Chapter 541: The Luoke Tribe Comes Seeking Refuge

She wants to know whether a tribe has had an incident, so these tribespeople fled; seeing their dark skin and very slender, small stature, they must be of a lineage on the Jiuzhou Dadi.

The old man's eyes were all clouded, and even more so when he saw Nan Qinghuan, yet a glimmer of hope crossed his gaze.

That was hope for continued survival.

"There are clouds in the east; the fair‑skinned person is the Goddess. Are you the Goddess?"

"What?"

Nan Qinghuan was a bit puzzled whether they had come to find her. She and Ying exchanged a glance; Ying nodded, "Old man, she is the Goddess, she is my Ohm, I am Ying. What are you all doing in the Small Town?"

"You are Ying?"

Hearing this, the old man became very agitated, and everyone instantly knelt before the couple, "Please save us. We are the Luoke Tribe. Our place suffered the Heavenly God's punishment; the houses cracked, many died in the tribe. A female told us to come to Ying Town to find the Goddess; she will help us. We haven't eaten for three days. We brought the few of us left to beg you, please take us in."

The old man and those people knelt and begged Nan Qinghuan; Nan Qinghuan could not bear to see them, especially the elderly and the children!

"You all stand up. Ying, what do you think we should do?"

Ying has been staying with her for a long time and has learned compassion. He thought that as long as they aren't people from the Baiqi Tribe coming to cause trouble, then… they can be taken in.

"Are you sure you want to live here with me?"

He knows the Luoke Tribe; from their tone, something serious must have happened there.

Was the Heavenly God's punishment a flood? Or an earthquake? "We only ask to survive, we are willing to live here, please, we can do anything."

Everyone knelt together, praying for a way to live. Ying was silent for a moment, then lifted his gaze toward Yao and Rongdi, who were watching them.

"Open the town's gate."

Opening the town's gate shows that he has accepted them.

Soon, after these people were brought inside, Nan Qinghuan personally prepared some food to treat them.

They came to seek refuge here just because of someone else's words; what reason does she have not to host them!

So she prepared to make something tasty.

Steamed buns!

Because trade has reached here and flour is now available, making steamed buns has become her favorite thing.

They are pork‑filled, taste great, and one person can easily eat three.

Under her leadership, Jiguang, Axi and the others all came to help, making food for these pitiful people.

Fortunately, it was all a misunderstanding; as long as they aren't people from the Baiqi Tribe, there's no fear.

Their greatest fear now is war; no matter what, war brings death!

At noon, the sun blazed.

These people were temporarily settled; they are all elderly and children. Rongdi could not understand it at all, because, in his eyes, these people are useless.

Watching Nan Qinghuan and the others make steamed buns to treat these people, Rongdi thought it was a waste of food.

"Ying, how could you agree to take them in? Look, these people are women, the elderly, and children—what use are they?"

In Rongdi's mind, useless people should die; that was the rule he followed in Chonglinzi, and it has remained so over the years. If useless people still get food, wouldn't nobody want to work? Yao shook his head, "No, I think taking them in is still useful. Look, they bring a lot of Luoke culture, and Luoke people are skilled with rope; I heard their ropes are very sturdy."

"Exactly, that's what I thought then. A terrible earthquake was discovered there, so we could only accept it. After they adapt, we can teach them farming, self‑reliance."

Rongdi saw his view not being accepted; he wasn't angry, just smiled, "Alright then, if you say to take them in, we will. How shall we deal with the Baiqi Tribe's people now?"

The few who were imprisoned in the Cave have not been executed, and the Baiqi Tribe's leader has not yet been found!

This was a lingering worry in Rongdi's heart; each day without finding them increased his anxiety, fearing that he would secretly prepare to deal with them!

Cannot be left unguarded!

Hearing Rongdi's words, Ying paused, then withdrew his gaze, "Don't worry, someone has already agreed to confess; we'll soon be able to find him."

However, they still need to prepare for combat.

"Rongdi, check how many of us can go to the battlefield. Yao, inventory our equipment and food supplies. Although the Baiqi Tribe's people haven't formally appeared, we must be ready for war at any moment."

"I've wanted to do this for a long time. Ying, you're right; we should have done this earlier. Should we launch an attack before our rice is harvested?"

"What, attack first?"

Over here, Rongdi and they were discussing the Baiqi Tribe, a serious internal threat, while behind them, Na Tu slowly approached.

"I also support what you say; actually I can tell you that the Baiqi Tribe has a major weakness—if we can grasp it, we won't fear their attacks at all."

This made the three turn to look at Na Tu; Na Tu walked over, gave them a glance, then finally fixed his gaze on Ying.

"There is another method."

Ying's expression turned complex as he looked at him; how does Na Tu know everything? As far as he knows, his tribe and the Baiqi Tribe are far apart.

"What method?"

Over here, several men were discussing how to deal with the Baiqi Tribe; over there, fragrant steamed buns were ready. Nan Qinghuan had Axi deliver them one by one, and those who ate the buns were moved to tears of gratitude toward her.

For the first time, Jiguang also felt the joy of being respected.

It turned out that helping others could be so easy and fulfilling!

"Nan Qinghuan, have you always been this kind since you came here?"

Had Jiguang been the leader, she would not have let this group in. Now that they have entered, she feels a bit ruthless, because they are indeed ordinary tribe members. From their words, she learned that their place must have suffered earthquake damage, with countless casualties.

Their survival ability is truly strong; they managed to crawl out of the ruins and travel such a distance just to survive.

It is hard to imagine how strong the Ancient People's will to survive can be.

Nan Qinghuan was also tired, sitting on a large stone watching them eat ravenously. She looked up at Jiguang, gave a bitter smile, "They are all pitiful; if we can save them, we do. Why so many whys? Look, their tribe is gone; though they are sad, they will still live on strongly. That's better than many of us."

"The survival instinct is indeed powerful. So how do you plan to settle them afterward? We can't keep feeding them forever, can we?"

Nan Qinghuan smiled, "Of course not. I heard their people can make an indestructible fence; I want them to help surround the entire Small Town."

"Fence? What fence?"

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