From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 382 Before the War
The capital city was heavily fortified.

Anyone from outside the city who wants to enter must be checked repeatedly, and it's unclear what they're guarding against.

There were many refugees outside the city, and the soldiers guarded them. There were also many monks walking among them, mostly old people with children. They carried cloth bags and would take out medicine pills from them from time to time to give to the weak, sick, old, women and children.

Whether it was because the pills were truly effective or for some other reason, those who received the medicine often knelt down to express their gratitude, sometimes even weeping bitterly.

Judging from his appearance, it was definitely not a pretense, but a genuine expression of gratitude to the monks.

“Those are all bald men from the Western Buddhist kingdoms.” Mo Tingyu, who knew the ropes best, said, “Sigh, such small favors have won people’s hearts!”

“Senior Sister Mo, how can this be considered a small favor?” Jie Kaiping had a different opinion. “Ordinary people only ask for enough food and clothing, and freedom from illness and worry. Since the monks can save them, that is a great favor. There’s no need to say what kind of ulterior motives the Western Buddhist Kingdom may have. As long as it is an act of saving people, it has its merits.”

Mo Tingyu was exceptionally perceptive and could not be refuted by Jie Kaiping's words. She immediately sneered, "It's nothing more than a tactic to win people's hearts. I know what you bald monks are thinking."

"Junior Sister." Before she could even untie the screen to explain, Ning Qufei came to persuade her, "The Tao is divided into Yin and Yang, and things have two sides. Although Qing Guangzi has a hundred evils, the monks' actions now are indeed not wrong. Even if Qing Guangzi and the people of the Buddhist Kingdom are trying to win people's hearts, at this moment, the monks' intention to save people is genuine, and the gratitude of the people who have received the pills is also genuine."

Ning Qufei looked into the distance and sighed, "As long as there are people in the world, there will inevitably be things that cannot be obtained. Buddhism explores reincarnation, so as long as there are people in the world, it is inevitable that they will seek out and worship Buddha."

"Senior brother, you know so much!" Mo Tingyu immediately changed her tune, "If you hadn't explained it so clearly, I wouldn't understand at all!"

She blinked, looking at Ning Qufei with a look of admiration.

“Junior sister, this is all knowledge that our teachers taught us,” Ning Qufei said with a smile.

"I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it." Mo Tingyu smiled foolishly.

Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang had never experienced matters between men and women and were not interested in them. But seeing the appearance of these two fellow disciples, they both felt that the Buddhist concept of detachment from worldly desires made a lot of sense. Otherwise, they would have wasted so much time and energy on such useless things.

Lin Yan and Meng Yuan remained silent upon seeing this; the former was moved by the scene and thought of his beloved wife, while the latter was thinking of his beloved wives.

"Brother?" While Lin Yan was in a daze, he felt someone pat him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw a man dressed in tattered clothes, with filthy hair and a face covered in mud thicker than Jie Kaiping's hair.

The woman was clearly a refugee who had also ended up there, but her eyes were bright, suggesting she was no ordinary person.

Sure enough, after the woman looked closely at Lin Yan, tears welled up in her eyes. She grabbed Lin Yan's sleeve and said in a sobbing voice, "Brother—"

"Where did this beggar come from?" Although Lin Yan said this, he still grabbed the woman's head and pretended to recognize her before saying, "Oh, Zhao Ying'er?"

Zhao Ying'er is Zhao Wannian's youngest daughter, and she is about the same age as Meng Yuan. Meng Yuan knew her when he was in Shenjing, but they didn't have much contact.

However, Lin Yan had watched the other person grow up, and the two were very familiar with each other.

Zhao Ying'er knew that Lin Yan had recognized her long ago, but was still pretending, which made her feel even more wronged. She wiped away her tears, then looked at Meng Yuan and cried, "Brother-in-law."

"..." Meng Yuan could only pat her shoulder gently and say, "Tell me slowly, I'll make the decision for you."

When Zhao Ying'er saw that Meng Yuan had already offered to take the load, she felt much more at ease and started tearfully pulling at the load.

It turned out that the king should have gone to Songhe Prefecture. After Qingguangzi arrived in the capital, the king issued a series of orders, first to honor and respect the Buddha, and then to erect Buddha statues and build temples in various places. For a time, chaos ensued, and even the capital was not at peace.

Zhao Wannian and others originally held official positions under the name of former members of the Ying family, but these were minor positions with little real power. However, not long ago, Zhao Wannian somehow obtained information and ordered his younger relatives and family members to flee, including Qi Wannian and others.

Although these former members of the Ying family had gotten wind of the situation, only a large portion of them managed to escape. Pillars of the family like Zhao Wannian and Qi Yongnian had no chance to leave and were all taken to prison. The families and relatives who did not escape were no exception; anyone who dared to resist was killed on the spot.

Zhao Ying'er was clever and the fastest to run away. After leaving the capital, she couldn't find any relatives or friends and had no one to rely on. Not knowing what to do, she simply rolled around in the mud and mingled among the refugees, living on thin rice porridge every day while thinking about where to go.

"I originally wanted to seek refuge with the Third Miss, but I had only gone a few miles when someone captured me, intending to make me serve the Buddha. Luckily, I escaped in the middle of the night." Zhao Ying'er sobbed, grabbing Meng Yuan's sleeve. Seeing that Meng Yuan remained silent, she said, "Brother-in-law, say something!"

At this moment, Jie Kaiping and the others also gathered around. Mo Tingyu said, "The Third Miss has set up a separate court in Songhe Prefecture. It's not surprising that these former members of the Ying family who stayed in the capital didn't run away early and were arrested."

"What else do you know? Is Uncle Zhao really going to seek refuge with the Third Miss?" Meng Yuan asked Zhao Ying'er.

Zhao Ying'er shook her head, looking bewildered, and said, "My father never tells me about these important matters."

“When Wang Er asked me to meet my junior brother earlier, the old members of the Ying family were not yet suspected,” Lin Yan suddenly said. “Or rather, Wang Er already knew that this day would come, which is why he asked me to leave first.”

As they talked, Lin Yan found Wang Er to be more and more kind and approachable.

"Your father and the others are just imprisoned?" Jie Kaiping suddenly asked.

When Zhao Ying'er saw that this man had scabies on his head and was dressed in rags, looking like a refugee, she couldn't help but feel a bit of kinship with him. "My father and the others are still alive."

"I see." Jie Kaiping looked confident and looked at Meng Yuan, saying, "I think the capture of these former members of the Ying family is probably due to the Ying family, but the most important thing is that the news of Brother Meng killing Dugu Sheng and breaking through to the fourth rank of martial arts has already come."

This is a reasonable argument. Even a king, of such high rank, is merely a physical body; how could he not be wary of a fourth-rank martial artist? Moreover, not long ago, a fourth-rank martial artist forcibly killed a third-rank Arhat.

Now there is another fourth-rank martial artist in the world, and he undoubtedly belongs to the Ying family. No matter how high the position of the king is, even if he can command the army of the world and invite the Holy King of Light to help him, he will still fear the edge of the sword.

Meng Yuan had a long-standing relationship with Zhao Wannian and others, and their friendship was extraordinary. If he captured Zhao Wannian and the others first, he could either attack or defend, and he could even try to recruit a few of them.

Only after hearing Xie Kaiping's words did Zhao Ying'er learn about Meng Yuan's deeds. Her eyes widened, her mouth agape, and she exclaimed in disbelief, "Brother-in-law, you've already accomplished such great things? You're already famous throughout the land?"

"What are you all doing gathered together?" At that moment, an armored soldier walked over. "Where are you from? What are your names?"

"You don't even know my brother-in-law's name?" With her backer now in hand, Zhao Ying'er's grievances vanished. She stood behind Meng Yuan and said, "My brother-in-law is Meng Yuan, Meng Feiyuan!"

"What Meng Feiyuan? I'm a flying yaksha!" the soldier said impatiently. "You're just hungry, get out of here!"

As expected, everyone dispersed. Meng Yuan and Lin Yan took Ning Qufei and his sister into the city. Jie Kaiping and Dugu Kang were too timid, so they just ate some thin rice porridge outside and kept an eye on Zhao Ying'er.

“A few days ago, it was a mix of new and old rice, and I could tell the difference just by tasting it.” After a few days of hardship, Zhao Ying’er had adapted to the local customs. “These past few days, it’s all old rice, and it’s getting thinner and thinner. I have to find a place to urinate after I finish my porridge…”

Zhao Ying'er stopped them. Seeing that Kai Ping and Dugu Kang were listening with great interest, she asked them how they met Meng Yuan.

Jie Kaiping said he was her brother-in-law's old friend, while Dugu Kang said he was her brother-in-law's friend.

"You two don't look like bad people." Zhao Ying'er took the flatbread that Jie Kaiping handed her, took a few bites, and then said, "You just smell like monks."

(End of this chapter)