Chapter 258: The Mysterious Traveler Wants Grain

Ling Zhi Qiu cupped his hands together, "As you command."

Not feeling at ease, he asked again, "Does the superior wish to leave any message for me to pass on?"

Zhou You waved his hand, "No, you may go. Be sure to be cautious in your actions; the vicinity is filled with Charm-Beings everywhere."

There was no point in letting a young man who had just stepped into the world go to his death; it was better to keep him hidden.

"By the way, Superior, I came from the west and just heard of a matter."

"There is a traveler from out of town who claims that if someone gives him one million catties of grain, the reward will be a promise."

Speaking of this, Ling Zhi Qiu shook his head, "One million catties of grain!"

Ordinary people cannot produce so much grain, and those who can produce this much grain would not care about the promise of some nameless nobody.

It is clearly a case of empty-handed swindling; once heard, it is treated as a joke, and who would actually pay it any mind?

When Zhou You heard "one million catties of grain," his heart stirred. He—or more accurately, 'Lu Zhigang'—still had a large stockpile of grain in the city, not a bit more or less, exactly one million catties. He had originally intended to obtain human skin to make several Hunger air-bags to transport it, but Jiang Hua had not yet finished preparing the materials.

This was a massive amount of wealth.

Especially now that the Plague was spreading, the prices of all goods were skyrocketing like mad; every single grain was worth real gold and silver! "Trial Project (One-Star): Satisfy the stranger traveler's wish: one million catties of grain."

One-star, this was too easy, yet the cost was one million catties of grain.

Zhou You pinched his chin; the panel provided only one reason for the mission: the traveler's identity was not ordinary.

This person was definitely not a common, nameless nobody.

After seeing Ling Zhi Qiu off, Zhou You pondered for a moment and decided to head west to take a look.

The further west he went, the denser the signs of life became; although there were still infected residents waiting to die, there were at least human figures.

No wonder Ling Zhi Qiu was lurking here; by using mere physical strength to escape the ravages of the Plague and Charm-Beings, this place was far safer than elsewhere.

"Excuse me, I heard there is a traveler from out of town..."

Zhou You found a person who could still breathe and had only just asked halfway when the other party raised an arm and pointed in a direction.

Looking closely, this person was already so emaciated from Hunger that they could not even open their eyes.

Dropping a piece of dry flatbread, Zhou You walked straight ahead, sensing that the sickness-Qi in the surroundings was becoming increasingly thin.

Such a sign was clearly the result of some existence whose life-blood was so intense that it dispersed the sickness-Qi for a hundred miles around.

At the very least, it was a Martial Master, and it must be an Intermediate Martial Master or higher to be able to do this.

When Zhou You saw the 'traveler,' the surrounding environment was already a vacuum where the sickness-Qi had vanished.

The surrounding environment did not look at all like it was in a plague zone; it was exactly the same as the outside world.

The 'traveler' was a middle-aged man wearing coarse cloth clothes with thick eyebrows and large eyes, no different from an ordinary farmer or laborer.

He was sitting by the bedside, holding the hand of a sick old woman, "Zhang Po, keep your heart at peace, it will be fine!"

In Zhou You's line of sight, the old woman's head was shrouded in death and sickness-Qi, almost gathering into a cloud.

As the traveler spoke, an invisible force poured into the old woman's body, sweeping away the aura of death and the Plague.

Although the old woman was still very weak and could not be called healthy, she was no longer being harassed or ravaged by the Plague.

This method of dispelling the Plague was at least at the level of a Martial Master or above.

No wonder he had the confidence to declare that one promise would be exchanged for one million catties of grain.

Just as Zhou You was about to step forward to request an audience, a group of people rushed out from the side, pleading with the traveler.

"This martial artist, my master is a well-known wealthy man in the city and can clear the checkpoints to leave the plague zone."

"It's just that the road is filled with thugs and monsters, so we would like to ask you to guard us as we leave. We won't let you work in vain; we are willing to offer 1,000 taels of gold, with half as a deposit." The traveler had stayed here for many days, and the nearby residents all knew his strength was unfathomable.

After this wealthy family confirmed he was a Martial Master, they came to hire him with heavy gold, grabbing onto this life-saving straw.

Right now, in the plague zone, it was not easy to encounter a Martial Master.

The traveler's voice was very steady, "I do not want gold or silver, only grain. Give me one million catties of grain, regardless of quality, and I can fulfill your request."

The wealthy family begged bitterly, but he would not budge; 1,000 taels of gold was easy, but gathering one million catties of grain was very difficult.

Furthermore, in the current situation, anyone could see that whoever controlled the grain held the lifeline.

They even promised that after leaving, they could provide funds for the traveler to open a martial arts school.

The traveler shook his head and immediately saw them out, "I am busy with matters, please forgive me for not seeing you off."

The surrounding residents were accustomed to this; clearly, this was not the first time such a thing had happened.

The traveler insisted on only grain and was unmoved by other gold, silver, or rare treasures; even when someone brought up their background as a noble family, he only raised his eyelids slightly.

"Guest, you are a good person. Old woman only gave you a ladle of water back then, yet you are risking your life to save us."

The old woman caught her breath and opened her eyes to look at the traveler, "We are beyond saving."

"Even if we escape the city, without grain, we will only starve to death. This god-forsaken world, sob sob sob!"

The traveler's voice became even softer, "Don't worry, Zhang Po, there is a way, there must be a way."

Whispered conversations broke out all around...

"Zhang Po is lucky. She casually gave the traveler a ladle of well water back then, and the other party turned out to be a big shot, now repaying her at the risk of his life."

"Thank heavens, he knows how to repay kindness; not only is he saving Zhang Po, but he is also going to save us neighbors."

"Hey, will someone really give him one million catties of grain?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out, "I have one million catties of grain."

The traveler's expression stalled; he comforted Zhang Po to rest and then turned toward the source of the voice, seeing the confident Zhou You.

"Late-stage Life-Blood, it's passable at your age, but it's unlikely you could get so much grain."

The traveler scanned him roughly and determined Zhou You's identity; he was definitely not a young master from a wealthy family.

"If you want one million catties of grain, can you move it?"

"I will not take a single grain; this grain will be distributed to the residents of the city, one bag per person to leave the city and seek survival."

The traveler looked at Zhou You and said, "You also know that the blockade inside the city is severe; their only path to survival is outside the city."

The aristocratic families united with the martial arts halls and trade guilds to seal off the plague zone; any resident who dared to break through the checkpoints would surely die, but the blockade was limited to within the city, while there were no restrictions on the direction leading out of the city.

However, the area outside the city was desolate, and without food, those who became refugees had only one path: starvation.

"I know a place that has the food you want, exactly one million catties of it."

The food Zhou You pointed out was precisely under the name of 'Du Yan Lu Zhigang', stored in a certain warehouse.

No one dared to touch this batch of food, all fearing they would anger Du Yan Lu Zhigang and be poisoned in retaliation, making the food inedible even if they obtained it.

However, Zhou You was not afraid, because he was Lu Zhigang; what was wrong with moving his own food? "You brat, using someone else's things to do a favor, you really are cunning!"

Although the traveler's tone was heavy, he did not mean to blame him, because he knew that Zhou You was taking a risk by coming up with the idea, and if Lu Zhigang were to investigate afterward, the target of his trouble would also be him.

"Lead the way, let's go see the food."

(End of this chapter)