Chapter 689: The Second Half of the Rainy Night (Part 3) - Magic Potion Raw Materials

The miserable appearance of this unlucky fellow at this moment amused all the young people around, including Jier.

His face was as swollen as a pig's head, and he spoke in a slurred, distorted version of the common tongue. However, by guessing and piecing things together, one could still understand what he was saying.

Jier checked the swelling of the fellow's tongue and found no possibility of it blocking his airway and causing suffocation, nor any more severe reaction to the stings, only then concluding that the bees in this Bandit Camp were indeed just ordinary bees.

They were not the kind of venomous bees found in the deep mountains that could sting even beasts with thick fur to death.

"Alright, in your state, just go to the side and rest. Once your body feels better, I reckon you'll be better in a day or two. Anyway, once we return and regroup with the others, Priest Bata'er will find a way to treat you."

After comforting the young man covered in stings, Jier decided that once the others arrived, he would ask those fellows from the Wild Snake Bandit Group why there was a beehive in their camp.

This was, after all, a very dangerous safety hazard, and he had no idea what the bandits were thinking, to have actually gone out of their way to prepare a treehouse at a high elevation specifically for keeping bees.

The rescued girls, who had been awakened by this commotion, had by now recovered from the panic of being startled. Knowing it was no major issue, they struggled to move toward the campfire and whispered requests for food to the young men busy with the wheat porridge.

Although these girls were in an exceptionally wretched state, with injuries and odors that were far from pleasant, the large portions of their bodies not covered by animal skins still made the young man cooking blush. He hurriedly took out the wooden bowls and spoons scavenged from the bandits and served the girls several full bowls of steaming wheat porridge.

Because a lot of grain had been put into the ordinary porridge, it appeared quite thick and looked very appetizing.

The girls lacked the strength, so the four of them took turns using a wooden spoon to scoop up a mouthful of porridge, then blew on the food together in small puffs before feeding each other mouthful by mouthful.

The oldest among them acted just like a big sister, feeding the other three more often. Only after the other three were full did she pick up her own bowl of wheat porridge and swallow the slightly hot food in large gulps.

"Make some more food. Once the others arrive later, everyone can eat something here. It's been fighting and trekking through the dark all night; I reckon everyone is hungry. Once you're full and have rested here a bit, we'll head back to the clearing."

Jier arranged tasks for the young men who had nothing left to scavenge while eyeing the treehouse with the beehive up high.

Consequently, several young men who often did the cooking found a small bag of root vegetables—potatoes, radishes, and sugar beets—from the scavenged food. They sat down and used the newly acquired daggers to scrape off the skins, washed the food in a bucket of water, and went to the iron pot sitting over the fire, slicing the food into small pieces and tossing them into the boiling water.

Meanwhile, the water used for the rescued girls to wash up had also boiled. Mixing the hot water with clean water in a wooden basin scavenged from the Bandit Leader's cabin, the young man placed the steaming basin beside the girls.

"Go ahead and wash up. Here, use these clean rags to wipe yourselves down."

The girls thanked the young man who handed them the water, but holding the palm-sized rags, they looked around in embarrassment.

They were right in the center of the camp, surrounded by the campfire and various scavenged items piled up. Not only was it completely exposed, but there were twenty young men around; the sensitivity of being female made them aware that at this very moment, quite a few young men were secretly peeking at them.

This made them feel very awkward, but once they recalled the experience of being humiliated in the bandits' cellar, they felt that their current embarrassment was redundant and ridiculous.

However, Jier, who was currently bored because he couldn't climb the treehouse with its limited load-bearing capacity while wearing armor, noticed their helplessness and their last remaining shred of dignity, so he hurriedly waved his hand to give an order.

"Find a few wooden poles and set up a screen for them using animal skins and clothing. You lot are truly crude in your ways; you're just going to let the girls be watched like this? Get moving and set up a screen. You, you, and you—the rest of you, don't just sit there, clear some space."

With Jier's arrangement, the young men lost what they had seemingly been hoping for. They helplessly dragged out two wooden beds used by the bandits, simply propped them up on their sides to form an L-shaped corner, and draped rolled-up animal furs and clothing stolen by the bandits over the slatted beds, barely managing to create a private space where they couldn't be seen.

Once everything was quickly set up, Jier saw the girls expressing their gratitude to him and waved his hand: "Hurry it up. More people will be coming over soon; once there are too many people, it won't be good."

He also walked away, sat by the campfire, and urged the young men cooking to add more food to the pot.

Once there were no more eyes looking their way, the girls finally dared to take off the animal skins they were draped in and began to wipe themselves down.

They cried as they wiped; at first, they couldn't shed tears, but once their stomachs absorbed the moisture from the wheat porridge, the tears finally flowed out.

Some young men wanted to go over and see what was wrong, but Jier held them back.

"What's there to look at? Get back to your own business. Hmm, the sufferings of the world are mostly similar; don't go prying into these things. Just like how I don't ask about the various things you encountered along the way when you fled your hometowns."

Once Jier said this, the young men around, who had been in high spirits, all lowered their heads one after another. The success of consecutively taking down bandit nests seemed to have made them forget the heavy casualties their relatives and friends suffered when attacked by bandits just after nightfall.

Even now, some still carried minor, non-obstructive injuries. Touching the bruised skin left by the bandits' kicks, some young refugees twitched their mouths. Some thought of their murdered friends—only yesterday, everyone was begging for food together at the White Stone City Wall Guanka, and during the day, they were still excitedly discussing new possibilities after 'escaping' the old, weak, sick, and disabled. But the bandits' sudden night attack had separated them by life and death.

Everything was so sudden, yet so inevitable.

A few clever young men understood that despite their strong and sturdy appearance, and despite seeming like they could carve out a future anywhere, they actually had no power.

Whether it was at the White Stone City Wall Guanka, they had neither the ability to live with dignity within the pass, nor the ability to force their way through without paying the passage tax deliberately set to block them.

And they had even less ability to deal with bandits in this wilderness.

They were like pig bladders—looking like a big package, but actually hollow and light; any person or organization could give them a light tap, and they would be rolled around at others' whims.

Some young men gripped the weapons resting on their legs, their fingers lightly grazing the not-so-sharp blades, and then cast their gazes upon the young Knight.

Some young men wiped the tears and snot from their faces with the backs of their hands and also cast their gazes upon the young Knight named Jier.

Another young man ran over excitedly, flopped down right beside Jier, and stared intensely at the young Knight's glowing eyes. Not only was he not afraid, he was extremely envious and fervent.

"Sir Knight, please lead us. I will listen to you well and fight well."

This straightforward young man's opening words left Jier feeling bewildered.

"What's wrong? Why say that all of a sudden?"

Another young man walked over, knelt down before Jier, and pressed the captured weapon Jier had distributed to them against his forehead: "Sir Knight, we don't want to be bullied anymore. I also swear here to obey your orders."

Jier stood up from the ground, squinting his eyes as he watched one young man after another walk over. They seemed to have figured something out in their whispers and were now coming over one by one, using their own methods to offer their 'loyalty'.

Honestly, Jier was baffled by these people's actions.

Because he had never intended to take people in before. Even leading the young refugees to act together was for two reasons. One was that when he was approached by the elders among the refugees at the pass, he saw their desperate situation and agreed to help take them away.

The other was his judgment that rescuing the abducted villagers of Changmai Cunzi was not just a simple matter of saving people. If only it were that simple. Because as far as he knew, the security in the Southern Province was constantly deteriorating. After the villages everywhere lost the protection of soldiers led by superior Knight Lords, the long-suppressed bandits in various places were frantically expanding their scale, and most of the stragglers from the defeated armies of last year had also begun to commit crimes with the weapons in their hands after fleeing back to their hometowns.

Was it the end of the matter just to rescue the villagers of Changmai Cunzi and let them return to the burned-down original Changmai Cunzi with Priest Bata'er?

Even with his feet, he knew that was impossible. Other intact villages were fleeing in their entirety to avoid disaster; leaving the rescued villagers in the village without care was no different from killing them or sending them into the tiger's mouth.

It would only end in tragedy.

Therefore, gathering and training a group of militia and hands who could assist him when saving people, and who could spontaneously protect the villages once they were resettled, was the thing he truly needed to do.

Just to complete the task appointed by the gods, and then casually stop caring after saving people—he reckoned that not to mention possible rewards, even maintaining the existing good relationship with the Agricultural God Church would not be easy.

So, in Jier's view, it would suffice to arm these people and train them simply so they could securely protect the resettled villages during the chaotic days in the Southern Province ahead.

He didn't think about actually taking these people with him. Sooner or later, they would have to stay behind, farm, and spontaneously protect the village.

This was his plan for these young people.

But now, facing one young man after another offering their loyalty and expressing their desire to follow Jier.

He felt a bit at a loss.

At this moment, among the dozen or so young men, not everyone expressed a desire to follow Jier.

After all, some knew their own limits; compared to fighting and making a living by force, the self-aware young men preferred to make a living by farming, according to their previous life experiences.

Others hadn't thought too much about it and were not very sensitive to changes in life, so they just sat on the ground, watching the others' actions in surprise.

However, there were still eight young people gathered around Jier at this moment, including two guys wearing leather armor whom Jier had promoted, who held influence among the refugees and were also brave enough to fight.

"Let me think. Everyone get up first, everyone get up. Don't make major decisions so easily; think it over carefully before speaking."

Jier waved his hand, temporarily stopping the actions of these young people. He was actually a young man himself; at least in appearance, he was even younger than most of the people present.

The Knight's refusal left several young people feeling regretful. They put away their weapons and sat on the ground in silence for a while, then, after a period of time, several young people who were prepared to follow Jier gathered together and began to speak in low voices.

Sighing, Jier walked to the side, stroked the mane of the Tianxuecao, and used his Glove to pet its long horse face.

Seeming to dislike the hardness of the metal Glove, the Tianxuecao kept shaking its head, wanting to get away from Jier's hand.

At this moment, firelight gradually approached from the direction of the Bandit Camp gate, accompanied by the creaking sound of carriage wheels and the clashing of weapons.

"They're here, don't just stand there, clear out this area near the gate and get ready to load the valuable supplies onto the carriages!"

Jier's loud voice rang out again, and the atmosphere, which had been slightly subdued, became lively once more. Bags of grain and clothing that were blocking the way were moved aside, scattered weapons were tied together with a Rope and also lifted to the side, and ceramic jars containing living things were carefully moved to the side, with someone specifically assigned to watch over them.

At this time, the young people who had entered first confirmed that everyone in the Yingdi was on their side, so they stood at the entrance and signaled for the carriages and everyone else behind to hurry in.

Three carriages carrying spoils and rescued civilians entered with awkward sounds, and the three horses stopped one after another. The other young people who arrived later first pushed the captured Bandit to the ground to make them stay still, then joined in the work of moving things.

Seeing that everyone was moving quickly, Jier turned to the several rescued girls behind the horizontally placed wooden bed and said: "Are you finished packing? If you're ready, answer me."

"Kn, Knight-sama, we are ready." It was still the oldest of the girls who replied. After eating the wheat porridge, her voice was no longer as hoarse and weak, and her strength seemed to have recovered a little.

In the noisy and chaotic environment, Jier still heard the other party's not-so-loud reply clearly. He nodded and called over two young people: "Go over and help send them to the carriage. Be sure to lay down soft cushions; they are all very weak and cannot handle too much bumping."

"Yes, sir, leave it to us."

The two young people called over were exactly two of those who had wanted to follow Jier earlier. They seemed to have discussed it, and although it was unclear what judgment they had made, their response to Jier now was both loud and forceful.

With a *clack*, Jier lowered his steel Faceplate, then revealed a bitter smile that no one saw, and walked toward the place where the surrendered Bandit were being held.

Over here, the girls draped in large pieces of animal skin were shyly covering the water basin they had used for washing earlier. They were much cleaner now, but the water basin had become dirty and smelly. The girls were very embarrassed; when the person in front was picked up, the others used their bodies to hide the water basin behind them.

Although the two young people were thin, they still had some strength from farming earlier, so picking up the equally emaciated girls was quite easy.

The two of them first sent the people to an empty spot on a carriage, then placed the soft animal skin on a Wooden Box, and the two girls moved gently onto the animal skin and huddled together.

After that, they brought over two more. The four of them huddled together, both keeping their bodies steady and burying their heads in the fur of what was either Wolf Skin or some other animal skin, shrinking away from the rescued Merchant on the same carriage who were looking at them and whispering about them.

Jier kicked one of the Bandit from the Desert Snake group.

Being stared at by Jier, the Bandit sitting on the ground hurriedly got up and managed to reveal an ugly smiling face: "Sir, sir, what business do you have with me?"

Jier stretched out a finger and pointed to a treehouse on a large tree high up in the Yingdi, then asked: "How about that, among you Bandit, did someone used to keep bees? You eat quite well; life is sweet, having Honey to eat."

Slapping his head and knowing it was bad, the Bandit lowered his head and glared complainingly at the other former companions who were also from the Desert Snake group, then hurriedly put on a smiling face and said: "Sir, you are joking. That wasn't kept by any of us; it was, no, it was a beehive that Desert Snake himself kept."

"Oh, your dead leader kept bees himself? What did he use them for? To eat? Or for some other purpose?"

"Other uses! Other uses! Dog Tail, Dog Tail, you know, you tell the Knight-sama."

As he spoke, this Bandit kicked another Bandit from the same group next to him. This short Bandit had a pair of triangular eyes, and his face, which was swollen from being beaten, had particularly deep nasolabial folds; one look and you could tell he was no good.

However, at this moment, this Bandit nicknamed Dog Tail also nodded and bowed, emitting a fawning laugh, and said to Jier: "Sir, Knight-sama. I'll tell you, I know what that damn guy Desert Snake kept bees for."

There seemed to be low gasps and fearful sobbing from women on the carriage behind him. Jier raised his eyebrows, his voice under the Faceplate calm: "If you know, then speak. Don't drag it out; you don't have the qualifications for that. Recognize your current situation, understand?"

The short Dog Tail nodded vigorously: "Understand, understand. I'll say it right now. That guy Desert Snake previously led us to rob a Caravan that didn't have many people but was very strong. We probably weren't the opponents of those people in a head-on confrontation; they were all tough characters, and Fatty didn't even plan to make a move."

"But there were few of those people, and although they were strong, they were exactly the type of opponents our group was good at dealing with."

Speaking of this, the Bandit of the Desert Snake group all proudly raised their chins.

Jier snorted coldly: "Using Poisonous Snake, right? Continue."

"Yes, sir. It was Poisonous Snake! To ensure success, we took out all the Poisonous Snake at that time, because that guy Desert Snake judged that a Caravan with few people and strong strength must have good goods. The risk was worth taking."

"We followed them for two days at the time. That group walked the Shanglu, so we borrowed the territory of other Bandit Group to walk through the Shulin, arriving at the place where they might spend the night before they did. It happened to be a place without any inns along the road, so they could only spend the night in the wild. We opened the jars containing the Poisonous Snake in advance and hid them outside the clearing where the Caravan was spending the night. Because the jars were covered with lids, the Poisonous Snake inside wouldn't discover anything unusual and come out in a short time."

"So what happened later? Get to the point; I don't really want to hear about another one of your illegal atrocities."

"Yes, yes, yes. At night, after we threw in live mice, the Poisonous Snake were lured out and bit those guys to death. Although the guards killed many Poisonous Snake before they died, the goods fell into our hands intact. Desert Snake was very excited at the time, but after opening a secret box hidden among the ordinary goods, he only found some small bottles and jars."

Jier immediately thought of the small jars with strange names and contents that had almost frozen his nose.

"Hmph, I saw those things in the spoils I searched. The names marked on them are very strange. Do you know what they are?"

"Reporting to sir, we didn't know at the time. When we opened one, we accidentally killed two people. Because they could kill people, we copied down the characters on those jars and sent people separately to the towns to find someone to ask. As a result, we found out they were raw materials for some Magic Potion, and the people who went to ask for information all died inexplicably."

The corners of Jier's mouth curled up: "You provoked a big trouble, right?"

Several Desert Snake Bandit smiled bitterly; obviously, they had provoked some people.

"But the other party also didn't know which Bandit team on this Shanglu had stolen the valuable goods—the Magic Potion materials, right? It's also impossible to really kill all the Bandit to find out. What happened later? How did you end up keeping bees, and in your old lair, the Yingdi?"

"None of us were literate. We broke down the vocabulary and asked literate people, and that's how we learned from those bottles and jars that one of them was some kind of Honey. That guy Desert Snake wanted to keep bees to produce honey to follow this path. As a result, the honey produced by the bees, after more than a year, was just ordinary honey. The failure of this matter also made Desert Snake lose a lot of face at the time."

Having figured out the sequence of events, Jier told this guy to roll back and sit still.

Afterwards, he found the box of bottles and jars guarded by a special person again. This time, he carefully placed the Wooden Box on the back of the Tianxuecao to carry it.

He couldn't judge the value of this thing yet, but at least, regardless of how much these Magic Material raw materials were worth, they could serve as a stepping stone to contact people and organizations that could refine Magic Potion.

And it was a very useful stepping stone at that.