Chapter 252
Noble people tend to forget things.
Now, Xue Shun is also a real noble man in people's eyes, right?
Anyway, Xue Lang believed what she said.
He said, "That's just right. It's just as you said. The more tragic your death, the greater the chance that we brothers will reconcile."
He won't lose anyhow.
Tian Bajiao was too lazy to argue anymore.
Oh, don’t mention Tian Bajiao, she is Shen Jiao again.
Unlucky Shen Jiao.
Before she could even have a few full meals, she was forced onto the boat by Chen Qiye and Xue Lang.
Ah Zhu also became one of the people traveling with him as a hostage.
Because Xue Lang had sneaked back from Beiting and had to hide when he went out, and Master Chen Qi was not well-known, so the journey was not peaceful at all.
There were quite a few people who were ignorant, and they were all dealt with one by one by the tall and unusually large men under Master Chen Qi.
Even if you can't win occasionally, you can still escape successfully.
However, since entering the Jiangnan Road, there have been more and more bandits, which has caused great trouble.
Shen Jiao was puzzled and asked, "So many years have passed, why is this place still in such a mess?"
The territory of Jiangnan Dao is not that big. Is there no capable person who can keep the place under control?
Xue Lang was too lazy to answer her.
Master Chen Qi was willing to answer a few questions, but he didn't know much. "A few years ago, everything seemed peaceful. They created the Fifteen Jiangnan Alliances, redid the territories, and agreed not to fight. But before they knew it, something happened again. Two gangs fought each other, breaking the rules. The others also became restless, and chaos broke out again."
This has been a prosperous place since ancient times.
Now it shows a row of bleak and dilapidated ruins, with many dilapidated houses on both sides and deserted fields.
The green bricks, blue tiles and white walls were all stained with blood that could not be scraped off.
Sometimes Shen Jiao and her friends passed by some villages and towns, but they seemed to be deserted.
"The world is in chaos, and the people can't survive. They either flee with their families or die."
This is what Mr. Chen Qi said.
Shen Jiao felt that the latter were probably more numerous.
Not everyone has the ability to leave their homeland, and not everyone has the courage to leave.
If forced to choose between a dead end road and a dead home, many people would choose the latter.
"Okay, there are still people here, and the food on the boat is running low. Let's go down and rest for a while, then we'll talk."
When passing by a city that seemed to be abandoned, Mr. Chen Qi sent a few people ashore in a light boat to investigate before making this decision.
It was obvious that he didn't want to do that, and his expression was extremely solemn.
It's no wonder that he acted like this. Jiangnan Road is now a den of bandits. There is no place suitable for them to stay along the way. They waited and waited, and only decided to dock when their food was almost gone.
There is no need to look for any taverns or inns. The docks are all abandoned. What other good places can there be? Only the wisps of smoke are silently telling us that there are still living people here.
The Seventh Master sent his men to buy food, and Shen Jiao sat on the shore with them in shackles, waiting.
The feeling of being down to earth is more solid than swaying on the boat. Shen Jiao was enjoying the evening breeze and fiddling with the chains when he accidentally saw a small figure.
It was gone in the blink of an eye, so fast that it seemed like an illusion.
Ah Zhu sat next to her and blinked and said, "Sister, look, there was a child there just now."
There were too few living people along the way, let alone a child. Even if Ah Zhu saw a rabbit or a few lines of water birds, she would be excited for a long time.
The Seventh Master winked at his men.
A man caught the child in a short time, just like catching a rabbit or a water bird, quickly and easily, and no matter how the prey struggled, it could not get away.
The old man smiled maliciously: "Good boy, don't be afraid, grandpa just wants to ask you a few questions, then I'll let you go and give you some candy."
The skinny kid looked at him blankly: "Really?"
"Of course. Come and eat it and talk while you eat."
Mr. Chen Qi put a silver jar with gold-painted patterns and pearls inlaid into the child's arms and pulled him to sit beside him in a good-tempered manner.
"Good boy, how old are you? What's your name?"
"My name is Not Hungry. I'm seven years old."
"Oh, nice name, are you from here?"
"Um."
"Then who else is here, do you know?"
"Well, there are relatives, bad guys and..." He looked around and said vaguely with candy in his mouth, "passersby."
Well, that’s easy to understand. They should be the passers-by.
"Bad guys? What bad guys?" Xue Lang interrupted. "How could there be bad guys in this godforsaken place? There are only a few people here."
Bu'e looked at Xue Lang, who was hiding under the black robe and whose face could not be seen clearly. He guessed that he also thought he was a bad guy. He moved his butt and sat to the side, almost sitting in Qi Ye's arms.
The Seventh Master was still hugging him with a smile, like a kind old man.
Buhungry said, "There are so many bad guys."
"Where are they? What bad things have they done?" Qi Ye asked him.
Buhungry paused for a long time this time before slowly saying, "Bad guys, lots of them, they kill people."
Sometimes children's speech is inevitably incoherent.
But he didn't look like a normal misfit, he looked more like... stupid.
After asking more, he could not get any more information. The Seventh Master said with a dull look on his face, "Alright, kid, go play. Don't run around on the street. Go home early. Someone come and take him back."
Shen Jiao glanced at him.
Xue Lang said impatiently: "He's just a fool, why would I care what he does?"
"As for the child." Master Chen Qi didn't seem to want to say more, and the look he gave the child was quite kind.
Shen Jiao thought that he wanted his men to take the child away and kill him, and take back the candy jar.
Overthinking it.
The people selling grain were taking a long time to come back, and Xue Lang was a little impatient, but these people were all Chen Qiye's people, so he didn't say too much, so he went back to the boat in annoyance.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, someone came to report: "Seventh Master, if we want to buy food, we will have to delay for another day or two."
"What do you mean?" asked the Seventh Master.
The servant said, "The people living here are short of food. Even if we sell it, it won't be enough. But if we wait a day or two, they will harvest the rice, and then we'll have enough."
"Is it settled?"
"Okay."
"Well, let's find a place to clean up. We're getting dizzy from being on the boat all day. It's better to stay on the ground. We can stay there for two days and relax."
The Seventh Master decided the matter without even discussing it with Xue Lang.
Along the way, Shen Jiao also realized that the relationship between the two of them was not that good, and they were just using each other. Qi Ye's pearls were transported to the northern border, and Xue Lang was looking for buyers.
Xue Lang also relied on the Seventh Master to make money and accumulate wealth.
But to be honest, calling him a distinguished guest is already considered polite.
Xue Lang now has no one to help him, and he relies on others for money.
He refused to bow his head, yet wanted to order people around.
It seemed that the Seventh Master also disliked him, and his subordinates would never listen to Xue Lang.
This situation is favorable to Shen Jiao.
They are not compatible. If they were really close enough to wear the same pants, Shen Jiao would have a hard time living...
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