Chapter 616: Disaster Victims

Continuous slurping sounds filled the air as Niu San squatted among the crowd, holding a large bowl and avidly drinking the porridge.

The millet and sorghum porridge was thin, mixed with wild vegetables, radish greens, sweet potatoes, and yams.

Yet, even so, Niu San ate while crying. It was simply too delicious; he had never tasted anything so good in his life.

He stretched out his tongue and licked the bowl clean. Niu San then emerged from the squatting crowd and timidly made his way towards the porridge stall.

Although he was emaciated beyond recognition, the tall Niu San immediately caught the attention of the nearby local guards.

"What are you doing! Stand there!" several Niu Xin Village guards exclaimed, pointing their spears at Niu San in a stern tone.

They couldn't help but be stern; in truth, they were also afraid, wondering where this sudden influx of displaced people had come from.

"Well... officer," Niu San asked, craning his neck ingratiatingly, "didn't you say two bowls per person? May I have another bowl?"

As a large scoop of coarse grain porridge was poured into his bowl, Niu San immediately bowed and scraped, then retreated back into the crowd to enjoy his meal.

Although he was once a squad leader in the army and a respected figure, now, as long as there was food, he would even kneel and crawl through someone's legs.

After once again licking his bowl clean, the quick-witted Niu San secretly glanced towards the nearby village.

Unlike the ruined walls he had seen before, this village was vibrant and showed no signs of suffering from disaster.

This was truly strange. It was known that after the natural disaster, only one in ten people in Great Qi had survived; no one had been spared. Could this place be protected by a powerful master?

Just then, in a distant field, he suddenly saw a rift appear in mid-air, and a young Taoist priest in a red robe emerged from it. Immediately, his thought was confirmed.

From a distance, he saw the Taoist priest glance at their group, walk into the village enclosed by fences, and then speak to a strange person whose face was mottled with black and white.

Not long after, Niu San saw the strange person, with hands clasped behind his back, majestically walk to the front of the crowd and casually point with his finger a few times. "You, you, you, and you, step forward!"

These four were among the displaced people who were slightly larger in build, and Niu San was one of them.

"Listen closely," he began. "My Senior Brother Li is benevolent and kind-hearted! He is a great philanthropist! He cannot bear to see people suffer, which is why he is giving you porridge."

"But with over a hundred of you in such disarray, how can we manage? From now on, you four will be the leaders of these people."

"Make sure you manage your fellow villagers well. Do your business in the woods! Do not commit any wrongdoing. If anyone disobeys, point them out, and their porridge will be halved tomorrow!"

"Yes, yes, yes," the four replied.

Watching the four bow and scrape before him, Gou Wa's face was filled with satisfaction. This feeling was truly comfortable.

Seeing the four walk into the crowd, Gou Wa turned to Li Huowang beside him and said, "Senior Brother Li, although this is a good thing, and we don't lack food, with more and more of these people arriving, can we handle them all?"

Li Huowang looked at the displaced people and said in a low voice, "There won't be more and more. Not many people from Great Qi are left alive."

He had just checked Great Qi; within a radius of several tens of miles, there were probably only this many people left.

Just then, hoofbeats sounded, and Li Huowang saw Chun Xiaoman returning on horseback with a few local guards.

With his single arm, Chun Xiaoman pulled the reins, dismounted, and said to Li Huowang, "Senior Brother Li, you guessed correctly. It's not just here; other villages, including the county seat, have also seen displaced people seeking refuge."

"Are any of these people wearing white headscarves?" Li Huowang asked.

"Yes, but not many. After searching around, we only found three or five."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart sank. The appearance of these Great Qi people was not accidental. Gao Zhijian was originally the emperor of Great Qi, but now he was connected to the Dragon Vein of Great Liang.

Regardless of whether Great Qi was a lost period of history, people from Great Qi were now continuously arriving in Great Liang.

Zhuge Yuan's method had worked; the people of Great Qi had indeed been saved, though in a peculiar way.

Now, more importantly, it seemed that those who came along were not just the common people of Great Qi. He needed to inform Gao Zhijian as soon as possible.

Li Huowang nodded. After a moment of thought, he took a folded envelope from his pocket. "Please take a trip to the capital for me and deliver a message to Gao Zhijian and the Jiantian Division."

"Alright," Chun Xiaoman replied, taking the letter and immediately galloped away on horseback.

Li Huowang let out a long breath. The only somewhat good news was that only one in ten households survived in Great Qi, and the followers of the Son God had also suffered immense casualties. Otherwise, if they came to Great Liang, it would be a catastrophe.

Yet, even with so many deaths, the surviving Law Sect believers in Great Qi still posed a hidden danger.

"Senior Brother Li, are you thinking about how to deal with these people?" Bai Lingmiao asked softly as she approached.

Li Huowang slowly crossed his arms, looking at the displaced people in the distance. "Yes," he said, "although there aren't many of them, these are all people driven mad by hunger, and those who survived must have some unusual abilities or connections."

"If they are not properly managed, whether they commit crimes or are absorbed by the Law Sect of Great Liang, Great Qi, which has just achieved peace, might become turbulent again."

Bai Lingmiao bit her fingernail and thought for a while before saying, "Senior Brother Li, how about this? I have influence with the White Lotus Sect. Perhaps I can send people out to recruit these people as White Lotus Sect believers as much as possible. Do you think that would work?"

Li Huowang looked at her with some surprise. "The White Lotus Sect? Is this your own idea, or do the White Lotus Sect's high-ranking members think so?"

"Senior Brother Li, why do you say that? My status as Saintess in the White Lotus Sect is the highest."

Looking at Bai Lingmiao's face, Li Huowang felt it was time to talk to her about the White Lotus Sect.

However, before that, it was indeed possible to let the White Lotus Sect absorb these displaced people. Compared to the Law Sect, which tried to summon the Son God, the White Lotus Sect suddenly seemed much more benign.

"Alright, have your people act quickly. I estimate that the Law Sect, seeing so many starving displaced people, has already started recruiting them."

"Understood!" Bai Lingmiao nodded gently, then lightly pushed off with her feet and walked out of the village.

Bai Lingmiao returned shortly after. Seeing that Li Huowang was not at the village entrance, she walked towards the Bai family compound.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, Bai Lingmiao saw Li Huowang sitting on a long bench, waiting for her.

"Sit down, let's talk," Li Huowang said, gently patting the space beside him.

Bai Lingmiao sat on the bench and gently leaned her head on Li Huowang's shoulder.

"Honestly tell me," he said, "are you hiding something from me regarding the White Lotus Sect?"