South State
"Is Nanzhou just ahead?" Tianjizi fiddled with the compass with 13 strange symbols on it in his hand.
"It should be soon."
Wu Ci looked solemn and became more and more alert.
They followed the hungry people and went up the mountains to hunt when they had no food. They did not encounter any danger along the way.
As Nanzhou is about to be reached, the reason why this group of hungry people disappeared in the previous round has not been discovered, which makes him feel more and more uneasy.
"Don't let your guard down. Be more careful towards the end."
"I understand..." Tianjizi showed the compass to Wuci, frowning, "It's hard to predict the fate of these hungry people. Only Tianji shows... they are doomed... it will be difficult to save them."
Wu Ci looked at the multi-layered array. The pointer at the top, which was said to most likely represent the favor of the gods, was still pointing to the 13th strange symbol facing him. The pointers on the lower layers were randomly distributed with hexagrams. The secret was unclear and the fate was extremely bad.
He didn't read much about the auxiliary spells in the "Heavenly Scripture", but he did understand some hexagrams. In the previous round, he also learned from Tianjizi the observation method of the compass and the Tianji Yimai calculation method, and the hexagrams he calculated were barely accurate.
The hexagram says that it is extremely fierce and there is no chance of survival, which means it is very difficult to save these hungry people. Even if they are saved immediately, they will die from other reasons after a period of time.
"We've arrived. This is the Tongji Canal of Nanzhou. The Yunze City in front is the first city in Nanzhou and an important one."
My father, who was walking not far away, suddenly said, "The general in the city, Chen Haoran, was my former classmate and friend. I don't have a very good relationship with him, but he is a decent man. If you need anything, you can tell him my name. If you explain the reasons and consequences to him, he will help you."
"Thank you for telling me, father." Wu Ci nodded, turned to Tianjizi and said, "Before the hungry people enter the city, I will go to find General Chen first. I ask you to protect the hungry people and let me know if you encounter any problems."
"Okay." Tianjizi nodded seriously and watched Wuci leave. Suddenly he touched his head and said, "Hey? How did Taoist Chuci know that the Tianji Dao sect can also transmit sound?"
"Well... our spells are numerous and common, so it's not unusual for Fellow Daoist Chu Ci to know them!" He convinced himself, nodded, and stared at the hungry people.
On the other side, Wu Ci sneaked into Yunze City, bypassing the guards who were checking the residents entering and leaving the city gate. While walking on the street, he casually stole the wallet of a dissolute young man with no manners.
Not long after, he changed into a green robe and walked out of the clothing store.
Most people in the world respect Luo Shang first and then respect others. Even if there are exceptions, this is the mainstream norm in society.
The linen clothes he wore for fleeing were too undignified, disrespectful, inconvenient to do anything, and very cold. Anyone who saw him would think he was a beggar, not to mention being looked down upon.
Now he has changed into a green robe, and his height has grown a lot after practicing the "Heavenly Hunger Sutra". Even though this body is that of an eight-year-old child, he looks like a young man from a wealthy family.
Children in ancient times knew things at an early age. By the time of the Qian Dynasty, children of this age were already able to do things independently and would not look conspicuous walking alone on the street.
Yunze City had just celebrated the Chinese New Year, and the lanterns that had not been removed from every household still retained the festive atmosphere, but shops were reopening one after another.
"Dumplings! Dumplings! Fresh from the oven! Three cents each!"
"Wonton noodles! 40 cents a bowl!"
…
The food and grains sold by these vendors are much more expensive than outside. I guess it’s because Nanzhou is richer than other places, so people are used to it and don’t have any objections... The rising heat from the food makes Nanzhou look like a paradise compared to the famine-stricken areas outside.
Wu Ci wandered the street curiously, looking straight ahead, trying not to look like a country boy. After buying two bags of cakes, visiting two teahouses, and communicating with several people using his excellent interpersonal skills, he successfully found out the specific situation of General Chen Haoran and Yunze City.
Yunze City is currently recruiting soldiers, and Chen Haoran, the highest-ranking general in the city, has a very good reputation among the people. He is currently on duty in the military camp in the north of the city to train soldiers. He returns home in the evening, and his only family members are his wife and one daughter.
All the news sounds normal, but normal is the biggest abnormality.
Yunze City is so big, with so many people and so many gossips. If those hungry people outside the city had come here in the last round, the news would have spread in Nanzhou. It is impossible for them to disappear mysteriously without leaving any news.
The factors that caused the disappearance of the hungry people have not yet appeared. Wu Ci is wary of everything and even suspects that there might be something wrong with Chen Haoran, the general of Yunze City.
Moreover, it was the end of the Qian Dynasty. Emperor Qian was incompetent and had squandered all the money in the treasury. There was not enough military pay to support the army. Why did Yunze City recruit soldiers? And where did they get the military pay to allow new soldiers to join voluntarily?
It's not safe to visit Chen Haoran in the military camp, so let's start with his wife and daughter.
"Unstable? We are his wife and daughter, why would we be unstable!" The elegant woman smashed the teacup in anger, "Why should we leave? To make room for those women from other courtyards!"
Wu Ci sat with his legs bent on the beam of the general's mansion, leaning against the wall and talking incoherently. As soon as he came, he heard the conversation of Chen Haoran's wife and daughter below.
"Pay attention to your manners. You never remember what I taught you. You insist on being as vulgar as a street woman. Men will only get more annoyed the more they see you." The young girl in a pink skirt sat at the bottom, casually taking a sip from the tea bowl. Her manner was lazy but dignified. She sat upright and gracefully, and even the golden hairpin on her head did not move.
Wu Ci recognized her as the girl with a golden hairpin standing next to the golden-armored general he saw in Tongji Canal in the previous round.
After hearing what the girl said, the woman below remembered to look around to avoid being heard by others, but she found that the girl had already blocked the servants.
She breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, "My dear daughter, mother knows you are the smartest. Think of a solution quickly... If I let those concubines take over, how will you be able to live well?"
"Don't try to be clever and involve me... If you only think about how to keep a man under control, what can you achieve?" The girl in the pink skirt snorted coldly, and finally said, "I saw the letter from the governor of Nanzhou when I was handling things for my father a few days ago. My father is doing things for the governor. Don't try to make things worse. Just do what I tell you to do, don't be smart."
The woman said in dissatisfaction, "The Lord of Nanzhou wants your father to recruit both soldiers and women. What is he trying to do? Do we have to leave?"
The girl in the pink skirt raised her head and revealed a mocking and weird smile, "You're not leaving? Do you want to live or die?"
"You...what do you mean?" The woman was completely frightened.
The girl asked back, "The governor of Nanzhou is plotting a rebellion. Do you want to lose your head along with your father?" She sneered and said, "Only one of us can leave, and it will be you."
The girl grabbed the woman's neck as she stared at her in shock, and whispered in a commanding tone, "Sell your dresser shop, and fake your death in two days to get away. Don't you have a childhood sweetheart who has never married you? Make up a story and lie to him, and let him be your wife, and change your identity."
"He's just a minor official! Do you want me to give up my status as a general's wife? How can I enjoy wealth and glory by marrying him? I'm your mother! You can't do this to me! Do you want me to work like those lowly peasant wives after I've used up all my dowry?" The woman screamed angrily to defend herself, without considering whether her daughter would conspire with her husband to rebel and get herself beheaded if she stayed.
After she finished screaming, she saw her daughter's mocking eyes and trembled in fear, softening her tone, "And what about your marriage? How can you marry into a wealthy family?"
"You only think about getting married and relying on men? You are a useless piece of shit. If you weren't my mother, I really wouldn't want to care about you."
The pink-dressed girl sneered, "Silly woman, listen to me and stay with your lover. If the governor and my father succeed in their rebellion, I will inform you. After I kill your lover and make up a reason with my father, I will take you back to continue enjoying your glory and wealth.
If the rebellion fails, I will transfer my father's property in advance, which will be enough for you to squander for several lifetimes."
"My dear daughter, I know you are on your side!" The woman was delighted and finally began to show concern for her daughter in a hypocritical manner, "Aren't you going with me? Then you must be careful!"
The girl laughed sarcastically, "Come on, I won't necessarily die even if you die."
…
Letter from the Lord of Nanzhou... Conspiracy for Rebellion...
In the previous episode, the ruler of Nanzhou started the uprising eight years later. Did he start planning so early?
Wu Ci jumped down from the beam, avoided the patrolling servants and went straight into the study of General Chen Haoran.
Everything was normal in the study, and no private letters or anything related to treason were found.
As the Heavenly Starve Sutra started to run, Wu Ci closed his eyes, and the evil blood and consciousness began to spread like ultrasound with him as the radiation point.
The basement of the study is hollow.
There is a secret room below... and it is very big... it covers the entire general's mansion!
Wu Ci half-knelt down, knocked on the ground, and after forcibly lifting a few floor tiles, he finally saw the underground secret room in the gap.
Mountains of gold and silver, standard weapons and armor, and a group of girls imprisoned in prison and shackled!
They carry the aura of gloomy times and days.
At this moment, an absurd and ridiculous idea suddenly popped up in Wu Ci's mind.
In this chaotic world, why is Nanzhou the only one so wealthy?
The other pardoned gods all did whatever they wanted, so how could the river god of the Southern Province Water Palace be any better? And he had been silent all this time, and only asked for a wife eight years later?
Seeing this, Wu Ci seemed to understand...
In the last week, the river god got married, and it wasn’t just the one time he encountered it, but... it happens every year!
The ruler of Nanzhou, as the ruler of a state, suppressed the news in order to prevent Nanzhou from attracting the emperor's attention and being discovered plotting a rebellion. He secretly captured a girl born on an inauspicious day and time and offered her as a sacrifice to the river god in exchange for temporary peace.
If he was rebelling against the emperor's rule, trying to end this chaotic world, and accumulating strength for the future of the people of the world, Wu Ci respected his rationality, respected him as a hero, respected him for sacrificing a few for the majority, and respected him for being a qualified ruler, even though it was cruel...
If he is just doing it for his own selfish desires, then...it is unforgivable.
Wu Ci slowly pulled out a long sword from the display shelf in the study.
The sword is a work of art and its blade is not sharpened, but its blade is shiny silver.
The infusion of spiritual energy makes this sword extremely sharp.
Chen Haoran, the general of Yunze, worked for the governor of Nanzhou and even helped him in rebellion. Naturally, he was his confidant and knew most of the governor's plans.
However, even if it means sacrificing oneself, these innocent girls cannot be treated in this way.
Wu Ci placed the sword on his knees, slightly closed his eyes, and sat quietly in the study, waiting for the owner of this study to come back and ask for an explanation for the sacrifice...
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