After the Immortal Disappeared

Chapter 90: Chapter 91: The Myriad Faces of Human Nature

Accepting refugees was not Panlong City’s obligation.

His wife choked on her words. They were already homeless; what right did they have to make demands?

Hee Lingchuan said in a low voice, ”That man is no good. His mule is a bit old, but it could still carry two scrawny old people.”

The old couple was very thin; together they couldn’t have weighed more than two hundred pounds.

His wife was stunned. ”Then he...?”

She stole a glance and saw that while the mule was limping slightly, it was actually moving quite steadily.

”He just couldn’t part with his possessions,” Hee Lingchuan explained. ”The Commander saw that too, which is why he told the man to throw his things away and help his father onto the mule. But without his wealth, it would be hard for him to get established in a new place. His parents are too old to work, and they’re just two more mouths to feed.”

”He refused, and of course the Commander didn’t force him. The old woman walked up the mountain herself because she understood what was in her son’s heart.” She was either completely disheartened or simply couldn’t bear to leave her husband behind.

Hearing this, Liu Sanjiu and his wife looked at each other, speechless.

Some things are better left unexamined; pick them apart and all you find is filth.

They walked on like this for another fifteen minutes or so, until cavalrymen from the rear rode up, shouting, ”Faster! Everyone, faster! The enemy is catching up!”

Not even the rolling thunder was as terrifying as that announcement. Screams and wails immediately erupted from the long column, and their pace quickened, the change visible to the naked eye.

To fall behind now was a death sentence.

It was difficult to hurry on a rainy night. Hee Lingchuan saw many people stumbling as they ran, falling to the ground only to struggle back up.

Many of the old and weak, however, were trampled underfoot after they fell, never to rise again.

Hee Lingchuan couldn’t help but close his eyes.

Even though he knew this piece of history was long gone and everything before him was an illusion, he had still come, had still witnessed it. His heart felt as if it were being crushed by a great stone, heavy and miserable.

’How are the lives of the people on this plain any different from the grass under their feet or the chickens in a cage?’

Theirs to be slaughtered, to be scorned, to be treated as worthless.

Just then, the column suddenly slowed down. A commotion had broken out ahead.

Those in the back pressed against those in the front, creating a bottleneck.

Hee Lingchuan had sharp ears and could hear shouting and cursing from up ahead.

That was the nature of a crowd: the more panicked and chaotic it became, the more prone it was to error.

From his position, all he could see were the heads of the people in front of him. Hee Lingchuan dropped his pack on the ground and scrambled up a nearby, half-withered poplar.

In this extreme weather, climbing high made him an easy target for lightning, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Fortunately, the next two lightning flashes struck in the distance, illuminating the scene for him. By their light, he saw dozens of horse-drawn carriages crammed together on the riverbank ahead.

The carriages were all laden with large chests; clearly, there were wealthy families among the refugees.

Never mind the ones that had already gotten through. Perhaps because their chests were too heavy, or perhaps because the ground was too muddy, seven or eight of the carriages simply couldn’t make it up the slope. No matter how the drivers cracked their whips, the horses could only whinny in distress as the carriages remained stuck fast in the mud.

Another twenty or thirty carriages were lined up waiting behind them.

The column had now reached the river’s edge. With a cliff on one side and the river on the other, the road between was narrow, wide enough for three carriages at most.

Worse, it was a steep slope.

Everyone behind them was blocked.

Someone traveling light like Hee Lingchuan could climb over the carriages, but who fled a disaster without their worldly possessions? For those leading oxen, driving carts, and hauling all their belongings, there was no way forward.

With enemies in pursuit, the refugees were frantic. They dispensed with courtesy and rushed forward to drag the carriages out of the way.

But a shout rose from the caravan, and about twenty Escort Masters rushed out. Shoving the refugees with one hand while holding gleaming weapons in the other, they yelled, ”Back! All of you, get back! You want to die?”

The two sides started cursing at each other.

Of course, in a situation like this, shouting matches solved nothing. They only added fuel to the fire.

And so, a few moments later, the refugees made the first move. Someone grabbed a handful of mud and flung it at the Escort Masters. They immediately struck back, and the whole scene erupted into a brawl.

Hee Lingchuan did a quick count. In just a couple of minutes, at least a dozen people had been injured.

Not a single carriage had been moved. ’Have to say,’ he thought, ’these Escort Masters are pretty diligent.’

The commotion soon attracted the attention of the Great Wind Army. Hee Lingchuan’s ”old acquaintance”—the Commander—galloped up, this time with a dozen or so men in tow.

The situation was clear at a glance. Wasting no time on excuses, he bellowed, ”Whose carriages are these? Show yourself!”

A fat man in silks ran out from the caravan. ”Sir officer, may I have your name?”

”Xiao.”

”Master Xiao, I’m the Steward for Sunx Prefect, Lord Sunx! These are all belongings of the Sunx Mansion! Please, if you would just help us push them up the slope...”

The Commander waved him off. ”Move them now and clear the road!”

The fat man grew frantic. ”Officer, these are valuable goods! They include supplies the Lord Governor is transporting to Panlong City, all pre-arranged! For instance, armor and weapons your army can use...”

The Panlong Wasteland had long been mired in a military stalemate, and for any city, war funds and food were its lifeline. Taking this seriously, the Commander ordered directly, ”Open the chests for inspection!”

The caravan began to open the chests, though some moved faster than others. The first ones opened were indeed filled with gleaming weapons, armor, medicine, and other military supplies.

The fat man shouted, ”See, officer? I wasn’t lying!”

With a wave of the Commander’s hand, his cavalrymen surged forward and threw open the rest of the chests.

From his high perch, Hee Lingchuan could see at a glance that out of the dozens of chests, only about ten contained military supplies. The rest were crammed with all manner of finery: gold, silver, jewels, and precious ornaments, followed by clothing, antiques, and small furniture. You name it, they had it packed.

A timely flash of lightning illuminated a chest full of golden objects, making them glitter. There was even a small golden toilet...

The fat man wiped his forehead, though it was impossible to tell if it was sweat or rain.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a tidal wave of curses.

The Commander’s face was impassive as he gave the order: ”Unhitch the horses and use them to pull the carts with military supplies up the slope! Push the rest of this aside!”

The fat man panicked, rushing forward to grab his arm. ”You can’t! You mustn’t! If you throw away Sunx Prefect’s possessions, you’ll have to answer to the Commander-in-Chief!”

The Commander flung his hand away, sending an ingot of gold flying. ”Get pushing! What are you all standing around for? The sooner the road is clear, the sooner we can move!”

It was a military order. And were the people happy to obey?

The crowd of onlookers: Absolutely!

They swarmed forward, helping the Great Wind Army shove the Sunx Mansion’s private cargo aside. Then they unhitched the horses and attached them to the carriages carrying military supplies.

In the process, of course, some civilians snatched up valuables from the Sunx Mansion and secretly pocketed them. When the Sunx family servants saw this, they rushed in to catch the thieves, making the scene even more chaotic.

Just then, a man in his thirties charged through the crowd from behind, roaring, ”Who dares touch the property of my Sunx Family!”

He pointed at the Commander and cursed, ”You’ve got some nerve! My father, Sunx Prefect, and Commander Zhong have been allies through thick and thin for a decade! Now that Wei City has fallen, you damned grunts dare to kick us while we’re down and plunder my family’s fortune...”