“Zhang Guang?”
Yu Qingwan froze and immediately stood upright, staring nervously at the slouching man across from them.
She recognized him at once. His name was Zhang Guang, the elder brother of Zhang Hu, the man her husband had killed yesterday after he tried to seize her grain and harass her.
“Ignore him. Keep walking,” Li Chen snorted softly. The tension in his muscles gradually eased. As if he had not even seen Zhang Guang, he continued down the mountain path.
“Well now, isn’t this Brother Chen? Where are you taking your little wife?” Zhang Guang swaggered over, a wooden baton tucked at his waist, his brows crooked and eyes slanted as he stared at Li Chen.
Yu Qingwan’s heart trembled. She gripped the corner of Li Chen’s clothes tightly, not daring to lift her head. Her palms were already slick with sweat.
Her husband had said this Zhang Guang seemed to have connections with the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold. If he found out that her husband had killed his younger brother, then…
She did not dare think further.
Li Chen’s face remained calm. “Going into the city to sell game.”
“Oh ho, in just a few days you’ve learned to hunt? Impressive. Looks like the village is about to have a new hunter,” Zhang Guang laughed loudly. He circled Li Chen twice, then looked at Yu Qingwan’s flushed and radiant face and clicked his tongue. “Looks like you’ve already opened up this little maid wife. Tsk tsk. After being opened up, she’s different. Prettier. More like a woman.”
As he spoke, he waved his hand through the air beside Yu Qingwan and sniffed crudely.
Yu Qingwan flushed with shame and anger and stepped aside.
Li Chen narrowed his eyes and glanced around. There were many people nearby. He forcibly suppressed his killing intent.
If not for so many witnesses, he would already have struck and killed.
“If you have something to say, say it. If not, step aside. We’re heading into the city,” Li Chen said as he moved to pass.
“Stop right there. Damn brat, since when did you learn to talk to me like that?” Zhang Guang blocked his path, glaring fiercely.
“What do you want?” Li Chen lowered his head slightly, looking at the man who was a full head shorter than him. His gaze turned instantly cold.
At that moment, Zhang Guang felt a bone-chilling cold spread through his entire body. It was a real, piercing cold, as if he had suddenly been stripped naked and thrown from the scorching summer into a frozen wasteland.
For that brief instant, he could not move even a finger.
“Get lost,” Li Chen said flatly, pushing him aside.
Zhang Guang remained frozen in that posture, helplessly watching himself being shoved aside.
Li Chen was faintly surprised. That sudden burst of cold authority in his gaze seemed to have a special effect. It had actually made someone’s body stiffen instantly. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Yesterday evening, when he encountered those women, something similar had happened.
Two breaths later, Zhang Guang regained control of his body. Furious and humiliated, he lunged forward, but when Li Chen turned back and looked at him again, he did not dare take another step.
He only panted heavily through his nose. “Li Chen, I’ll ask you this. Did you see my younger brother Zhang Hu yesterday?”
Yu Qingwan’s heart thudded violently. Her hand trembled, and she lowered her head even more.
“I didn’t,” Li Chen replied calmly.
“Bullshit! He clearly went to your house. How could you not have seen him?” Zhang Guang roared.
“What would he be doing at my house?” Li Chen asked coldly.
“He… said he was close with you. That he missed you after not seeing you for a few days,” Zhang Guang stammered before finally coming up with a flimsy excuse.
“Do you believe that yourself?” Li Chen gave a cold laugh and walked away with Yu Qingwan.
“Damn it. You must have seen him. Maybe you even killed him. If you really dared to do that, just you wait. I’ll skin you alive,” Zhang Guang shouted behind them.
Li Chen did not turn around, but in his heart, he had already placed Zhang Guang on his list of the dead.
Yu Qingwan trembled all over. After they had walked some distance, she finally whispered shakily, “Husband, if he truly loses his temper and tries to harm you, what… what should we do?”
“Then kill him,” Li Chen said indifferently as he led her out of the village.
They passed through the narrow mountain pass ahead, which was about 30 meters wide and rose 300 meters high, then stepped onto the official road beyond.
After leaving the village, Li Chen turned back to examine the pass, slightly lost in thought.
Muer Village lay against Mount Taibai. The entrance was formed by steep mountain walls, creating a natural bottleneck. It was the only land exit leading into Muer Village and the three villages behind it.
Anyone wishing to avoid the pass would have to detour around the 35-kilometer mountain range and cross the Yulong River from afar.
“Surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one, with only a single exit. Truly a place easy to defend and hard to attack,” Li Chen thought to himself.
The official road was wide enough for eight horses to travel side by side. It was just after early morning. The sun had risen, neither too hot nor too cold, perfect for traveling.
Pingyang County was only about 5 kilometers from Muer Village. Both of them were young and strong, and their pace was swift.
After roughly fifteen minutes, once they rounded the bend ahead, they would see Pingyang County City. But their steps slowed.
To the right of the road ahead, on a flat stretch of land, countless makeshift shelters had been erected from branches and grass.
Beside them lay or sat groups of ragged, listless people.
They all shared one feature: emaciated bodies reduced to skin and bone.
Even the children, who should have been full of energy, had lost their vitality from hunger. Like withered grass, they curled their small bodies into their mothers’ arms.
Farther away, on the meadow, small mounds of earth rose one after another.
Some of the soil was still fresh.
“Refugees,” Li Chen murmured, his gaze darkening.
Those displaced by the chaos of war had fled north into Beiyan Pass. Without household registration, they had become refugees.
To prevent unrest from hunger, the Northern Suppression King had issued a decree requiring each county to establish refugee camps around its outskirts to house them and periodically distribute grain and porridge so they could barely survive.
Yu Qingwan said nothing. She bit her red lips until they turned pale, her expression heavy and complicated.
Two months ago, she herself had been one of these refugees.
Now she had escaped that sea of suffering, but these people were still struggling in hell.
When they saw Li Chen and Yu Qingwan, especially the rabbits slung over Li Chen’s shoulder, every refugee sat upright. Their murky eyes filled with longing and greed.
Meat.
Hunger had stripped away their sense of humanity. All they saw now was meat.
“Husband, let’s… let’s go quickly…” Yu Qingwan tugged nervously at Li Chen’s sleeve, terrified that if they walked too slowly, the starving refugees might rush forward to attack them and seize their game.
Already, the rows of refugees nearby were straightening their backs. Some of the stronger ones had begun to stand, making hoarse “heh heh” sounds in their throats as they started toward them.