Douluo: Law of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 963 Lu Qibin's Past - Extra Chapter 24: Rotten Chess Village

One hundred miles northeast of Xingluo City.

Rotten Chess Village.

The village lived up to its name, being dilapidated and crumbling. All that could be seen were broken walls and ruins, and the villagers living there were emaciated, poorly clothed, and covered in filth.

"Why is this place so poor?"

Li Ming wasn't the only one with this question.

Zhou Qing, listening to the story, was also puzzled: "Xingluo City is the capital, isn't it? It's only a hundred miles away from the capital, how could there be such an impoverished village there?"

"That year, the Star Luo Empire actually experienced a rather severe drought."

Lu Qibin sighed, "The weather is unpredictable, and human effort is often insufficient."

Zhou Qing neither confirmed nor denied this.

Lu Qibin continued, "To be honest, I stayed in Xingluo City for those few years and didn't feel the drought happening outside at all. It wasn't until I went out of the city with Teacher Li to Lanke Village that I realized that no matter how severe the disaster was in other places, it would never affect the capital."

After all, no matter how severe the disaster, it was God's fault, not the nobles'.

Although the Star Luo Emperor ordered disaster relief, the money in the national treasury was embezzled layer by layer after it was distributed, turning from gold soul coins into bronze soul coins, until in the end only grain was left!
The grain changed from white rice to yellow millet, then from yellow millet to brown rice mixed with chaff, and finally from brown rice mixed with chaff to chaff mixed with brown rice!

The emperor didn't care about these things; after all, only by feeding the officials at every level could the refugees below get something to eat.

"Corruption is a much more serious offense in the Star Luo Empire, where imperial power is more centralized than in the Heaven Dou Empire."

Zhou Qing was not surprised by this.

The regime of the Star Luo Empire is not much different from the dynasties that have existed since the Qin Dynasty in the previous life, so corruption and bribery must be even more serious.

As for the Heavenly Dou Empire?
Because there are other duchies and kingdoms within its territory, the Tiandou royal family cannot completely command these royal families; on the contrary, they must be even more "incorruptible."

Of course, this only applies relative to the Star Luo Empire. Among the villages located within the Heaven Dou Empire, only the border areas under the guidance of the Crimson Society are currently relatively stable...

···
Looking at the villagers of Lankecun who looked no different from disaster victims and refugees, Lu Qibin was also incredulous.

"Teacher, I was also born in the countryside. Even if things are bad, it shouldn't be this bad, right?"

"Can't you see how cracked the land is in this area?" Engineer Li scoffed. "This year's severe drought has left many villagers with no harvest."

"Didn't the emperor open the granaries to distribute relief to the needy?" Lu Qibin wasn't usually obsessed with cultivation; he also knew about current events in Xingluo City.

"That's what was done, but the emperor only needs to give the order; the subordinates have to fill their own pockets first before they can get things done."

It was Li Ming who spoke, sneering at Lu Qibin, "Moreover, the emperor issued an edict to open the granaries and provide relief for the disaster victims, but he didn't say that they wouldn't have to pay taxes this year."

Reduction or exemption does not mean you don't have to pay.

Lu Qibin fell silent.

When the people of Lanke Village saw Li Gong and his group, they all made way for them—because the three of them wore clothes made of fine fabric, indicating that they were either nobles or Soul Masters, so how could they dare to beg from them?

Instead of causing them any trouble, Li Gong surveyed the surrounding terrain and discovered a mountain peak about one kilometer east of Lanke Village, a perfect spot for stargazing at night. He then said to Li Ming and Lu Qibin, "You two search the village, I'll go check out that mountain."

"Let's split up." After Li Gong's figure disappeared into the nearby earthen mounds, Li Ming also decided to part ways with Lu Qibin. "Being with you, you blockhead, feels quite uncomfortable."

Lu Qibin knew that when Li Ming called him a blockhead, it wasn't because she was interested in him, but because she felt they had nothing in common. So he agreed and said, "Okay, then be careful."

"You're the one who should be careful. After all, I'm their daughter, and they'll definitely recognize me. On the contrary, you were only taken in as a disciple by Grandpa after they abandoned me. If you encounter them, you'd better shout out that you're Li Gong's disciple and run away to buy me time to get there."

Although Li Ming had no feelings for Lu Qibin, he was still a friend, and he was also her grandfather's disciple. She didn't want him to be killed by her parents as someone who was tracking their whereabouts.

"understood."

Lu Qibin accepted Li Ming's suggestion.

Their conversation was overheard by a middle-aged villager who was lying casually on the ground nearby. After they walked away, he quietly got up and headed towards a house in the village.

“Brother Li, outsiders have come to the village. They must be looking for you,” the villager said to a man with a full beard.

"How many people are there? What do they look like?" the bearded man asked.

"There were three people in total: an old man, a young boy and girl. The old man's soul power level should be very high. He flew towards the place where you used to stargaze at night. The two young people stayed in the village and went their separate ways... Oh, right, the girl seemed to say that she was your daughter?"

"Daughter? Did you hear what that old man called?" the bearded man pressed.

"I think his name is Engineer Li?"

The middle-aged man uttered a name, "Brother, could it be one of your elders?"

"My father."

Li Jiang sighed and said to the middle-aged man, "Edward, don't make things difficult for them. They'll leave when they can't find me."

The middle-aged man named Edward asked, "So, that girl really is your daughter?"

“If her name is Li Ming, then she is indeed our daughter.”

The woman beside Li Jiang handed Edward her youngest daughter, who was taking a nap, and a storage soul tool, saying, "Edward, I'll leave Li Zhao in your care."

"You...you guys!" Edward realized the seriousness of the situation, but couldn't believe it. "Since Engineer Li is your father, he couldn't possibly have done anything to you, could he? He even brought your granddaughter!"

"You don't know, my father is very rigid..."

After saying that, Li Jiang stopped talking and said, "Edward, my father must have been looking for me all these years, and he's getting older. As his son, I have to give him an explanation, whether he's alive or dead, and I can't let him die of old age with such unrest."

Li Jiang's wife said, "You should burn all our research results."

"What? It's burned!" Edward exclaimed, seeing that the little girl in his arms was showing signs of waking up. He quickly comforted her, deliberately lowering his voice, and questioned, "Are you serious? How much time did you spend researching these results? And you just burned them like that? What's the point?"

“Keeping her would only cause you trouble.” Li Jiang looked directly at Edward, his eyes filled with determination. “Besides, I don’t want my daughter to follow the same path as us. Therefore, I’m entrusting her to your care, and she will not have any contact with any sects or nobles.”

Only in this way can she truly forge her own path in life, free from the constraints of our elders' grand pronouncements on life!

Edward sighed and said, "You really think highly of me."

(End of this chapter)