Chapter 701: Big Brother!

The child's face was as pale as gold paper, her breath shallow and faint, already on the verge of vanishing.

Pan Yun gently lifted her out: "She's starving!"

Tao Yanbai immediately pulled a vial from his sleeve, opened it, pried open her mouth, and dripped a single drop of medicine inside.

Pan Yun also pulled out the ginseng root she had bitten into, snapped off a piece, and shoved it into the child's mouth.

Pan Yun picked her up; the child was weightless, her clothes holding nothing but bones.

Seeing Miao Zhen felt her pulse, then thought of the utterly empty Fenshui Village, disbelief creeping in: "One natural disaster—how could Yushan County sink so low?"

Pan Yun said gravely: "It's likely more than just a natural disaster."

Pan Yun carried her into the courtyard, letting her breathe the outside air, then summoned spiritual energy to surround her and transmitted primordial qi into her.

Tao Yanbai rushed out: "I'll go buy rice gruel!"

The medicine replenishes essence and vitality; ginseng replenishes qi and sustains life, but it's not enough.

In extreme hunger, rice gruel is a treasure.

It can rapidly restore a person's vitality.

Cooking it fresh takes too long; better to buy it from the street.

The usually bustling streets of Yushan County were empty, with hardly anyone walking about.

But some shops were still open; Tao Yanbai burst into a restaurant.

The Shopkeeper barely raised a smile before Tao Yanbai thrust a handful of copper coins at him: "Do you have rice gruel? Thick rice gruel."

The Shopkeeper paused, then nodded.

"Give me a jar—it's for saving a life, hurry!"

The Shopkeeper immediately went to the kitchen and fetched a basin—knowing it was for a life-or-death situation, he filled it with mostly broth and little rice, but the porridge had been boiled so thick that even the broth was viscous.

Tao Yanbai grabbed it and left.

The Shopkeeper stood at the door watching him go, saw him head toward the slums, then shut the door and slipped quietly to the neighbor's: "The disciples of Master Wang have returned."

"Daoist Priests from Mount Sanqing?"

"Yes, like the young Tao Daoist who often comes to buy herbs. My place is empty—quickly, quietly tell Master Wang not to go foolishly to the county office."

"I'll go find Master Wang myself. Which way did the young Tao Daoist go?"

"The slums. I remember their mountain's Pan Xiao Daoist has long been supporting the orphans there with food and schooling—maybe he's going there."

The neighbor's Shopkeeper immediately handed his shop to an assistant and walked out, head bowed.

Bad luck—he had barely stepped out when patrol soldiers spotted him and immediately stopped him for questioning.

In contrast, Tao Yanbai's luck was good: as soon as he stepped out, he sprinted off with the basin and returned shortly after.

Seeing Miao Zhen pried the ginseng from the child's mouth, then carefully fed her rice gruel with a spoon.

The child had been clinging to life; the gruel first entered her mouth and spilled out, her head limp and hanging, looking as if she were already dead.

But after two spoonfuls, she seemed to sense the food—her lips twitched slightly, slowly beginning to suck the gruel…

As the gruel reached her belly, her sucking grew faster and faster; with each spoonful fed, her head lifted slightly, the deathly pallor vanishing visibly from her face, replaced by returning color.

The four sighed in relief—this meant she had survived.

Pan Yun touched the child's small belly and nodded slightly to Seeing Miao Zhen: "Enough. She hasn't eaten in a long time—feed her sparingly."

Seeing Miao Zhen stopped.

The child sucked at her lips but received no more gruel; she grumbled softly twice, straining to open her eyes.

Seeing Pan Yun and the three others holding her, her expression went blank, dazed.

Pan Yun stroked her head, smoothing her hair back, and whispered: "You're Little Eleven, aren't you? Do you remember us?"

The child whispered: "You're the fairy sister."

Pan Yun touched her cheek and smiled: "Then tell Fairy Sister—where are Old Yu and your brothers and sisters?"

The child: "Old Yu went to heaven. Uncle Yu wanted to throw us out. My brothers and sisters sold themselves. Then many bad people came, and my brothers and sisters disappeared. Little Sixth told me to wait at home—she went to find food. I waited and waited… Little Sixth never came back…"

Pan Yun frowned; the child was only five, and her words were unclear.

But Old Yu's son and daughter-in-law…

Pan Yun looked toward the neighboring house, frowning.

The neighbor's house was empty too; the courtyard was in chaos—no clue where anyone had gone.

The child stared fixedly at the bowl of gruel, swallowed hard, and pointed: "Porridge!"

Pan Yun picked her up and soothed softly: "Eat later—you've already had enough."

The child immediately lowered her hand, stopped demanding food, became perfectly obedient—yet her gaze remained fixed on the bowl, unmoving.

Even held in Pan Yun's arms, she leaned over her shoulder to keep watching.

Pan Yun carried her outside; as she stepped through the gate, she met the gaze of someone approaching—Pan Yun gasped: "Big Brother!"

Seeing Miao Zhen and the other three exclaimed in delight: "Senior Master!"

Wang Feiyin stepped forward in an instant, stood before the four, glanced at the child in Pan Yun's arms, and sighed: "I came here eight days ago. At that time, the place was completely empty."

Pan Yun: "They must have returned after you left. We checked—she's been starving for six or seven days."

Wang Feiyin reached out and touched her head: "Her fate wasn't meant to end—she met you at the last moment."

"Big Brother, where are the people of Fenshui Village? What happened on Mount Sanqing?"

Seeing Miao Zhen

Wang Feiyin withdrew his hand and turned: "Follow me."

The four followed Wang Feiyin.

Wang Feiyin led them through the county town, finally arriving at a house near the county office.

Many people were inside and outside the house—all showing signs of illness.

The moment they arrived, a middle-aged man in sapphire-blue silk robes strode forward with his men and barked, "Wang Feiyin, how dare you leave on your own — are you trying to flee?"

Wang Feiyin cupped his hands with a smile. "Don't misunderstand me, Secretary Wu. This poor Daoist was just picking up a few disciples of the sect."

He stepped aside and introduced them to Secretary Wu. "This is my junior sister, Pan Yun. She's currently studying at the Long Hushan Academy of the Arts. This time she was ordered by the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi Mansion to go overseas and wipe out the pirates…"

"No need to tell me all that. Whether it's Long Hushan or Mount Sanqing, they're all nothing but low-class, filthy trades." He raised his chin arrogantly. "The imperial court has banned the seas. I've also heard about the Jiangnan pirate-suppression affair — they say the Wu Lin Alliance and the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi Mansion acted on their own. Going overseas violates imperial law. Even if I were to arrest you right now, I'd be following the founding Emperor's statutes."

Wang Feiyin hurriedly agreed. "Yes, yes, yes. The children were indeed headstrong and reckless, but they're only academy disciples. Going overseas was done under orders — the Zhang Zhang Tian Shi Mansion is the real culprit. Please, Secretary Wu, put in a few good words for us with the county magistrate. Don't misunderstand the children.

Look at them — they're still so young, with such innocent faces. They're not the sort to do evil."

Pan Yun: …

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others: …

Secretary Wu stood with a dark face, unmoving.

Wang Feiyin, looking thoroughly troubled, turned his eyes to Pan Yun.

Pan Yun cradled the child in one arm, slipped her other hand into her sleeve, fished around, and pulled out a small piece of silver.

Wang Feiyin snatched the coin from her hand, turned, and stuffed it into Secretary Wu's palm with a broad smile. "Many thanks for your trouble, Secretary Wu."

Secretary Wu pinched the small piece of silver. Though he found it too little, he still let them off. He snorted and said, "The magistrate had you stay here to pacify the county's people and to give free consultations to the city's folk. Without orders, you are not to leave. If there's a next time, I won't be so easy to talk to!"

Wang Feiyin hurriedly assented, stepped aside, and respectfully saw him off.

Seeing Pan Yun standing without moving, Wang Feiyin gave her a tug.

Only then did Pan Yun step aside. Seeing Miao Zhen and the others, faces twisted as if constipated, took their places behind Pan Yun and let Secretary Wu pass in front of them.

As Secretary Wu walked past them, he let out another cold snort.

Pan Yun looked at Wang Feiyin, and Seeing Miao Zhen and the other two immediately looked at Wang Feiyin too.

Wang Feiyin straightened up and said, "Do you think I was groveling?"

Pan Yun frowned. "Are you afraid of him?"

"Not afraid," Wang Feiyin said unhurriedly. "I just don't think it's necessary — no need to argue with him, no need to stir up more trouble because of him."

He turned and said, "Come inside. We'll talk in the house."

The Shopkeeper, who had been standing far off, stamped his foot when he saw Wang Feiyin lead the people into the house.

He had run to tell Wang Feiyin because he wanted Observer Wang to have his sect's disciples flee quickly. He never expected Observer Wang to bring them straight here — wasn't that delivering their heads on a silver platter?

Delivering their heads on a silver platter wasn't quite right — no one could pin them down. Wang Feiyin didn't leave simply because he didn't want to.

Wang Feiyin had someone take the child away to rest, then turned back, closed the door, sighed, and asked, "Why have you come back?"

Pan Yun's face was expressionless. "Something this big happened in Yushan County — how could we not come back? Senior Brother, why didn't you tell us?"

Wang Feiyin: "What other reason could there be? Of course it was to keep you from wading into this mess and making the situation even more chaotic."

Pan Yun sat down by the table, picked up the teapot, and poured four bowls of tea. "Tell us."

Wang Feiyin sat down across from her. "Am I not even entitled to a cup of tea?"

Tao Yanbai immediately offered up his own tea bowl.

Wang Feiyin grunted, took the bowl, sipped, and only then sighed. "Wang Xiaojing and several other young people from the village joined the rebel army. The imperial court traced it back to Fenshui Village, locked up the entire village, and dragged them into the city."

The four of them gaped, faces full of disbelief. "Wang Xiaojing?"

Wang Feiyin nodded, his head splitting with pain. "So many things have happened since the start of spring this year. Where should I even begin?"

Pan Yun's face was Solemn. "Start from the most fundamental cause."

Wang Feiyin: "Then we'll have to talk about our new county magistrate…"

"After County Magistrate Ming was promoted, the new county magistrate, Cai Cheng, struck out with the zeal of a new official. He scrapped several of Ming's policies. Among them, he restored the corvée labor projects Ming had abolished and even increased the number of conscripted laborers.

For example, County Magistrate Ming had gone two years without conscripting laborers to carry sedan chairs and had abolished that particular labor duty. But after Cai Cheng took office, not only did he resume conscripting sedan-chair bearers, he raised the number from eight men to sixteen."

In the Great Ming dynasty, the sedan-chair bearers who carried the officials were all forced into corvée labor. Their wages were extremely low, and they had to pay for their own food, lodging, and clothing. The pittance the government office gave them wasn't even enough to feed themselves, let alone support a family.

Oh, back when the founding Emperor set the corvée pay, it was enough to feed oneself and still have some left over to take home to the family.

But it's been eighty years since the founding Emperor. The rules were set eighty years ago, and this corvée pay has never been raised once.

Prices have risen to who knows what level? (End of chapter)