Chapter 164 Jinjiang Exclusive Release
In the boundless wilderness.
More than 3,000 weather-beaten victims struggled forward in the ice and snow.
These people had haggard faces and wore worn cotton jackets or poorly tanned leather that emitted a strange smell.
Some of them didn't even have coats, wearing only thin single clothes. The skin and faces exposed outside were frozen pale, and blood marks from frostbite were visible everywhere.
There were hundreds of carts in the middle of the team, and only a small number of them contained the remaining supplies. The rest were filled with frail elderly people and children, as well as some injured or seriously ill patients who had lost the ability to walk.
No matter they were old, children or the injured, they were only covered with tattered quilts that were not too thick. They sat stiffly in the car without moving, with their eyes closed. If you didn't look closely, you could hardly feel their breathing.
The others could only shiver in the biting cold wind, supporting each other with wooden expressions and moving forward on their own feet, with a numbness that showed no hope in their eyes.
But not all the people in this huge group are numb victims. If you look closely, you will find that there are quite a few strong men among them.
They either walk in front to clear the way for those behind, or stay at the end to cover the rear to prevent disaster victims from falling and being left behind without anyone noticing.
These people walked in an orderly manner. You could vaguely see the corners of armor exposed from the inside of their cotton-padded jackets. They had identical standard weapons on their waists. Their tired yet sharp eyes showed that they were not ordinary disaster victims.
The one with the most unique aura was a strong man who was leading the way in front with the others.
Even after six months of suffering from various natural and man-made disasters, the strong man's face was still haggard and tired, but his burly body was still as strong as a mountain, giving people an infinite sense of security.
Every time the disaster victims were about to give up, they would see this person and regain a little courage and grit their teeth to move forward.
But after three days of continuous travel, most people's physical strength has reached its limit.
One of the subordinates hesitantly approached the burly man and whispered, "General, should we take a break?"
The burly man opened his cracked lips and exhaled, then said in a hoarse voice, "We don't know when the snow will start falling again. There's no shelter around here. If it snows, more people will die. Keep going. Go to the hill ahead and maybe you'll find shelter there."
The subordinate looked at the hilltop that seemed to be right in front of him, but in fact it was still unknown how long it would take to reach it, and sighed inwardly.
The strong man actually knew that everyone could not hold on any longer. Just as he was about to ask his subordinates to distribute some rations to everyone, he heard a faint "rumbling" sound coming from his ears.
His tired and dim eyes suddenly became as sharp as a knife, and his body tensed up. "What's that sound!?"
The subordinate had obviously heard it, and asked in a panic, "Could it be an earthquake?"
The strong man listened carefully for a moment and felt the vibration of the ground again. "No, it doesn't sound like an earthquake. The sound is coming from... in front."
He looked vigilantly at the empty snowfield ahead and noticed a gust of flying snow mist in the distance. Something seemed to be approaching them rapidly in the mist.
The strong man raised his hand and gestured to stop. When his subordinates saw it, they immediately asked the victims to stop.
The victims, numb from walking, blinked in a trance.
Why did it stop?
Have you found a new place to live?
Can I take a break now?
A disaster victim standing near the front noticed the increasingly obvious movement ahead and shouted back, "Something is approaching us!"
The people behind him panicked after hearing this. "What is that?"
"Could it be a herd of extremely hungry animals?"
Panic continued to spread in the team, and people instinctively kept shrinking inward.
In front of the team.
As time went by, the strong man gradually saw clearly what was approaching, but after seeing it clearly, he became even more confused.
At first he thought that they were discovered by a pack of extremely hungry wolves or other animals looking for food, but those in front... didn't seem to be animals.
It's said to be a human...but he's covered in black, with a round head and doesn't look like a human at all.
Could it be some kind of monster?
The 'monster' suddenly stopped when it was still dozens of meters away from them and did not come any closer.
The strong man did not let his guard down, but gestured to alert the people below.
If possible, he didn't want to start a meaningless dispute, but if the "monster" really had bad intentions, he would definitely not be polite.
While the sturdy man was thinking secretly, the leading 'goblin' jumped off its strange 'mount', and more 'goblins' also emerged from the other 'mounts' behind it.
The strong man had noticed that there were only six 'mounts' and thought that there were only six 'monsters' as well. When 'they' all got off, he discovered that there were actually twenty or thirty of them.
As we got closer, the complete appearance of these "monsters" came into view.
The body looks exactly like a human's, except for the face...
Just as he was thinking this, the leading 'monster' suddenly took off its head under the shocked gaze of the strong man - no, that's not right!
The strong man then realized that what he had mistaken for a monster's head was actually a helmet, but the helmet even blocked the exposed face.
Under the helmet, it is clearly an ordinary person's head!
The person who came was not a monster at all, but a human being just like them!
Realizing this, the strong man breathed a sigh of relief.
No matter what, it is always much easier to communicate with people than with monsters who don’t speak the same language.
The burly man took a look at the person who took off his helmet and was a little surprised to see that he was a handsome young man who looked to be in his early twenties.
The young man had a calm expression and a rosy complexion, and looked like he had never suffered from any natural disaster.
The strong man had seen countless people, so he could naturally see that although the young man seemed to be standing very relaxed, in fact, there was almost no flaw on his body.
This kid is definitely not an ordinary person!
The burly man looked at the people standing on the young man's left and right and behind him.
These people took off their helmets one after another, and without exception, they all had energetic faces just like the young man.
He also noticed that these people were not wearing thick clothes, but there was no sign of cold on their faces.
He knew that some people who traveled around the world had profound internal strength and were not afraid of cold or heat at all. Could these people be one of them?
But no matter whether it was true or not, it was obvious that these people were much better off than them. They stopped on their own initiative and did not approach rashly. There were not many of them, so it seemed that they were not here to rob them on purpose.
While the burly man was observing them, Lu Xuan also quickly looked around at him and the victims behind him.
There is no banditry in their eyes. There are many of them, but they are not in good condition. They should not be bandits.
The leading man looked to be in his early thirties, with a burly build and sharp eyes. He wore armor under his cotton jacket. The young and strong men in the team had a military temperament.
It should be possible to get in touch.
The audience in the live broadcast room also analyzed:
[These people look a bit like military personnel.]
[They're not just soldiers, right? Most of them look like ordinary civilians, a mixed group of militiamen?]
[I see some elderly people and women among the group of disaster victims. The leader of this group must be a decent person.]
The leading man is quite handsome, but he looks rather haggard. If he cleans up a bit, he'll be a very charming, handsome, mature man.
The burly man took the initiative to speak: "Where are you all from? What advice do you want from us?"
Lu Xuan said, "I should be the one to say this. Our hunting range lies further ahead. If any strangers approach, we will naturally come over to investigate to avoid unnecessary conflict."
The sturdy man introduced himself frankly: "My last name is Huo, Huo Tiankuo."
"Huo Tiankuo!?"
Zhang Chengming and others who had remained silent and just served as decoration suddenly became excited.
Lu Xuan's eyelids twitched slightly and he looked at them sideways.
What happened to Huo Tiankuo? Are you acquaintances?
Lei Yan also asked excitedly, "Are you General Huo? The General Huo from the Huo Family Army?!"
Lu Xuan: General? Huo's army? Sounds like a celebrity?
Huo Tiankuo already knew that he had a good reputation among the people, so he nodded and said, "It is Huo."
After receiving a positive answer, the hunting team could no longer pretend to be cool and became excited.
"It's actually General Huo!"
"So, these people behind are all members of the Huo family army?"
"Oh my god, there will be a day when I can meet the Huo family army."
Lu Xuan's brows twitched, and he asked Lei Yan, "Who is General Huo?"
Lei Yan remembered that Lu Xuan had been stupid for more than ten years and didn't know much about the outside world, so he quickly explained Huo Tiankuo's deeds.
After listening for a while, Lu Xuan understood.
Simply put, this General Huo Tiankuo is the Huo Qubing and Yue Fei of this dynasty.
He loved his soldiers like his own sons, and his soldiers obeyed his orders and were invincible. They made great contributions to guarding the border and regaining the lost territories.
Lu Xuan looked at the team led by General Huo.
So, how did such a powerful general manage to lead his soldiers into such a mess?
Huo Tiankuo looked at their reactions and felt completely relaxed.
He was about to say something when there was a commotion at the back of the team.
A subordinate hurried over to report, "General, it's bad. Many people in the back have fainted from shock, and many people on the carts are almost unable to hold on..."
Huo Tiankuo frowned.
Their medicine had already run out. If someone couldn't hold on any longer, I'm afraid...
Lei Yan, Zhang Chengming and others gradually fell silent after hearing this. The excitement of seeing their idol disappeared, and they all looked at Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan thought about it and took the initiative to say: "Perhaps we can provide you with some help?"
·
Tents were set up one after another on the open space, and the sick and wounded on the carts were carried in one after another and placed on the large earthen kang made by Lu Xuan.
It is called an earthen kang, but it is not the kind of earthen kang in the north that can be heated by fire. It is an earthen bed made purely with earth-related supernatural powers to isolate the cold air from the ground.
The earthen bed was padded with old quilts that had been discarded by the villagers who were called in to help.
Even though it was an old quilt, it was much softer and thicker than the hard and torn quilts that the team led by Huo Tiankuo had used before, which were frozen into ice chips.
When the injured patients were put on it, even though many of them were almost unconscious, their brows relaxed slightly after feeling the long-lost softness beneath their bodies.
Lin Qingfu spent some time examining the injured people, and the results were horrific.
Lin Qingfu said to Lu Xuan: "There are more than 300 seriously ill patients. Half of them have caught a severe cold due to frostbite, and more than a dozen of them have completely necrotized their arms and legs due to frostbite.
There were also seventy or eighty people bitten by wild animals. Their wounds were not treated properly and their fevers persisted. If they hadn't encountered us, almost eighty percent of them would not have survived more than half a day."
Lu Xuan nodded and said, "Since they have chosen to help, just give them the medicine they need. I'll keep a record of it for them first and ask them to pay me back later."
Lin Qingfu said: "Just your words will do."
The amount of medicine these people needed was not a small amount. Although Lu Xuan gave him a lot of medicine, they were for the villagers. He didn't dare to use them on these outsiders.
Soon, Lin Qingfu called Zhang Chengming and others to come and help, and took out a large amount of frostbite ointment, hemostatics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and antipyretics for the critically ill patients in the tent.
While they were providing treatment, Huo Tiankuo was watching from the side.
At first, Huo Tiankuo also doubted whether those seemingly inconspicuous pills were useful.
But he soon discovered that the patients' red faces, who had taken the so-called fever-reducing drugs, had visibly returned to normal;
Soldiers who were injured, had red and swollen wounds, or were still bleeding slowly, took anti-inflammatory drugs and hemostatic drugs, and the swelling and bleeding quickly subsided;
Those who were so frostbitten that they had to have body parts amputated, after taking anesthetics in advance, actually felt no pain at all during the whole process. After the bleeding stopped at the incision, they were fed a blood-replenishing potion, and a hint of color actually returned to their pale faces!
The hemostatic drugs used by the Huo family army in the past were considered the best among all the armies, but they had never seen such quick effects.
Most of the victims bitten by wild beasts were his own soldiers. If they had not encountered these people, none of them would have survived.
As their general, Huo Tiankuo was unable to save their lives, and he was tormented.
Seeing these soldiers' breathing become steady and their brows relaxed, Huo Tiankuo felt deeply grateful to the people of Yunlu Village, but also became curious about their origins.
What Lu Xuan and others did was not just to treat critically ill patients.
Lin Qingfu also asked Huo Tiankuo to confirm the number of other disaster victims or soldiers in the team who needed medicine.
In fact, this does not need to be confirmed at all.
Even Huo Tiankuo himself, who seemed to be fine, had frostbite on his hands and feet. Naturally, others were no exception. The probability of frostbite was almost 100%.
In addition to frostbite, the second most common disease is snow blindness.
These disaster victims were not like the villagers of Yunlu Village, who went to the grocery store to buy protective glasses that could block ultraviolet rays on the first day of the extreme cold season.
If the eyes are exposed to sunlight reflected from the snow for a long time, they will more or less experience symptoms such as eye pain, photophobia, tearing, and even a strong burning sensation.
The most serious case is that he has completely lost his sight and is only alive today because he is carried by the Huo family soldiers.
Total blindness is incurable, but the rest can be cured with medication.
Use painkillers to relieve the pain, and then apply special eye ointment. Depending on the symptoms, you will recover in an hour at most.
…
While the young and strong men were helping to deal with the wounded in the team, in another shed outside the medical tent, the women who came with Lin Qingfu to help set up ten large iron pots.
Miao Jinfeng said loudly to the flood victims who were gathered around and gulping their saliva, "If you have bowls, please prepare them. If you don't have any, I'll give them out. Line up and get your soup."
After hearing this, the victims were in disbelief and rushed over to line up impatiently.
Everyone wanted to squeeze forward, and no one was willing to give way. Seeing that chaos was about to break out, the soldiers of the Huo family army immediately came over to maintain order.
When the victims saw these familiar soldiers, they finally calmed down and began to line up in an orderly manner to wait for soup.
Half of the ten pots were cooking ginger soup, with large slices of mutated ginger and green onion segments rolling in the pots, and a spicy aroma wafting out.
The first person to take his turn carefully held the hot yellow ginger soup, blew on it twice, and then couldn't wait to pour it into his mouth.
"Hiss! So hot! So spicy!"
Even though he was hissing from the heat, he was still reluctant to spit out the hot soup in his mouth. He held it in his mouth for a while and then swallowed it impatiently.
As soon as the ginger soup entered their stomachs, the victims felt as if a stream of heat was injected into their cold bodies, warming them up all over.
He couldn't help but stare, the effect was too good!
The people behind received their own portions one after another. After drinking it, they also felt the effect immediately and their eyes widened.
After drinking ginger soup all night, some people who were already in good physical condition even started to sweat.
The body is no longer cold, and the suppressed hunger gradually awakens.
These people touched their stomachs, smelled the aroma of meat wafting from the other five pots next door, and hurriedly took their empty bowls to line up in a new queue.
The other five pots were filled with bone soup made from the bones of wild boars that the hunting team had recently hunted, as well as cabbage slices.
The villagers don’t like wild boar bones very much, but they don’t feel bad about giving them away. The cabbages are all ordinary cabbages without mutations, the first batch planted during the hottest season.
Ever since the emergence of the crispier and sweeter mutant cabbage, ordinary cabbage has been relegated to the bottom of the box.
Upon learning that Lu Xuan and his companions had encountered the Huo family's army, everyone not only took out bones and ordinary cabbage, but also took the initiative to donate a lot of sweet potato vermicelli, mutant cabbage, mushrooms, and even meat.
Lu Xuan didn't rush Miao Jinfeng to take out the mutated cabbage and meat. He just asked her to use ordinary cabbage and some vermicelli to make some vermicelli and bone soup for the victims.
The vermicelli and bone soup is quite filling and cannot be finished in a short time, and the victims are reluctant to eat it all in one go.
At the reminder of the aunts from Yunlu Village and the Huo family army, the victims carried the bone soup into several other tents nearby.
As soon as they entered the tent, the victims felt a warm air. When they looked closely, they found that there were many charcoal braziers in the tent, which were filled with red-hot charcoal.
The victims' eyes lit up and they quickly gathered around the charcoal brazier, warming themselves while enjoying the fragrant broth. As the broth went into their stomachs, their numb faces gradually regained vitality and their dull eyes regained their light.
Inside the deadly quiet tent, voices began to be heard one after another.
“It’s really delicious.”
"Where on earth did these people come from? They were willing to give us so much ginger, meat bones, and cabbage!"
"I don't know what this slippery thing in the soup is. It looks like noodles, but it doesn't taste like noodles."
"I don't know. I've never eaten it, but it tastes delicious."
The vermicelli that has absorbed the soup is particularly soft and delicious. You can never get enough of it and it gives you a strong sense of fullness. Before you finish a bowl, you will feel that your hunger has subsided a lot.
"Their cabbage looks really fresh and tastes delicious."
"It's been a long time since I last ate fresh cabbage since the earthquake."
The victim who spoke looked dazed. "Before the earthquake, my family had planted half an acre of cabbage. We were about to harvest it, but who could have imagined that the weather would change so drastically..."
The others thought of their loved ones who had been lost in the earthquake and the experience of being displaced for nearly six months. The emotions that had been suppressed for a long time were unexpectedly evoked by a bowl of unexpected meat soup, and low sobs gradually came from the tent.
Not only the disaster victims, but also many young soldiers in the Huo family army had tears in their eyes when they were given the meat soup by the women of Yunlu Village.
The audience followed Lu Xuan around the temporary camp of the Huo family army and were filled with emotion.
These people are so miserable.
[This should be the most realistic appearance of the disaster victims in this plane, without the anchor cheating.]
[Doesn't the Huo family army sound very powerful? Why are they doing so badly?]
[No matter how powerful you are, you can't conjure up a large amount of supplies out of thin air. With more than 3,000 people saving and saving again, wouldn't they still consume several hundred kilograms of supplies a day?
Just the first ten days of winter alone would require at least 10,000 kilograms of supplies. Where would they get so much? Furthermore, they also had to deal with natural disasters and disease. They must have done their best to save so many people.
"I think there are only a few hundred real soldiers among the over 3,000. The Huo family army can't possibly be just that small. Who knows how many of them died along the way. Sigh."
While the audience was sighing, Huo Tiankuo was also stuffed with a bowl of bone soup filled with ingredients by his men.
Because everyone had a share, Huo Tiankuo did not back down and ate all the ingredients in the soup with great care.
The stewed vermicelli, the extra-sweet cabbage, and the few pieces of meat that were not cleaned off the bones all made Huo Tiankuo extremely satisfied.
Feeling the fullness he hadn't felt in a long time, and looking at the soldiers and disaster victims around him who also had happy faces, Huo Tiankuo's expression was quite complicated.
He glanced at the tent that the people of Yunlu Village had set up for their own rest next to the medical tent, thought for a moment, and then walked over.
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