I Grind to Martial Saint

”What is there to be afraid of?”

”I’ll cut down every last one of these worthless thugs!”

”Besides, I’ve still got you, don’t I? I know you had another breakthrough recently.”

Huang Xian’Er wasn’t worried at all.

”It’s different... We’re both on the Yuan Province Celestial Observation Bureau’s Black List now.”

”Experts from the Government Office or even Demon Exterminators might come after us.”

Zhang Cang, however, was not as optimistic as Huang Xian’Er. He was faintly worried.

He didn’t mind what happened to him, but he didn’t want to drag Huang Xian’Er down with him.

”So what if they’re Demon Exterminators?”

”I used to be a Demon Exterminator, remember? They’re not all they’re cracked up to be.”

Huang Xian’Er scoffed.

”It’s still too dangerous,” Zhang Cang said, shaking his head.

”And you?”

”Why aren’t you going back to Cangshui County?”

Huang Xian’Er retorted.

”I can handle it if something happens to me. I can’t handle it if something happens to you,”

Zhang Cang said softly.

Hearing this, a bashful blush crept onto Huang Xian’Er’s face.

But just then,

a group of people burst from the woods on either side, surrounding them.

”Hand over all your food!”

a man holding a firewood machete snarled viciously.

His companions beside him began to hoot and holler.

Zhang Cang, however, frowned.

These so-called bandits were dark-skinned and emaciated, holding various farm tools.

A single glance told him they were just ordinary, honest farmers.

Besides, common bandits robbed for gold and silver.

For this group to be robbing for grain was strange indeed.

Huang Xian’Er, however, couldn’t be bothered with such details. She acted immediately.

SHING—

A flash of sword light shot out, the tip of the blade coming to rest against the man’s throat.

”Miss Huang, wait!”

Zhang Cang cried out urgently.

Only after hearing Zhang Cang’s words did Huang Xian’Er stop her blade from piercing the man’s throat.

By now, the man’s legs were trembling, his face drained of color with fear.

He knew he had run into someone far tougher than he could handle.

The other men were also pale with panic, too terrified to speak.

”You must be villagers from nearby... Why are you acting like bandits, robbing travelers on the road?”

Zhang Cang asked in a low voice.

”We have no choice... We just can’t go on living like this.”

”There’s a drought in Nanyuan County this year. The fields are barren, not a single grain has been harvested. Food prices keep rising, and we can’t afford to buy any.”

”We’ve been eating tree bark for over ten days...”

”The adults can bear it, but the children can’t... we had to resort to this.”

”We never meant to hurt anyone. We just wanted to get some food,”

the man explained hastily.

Zhang Cang’s brow furrowed at his words. ”Hasn’t the Government Office provided any disaster relief?”

The man gave a bitter laugh. ”Disaster relief? They haven’t even lowered the taxes. We’re still expected to pay on time. Aren’t they just driving us to our deaths?”

Huang Xian’Er wasn’t entirely convinced. ”Take me to your village,” she said coolly.

The man didn’t dare refuse. He had no choice but to lead Zhang Cang and Huang Xian’Er to his village.

Soon,

Zhang Cang saw vast stretches of farmland.

It was the middle of the autumn harvest, a time when the fields should have been a sea of brilliant gold.

But all he saw were withered crops and earth that was cracked and dry from lack of water.

”This... this is the state of our village,” the man sighed.

Seeing the scene before her, Huang Xian’Er finally lowered her longsword.

Faced with this, she didn’t know what to say.

”Let’s go...”

Zhang Cang had no intention of holding it against them.

He simply took Huang Xian’Er and left.

”You two... the road ahead is even more chaotic. You’d best be careful,”

the man called out a final warning.

What they saw afterward truly horrified Zhang Cang and Huang Xian’Er.

It wasn’t just the numerous bandits wreaking havoc; they frequently saw the corpses of those who had starved to death by the roadside.

As dusk fell, they passed a village where they saw several bloody corpses hanging from an old tree at the entrance.

A thick plume of black smoke rose from the village itself, and many houses were still on fire.

”How did Nanyuan County turn into this...”

Horror filled Zhang Cang’s eyes.

But he was powerless to change any of it.

Afterward, he and Huang Xian’Er continued on toward Nanyuan County Town.

Once they reached the County Town, he made some discreet inquiries and finally learned the whole story.

It turned out that after the drought began, the Government Office had colluded with powerful local clans. They hoarded grain in their storehouses and artificially inflated the prices, which was why Nanyuan County had descended into such chaos.

「Black Profound Tower.」

This was an ancient, long-abandoned tower in the countryside outside Nanyuan County Town, a place few people ever visited.

On this particular night,

two figures stood atop the tower, gazing down at Nanyuan County Town below.

”Zhang Cang... what do you plan to do?”

Huang Xian’Er asked curiously.

Ever since returning from gathering information in Nanyuan County Town, Zhang Cang hadn’t said a word.

Huang Xian’Er was desperate to know what was on his mind.

”I want to give these people a chance to survive.”

Zhang Cang took a deep breath.

”Once you take this step... there’s no turning back,”

Huang Xian’Er warned him seriously.

After all, everything they’d done before was just petty squabbling. It amounted to nothing.

But this time was different.

”I’m prepared.”

Zhang Cang’s expression was resolute.

”Fine, then. I’m with you...”

Before Huang Xian’Er could finish, Zhang Cang suddenly struck, trying to slap a Spirit Talisman onto her.

But Huang Xian’Er saw through his intentions. Her right hand shot out, blocking his move.

”You...” Zhang Cang hadn’t expected Huang Xian’Er to react so quickly.

”Your intentions were too obvious.”

”You never used to stand so close to me.”

”To guarantee your success, you made a point of getting a little closer.”

”Next time, remember not to be so obvious.”