Chapter 428: Earthquake?
“What about the original Magistrate Zhuo?” Lu Sheng was curious.
“The original Magistrate Zhuo has already left Yong Fu Town with his wife and son. As to where he went, no one knows.”
As General Tang spoke, he looked up at the duo and said, “I’ve already told the truth. Lord Chu, you can kill or torture me as you please.”
“How do I know if what you said is true?”
Chu Sihan looked down at him and said lightly, “I won’t kill you for now, but you have to follow me into town.”
“No!”
General Tang shook his head. “Once I follow you into town, my family will be implicated.”
He kowtowed to Chu Sihan three times and said in a suppressed voice, “I only seek death. Lord Chu, please fulfill my wish!”
It was worth it to exchange his life for the lives of his family.
Chu Sihan raised an eyebrow. “But I haven’t even found the place where the Crown Prince created his weapons. With General Tang dead, who should I find to lead the way?”
General Tang probably knew more than that. Keeping him alive would be useful in the future.
General Tang smiled bitterly. “What do you want me to do, Lord?”
Just now, he wanted to live desperately. Now, he only wanted Chu Sihan to give him a quick death.
However, it seemed like Chu Sihan did not want him to die.
He finally understood what it meant by ‘one could neither live nor die’.
“As I said before, follow us into town.”
Chu Sihan stared ahead and said lightly, “You can pretend to be a refugee.”
“But…”
“Don’t worry!”
Lu Sheng patted his shoulder and said lightly, “We won’t let anyone discover you. Moreover, your family will be fine.”
General Tang paused and asked, “Really?”
“You have to believe in our Lord. He has always kept his word.”
Lu Sheng looked at Chu Sihan and smiled. “Lord, don’t you think so?”
Chu Sihan was pleased by her words.
Hence, he nodded.
“Okay!”
General Tang got up from the ground and wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth. He bowed to Chu Sihan and said, “I’m willing to follow Lord into town!”
Chu Sihan said coldly, “Rest here tonight and continue your journey tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
Lu Sheng sized General Tang up and said lightly, “General Tang, I suggest you change your clothes. Otherwise, when those refugees come in…”
Halfway through, Lu Sheng smiled faintly. “You know what I mean.”
General Tang knew very well who the refugees hated the most.
“But… I only have the military uniform.”
General Tang looked troubled.
Suddenly, something was thrown at him. He hurriedly reached out to catch it, only to realize that it was a cloth shirt.
He looked at Chu Sihan and hurriedly bowed to him. “Thank you, Lord!”
Chu Sihan nodded lightly. “Go and change.”
After General Tang entered the tent, Lu Sheng said to Chu Sihan, “Lord, wait here. I’ll call everyone over.”
Chu Sihan smiled. “Okay.”
Lu Sheng took a few steps before retreating again. “Lord, get General Tang to bring out anything edible later.”
They had walked for a day and only had water to drink along the way. If they did not eat anything, they would not have the energy to continue traveling tomorrow.
“Yes.” Chu Sihan nodded slightly. “Come back quickly.”
“Then, I’m leaving!”
Lu Sheng blinked at him and smiled before continuing walking.
She walked forward, but did not see anyone. There was not even a sound.
“Did something happen?”
Lu Sheng frowned slightly. She could not help but wonder if the five black clouds had done something behind her back.
However, when she took out the moon pearl Chu Sihan gave her, she saw a scene that made her laugh and cry.
She saw five black clouds lying on the snow. The rest of the people were lying on the snow not far behind them.
Lu Sheng was speechless.
Could it be that there was an earthquake there?
“It’s Master!”
When they saw her, the five black clouds quickly got up from the ground and ran over agilely.
Looking at the five rows of white teeth in front of her, Lu Sheng raised her eyebrows slightly. “What were you doing just now?”
Jia Zheng scratched his head and chuckled. “There was a loud bang in front just now, and the ground shook violently. We thought that there was an earthquake, so we got everyone to lie down in an empty space.”
A loud bang?
Lu Sheng pondered for a while before suddenly remembering that she had indeed used a Explosive Talisman earlier.
The sound of the Explosive Talisman must have made the five fools think that an earthquake had happened.
“Master, why did you come back alone? Where’s that person?”
One of the black clouds looked behind her and asked suspiciously.
“He’s waiting over there. I came back to inform everyone.”
“Oh!”
One of the black clouds nodded and revealed an ‘I see’ expression.
“Everyone, please get up.”
Upon hearing Lu Sheng’s voice, everyone who was lying on the ground stood up.
Some people had laid on the ground for too long and could not feel their hands.
“Miss, did the soldiers agree to let us enter the city?”
Someone could not wait to ask.
Lu Sheng said calmly, “The soldiers have retreated. Let’s rest there for the night and continue our journey tomorrow morning.”
“Miss…”
Mdm Tong led Kai Chun and Kai Dong forward and looked at Lu Sheng hesitantly.
“Granny, please speak.”
“Do you still have food?”
Mdm Tong said awkwardly, “After walking for so long, Kai Dong said he was hungry and couldn’t walk properly.”
Someone nodded in agreement. “Yes, Miss. Without food, it will be difficult for us to continue our journey.”
Previously, she hid at the same spot after eating. She did not exhaust much energy and could still bear the hunger.
However, after walking all the way today, they were already famished.
“There should be food in the camp ahead. Let’s go there first.”
When everyone heard that there was food in front, they immediately became energetic.
When Lu Sheng returned to the camp with a group of people, General Tang had already changed his clothes.
At this moment, he and Chu Sihan were moving everything edible in the camp to a tent.
“You’re back?”
Lu Sheng placed the frozen chicken aside and smiled gently at him.
“Tsk—”
Lu Sheng looked at the food and could not help but click her tongue.
The citizens were starving, but these people were enjoying themselves here with wine and meat.
General Tang looked at the duo and said, “I’ll bring the firewood over first.”
Chu Sihan nodded slightly.
After he walked out of the tent, Chu Sihan looked at Lu Sheng and asked, “Has everyone settled down?”
Lu Sheng nodded. “I got Jia Zheng and the rest to settle them down first. I’ll inform them when the food is ready.”
Speaking of Jia Zheng, Chu Sihan frowned slightly. “You raised those five?”
“I guess.”
Lu Sheng casually took an apple and sat on the cushion. She looked at him and said, “I raised them in my previous life. They have always been in the Nurturing Talisman.”
Chu Sihan nodded slightly.
“Lord, I’ve brought the firewood and the pot over. What other orders do you have?”
General Tang stood outside the tent and asked.
Lu Sheng placed the apple back and stood up. “Boil a pot of water first.”
General Tang looked at Chu Sihan and heard him say lightly, “Do as she says.”
“Yes!”
Before General Tang left, he glanced suspiciously at Lu Sheng.
Not only was this girl born beautiful, but she was also skilled. No wonder Chu Sihan liked her.
He just did not know whose daughter she was.
—————
Lu Sheng used the chicken, leftover pork, and cabbage to cook two big pots of porridge.
Everyone who was resting in the tent could not wait to surround her after smelling the fragrance.
Lu Sheng initially wanted to steam a pot of rice and a pot of stew.
However, it was getting late and everyone was famished. They could not wait any longer, so she made porridge.
“It smells so good!”
“Miss, you have good culinary skills!”
…
General Tang, who was watching the fire, looked at the refugees in front of him and felt upset.
He also had a family. When he was ordered to come over, he was very resistant.
However, after staying here for a long time, a bunch of people died almost every day.
He had seen too much and his heart became numb. Seeing dead people every day felt like a very common thing.
However, when such a large group of skinny refugees gathered in front of him, he could not help but feel ashamed.
They should have been able to tide through this crisis, but because of the Crown Prince’s selfish desires, these people had their families broken up and destroyed.
However, those who achieved great things were not troubled. The Eldest Prince was also eyeing the throne covetously. It was normal for the Crown Prince to be vicious.
It was hard on these villagers.
“Uncle Tang, are there enough bowls in the camp for everyone?”
Lu Sheng did not dare to call him General Tang in front of everyone.
“Yes!”
General Tang regained his senses and nodded hurriedly.
He stood up and said, “Come with me to bring the bowls and chopsticks over.”
Lu Sheng looked up at the five black clouds in the crowd.
The five of them immediately understood and stood up with a smile. “We’ll follow you.”
General Tang did not notice it at first. When they stood in front of him, he realized that something was wrong.
“You… You…”
These five guards had previously cooked for everyone here.
As he had interacted with them often, General Tang was exceptionally familiar with their faces.
When he saw them, his first thought was that these five people were spies planted by Chu Sihan.
However, when he thought about it carefully, he felt that something was amiss.
If they were Chu Sihan’s men, how could they have waited six months to inform him?
Moreover, they were sent by the original County Magistrate Zhuo’s twin brother, so it was unlikely that they were spies.
Then why were they still alive when they encountered these refugees?
Did they also surrender to the enemy in order to survive?
“What… what happened to us?”
One of the black clouds mimicked General Tang and asked with a smile.
Jia Zheng slapped his hand and said to General Tang, “Let’s go and move the items. Everyone is hungry.”
The black cloud rubbed its head aggrievedly, but it did not dare to say anything.
The three black clouds behind mocked him and left with their arms around each other’s shoulders.
Staring at their backs, General Tang felt that they were different from before.
He frowned slightly and shook his head before following them.
It was rare for the sky to be bright today. Although there was no moon, the stars in the sky could still illuminate the entire sky.
After filling their stomachs, the refugees were not in a hurry to return to their tents to rest. Instead, they gathered in front of the fire to get some warmth and watch the stars.
The elders were telling some myths.
The children surrounded them and asked a few questions.
“Grandpa, are there really immortals in this world?”
Perhaps it was because there was hope in life, or perhaps it was because she would see her parents soon, but Kai Chun was exceptionally talkative tonight.
“Yes!”
The old man who was telling the story nodded. “For example, the State Minister of our Xuan Yue Country. He’s an immortal.”
“The State Minister is an immortal?” Kai Chun looked conflicted. “Then why didn’t he come and help us?”
“Even immortals are busy.”
A little boy said, “My grandma once said that immortals have to manage many places. It’s normal for them to forget about us.”
“Is that so?”
Kai Chun looked at the old man suspiciously.
The old man nodded. “The State Minister needs to manage the world with the Emperor. It’s normal for him to forget about us.”
Lu Sheng smiled and moved the stool over.
“Sister, is what they said true?”
Seeing her approach, Kai Chun asked curiously.
“More or less.”
Lu Sheng smiled faintly and said, “Immortals were humans before. They became immortals because they cultivated for a long time.”
Kai Chun nodded.
—————
The next day.
When Lu Sheng woke up, Changgeng Star, which was hanging in the west, was still there.
She was thinking of getting up early to boil water so that everyone would have water to drink on the way.
However, when she came out, there were already a few people sitting in front of the fire.
In addition to General Tang, there was also the couple, Mdm Tong, and the five black clouds.
“Miss, you’re up? Come over and warm yourself up.”
Seeing her walk over, the wife hurriedly waved at her.
The husband was called Ren Xu while the wife was called Ning Xiang.
Lu Sheng only knew their names last night.
She walked forward and squatted down beside Ning Xiang.
When Jia Zheng, who was sitting at the side, saw this, he quickly passed his stool over.
“Master, take a seat!”
Lu Sheng glanced at him and reached for the stool, but did not sit down immediately.
Instead, she waited for a while until the warmth on the stool dissipated before sitting down.
“What are you cooking?”
Lu Sheng asked after she sat down.
General Tang explained, “There’s still some rice left, so I plan to cook some porridge for everyone.”
Lu Sheng nodded in realization. She looked at the pot and realized that the water was indeed white.
In order to let everyone fill their stomachs last night, she had indeed placed a lot of rice in the porridge. There seemed to be not much left.
According to General Tang, the rice would only be delivered the day after tomorrow.
She just did not know if she would encounter anyone who delivered rice along the way.
If she encountered it… she would definitely not leave them a single grain of rice.
Lu Sheng smiled and pushed the firewood in front of her into the fire. She whistled happily.
“What made you so happy?”
A magnetic male voice was heard.
When General Tang and the five black clouds saw who it was, they hurried to stand up and bow.
Lu Sheng coughed lightly and said, “Sit down. Don’t scare my brother.”
How could General Tang and the rest not understand?
This was indirectly telling them that Chu Sihan’s identity could not be exposed yet.