Start from Wusheng

Chapter 626: Relocation and Enemies

When Zhou You rushed to Zhoujia Village, Taigong was already on his deathbed. He was slumped on the bed, unable to speak or eat. He just stared with his eyes wide open and breathed heavily.

Zhou Laiwei and a group of people accompanied him by the bed with sad expressions.

Seeing Zhou You coming back, Taigong's eyes lit up and he tried his best to reach him, but failed in the end.

"Grandpa, I know what you mean."

Zhou You held his grandfather's hand. The old man breathed his last, tilted his head and closed his eyes.

Zhou Laiwei said hoarsely, "Before the master came back, Grandpa said while he still had the strength to do so. From now on, the future of Zhoujia Village will be decided by you."

The times are turbulent, there is no pure land in the world, and Zhoujia Village is no exception.

Bandits, floods, droughts and famines took turns to strike, and villages in the countryside were destroyed one after another. Even with Zhou You's financial support, Zhoujia Village was ruined several times, and graves outside the village were as numerous as stars.

This time the witch attacks again, and a storm is about to come, which will bring panic to the people fleeing famine.

Even if Zhou You didn't come back, Zhoujia Village would have to move into the mountains to escape the war.

Taigong was old and could not withstand the hardships of the journey. He fell ill and eventually spent the last years of his life.

"Move, you must move, and never come back."

Zhou You said to Zhou Laiwei, "This place is no good. The witches are getting closer and closer. We will soon become the front line."

"Quickly mobilize the tribesmen and villagers and get ready as soon as possible."

Zhou Laiwei nodded, "Master, I estimated that 70% of the tribesmen are willing to follow."

Seventy percent is already a good proportion. There are always people who are optimistic and say it is hard to leave their hometown.

The fact that Zhou Laiwei was able to mobilize these people showed that he had high prestige in the village and had already firmly taken over the authority of Taigong.

In fact, when villagers go out, they encounter witches more and more frequently. Traces of witches' lives often appear in areas where they hunt, collect firewood, and even fetch water.

As a large number of witch tribes migrated in from the north, they occupied the living space of the indigenous people with the tenacious attitude of an invasive species.

The villagers were not the type to suffer a loss, and apart from farming, they usually practiced boxing. They had several fights with the witches. Although they were not professional fighters, they fought bravely and suffered casualties on both sides.

But as the number of witch tribes increased, professionals such as hunters and poison witches appeared, and ordinary people could no longer defeat them.

The only solution now is to move!
The quiet Zhoujia Village gradually became noisy, with every household packing up their belongings and setting off with their well-fed livestock.

The village had a rather peculiar atmosphere. It was noisy and bustling during the day, with the sounds of animals roaring, children in distress, women cursing, etc., but it became eerily quiet at night.

As a large number of people moved out, taking away the popularity and liveliness, the village inevitably became deserted.

Some dirt roads had not been walked on for several days, and even weeds had grown on them.

"In a few days, when almost all families have moved and the seventh day of Taigong's death has passed, we will return to the capital."

Zhou You announced the decision, and Tie Niu and others started packing and preparing that night.

The night sky was pitch black and pure that night, without a speck of impurities, and there were no stars or clouds at all.

The entrance to the village was very quiet because the old yellow dog that guarded the village was also taken away and joined the large relocation team.

Basically, Zhoujia Village has become an undefended, semi-abandoned state.

It happened that on this night, an unexpected guest came to visit.

An elf-like woman came to the outside of Zhoujia Village, looking at the scattered lights and fell into deep thought.

It looks like a deserted village, but there are still lights on in dozens of houses, which is very unique in this area.

"I heard from my foster father that his ancestral home was nearby, but as time passed, hundreds of years had passed, and the small village should have disappeared."

"Let's rest here for a while, but don't stay overnight, so as not to cause trouble to the people here." In the middle of the night, someone knocked on the door, "Master, someone wants to stay overnight."

Zhou You heard the martial arts school disciple's report through the door, but he didn't take it seriously. He raised his hand and said, "There are so many vacant houses in the village, just give him one."

The disciple did not leave after hearing this, but asked, "Master, do you want to go and take a look?"

Well, it means that this guest is extraordinary.

The uninvited guest was a woman, a very beautiful woman, who was more dazzling than the torch light in the night.

What's more difficult is that she came here alone, her clothes were a little dusty, and she looked a little dishevelled from the long journey.

Her beauty was so stunning that even the worldly disciples of the martial arts school were amazed and felt that she was of great importance.

When Zhou You saw the 'uninvited guest', he was slightly stunned, and memories emerged in his mind, with two unrelated characters overlapping.

"It turns out to be her!"

During his last trip to Chongguang City, Zhou You organized an underground auction and delivered the heavy talismans to Qianmiantang. Among the 9 heavy talismans, one was bought by a mysterious woman.

Although the woman tried to conceal it a little, her qi and blood could not be changed, and it was exactly the uninvited guest in front of her.

Her true appearance was clearly revealed today. She was naturally beautiful and her charm could not be concealed. She was the number one on the beauty list... Zhu Qinghua.

I heard that Qianmiantang spent a lot of money to invite Feibai Gongzi, the best painter among the Eight Great Masters of the North and South, to paint beauties in black and white, and the paintings were lifelike, with even a single hair exactly like a real person.

Zhou You didn't believe it at first, but now that he had seen Zhu Qinghua in person, he was sure that no matter how skilled a painter was, he could not restore the beauty created by nature.

Even though his wives and concubines were all stunningly beautiful, they were a little dazed when they saw Zhu Qinghua.

What’s strange is that the last time I saw her, she had a large entourage, but now she is alone.

But the other party didn't say anything, and Zhou You didn't feel comfortable asking.

"You are the owner of this place. I apologize for disturbing you."

Zhu Qinghua bowed slightly, "I just want to rest for a while, don't disturb me any more."

"It's okay, but there are no female relatives in the family to receive us, please forgive me."

Zhu Qinghua smiled slightly, "When you are out, you should not be too particular about trivial matters. It's okay."

"I haven't asked you your name yet."

"I am Zhou You, this place is Zhoujia Village, my ancestral hometown."

When Zhu Qinghua heard the name "Zhoujia Village", she thought to herself what a coincidence! Her adoptive father's surname was also Zhou, and he also came from a small village.

But she would not take it for granted that this was the village where her adoptive father was born. Zhou is a common surname, and there are countless similar villages with poor ability to resist natural disasters and man-made calamities. Perhaps her adoptive father's hometown had disappeared many years ago.

She could see that Zhou You in front of her had great boxing skills and was even an outstanding figure among folk martial artists.

However, compared with the difficulties she faced, the efforts of one person were just a drop in the bucket.

After an hour or two, Zhu Qinghua estimated that the time was almost up, and stood up to say goodbye, "..."

Suddenly, a sharp noise was heard outside the village, like countless steel needles hitting the glass, as if they could pierce through everything.

"Come so fast?"

Zhu Qinghua's face turned pale, and she stood up in a hurry. "Master, please close the door. Don't go out if you hear anything. They are looking for me. I will lead them somewhere else."

Zhou You didn't say anything. He took a glance and saw that the mud on the soles of Zhu Qinghua's shoes were stained with blood.

(End of this chapter)