Chapter 10: Seventy thousand people, seventy thousand—I'll feed them all!

The soldiers and civilians were overjoyed.

"Jinli Fairy has accepted it! Thank you, Fairy!"

"With so many of us we can barely move it, but the Fairy just touched it and took it away!"

"Jinli Fairy's magic is boundless; please, Fairy, save us!"

……

"No… wait, you guys wait a sec!" Ning Jinli turned and ran.

Upon arriving at the Shi Pin Qu Cang Ku warehouse and looking, that piece of wood lay still on the ground.

"Thought transmission?"

She widened her eyes and gazed at the light curtain outside the door.

She realized the spacetime portal had truly been upgraded, granting her this ability.

"If I'm not mistaken…"

She turned her head to look at the little flour and rice left in the warehouse.

A flick of her thought, and it all vanished instantly.

However, if she tried outside the light curtain's range, there was no response.

After testing, Ning Jinli immediately ran back to the cave.

Seeing that those few bags of flour and rice were indeed still here.

The soldiers and civilians thanked her again.

"What's your exact situation now? How long can you hold out?" Ning Jinli asked.

The leading soldier said:

"The Yu Guo army of fifty thousand likely considered that Lin Xian Village is easy to defend but hard to attack, plus we lack water and food, so they adopted a siege tactic against us."

"Given the current situation, we… won't last more than a few days before we completely lose the ability to resist."

"By then they can easily storm in and slaughter us completely."

"Before the Yu Guo army surrounded us, we had already, by His Majesty's order, sent people to deliver news to the court, but even if they were fast, reinforcements would still take ten to twenty days to arrive…"

The more they spoke, the heavier the soldiers' expressions became.

"How much water and grain do you need to hold out this long?" Ning Jinli asked again.

The soldier pondered and said:

"Here we have ten thousand Xi Tun Guan soldiers, over four thousand warhorses, and the Lin Xian Village civilians including us total over twelve hundred. The grain the Fairy gave us earlier we shared with those soldiers, and it's almost all gone. There are also many wounded and sick…"

Ning Jinli listened while estimating, nodding, "Hmm, not a big problem."

She now has over fifty million in savings, easily enough to support ten thousand plus troops and horses.

"There are also refugees from other villages who have fled here," the soldier added, "the entire Xi Tun Guan region now only Lin Xian Village remains temporarily safe."

"How many refugees have fled here?"

"Around sixty thousand…"

"Ah?"

Ning Jinli's vision went dark.

"The current population of Lin Xian Village alone, isn't that adding up to as many as seventy thousand!"

She took a deep breath, "Seventy thousand is seventy thousand—I'll feed them all!"

"Hold on a bit longer; at the latest, I'll give you more food tomorrow afternoon. As for water, I'll also try to send more."

Unfortunately, her factory is shut down; in the short term she can't hire enough workers nor contact raw material suppliers.

Otherwise, if the Shi Pin Qu Cang Ku production line ran at full capacity, it could provide continuously 24/7.

For now, the only option is to purchase ready-made supplies!

Ning Jinli said, "Let's do it," and immediately returned to her side.

Just as she stepped out of the spacetime portal, she suddenly saw Xiao Qidi standing before her in a hospital gown.

Ning Jinli exclaimed in shock, "How did you come back?!"

Xiao Qidi's face was pallid, his sword‑like brows furrowed as he said, "I slipped out of that strange place."

Ning Jinli could hardly believe it.

"That hospital isn't far from here, but you don't know the way!"

"I don't know… I just walked by instinct… I seem to be able to sense this place."

Xiao Qidi was still a bit dizzy, staggering toward the spacetime portal.

Ning Jinli hurriedly stopped him, "No! Your wounds aren't healed—you can't go back!"

Xiao Qidi's gloomy brows were full of resolve: "If I'm not here to hold the fort, Lin Xian Village will descend into chaos, Ning Miss… I must return; please help me as much as you can. Thank you."

……

Inside the cave, the soldiers were arranging the few bags of flour and rice that Ning Jinli had just brought, intending to have the Old Village Chief take them back.

The Old Village Chief shook his head: "These are nowhere near enough to split among tens of thousands; you should either keep guarding the Immortal Cave here or eat them yourselves. I urge everyone to keep looking for grass roots and tree bark…"

The soldiers burst into tears.

"Where could we find grass roots and tree bark?"

Even the Guanyin soil has been eaten up……

"Hey! There really is food here! Hand it over!" a shout suddenly rang out from outside the cave.

Only then did the few dozen people inside the cave realize a large crowd had come outside.

The leaders turned out to be a dozen or so Xi Tun Guan soldiers in armor, wielding long blades.

Behind them were over two hundred villagers who had fled from other villages.

The soldiers of Lin Xian Village immediately stepped forward, shielding the Old Village Chief and others behind them.

The leading soldier shouted, "You are all Xuan Guo soldiers and civilians! At this critical juncture, do you intend to rebel?!"

Their eyes glowed green as they stared at the few sacks of grain in the cave, swallowing their saliva.

The leader of the opposing side said fiercely:

"The Yu Guo Army has already surrounded this place; we have only a mere ten thousand defeated troops, and we will surely die sooner or later!"

"What Xuan Guo soldiers? I'm not doing this anymore!"

"Even if I die, I'll eat my fill before leaving! If you won't hand over the grain, then fine—I'll slaughter you, roast you, and eat you along with the grain!"

Outside the cave, over two hundred starving people gulped, their rising and falling sounds especially chilling in the darkness.

The leader brandished his knife and charged into the cave, snarling, "Kill them for me!"

A tall figure flashed from the innermost part of the cave.

In the blink of an eye he appeared before the rebel leader, who was startled by a domineering aura and halted his steps.

"His Majesty? You've returned!" Tears welled in the eyes of the Lin Xian Village soldiers and civilians inside the cave.

Xiao Qidi wore a set of clothing they had never seen before.

His frame was slender, and his robes hung somewhat empty.

Yet his upright bearing and presence were undiminished.

"Rebels, die."

Xiao Qidi's thin lips moved slightly, his deep black eyes flashing with icy killing intent.

Before the rebel leader could react, his bronze battle sword was snatched from his hand by a raised hand.

Swish——

A cold gleam flashed.

A head flew up, trailing a string of blood as it rolled to the ground.

The headless corpse remained upright, propped by its armor, knees on the ground, blood spurting wildly from the neck!

Xiao Qidi beheaded the rebel leader in an instant, without even blinking.

Outside the cave, the rebel soldiers and civilians were so frightened their legs went weak, and they knelt, trembling.

"His Majesty...... I was wrong......"

"His Majesty! It's those Xi Tun Guan traitors who stirred us up! We're just refugees fleeing disaster......"

"Please spare our lives, Your Majesty!"

The sound of kowtowing and begging for mercy never ceased.

Xiao Qidi's eyes showed no emotion: "If I spare you, how can I face the soldiers and civilians who endured hunger and thirst without rebelling?"

Swish swish——

Again, several cold gleams flashed in succession.

Head after head rolled to the ground.

Some of the faint-hearted fainted on the spot.

Xiao Qidi turned his head slightly and ordered the Lin Xian Village soldiers in the cave, "Cut them all down and display the corpses as a warning."

Dozens of Lin Xian Village soldiers drew their swords in unison.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

In chaotic times, harsh laws are needed; without killing, it's hard to stabilize the hearts of soldiers and civilians!

The night was already deep.

Inside the factory, Ning Jinli calculated the cost of purchasing food.

Based on seventy thousand people and several thousand warhorses needing to last twenty days.

Contacting suppliers to buy rations at wholesale price, the fifty-two million in her account was barely enough.

But there were still many who were sick and wounded......

This required buying a lot more medicine.

"Oh my goodness, it's so expensive!"

Ning Jinli worried, scratching her head.

She suddenly recalled that piece of Golden Silk Nan Ebony Wood and decisively called Wu Sanye.

Wu Sanye was halfway home when he got the call; he immediately turned around, floored the accelerator, and soon arrived.

As soon as he entered the big warehouse and saw that piece of wood, black as jade, on the floor, his eyes widened.

"Oh my goodness! Top-grade Golden Silk Nan submerged wood! Miss Ning, you actually still have such a treasure?!"

He judged it at a glance.

He hurried over, disregarding his appearance, and lay on the wood to examine it closely.

Ning Jinli asked, "How much can it sell for?"