This is also because the refugees wandering the wilderness have a very hard time and can no longer hold on. The main city of the temple can temporarily provide them with some shelter. They can't just watch them starve to death.
But when she arrived in Pingchuan City, she saw such a scene. Mu Hanyan was naturally very confused.
"This is the rule of Pingchuan City. There are only more than 20,000 people in the city, but the Sha family has more than 2,000 people. It is not easy to rely on 20,000 people to support 2,000 people." Fan Chengli said.
"But they are already so poor, and we still exploit them like this. Isn't that pushing them to death?" Jiang Qiling finally witnessed the suffering of ordinary people in the Continent of Gods, and said indignantly.
Fan Chengli's face flushed slightly, and the other chief priests were also a little embarrassed. Although such things had not happened in their respective temple cities, they were not uncommon in the territories of the major families.
The Divine Continent was vast, with few cities. The refugees couldn't withstand the harsh north winds and currents of the wasteland, nor could they all seek refuge in the main temple city. Often, they could only seek refuge in the nearest family territories, where many exploited and extorted them. Even if they wanted to manage them, they couldn't. Furthermore, as superiors, they didn't really care about the lives of these lowly refugees.
"Forget it, let's go into the city first." Mu Hanyan saw the embarrassment of Fan Chengli and others and interrupted Jiang Qiling.
Although she sympathized with these refugees, now was clearly not the time to care about their suffering. The most urgent task was to find Zhan Yuan first. No matter how pitiful these people were, at least they were still alive. If Zhan Yuan was allowed to continue the massacre, they would lose their lives.
Besides, how could she handle such matters? She was the chief priest of Huayu City, not the chief priest of Qingning Temple.
Leading everyone, Mu Hanyan walked towards Pingchuan City.
"Sir, please be kind and let us in. We really can't hold on any longer." At this time, an old man with a pale face, thin body and white hair pleaded bitterly to the young guard guarding the city gate.
"Go away, go away. Pay the money and enter the city. If you don't have money, get out of here." A guard with a horse face looked at him with disgust and said.
"We really don't have any money or belongings to offer. Please be kind, sir, and let us take shelter in the city for a few days. We will definitely make up for it when we have money or belongings in the future." The old man continued to plead.
"Get out." The horse-faced guard didn't bother to waste time and kicked the old man.
The old man was already quite old and he even walked with a trembling hand. How could he possibly withstand his kick? Just as his kick was about to hit the old man's chest, a young girl stood in front of the old man with a cry of "Grandpa!"
The girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old. Although her clothes were shabby, she had pretty features and a slim figure. If she dressed up, she would be considered above average in appearance.
The horse-faced guard's eyes lit up and he retracted his kick that was halfway through.
"Old man, do you really want to enter the city?" The horse-faced guard looked up and down at the girl several times, swallowed secretly, turned his eyes, and asked the old man.
"I beg you to show mercy and let us go into the city to rest for a few days. I will definitely pay you back the money we owe you in the future." The old man didn't notice the evil light in his eyes. When he heard his tone soften, he quickly said.
"It's not that I won't show mercy, but Pingchuan City has its own rules, and there's nothing I can do about it." The horse-faced guard said, pretending to be embarrassed.
"As long as you give us a way to live, I will work like a slave in my next life to repay your kindness." The old man said with a hunched back, begging.
"Forget it. There's no need to talk about being a slave to you. I'll just tell you straight out. No one can break the rules of Pingchuan City. If you can't hand over your belongings, I won't let you into the city. But, I do have a way to help you." The horse-faced guard chuckled.
"What method?" the old man asked expectantly.
"This young lady must be your granddaughter, right? I just happen to be in need of someone to serve tea and water. As long as she is willing to serve me for a few days, I will let you into the city." The horse-faced guard had an evil smile on his face and reached out to touch the girl's face while speaking.
The old man's face changed and he pulled the girl back.
"Old man, I'm telling you the method. Whether you are willing or not is up to you. I won't force you if you don't want to. If you die outside the city, don't blame me, Sha Chengyang, for not giving you a chance." The horse-faced guard was not in a hurry and said slowly.
"No!" the old man said firmly.
If the other party really took a fancy to his granddaughter, even if it was just to have her as a concubine, he might be shaken. At least he could survive, right? But it was obvious that the other party was just playing around. How could he possibly send his granddaughter into this fire pit?
Although in the eyes of others, they are just lowly refugees, but they still have their own last dignity.
"Old man, you'd better think it over carefully. If you miss this opportunity, you will never get it again." Seeing that the old man rejected him without thinking, the horse-faced guard's face darkened.
"Our Boss Sha is from the Sha family. It's your blessing that he looks up to your granddaughter. If she takes good care of Boss Sha, maybe he will stay by her side and never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of her life. It's much better than you being exposed to the wind and sun in the wilderness." A guard advised.
"Grandpa, let's go." Unfortunately, the other party was not moved at all. The girl supported the old man and walked towards the wasteland without looking back.
"Stop!" The horse-faced guard had assumed the grandparents had reached their wit's end and would never refuse his offer, but he hadn't expected them to be so resolute, turning and walking away without even a second thought. Looking at the girl's graceful back, a surge of anger welled up in his heart, and he dodged before them.
"What do you want to do?" The girl supported her grandfather and looked at the horse-faced guard warily.
"The behavior of these two people is suspicious. I suspect they are spies sent by the bandits. Keep an eye on them and don't let them get away." The horse-faced guard ignored her and waved his hand. Several of his men surrounded them.
"What did you say? How could we be spies?" the girl said angrily.
"Whether he is a spy or not is not up to you to decide. Search him for me!" said the horse-faced guard with a wicked grin.
Those men had been drooling over the girl for a long time, but they didn't dare show it because the horse-faced guard had taken a fancy to her first. Now that they had the chance to take advantage of her, they were not polite at all and surrounded her with wicked grins.
"You have no brains, you fool! I asked you to search that old man." The horse-faced guard kicked a subordinate who was about to take advantage of him to the ground and cursed viciously.
The men then realized they had been too happy too soon. They had never gotten such a good opportunity. They all knew the horse-faced guard was just looking for an excuse to harass the grandparents. They weren't interested in searching the old man, so they simply pushed him to the ground and surrounded the girl with their arms around him.
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