Refuse to trample on the pride of heaven

"Then why are these people still staying here..." Tang He swallowed.

"Wait to die." Liu Jiqian's faint voice sounded.

Everyone was silent again. In a shabby corner not far away, there were naked bodies that had frozen to death, as well as people whose stomachs were bulging but they were still hungry and thin... They were both men and women, and without exception, they had weathered and numb looks on their faces.

All of them had either gone on a fast early on or had started fasting, so naturally they had no food. Moreover, these people were only a part of them. If they offered a helping hand, they would be targeted - if they could not help them, it would be better not to give them hope.

"They have run out of food, so what are they cooking in this direction?" A female disciple pointed to the smoke rising not far away.

"Cook food." Ji Yanli arrived here first. He had already inquired about the situation in the town in advance.

Food? Some of the wealthy people in the city had already fled, and there was no surplus food. All the tree barks and grass roots on the road had been pulled up. Where did they get food? Lu Wensheng suddenly thought of something, and his face looked a little ugly. Liu Jiqian noticed his expression and cast a concerned look at him.

Lu Wensheng was absent-minded, feeling uneasy and uncomfortable for no reason. When he opened his mouth, he was surprised to find that his voice was a little dry.

"They, eat... people?"

Ji Yanli nodded, speaking calmly as if he was accustomed to something: "There are always people who are unwilling to wait for death like this. Spring is almost here, and maybe they think that it will be fine if they can just get through this period. They want to live - whether it's a corpse dug out or dragged out, or exchanged with other people, it can always fill their stomachs."

The silent "struggle" of fellow human beings in suffering always resonates with each other - even if they think that mortals are insignificant, when they hear about cannibalism, others will subconsciously reveal a look of compassion.

"What is this imperial court doing?" Tang He was indignant.

Yan Qingshu didn't have the energy to liven up the atmosphere: "They are fighting, you can hardly take care of them, right?"

No one spoke on the way out of the city. Someone nearby cast a hidden look at them, but when they saw their clothes, their eyes immediately withdrew as if burned, and they returned to their previous state in a daze, staring blankly at the trampled snow on the ground, curled up in a dark corner.

There was a group of people standing by the empty road. They were much "stronger" than those who did not have the strength to speak. They also had skin covering their bones, but at least the skin did not sink into the gaps between their bones.

They stared intently at the crude cauldron in front of them. The noise of people passing by did not make them look away. The white meat inside was rolling in the boiling water. Only the fingers that were accidentally turned up were silently telling something...

Lu Wensheng took a deep breath and felt his chest blocked and stuffy. He forced himself not to look and continued on his way with the others.

There were corpses all over the ground, all in bad shape, and even the soil had signs of being gnawed.

The groaning people even tore their own arms, still not feeling full, eternal hunger, endless devouring, bloated bellies, but the hunger still gnawed at their souls. Large numbers of peasants fled everywhere, starving people were everywhere, and the dead were lying side by side on the road - this was the most real reality of the ordinary people suffering from natural disasters and man-made calamities.

On the way, they met many people who were fleeing in groups. The men were wearing thin, worn linen clothes that were covered with snow and had rough patches in some places.

The women barely wrapped their bodies with dull-colored cloths, their hair disheveled and their faces haggard. The older children were ragged and walked barefoot in the snow, with frostbite on their feet and hands - they were like lambs huddled together for warmth, their eyes full of helplessness and fear.

However, their mental state was much better than those civilians they had seen before.

A young man who looked somewhat out of place inside attracted their attention - he was wearing a dark blue plain brocade robe and a jade crown. Compared with those refugees, he just had messy hair and an ugly face, and was surrounded by people who looked like guards.

It seemed to be his dark cloud-carved silk cotton cloak, which was given to a woman holding a child.

The dazed young man naturally noticed them - they looked different, full of energy and vitality, and the clothes they wore were of excellent quality. They were completely different from those dishevelled refugees.

"Are you going to the capital too?" The young man was originally sitting in a place where he was swept out by the guards to rest. When he saw Lu Wensheng and the others, he stood up excitedly. It seemed that he mistook Lu Wensheng and the others for disciples of aristocratic families.

The refugees on the road rested at a distance from the young man - it was undoubtedly safer to follow the young master of a noble family, and at least they would not be easily robbed if they met other refugees.

The other disciples ignored the young man. They were used to the respect and courtesy shown to them by mortals, and they were very arrogant - perhaps they learned this from the "predecessors" in the world of cultivation.

"I'm going to the capital." Lu Wensheng responded.

"My name is Meng Chuanbai, with the courtesy name Zeming. I am the youngest son of the Meng family in Xuzhou. I used to study at Yunhe Academy in Qingzhou. Now that there is war, I am trying to rush to the capital. My carriage was intercepted by bandits on the way. Now..."

Before Lu Wensheng and the others could say anything, this Master Meng had already stripped himself naked, and the guards behind him seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"My name is Liu Jiqian, courtesy name Weiyun."

"Ji Yanli. His courtesy name is Zhuyu."

“???” No, you all have words, right?!

Lu Wensheng felt betrayed, racked his brains, and simply talked nonsense.

"Lu Wensheng, whose name is Yangming." I'm sorry, Boss Wang Yangming.

"Wei Xun, courtesy name Wenye."

......

Because a woman's maiden name can only be called by close people, Yan Qingshu escaped the disaster.

Meng Chuanbai was surprised that these people didn't tell him where they were from. He thought it was just a warning to him, so he didn't say anything - these people had extraordinary temperaments and were obviously not ordinary people.

"The world is in chaos now, why don't we travel together?"

The other disciples naturally didn't care and looked at the leading disciple - Ji Yanli, as the sect leader's first disciple, was the first to receive inquiring gazes. However, he looked at Liu Jiqian, the grandson of the grand elder. Liu Jiqian naturally looked at Lu Wensheng.

Lu Wensheng: I’m sorry he didn’t understand.

"What do you think, Yangming?" When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and Liu Jiqian simply called Lu Wensheng by his "father's name."

"Sure." It's better to have a local lead the way than for them to wander around aimlessly.

Although Meng Chuanbai was a disciple of an aristocratic family, he looked a bit naive. I guess it was because of his status as the youngest son of an aristocratic family. He was able to get a lot of information out of a simple chat - for example, Yunhe Academy was a top academy, it was now at war with the grasslands, the emperor was in poor health and the prince was acting as regent...