Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Do You Want to Wear a Yellow Garment

“Everyone, please follow me!”

Qian Fugui cracked his neck, swallowed the long speech he had prepared, and made a welcoming gesture. He then took the lead, heading toward the mountain path.

As he walked at the very front, he almost imperceptibly pulled a Jade Pendant from his wide sleeve. He gently rubbed it with his fingers, sensing its temperature.

Although he knew the Jade Pendant’s senses were never wrong, and this wasn’t the first or second time he’d done this, he still meticulously performed a final check.

’Hmm, it seems the highest realm among these people is only the seventh layer of the Body Tempering Realm. Not bad.’

Qian Fugui nodded in approval. As long as there were no Flesh Refining Realm Martial Artists among the refugees, his mission would be complete.

If there were, he would have to find a way to dispose of them. He absolutely could not allow any mistakes in the task assigned by his superiors.

The iron pots at the congee shed were no longer being refilled with rice and water, and the firewood beneath them had been extinguished.

The thirty or forty refugees knew there was no point in waiting around. They could only follow closely behind Qian Fugui toward the mountain village to at least get a few square meals.

Seeing that none of the refugees had tried to slip away, the guards’ thumbs, which had been resting on their sword hilts, quietly relaxed. They followed at a slow pace, fanning out to the left and right, subtly surrounding and “protecting” the group.

At the foot of the mountain, on a winding path, a group of people walked briskly.

Even though they knew there was food and drink ahead, the atmosphere among the refugees remained somber.

After all, everyone knew that while this wealthy man named Qian Fugui claimed his family business was short on manpower and was hiring them as laborers, in this world, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

As the saying goes, trade human flesh for pork.

The bowl of congee they ate today would surely be earned back from them many times over in the future.

It wouldn’t be surprising at all if they were worked to death in some forgotten corner of these mountains!

At this thought, many sighed, and the mood of the refugee group became exceptionally low.

As they walked, the mountain path under their feet grew more winding and difficult to traverse.

Qian Fugui had said the village was behind the mountain, but the group walked for at least four hours, circling several hills large and small and passing through a few dense forests, without seeing a single house.

Some people already sensed that something was wrong; this village was far too remote. But looking at the menacing, sword-wielding guards, they could only hold their noses and keep walking.

Fortunately, they all had two bowls of thick congee in their stomachs. Those who had made it this far all possessed the strength of the third or fourth layer of the Body Tempering Realm, so despite the winding road, they gritted their teeth and persevered.

As they progressed, the surrounding greenery became lusher and the vegetation denser. It was no longer barren, indicating that the drought had barely affected this area.

“We’re here!”

After passing another foothill, a corner of a large zhuangzi finally came into view. Wu Chen’s eyes lit up; he knew this must be their destination.

This zhuangzi covered an unknown number of acres, enclosed by a ten-foot-high red brick wall that stretched on and on. The wall was smooth and unadorned.

Qian Fugui led the refugees through a gate that was ten feet wide, making them feel as if they were entering a city.

BOOM!

As everyone stepped into the zhuangzi, the two-inch-thick main gates swung shut with a deafening slam, startling many of the refugees.

“Hehe, there’s no need to worry, everyone.”

Seeing the doubt growing in many people’s hearts, Qian Fugui said with a chuckle:

“This, of course, isn’t the village. It’s just a zhuangzi built near my family’s businesses, a convenient place for everyone to rest after entering the mountains.”

“Living deep in the mountains, you’re bound to encounter snakes, insects, and wild beasts. That’s why the walls were built a bit higher—it’s also for everyone’s protection.”

“It’s getting late now. If any of you are truly worried and have doubts and wish to leave, you can wait until early tomorrow morning.”

“Some of the farmhands will be returning to the village then, so they can escort you out of the mountains on their way.”

Hearing his sincere words, the crowd’s tense hearts relaxed considerably.

The group continued forward for another hundred paces when the aroma of food drifted to their noses, mingled with the rich scent of meat.

After walking for four hours, the congee in the refugees’ stomachs had long been digested. For a moment, saliva dripped from the corners of their mouths, and their stomachs rumbled like thunder.

If not for the sword-wielding guards around them, they would have already rushed into the kitchen ahead, where smoke was curling from the chimney, to eat and drink their fill.

“Hu.”

Qian Fugui called out, and a guard immediately stepped forward from behind him. “You go and arrange for their food and rest.”

“Yes, sir!” Hu accepted the order and led the refugees toward the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, at a wooden table in the corner, a heaping bowl of steaming hot rice sat before Wu Chen. Perched precariously on top was a palm-sized slice of pork belly.

The meat had a perfect fat-to-lean ratio and was of the highest quality. Its surface glistened as if coated in honey, and the heat made the fat tremble faintly within the muscle fibers, showing the cook’s excellent skill.

Juices congealing at the edge dripped down the curve of the porcelain bowl, soaking into the snow-white rice below and making the dish even more fragrant.

But faced with such a perfect-looking, fragrant, and delicious meal, Wu Chen just gripped his bamboo chopsticks, hesitating to move as his brow furrowed into a knot.

’Meat…’ Wu Chen couldn’t quite understand it.

’This is too bizarre. Congee and rice were one thing, but how have we gotten to the point of eating meat already?’

’Isn’t this progressing way too fast?!’

’Is this meat okay? Is it… normal meat?’

Wu Chen was sure it wasn’t poisoned, but he wasn’t sure if it was the meat of an animal.

Combined with the memory of the savagery he’d witnessed on his journey, he simply couldn’t swallow a bite without knowing for sure. He turned his gaze to the old Hunter beside him.

Liu Linshan’s mouth was already stuffed with food. He had put the slice of meat from his bowl into his daughter’s. Sensing the unspoken question, he quickly swallowed and said:

“It’s pork. I’ve examined the grain. It’s fine, you can eat it.”

Wu Chen nodded and finally began to eat.

After the refugees finished eating, the Guard named Hu led them to wash up. Afterward, each person was given a clean set of coarse cloth clothes.

Although they didn’t fit well and were loose and baggy, they were countless times better than their previous rags.

The living quarters were large common rooms, with thirty people to a room. Aside from the unpleasant smell, there were no major drawbacks.

The dozen or so women among the refugees were given separate quarters and assigned to do laundry.

「The next day.」

The refugees, waking up from a full night’s sleep, had expected to start working their lives away for Lord Qian. They got out of bed, grumbling amongst themselves.

But to their surprise, after eating a hot meat congee, they were told by Hu to rest.

This left the group completely bewildered.

It was the same at noon, and the same again in the evening.

No one came looking for them or asked them to do anything.

For ten days straight, it was the same: they did nothing but eat and rest.

Moreover, for these ten days, every meal included meat and soup. They even received a daily bowl of priceless Qi and Blood tonic.

After ten days, the refugees’ emaciated bodies had visibly filled out.

Many of them even broke through to new cultivation layers, nourished by the constant supply of Qi and Blood.

Take Zhou Yuntao’s group, for example. Zhou Yuntao himself was at a higher realm to begin with and had now reached the Eighth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

After advancing, Yue Changfeng and Zhang Qing were at the seventh layer of the Body Tempering Realm.

Liu Linshan was still at the Sixth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm, just a hair’s breadth away from advancing. Although his realm hadn’t improved, his injuries were healing at a rapid pace, and his entire person seemed much more vibrant.

But in the end, you can’t bite the hand that feeds you. They had been eating for nearly half a month, and on priceless meat and medicinal soups at that.

Finally, one day, a refugee couldn’t help but approach the Guard named Hu and ask cautiously:

“Brother Hu, how come we’re still just staying in the zhuangzi and not going to work? We’ve eaten so much of Lord Qian’s food, we feel uneasy not working!”

The other refugees quickly chimed in:

“That’s right! We’ve eaten your food, so of course we should put in the effort.”

“We are willing to go through fire and water for Lord Qian!”

“Lord Qian, why don’t you put on a yellow robe?”

“Si…lence!”

Amid the commotion, Hu, who rarely spoke, seemed to hear something. His expression changed abruptly, and he scanned the crowd but couldn’t find the person who had spoken.

He then said coldly:

“If we tell you to eat, then just eat and don’t worry about it. In a few days, you’ll be starting martial arts training.”

“The mountains are filled with poisonous snakes and insects, cliffs and precipices. If we sent you out there on an empty stomach, which of you could handle it?”

“If you don’t want to die, then all of you, shut your mouths!”

Seeing Hu’s furious expression, the hundred-plus refugees dared not make another sound.

However, Wu Chen, the one in the crowd who had shouted for Lord Qian to put on a yellow robe, wasn’t satisfied. He muttered under his breath:

“A time of natural disaster… deep in the mountains and old forests… high walls and a large courtyard… building up strength and storing energy… This is the prelude to something big!”

As he uttered these few phrases, the expressions of Liu Linshan and the others beside him gradually grew grave.

Only then did they realize that Wu Chen’s seemingly casual joke about Lord Qian putting on a yellow robe wasn’t just a random outburst.

“Sparing no expense to feed a group of people, hiding them in a mountain gully to train them in martial arts… even the great and famous clans raising private armies are no different than this!”

Liu Linshan looked at the crowd of refugees, which had now grown to over a hundred people, and felt as if the sky was about to fall.

He recalled hearing a few days ago that another group of over one hundred refugees had arrived at the zhuangzi before them and had already begun training in the martial arts arena. At this thought, his throat felt so bitter he couldn’t speak.

The refugees who had made it this far were not the old, weak, sick, or disabled. They were all tough characters, and many were in the prime of their youth—the perfect age for cultivation.

Nourished with medicinal soups, trained in martial combat, eliminated layer by layer, and finally, the best chosen from the rest.

In just half a year, these wealthy families could use brutal methods to cultivate twenty to thirty good prospects from these two hundred-plus people.

But based on Liu Linshan’s experience, the methods of these great families were incredibly ruthless. To obtain those twenty or thirty good prospects, at least half of the people here would be mercilessly eliminated!

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