After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

In times of chaos and with parents absent, these children simply could not survive; they became walking food, and the tragedy of exchanging children for food even occurred frequently throughout history.

"The court is tyrannical; we might as well rebel!"

"Yes, the imperial court has been forced to relocate the capital, so who would care about our lives?"

The refugees cursed each other, insulting the ancestors of the Great Qian imperial family for eighteen generations.

Chen Futu said, "You can go to Yong'an County. There are porridge shops there, and you can also work and make a living."

"Wasn't Yong'an County occupied by the Northern Frontier King? Would the Northern Frontier King be so kind?"

"I don't believe it! If he hadn't rebelled against the Great Qian Dynasty, things wouldn't have come to this!"

Next, the people cursed the Northern Frontier King as well.

Zhang Liang suppressed a laugh, "Your Majesty, it must feel terrible to be wronged."

"I'm not that petty."

Chen Futu resisted the urge to recruit refugees to Dongchuan. He decided it would be better to order the gathering of people once they arrived in the prefectural city. At present, without a large prefecture in hand and without food, it was impossible to maintain order.

Even some of the grain from Dongchuan has to be sent to Yong'an County, where the number of displaced people is now approaching 100,000.

It was getting late, and Chen Futu decided to make do with what he could in the neighborhood that night, so he and his men found a small, dilapidated house to stay in.

During this time, Chen Futu noticed that more than one refugee was staring at Xiaobai, their eyes gleaming with a hungry, wolf-like green light.

Although Xiaobai is a silly girl, she has been living a life of luxury since arriving in the Northern Frontier, so she appears fair and clean. As for Qingyi, needless to say, even a peerless expert wearing plain clothes cannot hide her elegance.

The man in green lit a campfire and muttered to himself, "I'm afraid tonight won't be peaceful."

Zhang Liang also sensed that something was wrong; starving refugees are capable of anything.

When he was in Yong'an County, he met some merchants from Daqian. They said that when they were traveling at night, refugees suddenly jumped out of the wilderness and chased after them. Those people were a pack of starving wolves. If they hadn't left some dry food, they would probably have been eaten to the bone long ago.

As they were speaking, footsteps and the angry neighing of Red Hare came from outside.

Qingyi raised an eyebrow and was about to leave when Chen Futu and Zhang Liang stopped her, asking her to sit inside and avoid fighting with the people if possible.

Upon exiting the gate, they found hundreds of refugees blocking the courtyard, staring intently at the three warhorses, including Red Hare, clearly eager to attack.

Chen Futu gave a forced smile and said, "What do you all want? I don't have any food for you."

"Who says there isn't? The girl next to you is quite fair-skinned; she should be able to cook a few pots of meat soup to fill everyone's stomachs."

"Yeah, and that woman is pretty too. She's got tender meat on her bones. I haven't had any meat in ages. Maybe I should play with her first before cooking her."

The refugees chattered amongst themselves, and their words were chilling.

At worst, they could have demanded to be eaten, but instead they...

Chen Futu and Zhang Liang exchanged a cold glance, all pity vanishing from their faces.

They tried to boil Xiaobai alive, but if that girl got angry, she could raze a city to the ground with a single punch.

As for Qingyi, as a ruthless fairy who kills without hesitation, the fact that she has refrained from taking action is already an act of extraordinary leniency.

Chen Futu took a deep breath and said, "You're hungry, and so are we. If you want something to eat, go to Yong'an County. They are indeed giving alms there. While you still have some strength, it's not too late to go now."

"Your Majesty, something's not right..."

Zhang Liang suddenly tugged at Chen Futu's sleeve, and Chen Futu asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"Where do they get the energy to cause trouble?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Futu was also dumbfounded.

Yes, most of the people we met along the way were starving, and they would rather lie down than stand up. Why were these guys still so energetic?

Seemingly seeing through Chen Futu and Zhang Liang's thoughts, one of the refugees chuckled sinisterly, "We owe our strength to that couple."

"what?"

Chen Futu and his companion were horrified. "You killed them..."

"Hehe, that woman tastes good, but the man is a bit dry. Why don't you do us a favor and hand over that woman and that little brat? We'll eat our fill and then head to Yong'an County."

As they spoke, a manic light flashed in their eyes, and they drew ever closer to the cabin.

The voice of the woman in green echoed in Chen Futu's mind. Her tone was cold and full of murderous intent, "They can no longer be called human. Keeping them alive will only bring disaster. Let me kill them once and for all."

Ding!

[Host detected to be in a decision-making state. Please make a choice.]

[1. Choose to give way, hand over Qingyi and Xiaobai, and be rewarded with Saint-level cultivation.]

"Go to hell! Can't you be a human being? Saint, my foot! Who are you mocking?!"

[2. Choose to appeal to their emotions and reason with them, persuade them to do good, and reward them with a "good person card".]

Do you think they can be persuaded?

[3. Choose "If I don't go to hell, who will?" and cut off a piece of flesh for them. The host will be rewarded with the "Undying Golden Body" cultivation technique.]

"System, I'm fucking bastard, you fucking bastard!"

Please refrain from verbally abusing the system.

[4. Choose to kill them all. Since you're here, make the best of it. The reward for the host is a Jingguan Soul-Suppressing Stele.]

What is the Soul-Suppressing Stele?

[The host can inscribe some warnings on it, which will have a great impact on ordinary people. Anyone who sees the inscription will be influenced and will not dare to easily disobey the host's wishes.]

"I choose four."

Chen Futu had lost hope in the hundreds of refugees before him. They were certainly not the first to harm others. Qingyi was right; since they had crossed the line of humanity, keeping them around would only bring trouble.

[The Soul-Suppressing Stele has been distributed to the system space; the host can access it at any time.]

The system sound disappeared.

Chen Futu looked at the hundreds of refugees approaching, their eyes gleaming with a green light, and pushed Zhang Liang into the house, then closed the door.

With a clang, Chen Futu drew the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, his starry eyes turning murderous. "If I am not a son of man, then I will be a treacherous ghost."

"Kid, you can't stop us all by yourself!"

"Kill him, and we'll have a good meal tonight!"

With a whoosh, a group of people pounced forward, baring their teeth and claws. The next second, sword energy surged and blood flew everywhere.

Screams and wails echoed through the dark sky.

The refugees in the distance stared at the courtyard with suspicion and dared not even breathe.

Inside the room, Qingyi held the sleeping Xiaobai in her arms. Her beautiful face, illuminated by the campfire, had an air of grim determination about it.

The King of the Northern Frontier was destined to be a wise and virtuous ruler, yet at this moment he had no choice but to take action against the people.

As an elder, she was furious.

Zhang Liang's expression was also grim; such bloodshed should not have been added to the hands of a wise and virtuous ruler.

Soon, the courtyard became quiet.

Chen Futu stood in the sea of ​​blood, panting heavily, his hand gripping the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow trembling.

This was the first time he had taken action against ordinary people. Even when he killed a saint, his mind had never wavered, but this time his mind was in turmoil.

"System, bring out the Soul-Suppressing Stele!"