The escort master on horseback shouted, his voice echoing in Zhang Chen’s ears.
"No fires allowed?" Zhang Chen frowned, how to cook? Boil water?
Although he could understand the agency’s actions, he didn’t necessarily agree.
Zhang Chen turned to look at the refugees nearby, seeing them all accustomed to it, quietly lining up.
"Uncle, what is everyone lining up for?" Zhang Chen asked one of them.
"Dragon Tiger Escort Agency doesn’t allow us to start fires, but they dig wells and boil water for us. We gather firewood in exchange for hot water or well water. If you want to cook, you can trade your millet for cooked rations," the man whispered.
Zhang Chen was stunned and then said, "So Dragon Tiger Escort Agency is merciful, they’ve thought of everything."
With wells, you can fetch cold water directly. You can gather firewood for hot water. If your millet isn’t cookable, they cook it and exchange it for you. This enhances secrecy and greatly lowers exposure risk. Dragon Tiger Escort Agency is quite resourceful.
Zhang Chen had no food with him, assuming there’d be plenty on the way. With his Beast Taming Technique, catching wild game was no problem. He brought some millet, but not much. The Northern Land was disaster-stricken, millet scarce, what he had was leftover from past years.
Zhang Chen surveyed those lined up, but stayed away, leading his family under a large tree, instructing Chengyu, "Take care of everyone, I’ll find us some food."
With that, Zhang Chen used Earth Escape Technique to vanish, arriving in a mountain recess miles away to kindle a fire, where Hunting Falcon had three wild chickens ready. Zhang Chen roasted them as Beggar’s Chicken, filled a large jar with hot water, then used Earth Escape Technique to return.
"I’m missing Fox Fairy Nannan now. If she were here, I wouldn’t have to do menial tasks," Zhang Chen thought fondly of the Fox Spirit, "I need to find some suitable mysterious beings as servants."
When Zhang Chen returned with roast chicken, dusk had set in. Mrs. Zhang and others lit up at the sight, drawing closer, drooling over the chicken.
Mrs. Zhang had long stowed the luggage, creating a sheltered spot. The family ate roast chicken within the barrier without drawing refugee attention.
Zhang Chen divided the chicken, then produced some millet, saying, "Only eating meat without rice isn’t good for digestion, I’ll exchange for some more."
Carrying the millet through the crowd, refugees grouped together eating their own food. Zhang Chen casually walked past eight men who earlier bore ill-will toward his group, observing them enjoying roast meat with alcohol. His eyes turned cold, and with a thought, sealed their airways with the alcohol, causing them to clutch their throats, mouths agape, unable to scream, as if glued shut.
The eight struggled, faces flushed, rolling on the ground voicelessly.
Their frantic clawing at throats didn’t help, faces red, eyes bloodshot, suffocated to death.
Nearby refugees were startled but merely watched coldly, not approaching. These men were known bullies, hated by many; who would intervene?
Moreover, their death was eerie, with shocking anomalies, no one dared get involved.
Storyteller Wang Yan, seeing their strange deaths, boldly said, "Their deaths aren’t normal, report to Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, lest anything nasty invades."
Someone reported, soon a dozen agency men pushed through, led by a Martial Artist igniting Qi Blood, cautiously observing before kneeling to inspect.
"Strange!" After a moment, he soberly remarked, "They drowned, yet there’s no water here... perhaps it’s Illusion Technique? A Divine Soul Dao cultivator? Someone powerful nearby?"
He, a Qi Blood igniting force among Dragon Tiger Escort Agency, was their pillar, a top expert in the Martial World, seasoned and perceptive. Immediately identifying their cause, he pried open a mouth, finding no water signs, suspecting Illusion Technique.
Before Exorcism, Divine Soul Dao cultivators excelled in illusions. Reaching Exorcism, it’s like a new Heaven and Earth!
Divine Soul Dao cultivators are rare, an exclusive lineage not even princes or noble families possess. Their presence in the agency’s ranks was significant.
Are they following the large group southward to seek refuge and hide, or do they covet the escort agency? Regardless of the situation, it necessitates caution.
"Come, tell me what happened." The samurai ignited by Qi Blood spoke to Wang Yan.
"Greetings, Second Master!" Wang Yan hurriedly bowed respectfully and then recounted the death of the eight people.
Listening to Wang Yan’s account, the martial artist called Second Master frowned, his eyes sweeping over the distant throng of black-clad refugees, a glimmer flashing in his gaze, then he said to Wang Yan:
"Did these eight people have any conflicts with others?" Second Master asked again.
"These eight fellows bullied quite a few people in secret," Wang Yan replied.
Second Master glanced at the crowd, unwilling to meddle further, merely instructing:
"Go and get two jin of lamb and a jin of millet."
"Thank you, Second Master." Wang Yan, overjoyed upon hearing this, quickly knelt and kowtowed, then happily left.
After taking a look at everyone, the Second Master turned and headed towards the escort agency’s camp, leaving the corpses unattended. The corpses would become food for some people or wild beasts—better than spoiling them directly. Once the beasts filled their bellies with corpses, they wouldn’t eat the living, granting the living a few more chances.
Further away, Zhang Chen’s family finished their rice and roast chicken and slept. At night, someone restlessly tried to steal something but was scared away by the Hunting Falcon scratching his face.
After all, there were many people here, and those who dared to openly snatch were few; everyone acted secretly.
The night passed quietly. As the sky began to brighten the next day, the escort agency started to prepare food. After eating, everyone continued on their journey.
The days seemed to calm down, with little other than the journey itself. During the trip, a few short-sighted individuals aimed malicious intentions at Zhang Chen’s party, but Zhang Chen ’drowned’ them in advance, causing no ripple. Only the Second Master from the escort agency investigated and discreetly suppressed the matter, instructing people to throw the bodies by the roadside to feed wild beasts.
The two little ones progressed in their Martial Dao practice, Little Fatty Zhang Tuowei visibly slimming down, becoming leaner.
In recent days, Zhang Chen gathered from the mixed talks of the refugees some useful information. The Second Master’s surname was Chen, referred to as Second Master Chen, leading the escort agency, managing its affairs. As for more details, Zhang Chen didn’t know, and ordinary folks wouldn’t learn.
On the road, there was a dead silence, with everyone holding expressions of numbness and despair. Zhang Chen walked amidst the crowd, quietly absorbing the Sun Essence between Heaven and Earth. After half a day’s walk, during a rest, he moved to a secluded area to urinate, his ears suddenly twitching; his eyes turned toward the bushes, astonished to find a lurking gray wolf.
The gray wolf and Zhang Chen locked eyes; rather than pouncing, it quickly vanished into the bushes.
Zhang Chen glanced at the gray wolf indifferently, shook himself off, summoned water to wash his hands, and then disappeared into the forest.
After eight or nine more days of peace, Zhang Chen gradually sensed something amiss. Ever since that day in the woods, he noticed frequent appearances of wild beasts nearby, with quite a number.
"Something’s not right!" Zhang Chen squinted, alert in his heart. "With tens of thousands gathered here, ordinary beasts should have long since fled. Why are they approaching and spying?"
Indeed, over the days, the escort agency’s team behind had amassed tens of thousands.
Zhang Chen activated his Beast Taming Technique to sense; now his Beast Taming skill could cover a range within 2000 meters, where he felt that the wild beasts in the mountains had increased. Not just ordinary beasts, but fierce ones—all lurking like wolves.
Within this brief 2000-meter sensing range, there were more than a dozen starving wolves, three fierce tigers, bears, and dozens of weasels darting underground, peeking at the large troops.
"Indeed, targeted by the Demon Race." Zhang Chen had detected the anomaly, caution rising in his heart. "I’ll need to investigate tonight, to see exactly what is going on."
Though ultrasound was useful, low altitude faces heavy obstacles, limiting its range.