The group responded in unison, and without the slightest hesitation, turned their horses around and headed towards the village.
Before long, the caravan arrived at the village.
The scene before my eyes was even more desolate than it appeared from afar.
Broken walls and ruins, charred wooden beams leaning precariously.
The air was still thick with the smell of blood.
Nine out of ten houses are empty. The few that are still in relatively good condition are all wide open and completely empty inside.
"Is anyone there?" Zhang Jing reined in his horse and called out.
After a while, a few heads tremblingly peeked out from behind a courtyard wall that had collapsed halfway.
The leader was an old woman with gray hair, her face lined with deep wrinkles, and her eyes cloudy and terrified.
Behind her were several emaciated women and several ragged children.
The oldest was only seven or eight years old, and the youngest was still an infant, held tightly in his mother's arms.
They looked at Zhang Jing's well-equipped and spirited caravan with wary and uneasy eyes.
Zhang Jing tried to make her voice sound gentle: "Old man, we are a caravan from the desolate mountains, just passing through. What brings you here..."
The old woman's lips trembled as she looked at Zhang Jing, then at the silent and burly guards behind her, and cried out, "Sir, spare us! We have nothing left..."
“Old man, don’t be afraid,” Zhang Jing dismounted and took a few steps forward. “We’re not here to rob, we’re here to sell. Look, we’ve brought grain, and it’s very cheap.”
She gestured to the believers behind her.
One of the believers immediately carried a heavy bag of sweet potatoes off the carriage and put it on the ground with a thud.
"Old man, these are sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. They are all top-quality grains, and a shi (a unit of dry measure) costs only fifty wen (a unit of currency)!"
When the old woman heard that it cost fifty coins per stone, a glimmer of light flashed in her cloudy eyes, but it quickly dimmed again.
She shrank back abruptly, waving her hands repeatedly: "No, no, we don't have any money to buy it! We don't have a single penny left!"
A younger woman behind her choked up as she said, "Yes, girl, our village is really broke. A few days ago, those damned bandits robbed our village of everything, they even tried to pry off the roof tiles!"
Zhang Jing frowned slightly: "Fifty coins a shi, that's enough for you to eat for a while. It would be good if you all pooled your money to buy some and get through this difficult time. We are a caravan from the desolate mountains. The mountain goddess is merciful and specially sent us out to provide relief to the people."
Beside the old woman, a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion and tattered clothes sighed, his voice hoarse: "Young lady, I know you mean well. Fifty coins a shi (a unit of dry measure), that's an immense favor! In the past, we wouldn't have dared to dream of such a price!"
He pointed to the devastation around him: "But we really don't have a single penny left! Those damned rebels searched house to house, they even found the few copper coins hidden in the stove!"
“Our village has been without food for several days. We can only dig up some wild vegetables and tree bark to fill our stomachs. Young lady, we appreciate your kindness, but please go back and don’t let your bad luck taint you.”
Other villagers echoed his sentiments, their faces filled with despair and weariness.
"Yes, they were all snatched up!"
"Even the half-eaten piece of bread in the child's mouth was snatched away!"
"Those beasts!"
As Zhang Jing listened to the villagers' lamentations, her brows furrowed even more deeply.
"Rebels?" A thought struck her. "The rebels you're talking about, are they one of the two groups that are currently fighting over there?"
The middle-aged man nodded, his eyes filled with fear: "It's them! We don't know exactly which gang they're from, we just know they're very fierce, they'll steal anything they see, sigh!"
Zhang Jing's doubts deepened.
The Chen family army has always been known for its strict discipline, recruiting extraordinary individuals with the goal of serving the country.
Although the mountain god didn't care much about these mortal conflicts, the believers, while traveling, gained some understanding of the various forces at play.
The remnants of Emperor Liang's forces, under the guise of purging corrupt officials and restoring the legitimate dynasty, should not have been plundering the people in this way.
Could it be that one of them is using this as a pretext, or that military discipline has deteriorated to such an extent?
Looking at the sallow-faced, emaciated villagers with vacant eyes, her anger gradually rose.
The Mountain Goddess sent them out to trade, firstly to facilitate the exchange of goods and services and develop the economy of the barren mountains.
Secondly, it was also to spread the glory of the mountain god to more distant places and to bless more suffering people.
These people are suffering right before her eyes, how can she sit idly by?
Zhang Jing took a deep breath and a gentle smile appeared on her face.
She said to the old woman, "Grandma, don't worry. Since they stole your money and food, I'll go and get it back for you!"
"ah?"
The old woman and the surrounding villagers were all shocked when they heard this.
"Young lady! You mustn't! You mustn't!" The middle-aged man hurriedly stepped forward, trying to stop Zhang Jing.
"There are tens of thousands of people fighting over there! Swords and spears have no eyes; if you send so few people over, aren't you just throwing your lives away?"
"Yes, girls, those soldiers are ruthless killers! You must not go over there!"
"We appreciate your kindness, but you can't risk your life for us!"
The villagers tried to dissuade them, their faces filled with worry and fear.
Although they longed for food, they did not want to see these kind-hearted people lose their lives because of it.
Zhang Jing simply smiled faintly, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.
"So what if there's war?" she raised her voice. "Anyone who robs the people of their money or takes their lives deserves to be taught a lesson!"
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
