Chapter 166 Jinjiang Exclusive
"This is it."
Lu Xuan brought Huo Tiankuo and a dozen Huo family soldiers to the hillside they mentioned yesterday.
On two sides of the hillside are steep cliffs that can block the wind and snow, and on the other two sides are low mountains with many cedars. The temperature should be frozen, but it is surprisingly still lush and green, with white and green overlapping together, exuding a quiet vitality.
Huo Tiankuo noticed the figure of a squirrel flashing among the branches of the cedar and sighed to himself that this was a really great place.
They were willing to give them such a good place. Huo Tiankuo couldn't help but wonder if the living conditions in Yunlu Village were better than here.
After confirming that the steep hillside was a good place to stay, Huo Tiankuo was completely relieved.
After expressing his gratitude to Lu Xuan again, he took his personal soldiers, who had recovered a lot of energy after eating two hot meals, to go hunting.
The Huo family army had no alloy bows and crossbows nor special powers, but they were all experienced soldiers. When they were in the northwest, they often hunted wolves in their spare time, so it was no problem for them to kill a few wild boars or roe deer.
The strength of a single soldier may not be particularly outstanding, but the combat effectiveness demonstrated by the cooperation and coordination of multiple people is eye-catching.
The group worked hard in the mountains until the sunset appeared on the horizon, and then they set off on their return journey with a large amount of prey.
…
When the victims returned to the temporary camp, they were all excited when they saw the mountains of prey.
After having enough food and sleep, the victims looked much better and actively helped to deal with the frozen prey. When they heard Huo Jiajun say that they would be able to settle in the new camp on the mountain in two days, the faces of the victims who were lifeless yesterday were visibly filled with new life.
The Huo family army borrowed iron pots and cabbages from Yunlu Village to make a cabbage stew with meat. The staple food was porridge made from the little food left in their team.
To be honest, the stew didn't taste very good because the meat was too mixed, the wild boar meat was fishy, and the Huo family army didn't have enough seasoning. At least Lu Xuan and others couldn't eat it.
But most of the disaster victims who followed the Huo family army ate with gusto and did not dislike it at all.
People who have been hungry or even on the verge of starvation countless times will not be picky about taste. Having meat to eat is already a great blessing.
After eating this meal of meat, they can persist even if they have nothing to eat for the next two or three days but snow!
The audience sighed: "People at the bottom of society can really persevere as long as they are given a little hope to survive."
When encountering disaster victims like these who are just trying to survive, I feel guilty if I don't lend a hand.
[As long as these disaster victims have no bad intentions, the host will definitely not mind helping them. Maybe we can even find a way to achieve a win-win situation.]
While most of the victims were eating hot stew and enthusiastically discussing how to actively build a new camp and work together with the Huo family army to overcome the difficulties, a small undercurrent was surging in an unnoticed place.
…
Seven or eight middle-aged men who were obviously wealthier than the other victims gathered in a corner of the refugee tent.
What these people used as cushions were not tattered quilts or smelly leather, but well-tanned deerskin and tiger skin. The clothes they wore were also obviously much thicker and warmer, and even the fabrics were not something that ordinary disaster victims could afford.
The other victims consciously kept their distance from them.
Several people ate the strongly fishy stew with disgust while muttering to each other.
"I don't know where this guy from Yunlu Village came from, but he actually provided large amounts of supplies to completely unrelated disaster victims for two days in a row."
"Warm, airtight tents, charcoal, so many large iron pots, and juicy cabbages... these are not things that ordinary disaster victims can afford."
"They say they're from a village in the north, but I don't think so. In this winter when even the young and strong men can't survive, even the women are so delicate and frail. It doesn't look right at all."
"There's so much wrong with them. Those fever-reducing medicines and the horseless carriages that run so fast are all really weird!"
They had lived a life of luxury before and had never seen these rare things.
The middle-aged man who looked the most astute among them narrowed his eyes.
"Try to find a few people who look like they can get away with some trickery and ask them about it. The fact that they're willing to donate so much supplies without showing any sign of regret only proves that their financial resources are even deeper than you'd expect."
He noticed that the people of Yunlu Village would go back to their tents every time they cooked or got medicine, but he didn't see them carrying supplies inside when setting up the tents. How could they take out an endless supply of food with just one trip in?
"I guess they must be hiding some secret. If we can dig it out..."
The other younger generations said, "Uncle, if they really have a secret, they won't tell it easily, right? What if we can't find out?"
The shrewd middle-aged man, Uncle Wei, scolded, "If soft tactics don't work, then use hard tactics! Do you need me to teach you this?"
The younger generation hesitated, "Those guys look strong and might be hard to deal with."
"Besides, the Huo family army and General Huo will not sit idly by."
Uncle Wei snorted, "Less than half of today's prey remains. General Huo will definitely take people out hunting again tomorrow. We should get this done as soon as possible while he's away."
"Hasn't he always wanted more people to survive? Once we get a large amount of supplies and distribute some to the victims, what else can he say?"
"The strong and healthy can't deal with them, don't they have many female relatives?"
The younger generations suddenly realized.
Uncle Wei narrowed his eyes and said, "As long as we get the supplies from those people, we can completely get rid of this state of hunger and cold. Don't you miss the old days?"
The Wei family, who had long been fed up with the hard days of hunger and lack of hope, suddenly became spirited and the hesitation on their faces was immediately suppressed.
Uncle Wei said, "Find out the results as soon as possible and start as soon as possible!"
Everyone patted their chests and assured: "Understood! Just wait and see!"
·
The third day after the two groups met.
The snow was heavier than yesterday, but it still did not affect the high spirits of the Huo family army.
In order to ensure the safety of the new camp, Huo Tiankuo led his men to the new camp early in the morning to clear out the wild beasts nearby that might pose a threat to the victims.
Since they knew the location, there was no need to take a sled, and there was naturally no need to limit the number of people, so Huo Tiankuo directly took most of his personal soldiers with him.
The hunting team from Yunlu Village was also very enthusiastic, and half of them went over to help.
Those who stayed in the temporary camp were not idle either.
The Huo family had fewer soldiers and the defense force was insufficient, so Zhang Chengming and others followed other Huo family soldiers to patrol the area to prevent hungry wild beasts from attacking people.
Many victims who had the strength to survive braved the snow and dispersed within their patrol area to look for food to eat. Others collected clean snow, melted it on a charcoal brazier, and used it to make hot water to warm themselves.
Miao Jinfeng and other female family members gathered in a temporary shed that served as a kitchen, making ginger soup and chatting.
Aunt Chen pounded her shoulders and sighed, "I've really been spoiled. I haven't been home for two days, but I still wake up in the middle of the night. I didn't sleep well yesterday."
Aunt Zhang also sighed: "After all, the tent is not as soundproof as the house at home. At night, I can always hear the whistling wind and the howling of wolves from time to time. It's like I've been transported back to when I first entered the mountains during the hottest season."
Even if you know there is no danger, who can sleep peacefully listening to the howling of wolves?
Furthermore, it is extremely inconvenient to go to the toilet at night.
I’m used to the indoor bathroom in the safe house. It’s so cold when I go out to relieve myself in the middle of winter!
Miao Jinfeng glanced in the direction of the wounded's tents. "I just checked. The wounded are almost stable now. They should be moved tomorrow or the day after tomorrow at the latest. We can go back and rest."
"That's good. I didn't feel it when I wasn't out, but now that I'm out, I'm always thinking about home."
"Who says it isn't?"
As they were talking, dozens of disaster victims came over.
They thought they were here to get ginger soup, so they smiled and were about to speak, but they found that there was something wrong with the expressions of these people, and they looked at them with unfriendly eyes.
Miao Jinfeng paused and looked hesitant.
Wei Xiang, who was deliberately left behind, immediately stood in front of everyone, looked at the newcomers warily, and asked, "What are you going to do?"
She looked around and found that there was not even a single member of the Huo family army around. There were only some disaster victims who she didn't know whether they were deliberately called over by these people or they noticed something was wrong and came to check the situation.
The young Wei family member in the lead saw their eyes flashing with excitement, fear, and vigilance. He pointed at their noses and shouted angrily, "Monster! Reveal your true form now!"
Wei Xiang: “?”
Miao Jinfeng and others: “?” What a mess.
The quick-witted female family members realized that these people had ill intentions and quietly pressed the communicator on their portable devices.
Aunt Chen said unhappily, "Who are you calling a monster?"
Wei San sneered, "Still trying to play dumb? Too late! We've already discovered your secret!"
The women still looked puzzled.
Secret? Which secret?
They have so many secrets, who knows what this guy is referring to.
Wei San shouted, "Don't you dare tell me how you got here yesterday? Do you really think that since you arrived early, no one would notice you flying here on this weird iron lump?"
They asked many people yesterday and finally found a witness who went out to the toilet before dawn.
"It's a huge iron lump that can hold dozens of people, yet we can't find it anywhere in the camp. You must have used some magic to hide it! And your people have been secretly using magic behind our backs, creating magical winds and magical fires, and people have seen them!"
In order to prove that he was not talking nonsense, Wei San brought a few witnesses.
The victims who had seen the young men of Yunlu Village use "magic" and make the "iron lump" disappear with a wave of their hands stood up and looked at Miao Jinfeng with some fear in their eyes.
"I, I did see it."
"The man named Zhang Chengming can create wind out of thin air with just a wave of his hand."
"And Li Tuo, fire can come out of his palms!"
Recalling the scenes they saw, the victims looked panic-stricken. They were afraid of the villagers of Yunlu Village, and they were also afraid that they would be silenced if they knew too much.
Wei San continued, "The carriage you had General Huo ride in yesterday was able to move without any horses or oxen. You must have used some magic! And what about your supplies? You clearly didn't bring anything with you when you came, yet you kept pulling out piles of food from the tents. Where did the food come from?"
The expressions of the other victims also changed when they heard this.
They hadn't paid attention to these details before, but now they think something is wrong.
The victims began to whisper to each other, looking uncertain.
"Are these people really monsters?"
"But will the monster give us the supplies? What's the point?"
The Wei family took the opportunity to say, "Of course they want to eat us and become immortal! Don't you know that monsters eat people?"
"What!?"
The victims who had indeed encountered cannibalism during their escape were in an uproar and looked at the women of Yunlu Village with vigilance.
Miao Jinfeng and the others were so angry that they laughed.
Is it that chicken, duck, and fish are not tasty enough, or that beef, mutton, and pork are not nutritious enough?
Do they need to eat the meat of their own kind whose meat is said to be sour?
"Who says human flesh is immortal? You really know how to flatter yourself."
"If human flesh really has such incredible powers, wouldn't everyone be able to live forever?"
"Since we can provide so many supplies, we naturally have no shortage of food. Do we really need to eat people like us?"
When the victims heard this, they thought it made sense.
Wei San said, "Monsters' diets are naturally different from ours! You're willing to give away supplies, maybe because you captured and killed other disaster victims and ate them before stealing them. You naturally don't feel bad about using things that aren't yours."
Another member of the Wei family said, "Who knows if there's some kind of sorcery going on in the food to try and control us?"
Wei Sandao: "That's right! If it wasn't magic, how could you control the demonic wind and demonic fire?"
Wu Yinyin said angrily, "How do you know that's not a magical technique? Calling the wind and rain is a divine ability. Don't you understand such a simple principle?"
Wei San sneered, "Do you still want to claim that you are gods descended to earth? How could there be so many gods? They are clearly monsters! How dare a mere demon pretend to be a god? You deserve death!"
Wei Sanchong urged the surrounding victims, "It's not easy for us to survive until now. We can't let these rebellious monsters confuse us. To prevent them from harming people, come with us to capture them! Burn them to death!"
The disaster victims, who were still half-believing and half-doubting, were shocked.
Burn, burn to death?
Burning innocent people to death without even being sure whether it's true? That's not good.
Someone frowned and said, "Third Master Wei, it's better not to be impulsive."
"That's right, you said it, who knows if it's true or not."
"In any case, let's wait until the general returns before making a decision."
They ate several meals of other people's food and even captured and burned the people. What have they become?
"I can't wait any longer!" Wei San's face was filled with anxiety. "Who knows if they'll take advantage of the general's absence to cause trouble? If we don't act now, it will be too late when they return!"
The victims thought to themselves, who is causing trouble now?
Except for a small number of people who were wavering and frightened after witnessing the "magic", most of the victims were still hesitant and unwilling to join the Wei family.
However, the Wei family members were full of fighting spirit, and many young and strong people rolled up their sleeves and were ready to charge forward.
Miao Jinfeng and the others were not afraid at all when they saw this. Instead, they all looked stern and eager to try.
Just do it, do you really think they will be afraid?
Why do these women dare to stay in a strange camp with only a few young men?
Of course it’s because we have enough confidence!
The women's hands have already touched the space rings they carry with them. As long as these people dare to approach, they are ready to take out the alloy crossbows and teach them a lesson.
Wei Xiang even waved his palm, and supernatural powers surged.
There is more than one Li Tuo who knows how to use fire.
Seeing that the conflict between the two sides was about to break out, several angry shouts suddenly came.
"stop!"
"I wonder who dares to touch them!"
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