I Am Immortal In The Cultivation World

Chapter 34 Killing and Robbing

Barren City quickly became lively. The defeat of Liang Ying’s troops was only the beginning. More than ten groups came after that.

There were at least three to five hundred people and at most one to two thousand. After finding a courtyard in the city to stay in, he ordered the county magistrate to gather provisions.

“There aren’t even any ghosts in Barren City. How can we gather food?”

When Zhao Tai met the civil officials, he could bring out his backing. Facing this group of starving troops, he could not reason with them and did not dare to say anything. He could only transport the food from the mine to distribute.

There were thousands of people in the city, so they could at most eat for three to five days.

The generals and commanders also knew that there was no food in Barren City, so they communicated with each other in private.

After declaring to the public that they would fight Great Yong, they began to plunder the surrounding villages and towns of Barren City.

Soldiers were like quails. It was legal and organized into robberies. The people’s homes were so empty that there was nothing left. They could only become refugees and flee south with their families.

Those who dared to resist were Great Yong’s spies!

At the city gate.

Li Hong looked at the carts of food and goods being transported to the various commanders in the city and tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart.

“Sir, I’ve often heard Big Brother mention that back then, the million strong northern army did not dare to say that they did not commit any crimes against the commoners. At the very least, they were disciplined. How did they fall to such a state in just a few years?”

They were afraid of death in foreign wars and oppressed the people internally. The bandit soldiers were even more vicious than the rebels!

“It’s human nature. It’s difficult to become good. You have to follow all kinds of rules and keep taming and disciplining. But it’s easy to become bad. Not to mention five years, you can turn from a strict army into a raider in a few months!”

Zhou Yi said slowly, “The war on the northern border is about to begin. The war is fierce and dangerous. A gentleman does not stand on a dangerous wall. Today, I will return to the capital. In the chaos, remember to prioritize your life.”

After staying in Barren City for half a month, a series of news of defeat came from the northern border.

Yesterday, the defeated army in the city almost mutinied because the last intact army in the northern border was surrounded and defeated by the Great Yong Army.

The northern provinces, Yi and Su, had once been Great Yong’s old lands. But they had been completely returned. It was unknown how many more territories of the Fengyang Kingdom would fall.

Li Hong said in surprise, “With your strength, you’re even stronger than Father. Who in the world can make you stay?”

“You’ve never even left the Fengyang Kingdom. How dare you say that the world is big?”

Zhou Yi said solemnly, “Cultivators must remember not to be arrogant. This world is so big that mortals can’t walk through it in their entire lives!”

Li Hong bowed. “Thank you for your teachings, sir.”

In recent days, he had interacted with Zhou Yi and had many wild thoughts and imaginations, which broadened Li Hong’s horizons. Some of his words seemed unbelievable, but every time he thought about them carefully, they were really mysterious and extraordinary.

Li Hong understood many principles that were not written in books. Although he and Zhou Yi were not master and disciple in name, they were master and disciple.

“I’m leaving.”

Zhou Yi was not a procrastinator. He had a long and endless life and needed to get used to parting as soon as possible.

Li Hong bade him farewell with tears in his eyes. “Have a safe trip, sir.”

His parents and brothers were already dead. When he bid farewell to Zhou Yi today, he would truly be alone in the vast northern border.

Zhou Yi looked back and sent a voice transmission. “The chaos in the northern border is a huge and bad thing for the people, the soldiers, and the imperial court. It’s only good for you. If you want to imitate the Duke, spend money to buy a guerrilla general.”

With that, he mounted his horse and whipped it away.

He only needed tens of thousands of taels to buy a guerrilla general who had the power to lead troops. No matter how dilapidated the Duke’s Mansion was, Li Hong could still afford it.

He followed the official road south.

Three days later.

In the distance, he saw smoke rising from the chimney. In front of him was the Chen family’s valley.

The village chief, Old Man Chen, was a wonderful person. He had once roasted rabbit meat and brewed high-grade yellow wine for him. He was also knowledgeable.

Zhou Yi chatted with him about the past and present, but he could not gain the upper hand at all. They chatted for an entire night before they were satisfied.

“A queer person in the wilderness!” Zhou Yi touched his shriveled pocket. “I don’t even have any silver left. With Old Brother Chen’s knowledge of astronomy and geography, he wouldn’t be reluctant to lend money, right?”

He was thrifty at home, but was amply provided for when he traveled. Zhou Yi had brought 5,000 taels of silver when he went out, and on the way, he had received a few thousand taels of silver from those “heroes”. Now, he had spent everything.

While Zhou Yi was thinking, he was already close to Chen family’s valley. When the wind blew, his expression suddenly changed!

“What a strong smell of blood.”

Zhou Yi leaped onto the horse’s back and covered the distance of a thousand feet in the blink of an eye.

There was indeed smoke in the village, but it was lit up by the farmers. Instead, two to three hundred soldiers were lighting fires at the village entrance.

The soldier on duty realized that someone was coming and shouted with his saber, “What are you looking at, old man? If you don’t want to die, get lost!”

“Where’s the people?”

Zhou Yi did not need to ask to guess that this group of soldiers had fresh blood on their bodies and sabers. The cooks were slaughtering pigs and sheep, and there were large and small bags of food piled up beside them.

The leader said, “Cut the crap. Just shoot him.”

At the command, the bowstrings twanged and a dozen arrows shot.

“I’ve never been fond of fighting in my life, but someone just had to court death!”

Zhou Yi’s figure swayed, and his speed was as fast as lightning. He had already exceeded the limit of an ordinary person’s reaction speed.

The commander only saw a faint shadow shuttling between the soldiers under his command. The soldiers could not even scream before they died. They fell to the ground in droves like mowing grass. “A ghost!” The commander screamed and ran toward the Chen family’s valley.

After slaughtering more than 200 soldiers, Zhou Yi chased after them in a few leaps. His cold voice sounded in the general’s ears.

“If you want to see ghosts so badly, I’ll do as you wish!”

After saying that, he activated the House Suppression Talisman. Ghosts floated out of the houses in the village. Most of them had blurry faces, and a few of them had missing arms and legs. Their bodies were covered in wounds.

One of the vengeful spirits was the clearest. Its neck was broken, and there were two holes in its abdomen. Blood was flowing out.

Woo!

When the vengeful spirit saw its commander, its resentment soared and it let out an ear-piercing ghost roar.

The other ghosts and spirits with chaotic consciousness were guided by the call of that vengeful spirit and pounced over.

The commander had never seen such a terrifying scene before. This ghost was dragging half an intestine, and that ghost was holding his head. He was so frightened that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

The group of ghosts pounced on the commander and was about to devour his Yang qi, blood, and essence when a murderous aura suddenly appeared to protect him.

The pain was like a knife cutting through their flesh. The ghost screamed and backed away, trembling as he didn’t dare come forward.

The vengeful spirit’s eyes widened as it spat out black fog that enveloped the commander.

Zhou Yi circulated his Dharmic powers and used the martial arts technique of the Lion Roar. “Brother Chen, leave him alive. I still have something to ask him.”

His voice was like thunder. The vengeful spirit woke up from its ferocity and recognized Zhou Yi. Tears of blood seeped out of its eyes.

“Thank you, benefactor, for avenging the Chen family!”

“My condolences, Brother Chen.”

Zhou Yi walked in front of the commander and used his dharmic powers to pierce through a few acupuncture points. The excruciating pain woke him up from his coma.

“Are you a defeated soldier from the Northern Frontier?”

The commander looked at the ghosts around him who stared at him with bloodshot eyes. A chill ran down his spine as he got up and kowtowed and begged.

“I don’t have a choice either. Ever since the Northern Frontier was defeated and we fled, the Imperial Court has never issued any new military orders, nor has the army paid any rations!”

“I haven’t eaten for seven to eight days. In order not to starve to death, I can only plunder the commoners!”