
Jun Wu Xie immediately rolled her eyes at him, thinking that he was really enjoying himself too much.
Jun Wu Yao saw Jun Wu Xie roll her eyes and did not mind that expression of disdain in the least, but instead felt very warm inside. [The little one's expressions has become more and more expressive nowadays hasn't it?]
After the two of them were finished with their disguise, they went out of the forest and followed the road to come to the outside of the Clear Breeze City. The gates of the Clear Breeze City was densely packed with refugees seeking to enter the city, with layers upon layers of people before it.
"We don't even know whether they will let a few more people in today."
"I have been waiting here for several days! This Clear Breeze City only allows that small number of people to enter everyday. Sigh. But there's one good thing though, they give priority to the elderly and the young children, which shows that the Lord of the city has a bit of a conscience."
In times of crisis, humanity would often be put to the test. Even for people who know each other if not blood related are faced with the risk of their lives, might not choose to care for each other. At times like this, the younger and stronger are usually prioritised but the Clear Breeze City seemed to still hold that bit on conscience who did not only not reject the elderly and very young, but were instead giving priority to these frail and weak ones to enter the city, a point that won quite a bit of praise from many people.
Jun Wu Xie listened those words spoken by the people around but did not immediately draw her conclusion but just merely watched the densely packed crowd of people. Based on the speed that she was seeing, it would take more than just a while for them to be able to gain entry into the city.
Jun Wu Xie fell deep in thought for a moment and then blinked her eyes at Jun Wu Yao. Jun Wu Yao smiled faintly, immediately understanding Jun Wu Xie's intentions.
"Who dropped this leaf of gold?"
Someone among the crowd suddenly shouted loudly and slivers of glittery golden leaves were seen to be scattering down from the sky, quickly falling into the crowd. The refugees immediately started screaming as they bent their bodies down to pick them, instantly loosening up the crowd as spaces freed up among the people.
Chapter 1414: "Getting Into the City (2)"
Jun Wu Xie pulled on Jun Wu Yao as they slipped to come before the city gates when the crowd opened up some space.
The soldiers at the city gates were a little stunned when they saw the commotion within the crowd, never having thought that leaves of gold would really fall from the sky out of nothing.
When they turned their heads and saw Jun Wu Xie and Jun Wu Yao standing right before them, the brows of the soldiers immediately creased together.
"Where are the two of you from?"
Jun Wu Xie took a step forward and quietly slipped two gold ingots into the hand of the soldier, which caused the eyes of the soldier to stare at them incredulously!
Soldiers that were assigned to guard the city gate usually did not hold much authourity or influence where they were not able to accumulate much in the way of bribes within the city. Hence, they were sent to this place to stand under the sun and rain. They had never seen so much money and the eyeballs of the two soldiers were almost popping out of their heads.
"My two Big Brothers, we are from a nearby city and the days were becoming too hard for us. We heard that the Clear Breeze City is safe and we rushed all the way over here. I beg that my two Big Brothers here could find it in your hearts to make it a little more convenient for us in this situation." Jun Wu Xie said.
The eyes of the two guards were already shining upon seeing the brilliant gold. Seeing that everyone else was still bent over picking the golden leaves and no one was paying any attention to this side, they immediately waved the two of them through quickly.
"Go in quick."
"Thanks." Jun Wu Xie nodded slightly but was not in a hurry to enter but went on to say: "It's our first time coming here and are not familiar with the place. I wonder if Big Brother will be able to share a thing or two about the city with us."
Upon saying that, she pulled out another gold ingot.
The guard at the gates was swallowing hard as he stared at the gold and he quickly got someone to replace him at a position without a care before he led Jun Wu Xie and Jun Wu Yao into the city.
"Money makes the world go round", and Jun Wu Xie knew that well.
"From the way the two of you look, it doesn't seem like you have suffered much. Now that you've come into the Clear Breeze City, as long as you have enough silver, you're guaranteed a good life." Having accepted the money, the guard who led the two of them into the city was naturally telling them things straight and was not going to be overly courteous with his words.
"Usually we will not let people like you guys into the city, but as our little brother here has been highly persuasive, I have make an exception just for you and make another two friends today. If there is anything you do not understand in the future, you can jolly well just come find me." The guard said with a smile, his words lofty and grand but was actually eyeing the fact that these two people were highly generous with their money.
"Usually not let in? What does that mean?" Jun Wu Xie asked, feigning ignorance.
The guard then told her: "Our City Lord has instructed us to only allow three hundred people into the city everyday, with priority given to the elderly and children. For people like you two, you'll have to suffer a long wait."
"Is that really possible? At times like this, shouldn't it be best that the city takes in younger and stronger people?" Jun Wu Xie asked.
"Although what you say makes sense, but who asked our City Lord to be such a kind man who is unable to see people suffer? Didn't you notice that the people still plopped outside before the gates are a bunch of men in their prime? The elderly, women and children have already been allowed inside. One other thing, if you are seeking to find a place to live in, I think you'll have to wait a few days. It'll be better for you to find yourself an inn first. If your purse strings feeling rather loose, you can go find yourself a suitable manor and buy it. But the land in this city is currently an inch of gold for an inch of land, highly expensive. If you do not have money, you can report to the magistrate's office and someone will arrange a place for you to stay after a few days." The guard was at least forthright, sharing everything that he thought he should, and even leading Jun Wu Xie and Jun Wu Yao to an inn, only leaving after he saw that they were settled in.
Jun Wu Xie and Jun Wu Yao booked two guest rooms and then went ahead into their rooms to rest.
Chapter 1415: "Getting Into the City (3)"
"The City Lord is kind?" Jun Wu Xie muttered to herself as she sat in the room, thinking over what the guard had said, finding it just hilarious.
If he was truly kind, why would he only let in three hundred people a day? Consistently letting people in like this made it clear to see that the Clear Breeze City was still able to accommodate more people, but they still insisted on only releasing a small number in intermittently. Moreover, the refugees staying within the tents outside in tents were not cared for in the least.
This seemingly kind act before Jun Wu Xie's eyes was just a highly clumsy attempt at pulling wool over the eyes of people.
When she had entered the Clear Breeze City earlier, Jun Wu Xie had already noticed that the streets and alleys inside the Clear Breeze City were not that highly packed with people and it was clear that the city was not yet filled to capacity and it would even be said that they still had a lot of s.p.a.ce.
On the streets that she pa.s.sed, she had not seen that many elderly and children either and the population mix had looked very much like what it normally was in an average city. If things had really been like what that guard had told her, then the Clear Breeze City had always given priority to the elderly and very young to enter the city, then the amount of elderly and young children in the Clear Breeze City would surely differ far from that small number she had seen.
Moreover, the Poison Men had been carrying out their attacks for more than a year and the Clear Breeze City had started to accept refugees from more than six months ago. Calculating based on the rate of three hundred people a day, the city should have a minimum of an additional population numbering tens of thousands at least. With the singular type of people they claimed to prioritise entry for, it was impossible that it could result in what she had seen in the city.
"There is something strange with this city indeed." Jun Wu Xie said with a sneer as the edges of her lips curled up, her chin propped up with a palm as she leaned upon the table while looking at the little black cat upon its surface.
"Mistress." The little black cat said as it licked at her paws.
"Hmm?"
Haven't you noticed what we're missing?" The little black cat said lazily.
Jun Wu Xie was slightly startled as she thought about it a moment before she shook her head.
The little black cat sat upright and looked into Jun Wu Xie's eyes as it said in a calm voice: "Ye Sha, Ye Mei, Ye Gu....."
It suddenly came to Jun Wu Xie's mind that she and Jun Wu Yao had moved at a very high speed this time and they had cleanly forgotten about the three brothers from the Ye Family!
"They will find their way here on their own." Jun Wu Xie said, after clearing her throat slightly.
The little black cat stared in speechlessness at Jun Wu Xie. It was not worried about Ye Sha and the other two as the powers they possessed spoke for themselves, but was rather more worried about Lord Meh Meh and the Sacrificial Blood Rabbit in Ye Sha's and Ye Mei's arms.....
"It's still early and I think I will go see what the situation is like within this city." Jun Wu Xie said as she stood up. She had intended to leave immediately but she still went to inform Jun Wu Yao about it first. Jun Wu Yao had wanted to go along but was made to remain at the inn by Jun Wu Xie, using the reason that he needed to wait for Ye Sha and the others to arrive to make him remain behind.
Jun Wu Yao had no choice but to look on mournfully as Jun Wu Xie stepped out on her own.
Hence, by the time Ye Sha and the others who had rushed with all their might to reach the place came in, the skies was as dark as Jun Wu Yao's face at that moment.
Inside the Clear Breeze City, it was peaceful and tranquil as Jun Wu Xie walked along the wide streets, looking at the hawkers shouting out their wares and the highly relaxed and laid back citizens. If not for the fact that she knew how chaotic and dangerous it was outside in the rest of the world, looking at the way these people were, one would really think that the lands were at peace and there wasn't a calamity outside.
The citizens within the Clear Breeze City seemed not to be aware of the crisis outside as they continued with their leisurely life as usual. Jun Wu Xie observed everything carefully and found that it was easy to differentiate between the resident citizens of the Clear Breeze City and the refugees. One only had to look at their eyes they would be able to make a good guess about it. Refugees who had come escaping into the city were usually fl.u.s.tered, completely different with the laid back and leisurely demeanor of the original residents.
Jun Wu Xie walked an entire round around the city and the number of refugees she saw was less than she thought, at several thousand at most, a complete mismatch from the figure she had loosely calculated earlier.
Chapter 1416: "Good Samaritan (1)"
Jun Wu Xie walked an entire round around the city and the number of refugees she saw was less than she thought, at several thousand at most, a complete mismatch from the figure she had loosely calculated earlier.
While Jun Wu Xie was observing the things in the city, she coincidentally saw the group of refugees who had just been allowed into the Clear Breeze City being ushered by soldiers of the city to a place. That place had highly dilapidated houses and it was dim and highly dank. The people staying there looked very haggard and their clothes were filthy.
Jun Wu Xie observed them from the shadows and she gained a complete understanding of the situation from the words she overheard.
That place was used specifically to harbour refugees who had just come into the city not too long ago and they mainly consisted of the elderly and young children. Without having much money on them, they were unable to get themselves a place to stay and had to rely on people within the city to make the arrangements for them.
Those people who entered the city, although looking highly haggard, had expressions a little more relieved, as if having come into the Clear Breeze City would take them far away from suffering and danger. Even if the environment here was not good, it was a whole lot better than living in fear and terror outside the walls.
The soldiers left immediately after sending the refugees here, reminding them not to move about on their own and to remain there to wait for people who would arrange for places for them to go to in the coming days.
When Jun Wu Xie saw the soldiers leaving, she smeared some charcoal onto her little face and clothes before she slipped herself in among the refugees.
Within each dim and wet earthen house, it was filled with quite a number of people. In the rooms, there was only one large common bed, the blankets made very dirty. All the people placed here were just a bunch of old folks and little children and women who had finally just managed to escape the nightmare to hide in here, where they would not really dare to make any complaints about the undesirable conditions.
In actual fact, besides this group of frail elderly and weak children, the other refugees allowed into the city everyday were the rich who bribed their way in, like the way Jun Wu Xie had done. As those people had money, they would naturally not have to suffer in such a place like this.
Besides the group of people who had just been let in today, there were also some staying there who were people who had come into the city not too long ago. Seeing that there were new people joining them, they went up to the new group with a smile, to chat a little in greeting.
"Don't worry, we will not stay at this place for long. At most, it will be a week and the Clear Breeze City's City Lord will arrange a good place for us, with work for us to do, a place for us to live and rice for us to eat." Obviously having stayed at this refugee camp for a few days, an elderly aunt helpfully told the group of people who had just come into the camp, about the situation in there.
"That's right. The Second Aunt from the Eastern House came here two days before us and the City Lord had arrangements made for her to go somewhere else just the day before, and she even came back here yesterday to give us some nice food. We will only need to suffer another few days here and we'll soon have a nice place to go too as well." Another elderly woman said with a smile, her well wrinkled face filled with anticipation.
Having suffered so much, they really just yearned to be able to live in peace.
The new group who had still been rather distraught were quickly put much more at ease from the reassuring words from the others in there, confident in the knowledge that things would turn out well for them in the end.
Jun Wu Xie watched it all from the shadows, nagged by the feeling that something was not right.
As she was still deeply contemplating while hidden, she suddenly noticed several lavishly dressed men with highly arrogant demeanors walking into the dirty refugee camp.
And from the group of refugees who had already been in the Clear Breeze City for several days, they immediately started shouting when they saw the men appear.
"Everybody come out quick! The good Samaritan is here!"
With that chorus of excited shouts, the people who had been hiding within the houses suddenly all came rushing out, to squeeze on both sides of the narrow path, their eyes watching the group of men eagerly, who looked completely out of place here.
Jun Wu Xie followed the crowd and slipped unnoticed among the refugees.
Chapter 1417: "Good Samaritan (2)"
The man standing at the forefront of the group was good looking and his mannerisms elegant and poised. A gentle smile shone on his face as he looked at the refugees gathering closer.
"Mmm." The man then nodded his head at his attendants besides him.
The attendants were all holding a wooden box in their hands and when they received the signal from the man, the attendants opened up the boxes to reveal snow white buns, still steaming slightly, looking just downright delicious.
The refugees on both sides immediately broke out in a commotion at the sight of those white buns. They had been temporarily put into this place and although they no longer had to worry about attacks from the Poison Men, the life they lived here was however not that great as even finding themselves proper meals everyday was a big headache for them. Although the Clear Breeze City would distribute some bread to them daily, the portions were always quite a small amount.
Everyone could get at most two of those bread everyday and if that bread that was smaller than their palms were expected to sustain them for an entire day, it was really rather hard. With just the paltry amount of food sent by the Clear Breeze City, many of them had to go hungry.
Having not enough to eat for the past few days and suddenly seeing someone bring so much food here, the refugees were naturally unable to contain themselves.
They wished they could immediately leap over to snatch all those buns up but they had no choice but to hold themselves back and just stare longingly at the lavishly dressed group of "good Samaritans" with their eyes.
The attendants quickly delivered the buns into the hands of the waiting refugees surrounding them, giving them one each. Although it wasn't too much, but the buns filled them up so much better than the dry and hard bread from the city.
The refugees held the buns in their hands and quickly offered their thanks to the good looking leader of the men, every one of them expressing deep gratitude.
The man nodded and smiled at the elderly and young children alike, his smile gentle as the spring breeze.
Besides the buns, the wooden boxes also contained some simple snacks that was put into the children's hands. The snacks were not that exquisite but to the homeless and destitute children, they were prizes extremely hard to come by and the innocent and happy laughter of the children quickly pealed within the refugee camp.
"Have things been well these past days?" The leader of the men asked as he looked at the close to two hundred refugees surrounding him, his face looking all smiley and friendly.
"Allowing us to come into the city was already a big privilege for us. How could we still complain whether it's good or not in here. We are already old and weak and we're content to just have a mouthful of rice to eat. We just pity these children, as they are still so young....." Some of the old women replied, unable to help the sadness that crept into their hearts looking at the children. They were already well advanced in age and were not far from death. But these children who were their grandkids coming into the city with them, had quite a number of them fall ill due to the harsh toil from the journey they had to make while escaping.
Now that they were in the Clear Breeze City, due to their embarrassing situation in their purse, they really could not afford to let the children have their sickness looked at.
The man looked at the weak and sickly children and his eyes narrowed up, glinting with a malicious flash, so quickly it did not allow people to capture, before immediately reverting back to the gentle smile from before.
"These littles ones are sick?" The man then asked in a worried tone.
Several women holding young children in their arms wiped at the tears in their eyes.
"That's right. These children are still so young and their bodies still frail. After suffering consecutives bouts of fright and terror, a demonic wind might have slipped into their bodies....." The old woman said in a highly pained voice, her tone hesitant as she looked at the "good Samaritan" before her.
The man sensed the old woman's intentions and he then said: "I have some medicine here. It's nothing that great but it might help alleviate or provide some relief from the child's ailment." Upon saying that, he got one of his attendant to bring over a bottle of elixirs, to put into the hand of the old woman.
"Here, let the children take these together with water, they should feel better after." The man said reassuringly with a smile.
The old woman thanked the man profusely. She had not held much hope, but the man had unexpectedly responded to her unspoken request.
Chapter 1418: "Good Samaritan (3)"
"Most benevolent benefactor! You're really a good person! If not for you here, these children will have to suffer more! Let this old one thank you most benevolent benefactor on everyone's behalf! This bunch of elderly folks and too young ones here really do not have much we can repay your kindness with but please accept a deep bow from this old woman at least!" Upon saying that, the old woman was going to kneel and bow but was held back by the man holding her by both her arms.
"Your words are making me feel highly ashamed. With the lands in crisis and my arms too weak to kill the enemy to save the country, I can only remain here to help those who need help. So, elderly one, you do not need to be so courteous. If there is any other need in future, just come look for me anytime at the Fortune Spring Hall. My name is Luo Xi, the owner of Fortune Spring Hall." Luo Xi said with a smile.
The old woman was visibly moved as she looked at the good looking and gentle Luo Xi, truly believing that he was the kindest person under the Heavens.
The other women with sick children had upon hearing Luo Xi's words felt even more surprised. Having been on the run, they have not met such a upright and kindly person for a long time.
"Our benevolent benefactor is actually the owner of the Fortune Spring Hall? The Fortune Spring Hall is the biggest medical shop in the Clear Breeze City and I have heard about them. It was said that the Fortune Spring Hall frequently provides help to the refugees. Just recently, a family's child fell very ill who came here as refugees having escaped from another city. They did not have a single copper on them but when they pleaded with the Fortune Spring Hall, the Fortune Spring Hall saved the child without taking any money from them. They even accepted the entire family to help out at the shop and the family is doing very well now." Someone who knew what happened immediately announced the good deed that Luo Xi had done.
The group of people who had just come into the city were immediately highly envious upon hearing that. Seeing the way Luo Xi was dressed, they could see that he was from quite a prosperous background. Coupled with such a good heart in him, the group quickly developed a kind of trust towards Luo Xi subconsciously.
Afterall, as refugees, they had no money, and no power. Hence, there was no need for Luo Xi to put on a show for them as they had nothing they could give him.
Luo Xi remained within the refugee camp for a while more before he left with his attendants. When they left, the refugees were seeing him off the entire way, their words of gratitude incessantly filling up Luo Xi's ears.
However, not long after Luo Xi walked out from the refugee camp, the gentle smile upon his face quickly disappeared in an instant, his straight brows immediately creasing together as he stared at his own two hands to say in disgust: "That was just so filthy!"
"Young Master, here." An attendant immediately delivered a clean handkerchief to him.
Luo Xi snatched it from the attendant's hand and wiped at his hands furiously for a while. "It was so dirty it was nauseating. Why is the stink in that place so bad? Damn it. That old hag who lived too long had nothing better to do but had to decide to want to kneel, forcing me to have to feign concern to hold her up. That was just..... absolutely disgusting."
Luo Xi's face twisted up with utter and unabashed contempt, a completely different person from the one before gentle one in the refugee camp earlier.
"Young Master, quell your rage. Why would you need to get yourself riled up with an old hag like that? Your subordinate will get someone to put an end to her tomorrow." The attendant standing right beside him said.
Luo Xi said with his face still creased in a frown: "No need."
"Let that old hag remain alive a little longer. Wait till the new ones that come in know how good I am first and it still won't be too late to get rid of her at that time. She is still of some use now."
"Right, right."
"Alright, let's hurry on back. We don't want to keep the Master waiting too long." Luo Xi said as he tossed the handkerchief onto the ground as he strode off quickly.
His bunch of lackeys then quickly followed behind eagerly.
Unfortunately, the evil hearted Luo Xi had not noticed in the slightest that every single word and action of his had been seen by someone else.
Jun Wu Xie stood hidden within the shadows as she watched Luo Xi's highly contrasting character before and after and the corners of her mouth curled up into a chilling smile.
"Hypocrite." The little black cat lay upon Jun Wu Xie's shoulder said. "This man is really evil hearted. She was just offering her gratitude and he wants to take her life instead. How vicious is that! Mistress, there's definitely something wrong with this one, he must be a scoundrel from the Twelve Palaces for sure!"
Chapter 1419: "Good Samaritan (4)"
Jun Wu Xie stared at Luo Xi's retreating back deep in thought.
After breaking through to the Purple Spirit, her senses had become highly sensitive to detecting the spirit powers on others. As long as the other party's spirit powers were not higher than hers by too much, she was able to ascertain their spirit power level.
Jun Wu Xie had sensed that the spirit power on Luo Xi was pathetically low, at only the red spirit level. The powers of the other attendants around him were similarly not high as well with the highest among them having just broken through to the orange spirit.
Such spirit powers, were small fry that was a dime a dozen even in the Lower Realm and Jun Wu Xie did not think that the Twelve Palaces would really send such a piece of trash into the Lower Realm.
But.....
Why would Luo Xi want to put on an act in front of the frail refugees made up of elderly and young children?
That was a highly suspicious point.
The people in the refugee camp were mostly people who were very weak. They were either too old or still too young. Even if there were some young girls in there, they were mostly sallow faced and stick thin, who didn't look like they could be of much worth in being made use of.
But Luo Xi had instead purposely pretended to be a good Samaritan to show kindness and benevolence in the refugee camp, which was one thing that Jun Wu Xie did not fully understand immediately.
Jun Wu Xie lowered her head to look at the bun and the elixir in her hands. These two items were the things that Luo Xi had gotten his men to distribute to the refugees and Jun Wu Xie had gotten one of each item.
The two items looked very normal on the surface. The bun had already gone cold and becoming rather hard. Jun Wu Xie peeled the bun open and put it before her nose to sniff at it slightly, and her brows immediately creased up into a furrow.
"Somebody added White Bamboo into this."
"White Bamboo?" The little black cat only felt that the words sounded familiar but could not recall anything about it on the spur of the moment.
"White Bamboo, warming properties and promotes blood circulation. If a person takes it for long periods, it would cause a surge in the blood and make one highly alert but easily excitable. In the twenty fourth century, this had already become a substitute for stimulants." Jun Wu Xie said, her mouth curling up in a sneer. White Bamboo was a herb that she knew so well that she could not become more familiar with. From White Bamboo, one could extract something that could make a person incomparably excited for a short period of time and when induced into the body, it was extremely difficult to detect. It was a substitute stimulant in the twenty fourth century and was often used by people who people with evil intentions in competitive sports.
And such herbs were very frequently seen in the organization where almost every single member had a portion. It was prepared in case of emergencies. If they encountered a crisis and their bodies were not feeling in good shape, they only needed to drink the extracts of White Bamboo and they would instantly be restored to their peak.
But after Jun Wu Xie was reborn, she had not seen the White Bamboo once. She had thought it did not exist in this alternative world and unexpectedly, she actually discovered traces of the White Bamboo here at this place.
White Bamboo could be used as a stimulant in face of a crisis and taking its extracts for long periods might even strengthen the body. But with such strengthening effects, it brought great harm to a person's brain and its nervous system and only people in the organization who had signed a death indemnity agreement could use it.
Jun Wu Xie had once seen a person in her past life who continuously ingested the White Bamboo extracts for an entire month. After that one month, his body's resilience had become distinctly stronger than the average person and he had turned immensely strong. But the side effects had been equally clear to see as his intelligence was also constantly deteriorating. He had been a adult male over thirty years of age but in that one month, his intelligence had been reduced to become like that of a thirteen or fourteen year old.
When White Bamboo was used as a substitute stimulant, at the same time that it gets the body highly excited, the brain would also be put in a high state of stimulation. The longer such a situation was maintained, the worse the damage caused to the brain would be.
Chapter 1420: "No Lack of Money (1)"
Jun Wu Xie suddenly thought of those Poison Men and saw from the circumstances that the Poison Men were in, it was highly similar to that of people who have overdosed on White Bamboo, only that it's effects were more severe.
"Looks like the people from the Twelve Palaces have added quite a large quantity of White Bamboo into the poisonous liquid they use to create Poison Men." Jun Wu Xie said as her palm blazed with a furious purple fire that disintegrated the bun into ashes.
Within that elixir pill, Jun Wu Xie also detected traces of White Bamboo and its dosage in there was even higher than the amount that was in the bun!
These elixirs were to be fed to the children who had fallen ill and the nervous system in the brain of young children were still highly delicate as they were still in the developing stages and if their brains were overly stimulated in this period, it could cause irreparable damage to them.
Fed with an elixir like this, the harm that the children were going to suffer would be for life, and it would be damage that was irreversible.
Even for a person as cold and indifferent as Jun Wu Xie, seeing such a venomous and insidious method being used caused a fiery rage to rise within her chest.
What kind of a good Samaritan!? He was just a evil demon that seeked to rob the lives from people!
Shrouding himself with the cover of a kindly Samaritan, he was pushing people over into the deep abyss where even at the final remaining moments of their sanity that was robbed from them, their last thoughts might very well still be thanking this "good Samaritan"!
Compared to a hypocrite like Luo Xi, Jun Wu Xie would rather admire those who were blatantly evil! At least for those, they were a little more upfront with their evil deeds.
"Mistress, seeing that they are feeding these refugees White Bamboo, could they be using them to create Poison Men?" The little black cat's heart suddenly jumped with the realization. It could not be blamed for being so startled as the facts before them gave it no choice but to come up with such a conclusion.
White Bamboo could be used to turn a person's body stronger but it would cause the brain great damage. And if White Bamboo was used to lay the foundation at this point before they were taken to be turned into Poison Men, wouldn't the process be highly sped up?
"That must be the case." Jun Wu Xie snorted with derision and crushed the elixir to dust.
She was now almost certain that the source of Poison Men were from the Clear Breeze City and at least a part of the Poison Men were created from these refugees. But there was just one point. The Fan Country was just a small country and even if they turned all of its citizens into Poison Men, they would still be unable to create the large numbers of Poison Men throughout the lands.
How she unraveled this mystery would surely determine whether she could find the key to the real secret behind the Poison Men!
"Mistress, so what do we do now? Should we go stop those refugees from eating those things?" The little black cat asked.
But Jun Wu Xie shook her head.
Only she knew about Luo Xi's hypocritical act and in the hearts of those refugees, Luo Xi was their greatest benefactor saving them from pain and suffering while she was just a complete stranger to all of them. If she was to try to unmask Luo Xi's real face before the refugees, they would never believe a word of what she was saying and she would only end up alerting the enemy instead.
Such a thankless job that brought no benefits was naturally not what Jun Wu Xie would choose to do.
Jun Wu Xie rubbed her chin in thought. Since Luo Xi liked to play the "good guy" so much, then she might as well deal him an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, letting him have a taste of his own medicine!
"Come, we're going into the city to have a look." Jun Wu Xie suddenly said as her eyebrow lifted, walking straight towards the most prosperous streets of the Clear Breeze City.
With the world in such chaos, but the Clear Breeze City was for some special reason spared all the suffering and turmoil, where everything within the city was as per normal. And due to a bunch of rich and prosperous merchants who came to the city, the economy within the city had quickly soared bullishly by folds.
At present, the most expensive thing in the Clear Breeze City was not anything else but land within the Clear Breeze City!
Due to the large influx of refugees into the Clear Breeze City, the prices of houses there had skyrocketed. Places that had originally been not worth any money had now been pushed to exorbitant prices from the speculation of the residents where houses that could be bought for ten over taels in the past were now suddenly solidly met with refusal to sell even with thousand tael offers!