Chapter 110
Chapter 110
Xiao Che made an immediate decision and rushed out of the room with the Shadow Guards.
If they remained hidden inside, they would become sitting ducks.
The moment Xiao Che stepped through the door, the thick stench of blood struck him. Screams rose and fell outside without end.
Red flowers bloomed across the white snow.
The government troops retreated while swinging their great sabers.
But the starving refugees had lost all fear of death. Whenever one wave fell, another surged forward behind it.
They snatched the sabers from the soldiers’ hands and hacked them again and again until their faces were unrecognizable.
The scene stunned both Xiao Che and Ye Qi.
In all his years commanding troops, this was the first time Xiao Che had seen commoners show no fear of government soldiers and fight them with all their strength. The horror of the scene filled his mouth with bitterness.
How terrible did a famine have to become before it drove refugees to such madness?
The situation outside was clearly far more dire than the information Xiao Che had gathered suggested.
Hidden inside Xiao Che’s cloak, Jin Bao wriggled for a long time before finally poking out her furry little head. Her large, blinking eyes stared blankly at the brutal fighting not far away.
The scene felt strangely familiar. She seemed to have witnessed it somewhere before.
Jin Bao searched her memory and suddenly recalled that she had dreamed about this exact scene earlier.
These people had chased her because they wanted to eat her. They smelled awful, just like the zombies in her previous life.
But Jin Bao knew these were people, and pitiful ones at that. She felt sorry for them, but she could not feed them her own body.
As Jin Bao looked at their crazed faces, her chest felt tight, as though something heavy pressed upon it and made it difficult to breathe.
She knew these people lacked food. They were hungry and had been driven to desperation.
It was like her life in Sanjiacun, where she never had enough to eat. An empty stomach was miserable.
Even so, they could not eat people!
While Jin Bao stared, entranced, a group of refugees suddenly charged toward Xiao Che.
Xiao Che hurriedly carried Jin Bao onto a sled.
The Snow Mastiffs were powerful fighters, but against this mob of people who cared nothing for their lives, they were utterly overwhelmed.
In less than fifteen minutes, half of Xiao Che’s more than twenty Snow Mastiffs had been killed.
The Snow Mastiffs and sleds were essential for traveling quickly through the snow. Without the dogs, the group’s movement would be restricted and every journey would take much longer.
“Ye Qi, kill anyone who dares charge us again.”
Xiao Che had never intended to attack these people. The Xiao Family existed to protect the common people, after all. But now those same commoners wanted to eat them. The conflict in his heart was almost unbearable, for he had never imagined facing such a scene.
Ye Qi accepted the order and joined the Shadow Guards in shielding Xiao Che and the Snow Mastiffs behind them.
When the refugees charged again, the Shadow Guards raised their swords and brought them down, spraying trails of blood through the air. The refugees in the front ranks collapsed and did not rise again.
Ye Qi and the others mercilessly cut down more than ten waves in succession.
Only then did the blood-crazed refugees belatedly realize that these people were different from the patrons in the main hall – even from the government soldiers.
The refugees began to retreat. They shoved and jostled one another as they backed away, and no one dared take another step forward.
Only then did Xiao Che emerge from behind the guards.
The courtyard lanterns cast a dim yellow glow. By their light, he saw one filthy face after another, all frightened and timid.
He knew this was the best possible moment to win them over.
“Friends, I am the Valley Master of Black Pine Valley. If you are willing, I, Xiao Che, will protect you.
“I cannot promise that you will want for nothing, but at the very least, you will no longer be left half-naked and starving, never knowing when you might freeze to death in the wilderness without anyone to bury your body.”
The refugees looked at one another. The Valley Master of Black Pine Valley?
What was that? They had never heard of such a person.
Seeing that no one believed him, Xiao Che continued, “None of you have a home to return to anyway.
“Follow me, and I guarantee you shelter. You will not freeze or starve to death, nor will you have to wander from place to place any longer.
“Those who are willing, stand to the left. Those who aren’t, leave Blackwind Fort. Anyone who dares cause more trouble here will lose their head.”
Xiao Che’s mixture of kindness and authority truly subdued the refugees.
“Is everything you said true? Can you really give us food and keep us from starving or freezing to death?”
A woman hugged her arms around herself. Every patch of exposed skin was covered in frostbite, without a single healthy spot remaining.
Of her family of seven, she was the sole survivor. During the snow disaster, her parents-in-law had been crushed beneath their old, poorly maintained house when it collapsed. Her husband had frozen to death on the road.
Other refugees had seized her children for food. She alone had escaped and followed the crowd, robbing others wherever they went. She could not hold out much longer.
If such a place truly existed, she was willing to go.
The woman had voiced what most of the refugees wanted to ask. Everyone watched Xiao Che and waited for his answer.
Xiao Che nodded solemnly. “I, Xiao Che, swear upon my life that I will never let you go hungry or freeze to death.
“Black Pine Valley enjoys springlike weather all year and possesses fertile soil. As long as you work diligently, you will reap a harvest.
“Black Pine Valley also distributes supplies according to labor. The more you work, the more you receive.”
His words tempted everyone, but they had not let their excitement carry them away and still harbored doubts.
“But we’ve never heard of this place. Since when has the Northern Frontier had anywhere that feels like spring all year? Are you trying to trick us?”
“Exactly! Our families have lived here for generations, and none of us have heard of Black Pine Valley. Your accent isn’t from the Northern Frontier. He must be deceiving us! Everyone, don’t believe him!”
A man in the crowd took the lead in stirring up trouble.
Xiao Che gave Ye Qi a meaningful glance.
Ye Qi executed a Sparrowhawk Turnover, landed among the crowd, and dragged the man out before throwing him to the ground.
Although the man was dressed like a disaster victim, he wore a fur coat. His face was also fleshier than those around him, and his complexion looked nothing like a refugee’s.
Even after being dragged out, the man remained defiant. He craned his neck and demanded, “You attack me because you can’t answer! That proves you’re guilty.
“Everyone, don’t believe them. They may be from the government. Only government men can afford Snow Mastiffs.”
When the refugees saw the Snow Mastiffs, they immediately believed him. One after another, they grew wary and retreated.
Even the woman from before hurriedly shrank back into the crowd.
Xiao Che observed every reaction.
“Ye Qi, cut off one of his arms and make him confess his crimes. If he refuses, take a leg too. If he still won’t tell the truth, feed him alive to the Snow Mastiffs.”
Ye Qi moved swiftly. Almost the instant Xiao Che finished speaking, his sword severed one of the man’s arms.
“Aah! I’ll… I’ll talk!”
The man screamed and rolled on the ground. Ye Qi planted a foot on one of his legs, leaving him able only to writhe his upper body in agony. His face was deathly pale, and his entire body trembled.
Ye Qi’s sword hovered over the root of the man’s thigh. If the man failed to explain himself properly, the blade would fall.
Enduring the terrible pain, the man confessed every detail. “Don’t kill me! I’ll tell you. I deliberately incited them.
“I wanted them to help me steal food and clothes. But I didn’t let anyone starve to death either. If I hadn’t organized everyone into a group, they would all be corpses by now.”
The refugees were not fools. Realizing that the man had been exploiting them all along, they rushed forward, stripped off his clothes, and threw him out of the western side courtyard.
Without the man inciting them, the refugees finally quieted down.