Chapter 15: Slum

A group passed in front of them; wherever they went, the people stepped aside, all bowed their heads and stood respectfully, daring not to look around.

"Who are they?"

Shen Qingquan squinted, and Huang Laotou said, "He is the Xiangcheng Prefect, Xue Gui, and the man beside him is his nephew, the Colonel who commands the Xiangcheng Army, Xue Zhouning. These two rule Xiangcheng; they are the Earth Emperor and the Mountain King."

Huang Laotou reminded, "Miss Shen, it's best we don't provoke them, lest trouble befalls us."

"Xiangcheng is afflicted; he doesn't seem like he's going to settle the displaced and disaster victims."

Huang Laotou sneered, "Xue Gui is only after profit, cruel and overbearing; how could he care for the people's lives? He only exploits their money to feed his own troops. The eight hundred Xiangcheng Army stationed here claim to be imperial soldiers, but in fact they are his private forces."

"In these times, having grain in hand and soldiers is enough to dominate a region."

He seemed both reflective and sorrowful.

Shen Qingquan gave him a deep look.

Soon, the group passed by.

"Where can we look now? Chang Er, could something really have happened to Chang Er..."

"Think carefully, besides here, where does your grandson usually go into the city? Or, who does he know?"

Huang Laotou pondered, then a flash of insight!

"Right! Denggu Alley! I recall Chang Er often goes there!"

"What is that place for?"

"It's a place that shelters the poor; many who can't afford medicine or are orphaned often go there. Chang Er often visits the broken shacks of Denggu Alley to treat people... Right, Denggu Alley! That's it!"

"Then let's go there now."

The group quickly arrived at Denggu Alley, seeing a frost‑covered street, filthy and chaotic, with collapsed houses and shacks everywhere; from time to time a beggar would run out, see these strangers, and shriek and rush back!

"Bad people are coming! Bad people are coming!"

In no time, a crowd of rag‑clad people ran out of the alley.

They brandished sticks and also carried wooden planks and stones they had somehow found, glaring at them with fierce defensiveness!

"Who are you? Are you also sent by that Corrupt Official? Trying to drive us away? That won't do! If you step forward today, we'll fight you!"

"Yes! Fight!"

Corrupt Official?

Could it be that Prefect?

A dark current flashed in Shen Qingquan's eyes.

"We're not here to cause trouble! We're looking for someone! Chang Ge Er! Does anyone know my Chang Ge Er, the young doctor who often sits at Ji Ya Tang? Do you know him?"

"Whatever, Chang Ge Er or not, we don't know him! If you have sense, get lost!"

Their guard was so high that they were about to smash the people before Huang Laotou finished speaking.

At that moment, a voice from behind said, "You are... Doctor Huang?"

Seeing someone recognized him, Huang Laotou hurried, "It's me! It's me!"

"Ah! Mistake, mistake! They're not the Corrupt Official's men! It's Doctor Huang! He's Xiao Huang's grandfather! He came here before..."

"Xiao Huang's grandfather?"

"Really?"

The people who had been fierce and ready to fight suddenly dropped their weapons, their attitude turning a full 360 degrees to become enthusiastic!

This rapid change left Shen Yuhuan and the others staring in disbelief.

…

With the misunderstanding cleared, those people, learning they were looking for Xiao Huang, hurried to usher them inside.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to; yesterday a disaster struck, the Corrupt Official's men took the chance to drive us out and injured many of us. We were scared, so we were so vigilant... Please don't mind us."

They led them through the alley; after a short while, they stopped before a cluster of shacks.

Shen Qingquan stared in amazement at the scene before her; this was not a 'alley' at all, but a 'slum'!

Countless shacks‑built 'houses' were haphazardly stacked, giving the first impression of: dirty,

chaotic, shabby.

It was exactly a modern Indian slum brought to life!

Most of the houses had already collapsed; what they now stood on were a dozen or so temporary shacks.

No wonder they said that the Prefect was trying every means to drive them away; this wasn't just ten or twenty refugees, but hundreds to thousands!

"Forgive us, this place originally was only for some beggars and children, but in the past two years, endless natural calamities—droughts and floods—have driven countless displaced people here. Arriving in Xiangcheng homeless, they gathered more and more..."

Shen Qingquan listened to the man speak, walking while scanning the surroundings.

"Yesterday the flood broke the city gate, the walls cracked, and the city was flooded. We suffered too; many died. After barely escaping the flood, a heavy snow fell, the night was terrifyingly cold; today we came out and found many elders frozen to death in the shacks..."

"Doctor Huang, your grandson truly has a benevolent heart! At that time the Ji Ya Tang in the city was also hit by disaster; when we went looking for a doctor, only Xiao Huang was willing to come with us. He himself was wounded, but to save herbs for more people, he forced his ailing body to give the medicine to others..."

At this moment, the few finally understood why those people had suddenly been so warm to them.

"What? Chang Er got injured?"

"Don't worry, he only accidentally cut his arm; it's not serious..."

Yet Huang Laotou still felt uneasy, quickening his pace, "Quick! Take me to see him!"

"Mother, the road here is slippery; be careful."

Shen Qingquan reminded Mother that the place was filthy and chaotic, full of numb‑faced refugees and gaunt children, some lying on the ground, others watching them warily.

Their bodies were blackened, hair like tangled weeds, messy and foul‑smelling.

They had originally disguised themselves, but now it was clear that compared with the truly starving and suffering disaster victims, they were still different.

They looked dirty, but their hands, nails, and faces were clean, eyes bright, unlike the refugees whose eyes were lifeless, exuding death.

What was even more heartbreaking was that many of them were children.

Each one is a big‑head doll, with a large head, small body, but a round, bulging belly.

Obviously they ate too much Guanyin Soil, which caused them to develop like this.

On the road of exile they had seen this before; their father had warned them that, no matter what, even if they were starving, they must never eat Guanyin Soil. Because once the intestines are blocked, even the Great Luo Immortal cannot save them.

"Sister, I'm scared…"

Shen Qingci, a little frightened, drew near to her; Shen Qingquan clasped her small hand, "Don't be scared, sister's here."

She looked at the tragic sight before her, feeling uneasy.

In these chaotic times, such scenes will only keep playing out.? This book first debuted on 17K Novel Network; view the official content right away!