Immortal Cultivation and Life-Saving Guide

Chapter 254 Bingzhou (Thanks to book friend BABALA for the reward!)

"Li Chun is in Bingzhou? I thought he was always in Suzhou."

"He's in the intelligence business," Lian Gou said, hintingly. "This is the harvest season. News about Ju State's troop movements, grain prices in various regions, and peace talks... even if he's a big-bellied spider, he'd have to come out and take a look!"

Wei Xi grinned: Those who work in intelligence are indeed like spiders, entrenched in the big web woven by information, trying their best to make connecting the world profitable.

"How is his health?" It was obvious that the prison could not hold the desire of a troublemaker. Wei Xi was very curious about whether [Fangqing] was useful.

If this thing can really block the Yin energy, Wei Xi doesn't mind tricking the Qing-Swallowing Beast into the Qingcheng Sect.

"I think there's nothing wrong with him. He has a good appetite. It seems that [Spinning Clear] really saved his life."

Lian Gouqie opened the window and threw the letter with the talisman attached to it out. It unfolded and folded in the air into the shape of a bird and flew towards the north.

That's natural, Wei Xi thought to himself, it's just a disaster that will last for thousands of years.

If it weren't for my quick eyes and hands, Li Chun might have exploded and died.

"Did you reach some agreement with him?"

Hearing this, Lian Gouqie said sheepishly, "I've sold all the talismans I drew over the past two years to the Richen Pavilion... They needed a large quantity, so I only earned about 10,000 to 20,000 high-grade spirit stones."

"If you think this isn't feasible, I won't do it anymore," Lian Gouqie scratched his head, "There are many ways to earn spirit stones."

"Why not?" Wei Xi asked confidently, "Li Chun won't offer you a price that's too low. But you still have to be careful. Don't play yourself into the tiger's mouth."

Wei Xi knew that it would be impossible to sell talismans to even one person.

The only problem is that even if Gou Xie and Qin Feng were combined, they might not be able to defeat Li Chun, who was smiling but had a dagger hidden behind his smile.

"Alright, alright," Lian Gouqie said, putting the letter in his pocket. "These things are all insignificant. Now that you're back, that's the big deal."

"Just tell me what you want to do," Lian Gou's face was filled with a provocative smile, "I believe you already have a thorough plan! I miss this feeling of not having to use my brain~"

Wei Xi gave him a look of disdain, ignoring the two men's tacit agreement that he would come out for revenge.

After checking that nothing was left in the room, Wei Xi carried the arrogant Ling Yin downstairs, holding a scroll in his other hand and pouting his lips.

"I asked the post station to replace two fast horses," Qin Feng handed one of the reins to Wei Xi, "This place is not far from the Bingzhou provincial capital. If we ride fast, we will arrive after daybreak."

In return, Wei Xi threw the scroll to Qin Feng, and without caring what the person in the scroll thought, he got on the horse.

Qin Feng didn't mind, he put the scroll into a separate bag and rode his horse to catch up with Wei Xi in front.

In fact, the horses at the post station have their own shortcomings: these horses are for adults, and generally adult men.

Qin Feng, who is already sixteen years old this year, is fine. He is tall and has long legs, so he has no problem riding the horse at the post station.

It was just a pity for Wei Xi. Although she was fourteen years old and had grown taller, her legs always seemed a little cramped when she rode on a horse.

Fortunately, Wei Xi was a cultivator with a strong physique. Although it was a bit difficult for her to hold the horse's belly, it did not delay her work.

Three men and two horses were traveling through the not-so-peaceful night. The official road was crowded with refugees on their way at night. The smell of rotting corpses mixed with despair rushed into people's nostrils.

Wei Xi had reason to believe that the horse under him had trampled on several corpses.

Tiny, dense sighs squeezed out from between their teeth, becoming irrefutable proof that they were still alive. Finally, Qin Feng could no longer bear it and found a small road to avoid the large number of refugees, leading Wei Xi through the small road into Bingzhou.

As a result, the two of them passed by a team that went to investigate the missing military rations.

……

Bingzhou, located in the hinterland of northern Xinjiang, is adjacent to Fuzhou, Tingzhou and Suzhou. It is the land transportation hub of Ju State. Its territory is mostly fertile alluvial plains, and it is one of the granaries of Ju State.

There is a folk saying: "Bingzhou's wheat, the world's soldiers." This refers to the fact that Bingzhou supplied nearly 30% of the military rations. Its importance to the State of Ju is self-evident.

Wei Xi couldn't understand why a drought that wiped out the entire harvest would happen in Xizhou, yet now it was happening in Bingzhou. Xizhou was a natural disaster expert; she barely remembered a year of good weather and good harvests.

Wei Xi herself was a little unsure about the rumors and riots that Lian Gouqie mentioned, but she vaguely felt that these two things were by no means accidental.

The three of them struggled like this for a whole day and night, and finally reached the Bingzhou provincial capital before dawn.

"It's broken," Qin Feng reined in his horse and turned to Wei Xi, "Look!"

Following the direction of Qin Feng's finger, Wei Xi saw the city wall of Bingzhou, and then the monk's eyes discovered that the people surrounding the city wall were ragged refugees.

There were so many refugees that Wei Xi initially mistook them for city walls. It was not until he discovered that they were moving that he realized they were actually living people.

"What are they doing outside the city?" Qin Feng couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that Bingzhou has been taken back under the control of the government?"

"If that were the case, those involved in the rebellion would have scattered and fled," Wei Xi said, "these people are too calm. It doesn't look like they've lost Bingzhou."

Qin Feng grabbed the scroll with his backhand and forcibly woke up Lian Gouqie who was catching up on his sleep inside.

Lian Gou looked down at the city wall with sleepy eyes, and then opened his eyes wide, "Why... why did these people come out?"

"...Most people's steps are unsteady. They might be starving," Wei Xi speculated. "Or maybe...it's the epidemic that spread from Qi Tiaogou."

As soon as Wei Xi finished speaking, the expressions of the remaining two people became very ugly.

"Epidemic?" Lian Gouqie became completely alert. "It doesn't look like it..."

"Whether it's an epidemic or not, we should all be careful," Wei Xi said solemnly, "but even if they were sick, why did they leave Bingzhou?"

"Perhaps they're worried about the imperial court sending troops to quell the rebellion. Bingzhou actually has quite a few defenders, but most of them were withdrawn during the previous Qitiaogou battle. Once they receive the news, they won't be any slower than us in taking action."

Qin Feng's words made some sense. It could be heard that she didn't quite believe that this was caused by the epidemic.

However, if it is really an epidemic, Bingzhou will be in big trouble. The three monks are fine as they are physically strong and are not afraid of a small epidemic.

But it is different for ordinary people. Once they are infected with the epidemic, those with weak constitutions may not survive for more than ten days. What's more, there are refugees who are starving everywhere. Bingzhou is likely to fall into a vicious cycle.

Wei Xi made a quick decision and said, "Let's first contact the refugees outside and get some information to see if they are really sick."

"I want to see how big of a trouble Bingzhou is in!"

　Thanks to BABALA for the last two rewards!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)