Chapter 297: Chapter 261: Refugees

The Big Bosses from the other three bandit lairs of Jinfeng Mountain galloped quickly and, upon reaching Luo Family Brothers Village, they saw the Red-clothed Female Zombie guarding the gate from afar, along with many White-haired Zombies standing in a row on both sides.

The three abruptly pulled their reins, thinking the village had already been invaded by the Female Zombie, believing Sang Que to be just a silver spear head that looks impressive but is useless.

While hesitating whether to leave, they suddenly saw Luo Dayong dragging a corpse with only one leg left coming out from inside, passing by the Female Zombie and stopping to curiously approach, staring at her for a while.

The Female Zombie twitched, scaring Luo Dayong to jump back to a distance, but it was just a twitch with no further movement.

Luo Dayong cursed, picked up the corpse from the ground, and threw it onto the open space outside.

People started coming out of the village one after another, all carrying one-legged White-haired Zombie corpses, piling them in one place.

As they passed by the Female Zombie, she stood still obediently, only twitching occasionally without any other movements.

The three village chiefs exchanged looks—was this Female Zombie a gatekeeper?

Realizing this, the three were shocked, eyes widened, their suspicions and contempt toward Sang Que turned into fear.

If she could subdue and control even a Female Zombie, how could ordinary people like them escape her grasp?

“Oh! You arrived so quickly, come in and have a seat?”

Luo Dayong saw the three from afar, inviting them casually with a hidden sense of inexplicable pride. Even he didn’t know why he felt proud; he just found the iron-blue expressions of those village chiefs who often troubled the brothers amusing.

Fifteen minutes later, the Luo Family Brothers and the chiefs from the other three villages gathered in the Luo Family Village’s discussion hall.

Sang Que sat at the head position; though young, she was full of presence. Her casual seating without a trace of a smile made people not dare to underestimate her.

Especially with the Luo Brothers sitting upright, brows lowered, showing great respect towards Sang Que, she appeared even more enigmatic.

The mask on Sang Que’s face was already removed; she didn’t fear her appearance being exposed, after all, these people’s lives were still in her hands.

As for the Ghost Slave Seal, keeping it on the leaders was enough; if any issues arose with the subordinates, she would approach these leaders.

“My name doesn’t concern you. From now on, I am the Big Boss within Jinfeng Mountain, the Luo Brothers are the Second-in-command, and you three can claim to be Third-in-command.”

As the words fell, the three looked together at the Luo Brothers, pondering why those two were favored by Sang Que to stand in second place.

Luo Danian remained calm; he showed no particular reaction upon hearing the appointment. Luo Dayong straightened his back, further accentuating his pride.

The three exchanged glances and bowed their heads, agreeing.

Sang Que re-assessed those present; anyone who could climb the mountains and become bandits had some martial skills.

Among these five, Luo Danian wielded a long-handled axe, having been a martial arts instructor, boasting the greatest skills, while his brother Luo Dayong wielded short-handled double axes, having been taught by his elder brother from a young age, possessing commendable skills, ranking second among the five.

It was precisely due to the brothers’ strong martial arts that their subordinates were well-trained, allowing them to secure a place within Jinfeng Mountain, even if the other three families united against them, they stood their ground.

The other three: Pei Li, with a sour expression when expressionless, wielded a broadsword, possessing considerable strength with solid muscles, looking tough.

Hong Xuan wielded a sword, appeared ordinary, had ordinary skills, yet possessed scheming and excelled at observing and navigating among families.

Miao Zhongtian, handsome and proud, wielding a sword as well.

Previously, when joining Pei Li and Hong Xuan to pledge allegiance, Hong Xuan spoke flattering words, Pei Li occasionally echoed, while Miao Zhongtian remained silent, looking somewhat helpless.

Sang Que learned about their past through the Ghost Eye: among these three, Hong Xuan was most crafty, Pei Li lacked intelligence, often becoming Hong Xuan’s pawn, committing numerous misdeeds together.

Miao Zhongtian somewhat resembled Luo Danian, expressing neither anger nor joy, having his own strategies and boundaries, yet unlike Luo Danian, Miao Zhongtian set high standards solely for himself, never restraining his subordinates from unlawful deeds.

“Have you heard the news from Qinzhou?” Sang Que asked everyone. “Various Yunzhou factions are counterattacking, while a rebellion stirs chaos in Qinzhou. How the court will handle this, whether they can suppress these rebellious forces, we cannot say, but Qinzhou is about to descent into chaos, without a doubt.”

“Once Qinzhou becomes chaotic, it will inevitably affect Jinzhou to some extent. You turned to banditry for survival, as did I; hence, our goals align in this regard.”

“From now on, serving under me involves restraining your subordinates, forbidding rape, plunder, murder of innocents. I have my own plans on survival here, and I’ll also handle the issue of provisions.”

Everyone exchanged glances, holding skepticism towards Sang Que’s words.

Sang Que didn’t elaborate, stating she would head to Pu’an County tomorrow, having arranged tasks for the five before retreating to the accommodations arranged by Luo Danian to rest.

After Sang Que left, five people gathered together. In the past, they fought each other over territory and resources, but now they had all been recruited by Sang Que and marked with the Ghost Slave Seal, eliminating their conflicts and starting to share a common plight.

Hong Xuan, being sharp-eyed, had noticed earlier that Luo Danian had marks on his arm from a zombie attack, and there was a strange red stain on the two little fingers of the right hand hidden in his sleeve, so he leaned over to investigate.

“Brother Luo, what’s going on with your hand?”

Luo Danian said coldly, “What’s it to you?”

Hong Xuan wore a warm face but met with a cold shoulder and didn’t show any anger, still welcoming with a smile.

Pei Li, standing nearby, scratched his head in frustration. Earlier, he had many questions, but in front of Sang Que, he didn’t dare to voice them. Now that she was gone, he couldn’t help but blurt it out.

“What do you think our Big Boss’s background is? Excluding the mountainous areas, Jinfeng Mountain has about a thousand acres of wasteland that can be cultivated, right? And she’s saying to cultivate as much as possible? Her tone is too big, isn’t it?”

“Not to mention that the manpower of our four villages combined is insufficient. Where is she getting that much grain seed from? When the time comes, we’ll do nothing but water the fields all day.”

Hong Xuan chuckled, “Maybe our Big Boss has the assistance of a Ghost God.”

That’s what Hong Xuan said, but anyone could see he was a little gloating, not thinking highly of Sang Que, though he didn’t dare to show it in person.

The Luo Brothers and Miao Zhongtian didn’t respond. After a few words, they each went their separate ways.

However, after Luo Dayong returned to his place, a howl of lament echoed through the night.

“Who stole my money!!”

*

The next morning, Sang Que acted as a hands-off shopkeeper, leaving all matters to Luo Danian.

The female zombie also stayed in Luo Danian’s village and wouldn’t act autonomously without her command.

Sang Que returned to her original camp, took Zhang Junyao with her, mounted two horses, and left the mountain, heading to the Little Stone Forest to rendezvous as planned.

The Little Stone Forest was a hillside filled with strange rocks. When they arrived, the old shopkeeper of the Zhang Family’s shop in Pu’an County was already there with numerous martial masters waiting by the roadside pavilion.

Sang Que handed Zhang Junyao over to the shopkeeper without taking any money.

They had long agreed that Sang Que would claim she rescued Zhang Junyao from the bandit village, so the Zhang Family could cover for Sang Que, who currently had no identity, to smoothly enter the county town of Pu’an County.

After all, saving someone was real, and Zhang Junyao greatly admired Sang Que, willing to help her cover, plus Sang Que had made a business deal with Zhang Junyao. Whether Zhang Junyao could prove herself not inferior to her brother in her family later depended on Sang Que.

After listening to their fabricated story, the old shopkeeper of the Zhang family was very grateful to Sang Que, offering a thousand silver notes as a gesture of gratitude, and invited Sang Que and Zhang Junyao to take the carriage back to Pu’an County together.

On the way, the old shopkeeper kept cursing the bandits on the mountain, wishing them ill.

Sang Que wore an awkward smile, unable to say anything.

After turning onto the main road from the Jinfeng Mountain fork, the number of passersby gradually increased. Most were in tattered clothes, with sallow complexions, some dragging families and belongings toward the county town, many of whom spoke with Qinzhou accents.

The six martial masters of the Zhang family rode on horses surrounding the carriage on both sides, keeping the people on the road away.

“Are these people all from Qinzhou?” Sang Que asked the old shopkeeper, who was personally driving the carriage, from inside the carriage.

The old shopkeeper nodded, “Yes, recently more and more refugees have been coming from Qinzhou, all from the direction of Wangshan City. This earthquake was severe, and many nearby villages were destroyed. The government is busy with the reconstruction of Wangshan City and can’t look after these people for now.”

“In addition, given the battles throughout Qinzhou, these people can only flee several miles away to Jinzhou to make a living. It’s only because of the chaos over there that Wangshan City isn’t checking passage documents strictly; normally, Qinzhou people wouldn’t even have the chance to come to Jinzhou.”

“But I’m afraid Pu’an County can’t take in all these refugees, as the earthquake’s influence around Wangshan City was widespread, and some villages bordering the Qianyue Mountain Range in Jinzhou were also affected, still waiting for aid from the county government.”

Sang Que pulled down the curtain, leaned in the carriage, put on a mask. She was officially declared dead by the Evil Suppression Bureau, so she must be cautious of refugees who might recognize her.

But wasn’t this the right time to gather incense? These people might be drawn to Jinfeng Mountain.

But how could it be done without leaving traces?

Sang Que suddenly thought of the method Hua Qianmian gave her for making a Divine Statue.

Perhaps it could be tried!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep