Chapter 212: Our Lives Are Almost Over—What About Conscience?

"We can feel sympathy for them, we can help them, but not at a time like this; let's leave here first."

Ning Jinli grabbed the old professor's arm, signaling the other two professors to follow.

Niu San noticed the four were about to leave, so he quickened his pace and said to the Old Village Chief and the other villagers:

"I have a way to solve our village's predicament. That young, beautiful, delicate girl is a prime specimen; if we capture her and send her to Zhenhuang Pass we can definitely exchange her for a lot of food rations. The other three, being older, look like they come from wealthy families, are rich and generous and have no hint of caution; if we bind them, we can extort a hefty sum of silver and supplies from their families!"

The other six villagers showed looks of shock and astonishment.

The Old Village Chief, without a second thought, sternly refused, "Niu San! How can you entertain such crooked thoughts?!"

"Village Chief! Can't you stop being so old‑fashioned and stubborn? Our village has hundreds of mouths to feed and we won't survive this winter; I'm doing this so everyone can live!"

The Village Chief nearly lost his breath, clutching his chest and coughing violently.

Niu San's eyes flashed with a fierce look as he addressed the other villagers, "You don't want your fathers, mothers, wives, or children to freeze or starve, do you? The chance to survive is right before us; while those four haven't gone far yet, we can catch up!"

The other six villagers glanced at Niu San, then at the silhouettes of those few disappearing into the deep forest, and felt a great inner turmoil.

"No… no, we can't!" the Old Village Chief urged desperately, "We absolutely… absolutely must not do such a heartless thing!"

Niu San gritted his teeth, "Our lives are about to end! What good is conscience? Can conscience be eaten as food or worn as clothing? Can conscience let so many of our villagers live until next spring?!"

The Old Village Chief, his face turning ashen with anger, said, "We may be… poor… we may even starve… but even in death we cannot do this… Some things are more important than… than life! If we truly carried out what you suggest, I believe most of our villagers would rather die than eat a single bite of food obtained by trading that little girl. She gave us those things out of kindness; repaying her with betrayal would make us less than beasts!"

He forced himself to finish speaking, then could no longer hold on and collapsed.

"Village Chief! Village Chief!" several villagers shouted in terror, hurriedly forming a circle around him.

He was old, and leading the way into the mountains for hunting in this cold, harsh environment had drained his strength severely; on top of that, being angered again by Niu San left his spirit as thin as a wisp.

"I… I'm afraid… I can't…" the Old Village Chief's eyelids drooped weakly, "You must swear to me, promise that even in death you won't… won't do evil, otherwise… I will die with a heavy heart."

"Village Chief…"

The villagers surrounding him wept, "Alright, we swear, we will definitely not do anything evil."

Niu San's face was clouded, standing behind those villagers, looking at the dying Old Village Chief, silent.

The Old Village Chief mustered his last strength to look up at him, "Niu San… especially… it's… it's you…"

The other villagers, grief‑stricken, wiped their tears while urging Niu San to swear quickly to ease the Village Chief's mind.

"Fine, fine, fine, I swear, everything I just said was nonsense; even if you beat me to death I still won't do it."

Only then did the Old Village Chief close his eyes, exhaling a faint white mist, and fell completely still.

Niu San sneered inwardly, "Swear? Swearing is useless; I don't care about that at all."

"Village Chief!!!"

Except for Niu San, the others knelt on the ground, crying out in grief.

Niu San turned, looking at several tracks in the snow that stretched into the distant woods, contemplating that he must persuade the villagers to follow the footprints with him to chase those four.

With simple hunting and tracking techniques, they could still catch the people.

At that moment.

Ning Jinli and the three professors turned back again.

This surprised Niu San greatly.

We hadn't even started tracking, yet they came back to the doorstep? It's truly heaven's help!

"Weren't you just leaving?" Niu San forced a smile as he greeted them, slipping his right hand behind his back to feel the short knife at his waist.

Ning Jinli narrowed her eyes slightly, stepping in front of Niu San, naturally letting the professor stand behind her, and calmly replied, "We were about to leave, but we suddenly heard cries of pain; it must be a serious accident. My friends couldn't rest easy, so we had to come back to check."

"Good people, you truly are great benefactors, great good people," Niu San forced a compliment.

"What happened?" the old professor asked anxiously, looking at the motionless Village Chief lying in the snow.

Niu San's face showed regret, "Alas, he's old, the cold and fatigue got the better of him, and…"

"Ning, hurry and take a look!" the old professor urged.

Ning Jinli thought briefly, then suddenly grasped Niu San's right arm, smiling, "No problem, please come with me, brother."

Niu San's complexion shifted; he found his arm as if clamped by pliers, unable to break free, so he reluctantly cooperated and followed Ning Jinli back to the Old Village Chief.

Ning Jinli restrained Niu San with one hand, while her other hand probed beneath the Old Village Chief's nose and along his neck.

His breathing had indeed ceased.

But the carotid artery still showed a faint tremor; without a calm, careful check it would have gone unnoticed.

The Old Village Chief was a good man, and Ning Jinli could not bear to watch him die, so she activated the Tian Xuan Heart Method and quietly transmitted a small amount of Internal Strength to him.

That tiny amount of Internal Strength could temporarily shield his heart meridian without overburdening his already fragile one.

However, to save his life, he must be taken to the base for treatment.

"Your Village Chief is still alive," Ning Jinli told the tear‑soaked villagers, "Lift him and come with me, keep him as steady as possible so he isn't jolted violently; I guarantee he will recover."

Upon learning the Village Chief could be saved, the villagers dared not delay and immediately followed Ning Jinli's instructions.

Ning Jinli quietly instructed the three professors to keep their distance from the man who had just greeted them with a smile, and then let the three lead the way ahead.

The villagers carried the Old Village Chief in the middle, while she walked at the rear, making it easy to watch everyone's condition.

After a period of trekking.

The party finally arrived at a camp.

This was the base that Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli had originally established to facilitate trade of over two hundred thousand sets of weapons and equipment with the Wasteland Nation, and later played a major role in coordinating the rescue of Mu Cheng's family.

Now it also serves as a mountain‑road transfer hub linking the east and west sides of the Xuanhuang Shanmai.

Warehouses were built according to the terrain, several additional camps were added, and thousands of soldiers were stationed there.

A few villagers followed into a camp, and upon seeing never‑before‑seen modern tents and armored soldiers patrolling with weapons, they broke out in cold sweat, frozen on the spot, unable to move.

Only then did they realize this was a military camp.

Niu San was the first to snap out of his daze, his eyes flashing, "What are you still standing around for? Keep moving; didn't that girl named Ning tell us to carry the Village Chief into the tent?"

"A military camp…" a villager whispered fearfully, "Niu San, are you blind? Didn't you see?"

Niu San grinned, "What's wrong with the military camp? I already said before we could try asking the commander to borrow grain, right?"

Another villager's legs trembled, stuttering: "But... but... this place... this place is clearly not the Great Wilderness army's camp, right? Then... then besides the Great Wilderness army, isn't it just Xuan Guo's?"

Niu San remained calm, "Never mind Wasteland Nation and Xuan Guo; the two countries aren't fighting now, what's there to fear?"

"The beds are ready, the doctor has arrived, come in quickly." Ning Jinli poked her head out from a nearby tent and shouted.

"Coming, coming!" Niu San came running over.

The other few villagers had no choice but to grit their teeth and carry the Village Chief along.

Ning Jinli had the doctor take over treatment, then led the villagers to a nearby temporary tent set up for them, had someone bring a warming brazier and ginger tea to dispel the cold, letting them wait there first, then she left the tent.

She also had to assist the three professors in organizing the samples collected this time, then help them send both people and items back to the modern world, keeping her very busy.

"Keep an eye on them," she called a few Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Soldiers over and instructed, "Don't let the people inside come out and loiter."

"Yes, Fairy."

The Xuanjia Armor Armor Armor Armor Soldiers held their weapons and stood beside the tent.

Inside the tent, several villagers sat around the brazier, holding steaming ginger tea; the chill on their bodies gradually dissipated, and their tense spirits relaxed a bit.

However, they remained uneasy and dared not talk to each other, occasionally glancing furtively at the soldier's silhouette standing by the tent entrance.

"Look at your cowardly looks!" Niu San sneered, "What's there to fear? If they meant us harm, why would they have brought us here to treat our Village Chief?"

The rest still said nothing.

Niu San rolled his eyes, got up and walked to the tent entrance, smiling as he greeted the soldier, "Sir, are you from Xuan Guo?"

The soldier gave him a sideways glance and didn't respond.

Niu San again said with a grin, "Even if you don't say, sir, I've already figured it out—sir, who is that Miss Ning?"

"You dare call Miss Ning?" the soldier's eyes darkened, "Call her Fairy!"

Niu San shrank his neck, "Yes yes yes, sir, please calm your anger; I, your subordinate, don't know the rules, thank you for the reminder, sir."

The guard soldier frowned and ordered, "Stop trying to cozy up here, go inside and sit!"

Niu San thought to himself, "That beautiful woman's status seems high, being called a Fairy—perhaps... she's the woman of some commander in this camp."

With that thought, it made sense.

Otherwise, how could a young woman come to these remote mountains, let alone in a winter of wind and snow filling the sky?

"Sir," Niu San said with a fawning smile, lowering his voice, "I'd like to ask, are you still recruiting troops here? What do you think of me?"

The soldier coldly spat out a few words, "Not recruiting, and you're not up to par."

Niu San refused to give up, "Short on laborers? I work diligently; as long as I get food, I'll do whatever you need."

The soldier, already impatient, drew his side blade two inches with a swish and warned, "Sit properly!"

Niu San hurriedly stepped back and sat down beside the brazier.

He took a sip of ginger tea, lowered his head and muttered, "Damn it, looking down on people like that—Zhenhuang Pass wants to conscript laborers, and I wouldn't even go there; I'm only giving you guys face because I think this place is decent... what the hell..."

The nearby villagers ignored him.

He lowered his voice further, "These Xuan Guo people can set up camp in the Xuanhuang Mountains; surely they have ample supplies and surplus resources. If we find the warehouse and steal some, we won't need to risk our lives hunting—their food is all kinds of novel treats, sweet and delicious, and filling."

Upon hearing this, several villagers' eyes filled with alarm.

"Niu San, are you looking to get yourself killed?"

"This is a military camp, and you still want to break ground on Tai Sui's head? Don't you want to live?"

"Besides, even if we could steal, we shouldn't. Miss Ning kindly rescued our Village Chief; that's already a huge favor—we can't repay kindness with betrayal."

"Niu San, don't treat the Old Village Chief's words as wind in the ears!"

Though their voices weren't loud, their back-and-forth scolding made Niu San lose face more and more.

"Alright, alright, as if I never said it." Niu San, flushed with anger, jumped up, turned, and walked away, no longer speaking to those few.

A cold draft blew in from the tent entrance.

Niu San shivered, but the chill also cleared his mind somewhat.

He glanced at the soldier's armor and side blade at the entrance, then looked at the patrolling troops in the distance, thought seriously, and also felt that finding a warehouse here to steal some food and clothing would be as hard as climbing to heaven; if discovered, his life would be forfeit.

But if he couldn't gain any advantage, he would truly be unwilling.

After they had nearly finished a large cup of hot ginger tea, Ning Jinli came into the tent and told them the Village Chief was no longer in serious danger and could go home with them.

They hurried to the tent where the Old Village Chief was receiving treatment and brought him out.

The Old Village Chief thanked Ning Jinli profusely, saying he never expected to still be alive and really didn't know how to repay her.

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "Elder, it was just a small effort; you don't need to repay me."

"Ah... really makes this old man feel ashamed," the Old Village Chief said, bowing, "Miss, then we'll take our leave."

Ning Jinli waved, and a few soldiers came over carrying large bundles, placing them before the villagers.

"Elder," Ning Jinli said, "this is a little token of my goodwill for the villagers; please take it all back."

"Ah! How can this be? You've already given me help I can't repay; how could I take your things?" the Old Village Chief said, feeling uneasy, waving his hands repeatedly.

Niu San couldn't wait to open a cloth bundle, which was stuffed with bundles of dried meat, dried vegetables, and the chocolate they had eaten before, plus cotton clothes and shoes, etc.

Seeing these supplies, the villagers' eyes lit up.

Seeing the Old Village Chief's hesitant expression, Ning Jinli said, "Elder, now is not the time to stand on ceremony; with these, your village's people can make it through the winter."

Tears welled in the Old Village Chief's eyes, "Yes... then I'll accept it, on behalf of the villagers, thank you, Miss."

"These look quite a lot," Niu San interjected, "but our village has several hundred people; divided among households, it wouldn't last a whole winter. I say, Fairy, why not go all out—give us a thousand... oh no, two thousand of these bundles! And send your people to help us transport them back to the village—would that work?"