"Focus on driving, we must reach Linjiang Path’s Tao City within three days,"
Suddenly, a cold voice came from inside the carriage, startling Hou Yuxiao into a jolt, and he quickly replied in a low voice, "Miss, rest assured, I will do my utmost to ensure that we reach Linjiang Path’s Tao City within three days."
After speaking, he didn’t dare to let his thoughts wander anymore, focusing on driving the carriage northward at full speed. The carriage couldn’t move as fast as a single traveler, and could only cover a little over 1,500 li a day. With Baiming Ferry more than 4,000 li away from Linjiang Path’s Tao City, three days was indeed a tight schedule, so he needed to concentrate.
To travel to Zhongzhou Divine Capital in the fastest way, the three should have ridden on horseback directly. Hou Yuxiao didn’t understand at first why Zhan Taiqing arranged for them to travel by carriage, but when he saw her changing the route, Hou Yuxiao immediately realized that the Old Devout Woman deliberately slowed down the pace and altered their path to avoid interception by others.
With that realization, Hou Yuxiao felt even more uneasy. Although the Old Devout Woman was not so capable, her strength was undeniably formidable. The extent of the enemy’s power that even she was trying so hard to avoid must certainly be beyond his imagination. If they happened to encounter them, wouldn’t it be a dead end?
The journey along the Official Road toward Linjiang Path was uneventful on the first day, with not many people around, but the situation remained normal. However, after traveling north for another day and going deeper into the territory of Linjiang Path, the conditions on the Official Road changed.
There were people fleeing with their families, one group after another, among them many Martial Artists of the Open Body Realm and even of the Gang Qi Realm. For the Martial Artists, things were still manageable, as they had their abilities to rely on, and finding something to eat was never too difficult for Martial Artists.
The most tragic were the ordinary people, whom Hou Yuxiao saw looking emaciated and staggering, clearly having traveled long distances to flee disaster and being in a state of starvation.
On the side of the Official Road, the selling of sons and daughters happened now and then. Robbery, bullying of men, and violence against women were commonplace, even among ordinary people, let alone in situations where Martial Artists were present. Some scenes, if not quite hell on earth, were not far from it.
Moreover, this kind of situation became more pronounced the closer they got to the cities along the road. Just on the second day, Hou Yuxiao passed seven Prefectural Cities and one city, and the number of refugees he saw was at least tens of millions—an amount nearly equivalent to the total population of the four counties under the governance of the Hou Clan.
While Hou Yuxiao did not consider himself particularly kind-hearted, he couldn’t help intervening when he saw situations that were too dire. Ding Xiang was fine with it, her gaze showing much appreciation for him, but Zhan Taiqing mocked and ridiculed him, though she did not stop him. Her words, however, were full of sarcasm and poured cold water on his actions.
At first, Hou Yuxiao did not understand and just assumed the Old Devout Woman had a hard heart. But as he encountered more and more desperate situations, he began to realize why Zhan Taiqing had been dampening his spirits.
There were too many refugees, each facing tragedies more desperate than the last. There were no overly dire situations, only ones more dire than others.
To him, selling children was already unbearable, but when he came across parents who killed their children and then themselves, it was no longer surprising; even seeing people who ran out of provisions and resorted to cannibalism was not uncommon. As for the acts of inhumanity committed by desperate Martial Artists against ordinary people, those were everywhere...
Hou Yuxiao was nearly numb. No matter how strong he was, he was only one person, and the number of people he could save was limited. Besides, his destination was the opposite direction to that of the refugees; he couldn’t take them with him, and helping people was only temporary.
Linjiang Path, Xingye Prefectural City, Juyuan Restaurant
"This is already the northernmost Prefectural City of Linjiang Path. If we continue north for another 400 li, we’ll leave Linjiang Path and reach Wangchuan Road,"
"Perfect timing, three days to arrive. You may not seem very clever, but your dedication and effort are commendable,"
Zhan Taiqing, sitting by the window, heard Ding Xiang announcing their current location, turned her head to tease Hou Yuxiao, and upon seeing the new wrinkles on Hou Yuxiao’s face at the mention of "old servant," a rare smile crossed her beautiful and aloof face under the veil.
Having been called "old servant" countless times along the way, Hou Yuxiao, under the tyranny of Zhan Taiqing, dared not speak his anger. No matter how uncomfortable he felt at the moment, he could only nod and oblige with a forced smile, "Thank you for the compliment, Miss."
"Once we enter Wangchuan Road, let’s ride on horseback to hurry along!"
Alternating between carriages and horseback, aren’t you afraid of jolting this old devout woman to death? Though Hou Yuxiao’s heart was filled with malice, he couldn’t help but approve of the old woman’s decision; changing the route frequently and varying their speed to confuse the enemy, was indeed a good idea.
"Most of these commoners must be fleeing from disasters in Zhongzhou; they probably all come from Lincang Path and Dongyuan Path. Even if Great Jin and Qinjian Villa were to conquer Great Yu, would they really cause such suffering that people can’t make a living? In the end, won’t that just increase their own costs of governance?"
Hou Yuxiao looked at the refugees on the streets of the Prefectural City and couldn’t help asking the doubts in his heart. Ding Xiang was also curious about this and turned her gaze to Zhan Taiqing along with him.
"Even the aftermath of a fight between two Martial Artists of the Open Body Realm can be lethal to these ordinary folk, let alone a holy battle on the scale of millions. A slight mishap could mean the entire city is buried with the dead."
Furthermore, the hatred between Great Jin and Great Yu has lasted for over a thousand years. Both sides see red the moment they cross paths. When Great Yu was more powerful, they mercilessly killed the common people of Great Jin without a second thought, completely encircling and suppressing them alongside the factions of Ji and the five southern states on The Righteous Path. Now that the situation has reversed, how could Great Jin show mercy?"
Zhan Taiqing clearly knew much about these matters, but she also understood that this explanation was not enough to resolve the doubts in Hou Yuxiao’s heart, so she continued, "Besides, not all refugees were caused by the battle between holy lands. Those Martial Artist factions occupying various territories would flee before the battle, and to preserve their own power, they would plunder extensively. In some places, the people were already in dire straits before the battle even began."
After saying this, she paused and then sneered before continuing, "Apart from those ruthless Martial Artists, there are even fiercer ones!"
"Demons?" Hou Yuxiao showed a hint of interest and quietly questioned.
"You old servant actually has some insight. The saying ’in times of chaos, demons abound’ is not just empty words. Even when ordinary people die in large numbers and accumulated blood energy becomes strong, it can attract the demons of the wilderness. Not to mention those vigorous Martial Artists. In any major war, especially those involving holy lands, the death toll isn’t just tens of thousands but rather hundreds of thousands. Those dead Martial Artists are the best nourishment for demons.
Wherever there’s a great battle among Martial Artists, demons are sure to follow. If you’re unlucky enough to attract a demon as powerful as the Blood Demon, or even more so, then not just one Prefectural City, but the lives in an entire region may be doomed. So tell me, should these people flee, or not?"
Hou Yuxiao nodded; he initially wanted to ask why similar situations hadn’t occurred in Hexi and Hedong, where there had been great battles just recently, but he figured it out on his own quickly.
After the chaos in Tongling, nearly all the demons in the vicinity of Xingnan Prefecture had been wiped out, and considering the presence of an exceptionally powerful Maiden Hong, it would be a long time before any demons dared to approach again.
Besides, the two regions of Hexi and Hedong had not been lightly devastated by the war. One only needed to look at the immense benefits reaped by the Hou Clan to understand. The more than one hundred thousand Martial Artists within the Hou Clan now came from those small forces that had been crushed, they did not emerge out of thin air. If this was the state of the Martial Artists’ forces, the plight of the common people from the four counties must be even worse.
If it weren’t for Hou Yuduan’s follow-up governance, one could foresee that the situation in Hexi Four Counties, even if better than the current state of affairs, wouldn’t be much improved.
"Alright, we’ve rested enough, let’s depart!"
At Zhan Taiqing’s command, Hou Yuxiao and Ding Xiang quickly followed suit. As before, the two women entered the carriage, and Hou Yuxiao drove in front. They soon sped off from the Prefectural City, continuing northward. According to the planned route, it would take only two hours to enter Wangchuan Road territory, prompting Hou Yuxiao to speed up as well.
However, after traveling for two hours, just as they reached the boundary between Wangchuan Road and Linjiang Path, Hou Yuxiao, who had been using his True Qi to sense the situation ahead, suddenly furrowed his brows and slowed down the speed of the carriage.
"Hou the Great Benefactor is going to perform another act of righteousness..."
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.
Hou the Great Benefactor was a nickname Zhan Taiqing had given to mock him. Although Hou Yuxiao felt slightly uncomfortable upon hearing it, his hands didn’t stop, and he gradually brought the carriage to a halt.
"You two little bastards, you stole my money and think you can run!"
Near the boundary marker in the distance, five or six strong men were pursuing two children who looked to be under ten years old. They continued the chase until they reached the front of Hou Yuxiao’s carriage, where they finally stopped.