He was born as a blacksmith, but he dominated the world

Chapter 362 Things have changed

After walking around the city, Jiang Lin stopped at a corner.

In front was a dilapidated house with several large holes in the roof and collapsed walls.

Several people were rubbing straw ropes. There was a corpse on the ground, covered with a tattered straw mat, revealing the black bare feet with thick calluses.

The man who was twisting the straw rope had a numb expression, neither sad nor happy.

Not far from them, a little girl with pigtails, who looked about two or three years old, was squatting on the ground, holding half a pancake made of something unknown in her hand.

She found it difficult to chew, but she ate with full concentration.

He was dirty all over, even his fingernails were filled with dirt, some of which he ate along with the pancake and went into his mouth, but he seemed not to notice.

The man behind him saw Jiang Lin staring at him, so he explained, "The one who died was a woman. Her husband was starving two years ago. After leaving the city, he was captured and forced to practice asceticism. It is said that he died before he could even survive the disaster."

"People here are not allowed to remarry. Women without husbands have a harder life. It's a blessing if they die."

Jiang Lin listened in silence. Is death a blessing?

At this time, several people at the door had already twisted the hemp rope, went over to tie up the straw mat and the corpse together, and then carried them out on their shoulders.

They passed by the little girl, who was chewing a pancake when she looked up, and saw her dirty hair and half of her forehead sticking out from the straw mat.

Her eyes were blank, she didn't know what was going on. She was still silently chewing the brick-hard cake in her hand, and watched several people carry away her mother's body.

Perhaps it will take a long time before she realizes that she no longer has a mother.

The man sighed and said, "Things like this happen frequently in Sangzhou. It's not surprising."

Jiang Lin watched those people leave, and then his eyes moved to the girl who finished eating the pancake, ran into the house, put most of her body in the jar, and gulped down the water.

The thin body was dangling on the edge of the water tank, as if it was about to fall in at any time.

"Will anyone take care of this child?" Jiang Lin asked.

"It's already kind of others to come and help deal with the bodies. My own family can't even get enough food or warm clothes, so how can they care about other people's children?"

The man paused, then said, "Some children will starve to death, and some will run out of the city when they are extremely hungry and disappear without a trace."

"Go back and get some food." Jiang Lin said.

The man knew what he was going to do and said, "Sir, this is useless. Even if the food is brought, it will be taken away by others in a short time. She is a child, she can't protect her..."

"Go get it." Jiang Lin's voice was low, but it carried an unquestionable tone.

The man seemed to sense something, and dared not say anything, and quickly turned around and ran back.

Jiang Lin walked slowly towards the little girl who had finished drinking the water, patted her dark belly, looked around, and then squatted at the door to pick mud.

When they got to the front and stopped, the girl looked up, then lowered her head and continued playing with herself.

But what's so fun about this? It's extremely boring to anyone.

But she was immersed in it, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Jiang Lin glanced into the house, then walked over and picked up a rusty kitchen knife.

He reached out and easily tore the kitchen knife apart, leaving only a small piece of iron.

Then use your fingers as a hammer and keep hitting the blade.

A faint fire essence continued to burst out with the movement of the fingers, and the torn broken kitchen knife quickly improved in quality and gradually evolved into a small dagger.

With Jiang Lin's current skill level, it would be no problem for him to forge a low-quality weapon with his bare hands.

Jiang Lin stopped only when the small dagger reached about the middle sixth grade.

He walked back, squatted beside the little girl, handed her the dagger, and said, "Use this to dig."

The little girl took the dagger curiously and stabbed the ground.

Although the middle six grade is not of very high quality, it is still easy to use to dig mud.

Seeing the large piece of soil being lifted up, the little girl immediately laughed.

At this time, the man had already returned with some food.

"grown ups."

Jiang Lin reached out and took the steamed buns and meat. The little girl smelled the fragrance and immediately turned her head to look over.

Her eyes immediately revealed an undisguised desire. Jiang Lin handed it to her mouth and said softly, "Eat it."

The child was simple-minded and immediately took it and started eating it in big mouthfuls.

The man was afraid that she would choke, so he quickly went to scoop water from the jar.

Jiang Lin squatted beside and watched the girl eat the entire steamed bun along with at least three taels of meat, and even licked her fingers.

He grabbed the tiny wrist, and the little girl subconsciously tried to struggle, but she heard a gentle voice in her ears: "Pick up the dagger and stab forward, and I'll give you something to eat."

The little girl was confused and didn't know what it meant.

Jiang Lin picked up the dagger, stabbed it forward, and put it back into her hand.

The little girl hesitated, then tentatively stabbed forward with the dagger.

Although the movement was small, Jiang Lin immediately gave her a steamed bun.

The child was immediately very happy and was about to go eat when Jiang Lin stopped him.

"Keep stabbing, and I'll give you more to eat."

This time the little girl stabbed forward with the dagger without hesitation. Her movements were faster and more powerful than before.

Jiang Lin took another piece of meat and placed it next to her, saying, "Continue." The man stood there, watching Jiang Lin guide the little girl to attack continuously with the dagger, with a look of understanding in his eyes.

But he immediately shook his head secretly, thinking that although the adults had good intentions, what was the use?

Not until the man had finished eating all the food he had brought did the little girl's stabbing movements become somewhat decent.

Jiang Lin accompanied her to carry all the food into the house, then patted the hairless little head and said softly: "Remember, if anyone tries to steal your food, stab him with this thing."

The little girl looked up at him, not quite understanding. Jiang Lin was silent for a few seconds, then said, "If you can protect your food, I will have someone send it to you again. If it's all taken away, you will have nothing to eat and you will starve to death."

The little girl should have understood this.

She turned her head to look at the food piled up on a table made of rotten wood and bricks, then she held the dagger, stabbed forward a few times, and then quickly looked at Jiang Lin.

He looked like he was waiting for praise.

"That's it, well done." Jiang Lin touched her head and walked out.

Hearing the little girl's "huh" sound behind him, the man turned around and saw the dagger being practiced back and forth.

He turned his head back and whispered, "She is just a two or three year old girl. Even if adults give her weapons, she can't defend herself."

"I'm not a saint, nor an emperor, but just a blacksmith." Jiang Lin looked ahead and said as he walked, "If I can do something, I will do it, even if you think it's meaningless. But if I don't do it, I won't be able to sleep."

"But this is Sangzhou, there are countless children like this. Are you going to take care of them one by one?"

Jiang Lin paused and looked up at the sky.

The sun in this season is not warm enough, it is gray and gloomy.

"Sometimes I really feel that the innocence here is fucked up."

It was rare for Jiang Lin to swear. He seldom used bad words because he felt that it would not solve anything and would only make people realize their own powerlessness.

This is the situation of Jiang Lin now.

I obviously don't like everything here, but I can't change anything.

Can a dagger and a pile of food help that little girl survive safely?
The probability is extremely low.

But as he himself said, if he doesn't do some things, he really won't be able to sleep at night.

No matter how much time passes, Jiang Lin feels that he will never be able to truly adapt to the rules here.

This made the thought in his mind even stronger.

"I really want to smash the sky to pieces with a hammer!"

"Sir, some children have already gone in to rob," the man reminded.

Jiang Lin turned around and saw a dozen or twenty half-grown children rushing into the dilapidated house.

The little girl's cries were clearly audible, and her young figure was pushed directly to the ground.

The food was snatched away by other children. There were many adults watching nearby. Perhaps the children who snatched the food were from their family.

"It's useless." The man repeated again.

Jiang Lin also understood that it was useless, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Just then, a scream was heard.

Jiang Lin looked in the direction of the sound and saw the little girl holding a dagger in her hand. In front of her, a boy who was a head taller than her was covering his thigh and lying on the ground wailing.

The boy looked at the little girl holding a dagger, fear showing on his face. He struggled to crawl out, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

In the field of vision, there was only anger in the little girl's eyes.

Even the youngest child can get angry.

She was like a mad little tiger, roaring in a cute and ferocious manner, running over to grab the few remaining food, and pointing the dagger in her hand at the child who still wanted to come over.

If anyone tries to come in, she will stab them with her dagger again without hesitation and with even greater force!

A smile suddenly appeared on Jiang Lin's face.

Useless?
Maybe it's not very useful, but at least... it proves that the rules can be broken.

No matter how dark the sky is in Sangzhou, there will always be a day when the sun comes out!
Jiang Lin didn't read any further and turned away.

The man behind him was very confused. The Lord was obviously a kind-hearted man who couldn't bear to see people suffering, so why did he not care about it now?

After returning to the shop, the shopkeeper came forward and said, "Sir, the map has been drawn."

"Well done. This is a reward for you." Jiang Lin took out a bag from his arms and handed it over.

When the shopkeeper opened it, he was immediately hit by the fragrant aroma of elixir. It was the Eight Directions True Elixir and Health-preserving Elixir refined by Xia Shanliu and others.

"Sir, this..." The shopkeeper was suddenly shocked. Pills are not allowed in Sangzhou.

"Are you scared?" Jiang Lin asked with a smile.

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said, "You know the rules here. If the ascetics knew about it..."

"Then fight!" Jiang Lin suddenly stopped smiling and said in a cold voice, "Sangzhou is also the territory of Daqian. The emperor has not issued an order to ban elixirs. Why do the ascetics have the right to do so? If they dare to mess around, fight them! If you can't beat me, I will! If I can't beat you, I will go find the border troops!"

"In my opinion, Emperor Taizu killed too few people back then!"

"The sky in Sangzhou can't be cloudy all the time."

"Either the sun is shining, or the blood is boiling!"

(End of this chapter)