Chapter 207

Four days later.

Yunzhou.

Yunzhou is a little south of Qingzhou.

As of today, Yunzhou has gone nearly three months without a single drop of rain, the rivers have dried up, the earth is cracked, and all the crops in the fields have died.

Along the roadside, one can still see many skeletons—these are refugees who fled but starved to death on the road before escaping Yunzhou, and at this time, no one has the strength to bury them, so they are just left lying haphazardly by the roadside.

Outside Rui De City, several minor officials carried out a few porridge buckets through the city gate.

The surrounding refugees surged forward, desperately pushing and shoving, in utter frenzy.

There was no way—those few minor officials only carried four porridge buckets, while outside the city there were hundreds of refugees; this was nowhere near enough to go around.

The minor official drew his knife and stood in front of the crowd: "Don't push—one bowl per person."

Only to see the minor official lift the lid—the porridge inside was already so thin it was almost water; if you dipped in a chopstick, it would sink within three blinks.

Shen Qing and the others watched this scene from a distance.

And Zhou He, after all, was formerly the Earthly Spirit Star of the White Dragon Sect, and his conduct was even more flamboyant.

He cracked his knuckles and strode toward the few minor officials, letting out a cold snort.

"Lord Shen, I understand the rules—if the chopstick floats, the head falls."

"I'll go arrest those few."

But just then, Ma Qing directly grabbed Zhou He.

"You understand? You understand jack shit!"

Zhou He stared blankly: "Ma Qing, what do you mean? Isn't this the rule of Great Wu?"

He had already shifted his thinking to Great Wu's rules—how could he still be scolded?

Ma Qing pointed at the few minor officials: "Open your eyes and look at those few minor officials."

"Each one sallow and skinny—do they look like they could eat a full meal?"

"If I had to guess, even the city office has no grain—would killing these few minor officials help? Can you even blame them?"

Zhou He turned and looked at the few minor officials—indeed, each was skin and bone, their hands that ladled porridge reduced to mere skin.

Zhou He scratched his head: "You're right—no rice makes even a clever woman's cooking impossible; if they truly have no grain, they really can't make thick porridge."

Ma Qing rolled his eyes: "If you're uncultured, don't speak—it's not 'shrewd wife,' it's 'resourceful wife'!"

"......."

Shen Qing walked toward the county city gate: "Come on, let's go into the city first and take a look."

Several people entered the city, and the situation inside was not much better.

The people coming and going on the street were few, and those who could walk were all sallow and skinny.

The group split up to circle around, finally regrouping at a dilapidated tavern by the city gate.

The scholar tapped the table: "Boss, bring some wine and side dishes."

Then the few began exchanging the information they had gathered.

Zhou He spoke: "I just went to the county office, sneaked in and took a look—the storeroom really has no grain left."

Ma Qing also spoke: "I walked around the West City—there's no surplus grain on the streets, and this disaster came too suddenly; nobody had stored any."

The Black Dog and a few others spoke up—roughly the same.

Finally, only the scholar remained silent. Shen Qing glanced at him: "Scholar, you haven't spoken yet—must have found something, right?"

The scholar scratched his head and gave a hehe laugh: "Boss, nothing escapes your keen eye."

"I just went around the nearby granaries and really discovered something."

"When I went to one granary, the boss was complaining about the Song family, saying they weren't giving people a way to survive—I sensed something off, so I brought over some wine."

"This boss had drunk too much, saying the Song family now has the most grain, but it's all sold at sky-high prices, and he also said that before the disaster, someone had hoarded grain in large quantities—others don't know, but this boss knows the hoarder is the Song family."

Everyone sat up straight—Ma Qing had just said the disaster came too suddenly, nobody had time to react, yet the Song family had hoarded large amounts of grain in advance—doesn't that mean the Song family knew inside information?

Ma Qing clapped: "Scholar, scholar, I'm truly more and more impressed by you! Lowest cultivation, yet you've dug up the most information!"

The scholar gave a hehe laugh—just then, the boss came over with a wine jug; this tavern had no waiter, only the boss.

The boss forced a smile: "Several guests, you must be from elsewhere—I won't hide it from you, this wine is watered down—try it; if you're not satisfied, just leave."

Before anyone could speak, the noisy commotion outside the tavern drew their attention.

"I said—take off your clothes, and I'll give you grain."

The boss frowned: "Again, it's the Song family..."

Eyes focused outside the tavern.

A youth in fine clothes and jade-like food, accompanied by several guards bloated with fat, lecherously eyed a thin, weak woman before them.

This woman was fairly pretty, just sallow and skinny; she knelt on the ground, tears continuously falling.

"Young Master Song Yu, please don't joke..."

Song Yu gave a lecherous smile: "You think I'm joking? I said take off your clothes, and I'll give you this bag of rice."

"If there's no grain, your child will starve to death—I've said it here, take it off or not, it's up to you."

The woman trembled all over, lifted her head, her face full of despair.

"Young Master Song Yu, can't we change places? This is on the street..."

The woman was utterly desperate, but as Song Yu said, her child had eaten nothing for three days.

Song Yu snorted coldly: "I'll do it right here on the street—otherwise, I wouldn't give this grain even to feed a dog!"

Her hand slowly reached toward her sash, voice trembling and soft: "Okay... I'll take it off..."

Song Yu and his guards burst into loud laughter—harsh and unpleasant.

Ma Qing and the others had already stood up, their faces cold.

But someone was faster than them.

It was the guest sitting beside Shen Qing, dressed all in black, wearing a straw hat, with a long sword at his waist, looking travel-worn.

He slammed his wine bowl on the table, stood up, and gripped the sword at his waist: "You're going too far!"

Saying that, he strode out of the tavern, heading toward Song Yu and the others, while his spiritual energy surged, preparing to charge forward.

But Shen Qing was a step quicker—he pointed a finger, and Song Yu was instantly flung into the sky, followed by a bang as he exploded into a mist of blood.

The few guards behind him were stunned, turned around to flee, but met the same fate—several golden flashes streaked by, and they all flew into the sky, putting on a dazzling fireworks display.

The kneeling woman blankly lifted her head, dazed, wondering how those few people had vanished in an instant.

Shen Qing entered her line of sight, picked up the sack of grain on the ground, but after weighing it, he sensed something was off, turned the sack upside down, and poured out its contents, hearing only a series of cracking sounds.

There was no grain in the sack at all—it was filled entirely with stones!

They never intended to give this woman any grain; they only wanted to humiliate her.

The woman knelt on the ground, her face ashen with despair, having lost the grain—her child might not survive without it.

Shen Qing glanced back: "Scholar, buy some grain at the tavern."

The scholar nodded, immediately turned to the tavern keeper, and pulled out several taels of silver.

Soon he came out holding several flatbreads, which he shoved into the woman's hands.

Only then did the woman come to her senses—she didn't look at the flatbread in her hand, but strode forward and grabbed Shen Qing's arm.

"Sir, I don't want the grain—you need to run!"

"That man just now was Song Yu, the young master of the Song family—they won't let you go! You must run!"

The scholar stepped forward and pulled the woman's arm away.

"Take this grain and go—there won't be a Song family anymore from now on."