freeallnovels 057 Hibiscus
057 Hibiscus
On the official road in Xixiang, Li Min and his group were surrounded by thousands of players.
Although more than two hundred members of the Sky Institute protected the oxcart, the canopy on the cart was torn open and ripped apart, and several bags of millet were pulled off the cart and scattered all over the ground.
The elderly, women, and children squeezed through, scrambling to grab what they could.
Some filled bags, some scooped from earthenware jars, and some stuffed them into their clothes.
"Do you have any humanity? So many people are starving to death, and you won't even give them some food?"
"That's right, you have ten cartloads of grain, what's wrong with giving us one?"
"They only have a little over two hundred people, while we have over three thousand. How can one truckload be enough!"
"Why say so much? Just grab it!"
Li Min's face turned ashen.
They chose the long route for safety, but before the bandits even arrived, the players, having caught wind of it, moved in and surrounded them.
Li Min had gone through the entire grain transportation process many times.
To prevent players from stealing food, she specially arranged for several natives to pose as food merchants. The more than two hundred players of [Sky Courtyard] also disguised themselves as casual thugs temporarily hired by the city of Gandan.
However, something went wrong at some point, and after only ten miles outside the city, players began to follow the caravan.
Just moments before the players patrolling ahead had a chance to warn them, a female player carrying a baby rushed from the side of the road and blocked the car.
The driver was startled and pulled the ox to a stop.
Hundreds of young men sprang out from the woods and ditches. Then came the elderly, women, and children, forming a dense crowd.
The leading players immediately asked to borrow grain.
Several indigenous people in the convoy stepped forward, shouting and threatening, but to no avail.
Li Min stepped forward and said that this was the life-saving grain for 100,000 people in Moshang Township [Sky Courtyard], and it could not be borrowed. She added that if her 3,000 men went to Moshang Township with her, they could be guaranteed to have food and not starve.
These people didn't believe it, and some even said, "I know [Sky Academy]. Your Dean Li killed hundreds of people and built a mound of corpses to display them. He's a complete pervert." This infuriated the [Sky Academy] group.
Hundreds of able-bodied men showed no sign of backing down; instead of advancing, they drove the elderly, women, and children to seize the grain.
More than two hundred people from the Sky Palace brandished their weapons, but the scabbards could not drive away the women and children, and the sword hilts could not break the old and young. Without committing murder, they were forced to retreat in defeat.
If we wait any longer, all ten cartloads of grain might be looted.
Li Min gritted his teeth and shouted to Wang Bin, who was standing next to the first oxcart, "Brother Zijun, fight off those able-bodied men on the outer perimeter!"
Wang Bin was taken aback, then nodded, climbed back onto the roof of the car, and leaped off. After landing, he pounced on the hundreds of players.
The players, unfamiliar with Wang Bin, were cautious but fearless due to their superior numbers. However, a [Yellow Rank] player is still a [Yellow Rank] player; Wang Bin, like a tiger among sheep, swept through the ranks.
He stabbed the first player to death with one sword, then used his body as cover to cut off the arms, hands, and fingers of five other players.
The young men were taken aback, but Wang Bin did not hesitate. He took the opportunity to injure more than a dozen men, throwing the enemy into chaos.
One of them shouted, "Don't be afraid, I..."
He only managed to utter three words before Wang Bin pierced his throat.
The rest lost all will to fight and scattered like birds and beasts.
Li Min shouted, "[Sky Academy] All of you, listen to my command! Anyone who tries to steal grain again, chop off their hand; anyone who blocks my oxcart, chop off their leg; anyone who repeatedly disobeys, chop off their head!"
As soon as the word "chop" was uttered, the crowd responded in unison, and a murderous aura rose.
Some people didn't believe it and reached out to grab the sack, only to be slashed on the arm and forced to retreat while crying out.
Some people were so desperate that they were willing to die to grab a few mouthfuls of food, and they actually got their heads chopped off.
Amidst screams, the elderly, women, and children retreated like a receding tide.
A woman carrying an infant approached the oxcart, begging Li Min for some food. Li Min slashed at her hand with his sword, but the woman used the infant as a shield. Li Min sheathed his sword, snatched the infant, and then severed the woman's right arm with another stroke.
The woman continued to wail, and Li Min stepped forward and raised the knife again. The woman scrambled away.
Li Min, holding the baby, brandished her knife and shouted, "Let's go!"
This time, no one stopped them.
As dusk fell, the group set up camp.
In the dead of night, the ground suddenly shook, and the sound of horses' hooves rose outside the tent. The player on watch only managed to utter "Who's there?" before falling silent.
Li Min, Wang Bin, and others rushed out of the camp, only to see dozens of riders approaching in the darkness.
The leader put away his bow and arrows and said with a grin, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, you've gotten ten cartloads of millet for free."
------
April 24th, [Northern Township].
At the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), [Snake Princess] woke Li Yu up.
Li Yu washed his face, shook himself in, and left the [Fanghu].
Liu Zhuo has almost no presence in the [dream], and [Black Tiger Village] is not a series of dangerous mountains with impenetrable gates. White Tiger Mountain is not some desolate, treacherous place with steep peaks.
However, Li Yu remained cautious, as there were thousands of people entrenched there, including a [Mysterious Rank] expert, and he could not afford to underestimate them.
Following the terrain he had explored during the day, Li Yu climbed upwards.
When he was a "White-Eyed Soldier" in the first [Dream], he participated in many raids and assaults. Infiltrating [Black Tiger Stronghold] was not difficult for him.
That is indeed the case.
However, after sneaking up the mountain, he noticed something was wrong.
The defenses of [Black Tiger Stronghold] seem rather lax.
With this question in mind, Li Yu silently killed more than ten guards and walked to the largest house in the village.
Instead of going in, he summoned [Snake Princess] and [Skeleton Warrior Ding Gu], ordering them to sneak in together.
To Li Yu's surprise, there was no sound of fighting inside the room. Only a few dozen breaths later, [Snake Princess] swam out.
no one.
Li Yu was taken aback. He went into the room, but found no one there.
He ordered [Snake Princess] to capture a bandit henchman. Before he could use force, the bandit henchman blurted out the truth—Liu Zhuo was leading men down the mountain tonight to gather provisions.
Li Yu shook his head. "What grain are you talking about? They've clearly gone off to rob and loot."
[Snake Princess] went to clear out the bandits, and [Ding Gu] took over to capture the bandit henchmen. The henchmen trembled and cooperated perfectly. Li Yu then asked him about the whereabouts of the strange man Ma Xiaojiao.
The henchmen spoke their minds without reservation.
Ma Xiaojiao is also a "celebrity" in [Black Tiger Village]. A few days ago, she brought people to the mountain to commit suicide.
With a wave of his hand, the king sent the men away to grow vegetables, while the women were either made wives of the bandits or given as gifts to the village chiefs.
Ma Xiaojiao wanted to be the bandit chief's wife, but she wasn't pretty enough, so the king didn't want her. A chieftain took a liking to her and dragged her into a thatched hut. Ma Xiaojiao resisted, and a woman who was with her offered herself in her place, but she was rejected because of her scarred and ferocious face.
Ma Xiaojiao often talked to people about "development" and "seeking benefits for the mountain stronghold," but the King and his men ignored her. She quieted down a few days ago, but this morning she first talked about "presenting the treasure," and when the King came to see it, she said the "treasure" had been stolen and the leader had slapped her to the ground. Later, she said it must have been the scarred woman who stole the treasure, but no one believed her. The King and his men then ignored her completely, focusing on their plans for "raising grain."
Li Yu first asked him where the scarred woman was. The henchman said that after the king went down the mountain, he was captured by Ma Xiaojiao and locked in a woodshed.
Li Yu rushed there.
The sounds of whipping, cursing, and pleas for mercy echoed from the woodshed.
"Tell me! Where did you hide my [blueprints]!"
"If you don't tell me, I'll beat you all to death, you bunch of bastards!"
"The King won't spare me when he returns? If he won't spare you, I'll kill you all first!"
"Say it! Say it! Ahhhhh!"
Li Yu kicked the door open and immediately saw Ma Xiaojiao, who was holding a whip and acting hysterically, and several players with their hands bound and covered in wounds in the woodpile.
Ma Xiaojiao turned to look at the doorway, and upon seeing who it was, she was immediately stunned: "Li...Li Yu? You..."
Li Yu strode forward and pierced through the spear with a single thrust.
Ma Xiaojiao gripped the spear shaft with both hands, his eyes wide with disbelief. He then coughed several times, causing blood to gush from his throat like a waterfall.
Li Yu drew his bronze spear, and she fell into the woodpile, never to be heard from again.
Li Yu turned to look at the five female players who were bound. One of them, whose face was covered in scars, staggered forward and said, "Hello, Dean. I am Mu Jin, one of Sister Li Min's subordinates."
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[Name] Hibiscus
[Level] Strength 29
[Title] [Dead Thief]
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Li Yu nodded and called Ding Gu to help the hibiscus.
The female players in the woodshed cried out for help, but upon seeing [Skull Dinggu], they were all terrified and fell silent.
The sound of crying could only be heard after the two left the woodshed.
Mu Jin found an [unknown blueprint] under a pile of rocks. Li Yu thanked her and took it, telling her to rest well, but she shook her head and refused.
Next, led by Mu Jin and her former henchmen, Li Yu quickly dealt with the bandits and players in the stronghold, killing, imprisoning, or subjugating them.
At dawn, everything was settled.
Li Yu stood on the gate tower of the village, looking down.
A group of people, driving ten oxcarts and leading two hundred players, were rushing up the mountain.