Hanling City, Territory Boundary
After leaving the slave mine, Qiye rode his horse for three days before finally arriving at the remote mountain range where Hanling City and Shuiyou City intersected.
Along the way there were refugees fleeing from Hanling City and preparing to go to Shuiyou City to avoid disaster. The invading army from Shuiyou City was marching toward Hanling City in a mighty manner, plundering gold and silver wherever they passed.
When Qiye arrived at the junction of the two cities, he saw the interrogation station stationed by Shuiyou City soldiers on the mountain ridge from a distance: hundreds of soldiers lined up majestically at the intersection, checking the refugees queuing up one by one. The mountain ridge where the inventory station was built is surrounded by high mountains and cliffs on both sides. There is no other way to go except this road.
Qiye led the horse and followed the flow of people to the ramp. When he just walked into the inspection station, he saw an eye-catching wooden sign erected on the roadside:
"Those who enter the realm will receive one silver coin each."
Qiye read out the content on the wooden sign word for word. Through the devouring power of the black demonic flames, Qiye is no longer the illiterate person he used to be. Instead, he has become a 'little prodigy' who is well-read and knowledgeable.
Naturally, it was not difficult for Qiye to learn a few big characters, but what surprised him was that his ability to read and digits had improved, and all these changes were so natural, as if they were an innate talent.
"Hmph, Shuiyou City is actually here, taking advantage of the chaos to make a fortune... How abominable!" Qiye snorted in his heart and sneered, obviously very dissatisfied with Shuiyou City's behavior of adding insult to injury. But now, I am not ignorant. I can only curse this kind of thing in my heart and don't want to cause trouble.
Chaos is imminent in Hanling City, and those who flee will carry large amounts of gold and silver with them. If everyone could collect a certain amount of tolls, it would be a huge fortune.
As the saying goes: Take advantage of the fire. If the refugees want to enter Shuiyou City to escape the war, they have to pay tolls. If they don't go back now, the war in Hanling City behind them will be raging, and it will be even more miserable to die in the chaos. Therefore, although the toll of a silver coin is really painful, no one would begrudge it compared to their own life.
"Grandpa, we didn't bring any money, what should we do now... Wuwu"
In the crowd, a little girl who looked six or seven years old, unkempt and skinny, supported an old man who was skinny and hobbling, and asked in a childish voice with a hint of crying.
"Oh, I didn't expect these soldiers and bandits to be so hateful now! It seems that our grandfather and grandson are destined to be unable to escape today. It doesn't matter if my grandfather dies, but he just pities my Diao'er..." The old man caressed the little one lovingly. The girl's head is filled with infinite sadness.
"Grandpa, don't be afraid of Diao'er. Diao'er will always be with grandpa. Grandpa, don't abandon Diao'er... Wuwu..."
The little girl clutched the old man's withered arm with both hands and couldn't help crying anymore. Tears fell down one by one, making the people around him unable to bear to look at her.
Qiye looked back for the sound of crying. Not far behind him, standing in the crowd, were the grandfather and grandson who were in a miserable situation. The refugees around them walked past the two of them with a blind eye. In the chaos, everyone was trying their best to protect themselves. Who else would care about others?
"Hey..." After observing for a while, no one reached out to help. After Qiye hesitated for a while, he sighed softly and quit the team.
"Old man, let me take you there..."
Walking forward, Qiye said a few words and directly stated his intention.
"Really...?" the old man said in disbelief.
"Well, anyway, there is no difference between me alone and two more people, so just let me take you there." Qiye whispered again, looking like it was just a matter of effort and it didn't matter.
"Thank you, thank you... Come, Diao'er, let's kowtow to this young master quickly..."
The old man tugged on the little girl's sleeves, his dry and cloudy eyes sparkling with tears. It was as if he saw a ray of light in despair, a life-saving straw that God extended to him. Although he had already seen life and death in his old age, what could make him more tearful than the survival of his granddaughter? .
"Diaoer, thank you, Master!" The little girl crying on the side, after hearing that Qiye was willing to help them, burst into tears of gratitude and looked like she was about to kneel down and kowtow with the old man.
"You two don't need to be polite..." Seeing this, Qiye quickly stepped forward and leaned down to lift up the old man and the little girl.
And the reason why he chose to help was because from them, Qiye seemed to see the days when he and Grandpa Luo Mu cuddled together in the slave camp. The feeling of oil is a kind of touch:
If, at that time, someone could lend a helping hand to his grandfather and grandson, perhaps Grandpa Luo Mu would not have died a tragic death.
"Lao She's name is Lan Shanchuan. This is Lao She's granddaughter: Lan Shan Diao'er. We fled here from Hanling City. I wonder what your surname is?" The old man stood slightly and gave a brief introduction.
"Juniors don't dare to take the word "young master" seriously, so please call me 'Ah Qi'..." Qiye said humbly and in an approachable manner.
In fact, Qiye is not a person who walks in the world, and he is unwilling to tell his name truthfully. The name 'Ah Qi' was the nickname I used in the slave camp. I became accustomed to it after being called it many times, and what my real name was became unimportant.
"Oh, it turns out to be Young Master Ah Qi, Diao'er, please meet Young Master Ah Qi soon!" The old man once again urged the little girl to teach her some etiquette.
"Diao'er has met Mr. Ah Qi..." The little girl wiped the tears on her face with a smile and bowed politely.
"Sister Diao'er, you don't have to be polite. If you don't mind, just call me 'Brother Ah Qi'. Are you two the only ones going to Shuiyou City?" Qiye looked at the two of them for confirmation.
"Well, there are only two of us, grandfather and grandson. Diao'er's parents died of illness in his early years, leaving this lonely girl and this bad old man like me to depend on each other. Now Lao She and I are half buried. I don't know what will happen to this girl after Lao She leaves. What should I do, baby?"
The old man couldn't help but feel sad as he spoke. His already twilight face was now filled with sadness and sadness, which made people even more sad to see this. In old age, I miss my children, and parting touches my heart and heart.
"Grandpa..." Lanshan Diaoer comforted the old man and cried alone.
Looking at this scene, Qiye couldn't bear to say anything else. Thinking of the future of the grandfather and grandson, a helpless feeling filled his heart. Now I am weak and helpless, unable to provide stable shelter to others. This also makes Qiye more determined to become stronger. Only then can he have the strength to protect more people, so that the weak can have the power of their own survival even if they are humble.
After some careful consolation, Qiye, his grandfather and grandson gathered together again in the incoming crowd.
At the checkpoint, soldiers from Shuiyou City were shouting and checking the large and small bags of refugees one by one.
"You, open the bag! Hurry!"
A soldier with well-developed limbs was holding a saber and inspecting the luggage of a refugee. The frail man who looked like a scholar was so frightened by the barbaric aura of the soldier-headed man that his legs trembled. He had no choice but to carefully open the package. When the package was completely opened, a delicate jade bottle lay quietly on several neatly stacked clothes. In the meantime.
"Here, bring it!" When the soldier-headed man saw the jade bottle, his eyes showed undisguised greed. He couldn't help but grab the jade bottle with his quick eyes and quick hands.
"Master, Master, you must not do it, you must not do it! This is something that has been passed down from your ancestors, so please do me a favor, Master!" The scholar was completely panicked, and he rushed forward with a pleading face, trying to get away from the soldiers. Retrieve the jade bottle.
"Go to hell..." The soldier raised his hand and grabbed Yu Ping's hand, kicked it out unceremoniously, and knocked the scholar to the ground hard.
"Master Jun, I beg you, please show me mercy and give it back to me, please..." The scholar was kicked to the ground, but regardless of his injury, he crawled and pulled the soldier's trousers and prayed sadly.
"Go to hell!" the soldier shouted loudly, and slashed the scholar's head with the saber in his hand.
"Ah!" After the scholar screamed, his head rolled to the side and blood spurted all over the floor.
"Hahahaha..." Seeing this scene, the surrounding soldiers burst into laughter, as if there was a riot in a fun performance. They enjoyed this scene of killing the weak. It was extremely comfortable.
"Hey..." In contrast to the heated atmosphere of the spectators opposite, when the refugees queuing up here saw this cruel scene, some sighed knowingly, some simply chose to ignore it indifferently, and some felt indignant but dared to get angry. Standing in the queue without speaking, the women screamed and covered their faces. The whole team was depressed, silent, and the atmosphere was solidified.
Kick-kick... there was a crunching sound of finger bones squeezing, Qiye stared angrily and clenched her small fists. Qiye saw what these Shuiyou City soldiers did with hatred in his eyes.
As a weakling, the fate of being killed seems to be a matter of course in the eyes of these people.
Just when Qiye was furious, a cold and gentle touch came from his right arm. He was stunned for a moment because of his anger. Then he turned around blankly and saw Lanshan Diaoer holding his arms with both hands, with haggard and tearful eyes. Face sad.
"Brother Ah Qi, don't go..." Diao'er seemed to see Qi Ye's impulsiveness and begged in a low voice, trying his best to stay.
"Yes, Mr. Qi. They are outnumbered. If you rush forward like this, you will lose your life." Lan Shanchuan, who was behind Diao'er, also patted Qiye on the shoulder and said seriously.
In Lan Shanchuan's eyes, the Qiye in front of him was just like his granddaughter. He was extremely weak and would definitely die if he rushed forward. Now that the city has been breached, everything will be fine if the refugees like myself can save their lives. The only way to endure the current situation is to endure it instead of making stupid impulsive moves. In fact, Lan Shanchuan also has some selfish motives: if something happens to Qiye, who will take his grandfather and grandson across the border?
"Don't worry, Brother Ah Qi won't be impulsive." After calming down, Qiye patted Diao'er's hand and reassured him.
Qiye also understood that he had indeed lost control of his emotions just now, and almost even used his spiritual power to rush out. But thinking that the impulsiveness would implicate two or even more people behind him, and he also promised Diao'er to send him safely across the border, he had to restrain his anger and give up for the time being. Then he looked meaningfully at the Shuiyou City soldiers at the checkpoint, turned his head and continued walking along the flow of people, and soon it was his turn.
"Stop!" With a rough command, a soldier stopped in front of Qiye.
"How many of you are there?" Bing Han glanced at him and asked.
"Back to Bingye, the three of us have crossed the border." Seeing Qiye not replying, Lan Shanchuan from behind quickly stepped forward and said with a smile.
"Open the package and let me see it." The soldier pointed at the bulging package on the old man's shoulder.
"Master Bing, I only have a few tattered clothes, which are worthless. I am in a hurry to escape, and I didn't bring anything with me..." As he spoke, Lan Shanchuan opened the package without any concealment. There were a few simple cloths and a few hard pancakes stuffed inside, but nothing else.
"Huh, poor. Three people crossing the border, three silver coins." The soldier glanced at the baggage and said with contempt when he saw that there was no profit.
"Yes, yes..." Lan Shanchuan quickly nodded in agreement, then turned his eyes to Qiye. Although Qiye had just promised to take his grandfather and grandson across the border, the old man still had some worries in his heart at this moment.
Behind him, Qiye handed out a gold coin to Lan Shanchuan with a calm expression. According to the conversion, one gold coin is equal to ten silver coins. I don't have any silver coins on me at all, this one gold coin is enough. In fact, Qiye didn't plan to give out a single gold coin. These soldiers and bandits were honest enough to give change. So having one is no different than taking two.
Seeing the gold coins, Lan Shanchuan's worried face suddenly turned into surprise. He didn't expect that the plainly dressed and plain-faced young man in front of him would turn out to be gold.
When he saw a golden gold coin, the soldier's eyes lit up like a hungry wolf seeing a little lamb. Before Lan Shanchuan could take it, he put aside the old man and grabbed the gold coin from Qiye's hand first. Overjoyed, he confirmed it and gritted his teeth to confirm that it was true, then turned his head and stared at Qiye with shining eyes.
"Where did this gold coin come from?" Binghan asked Qiye thoughtfully. He did not believe that the seven or eight-year-old boy in front of him, dressed in simple clothes, had the strength to bring out gold.
"My own." Qiye stared at Binghan without fear and said calmly.
"The soldier commander suspects that you stole it. Come here, search it for me!" The soldier casually made up a reason and issued a search order without any explanation.
When the two surrounding soldiers saw this, they came forward with excitement on their faces and searched Qiye from top to bottom, inside and out. Qiye did not resist, and raised his hands in cooperation, with an imperceptible chuckle at the corner of his mouth.
"Report, no." The two soldiers replied with some disappointment after searching carefully.
Does this guy really only have one gold coin? The soldier murmured in his heart that he finally thought he could kill a fat sheep today, but now he was disappointed.
"Okay, leave the horse behind, and you three will pass..." The soldier waved his hand in disappointment and ordered. Since he couldn't get more money, he still had to at least get something back. In the spirit of plucking the geese's feathers, exploitative nature.
"You..." After hearing the soldier's order, the anger in his heart that had lingered for seven nights was ignited again.
Just as he was about to step forward, a big old hand on his shoulder suppressed his impulsive body again in time. Lan Shanchuan, who had been watching the incident quietly, took the lead and stood in front of Qiye and said:
"Thank you Lord Bing for your kindness. Young Master, let's go..." After the old man replied to Bing Han, he turned around and winked at Qiye.
"Okay..." Qiye understood Lan Shanchuan's meaning, and thinking of the situation at hand, he could only calm down his anger again. Then the three of them walked through the checkpoint without saying a word and stepped onto the territory of Shuiyou City.
