Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

"You mean, you'll only come with us if we bring this person along?" Liu Qi frowned, looking at the burly man with a full beard standing next to the disheveled youth.

"This is my brother, who has protected me all the way here. I truly cannot abandon him and leave alone. Besides, he is a righteous man, skilled with a spear, and his usefulness will be no less than mine!" Miao Zhiming said with a firm gaze and cupped his hands.

Upon hearing this, Liu Qi carefully examined the burly man.

Although the man's cheeks were sunken and his muscles were somewhat atrophied, his eyes were very sharp, and he had broad shoulders, an unusually large frame, and thick calluses on his fists.

"Do you know how to farm?" Liu Qi suddenly asked.

Farming?

Upon hearing Liu Qi's question, the two looked surprised. Miao Zhiming looked at Wei Shi questioningly, only to see him shake his head.

Miao Zhiming chuckled and said, "Righteous man, although he can't do it yet, he can learn!"

Well, as long as this physical strength is willing to farm, it probably won't be long before he's recognized. Plus, there's the scholar that the Immortal Lord wants, so it's not unacceptable.

After weighing the pros and cons for a moment, Liu Qi nodded and said, "In that case, fine, let's go!"

With that, Liu Qi turned around and walked back the way he came.

As for Miao Zhiming, he followed with Wei Shi's help, but the two of them deliberately kept a small distance from Liu Qi.

"Young Master, are you really sure? If you go with them, there's no turning back!" Wei Shi asked.

"What can we do? We're going to die anyway. Rather than waiting to die here, we might as well take a gamble." Miao Zhiming said with a bitter smile, "Wei Shi, I've dragged you down with me. Otherwise, with your strength, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Young master is too kind. If it weren't for your care back in the manor, I, Wei Shi, would be nowhere near where I am today." Wei Shi shook his head and said seriously, "So what if it's a rebellion? With your knowledge, young master, you're sure to have a place in that stronghold."

"Be careful what you say, let's hurry up and catch up." Miao Zhiming looked at Liu Qi's back, seemingly lost in thought.

From the very beginning, he noticed these strange people who, despite looking like country folk, had complexions better than those living in the city.

But their clothes and appearance didn't seem to belong to the servants who came out of the mansion to do errands.

It wasn't until Liu Qi and the others left the city with the sheep and ironware that Miao Zhiming began to have some suspicions.

Ordinary villages wouldn't need so much ironware, nor would they spend so much money to send someone to buy it, especially since they also bought two sheep.

Only a knock-off could scrape together that much money.

This could very well be a plot to rebel!

And when the leader ran to the deserters looking for a scholar, he became even more convinced of this idea.

Although he was initially tempted, Miao Zhiming hesitated for a long time until he saw Liu Qi share his food with the deserters, at which point he finally made up his mind.

Whether intentional or not, the fact that they could still produce meat, and even dried salted fish, indicates that they had a relatively plentiful supply of food.

Moreover, they probably won't indiscriminately kill innocent people.

I never imagined that I would one day have to live a life of humiliation just for food.

Miao Zhiming sighed, feeling as if he were trapped in a quagmire, about to be swallowed up at any moment.

After bringing Miao Zhiming and the other man back, Liu Qi noticed something was wrong. The surrounding villagers were slowly moving towards Liu Ping, subtly surrounding him.

Liu Ping and the others also waited anxiously with solemn expressions, their hands gripping the hilts of their swords tightly.

They only relaxed a little after seeing Liu Qi.

"Walk!"

Given the urgency of the situation, Liu Qi said no more.

If this drags on any longer, all these people will swarm in, and it will be too late to leave.

Most of the villagers stood there, watching Liu Ping and the others leave, before moving back to their original spots.

However, a very small number of them, with fierce expressions, followed closely behind.

As they moved further and further away from the city, the group grew even larger after absorbing the wandering, starving people.

If no one wanted to be the first to step forward, thus benefiting others for nothing, they would have rushed forward long ago.

"Take these, have some to tide you over." Liu Qi took almost half of the salted fish slices and handed them to Miao Zhiming and Wei Shi.

"Thank you," Miao Zhiming said, taking the salted fish slice. He swallowed hard, resisting the urge to put it in his mouth, and tried to tear the slice in half.

However, prolonged hunger had left him with virtually no strength; even the hand holding the salted fish slices trembled violently as he lifted it.

"Young master, I can handle this small matter." Wei Shi saw Miao Zhiming's actions, gently took the salted fish slice, and cut it in half.

"The rest is all for you to eat." Miao Zhiming reached out and took the smaller portion from Wei Shi's hand: "Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. You should have seen those barbarians behind you, right?"

You and I both know they'll do anything for food, so you need to eat a lot. Every little bit helps you regain your strength. If they charge, we have to hold out until their reinforcements arrive.

After listening, Wei Shi nodded.

After all, since the other side is going to rebel, and this batch of ironware is very important, they will definitely send people to meet them, and the number of people will not be small.

But looking at the increasingly large group behind him, Miao Zhiming still felt a little nervous. He forced himself to quicken his pace and asked Liu Qi.

"Righteous one, may I ask how many people you have with you to provide backup?"

"There's only one person, but there's also the Iron Mountain God General. We'll be there soon, so don't worry," Liu Qi replied.

What? Only two people? And the other one is a divine general?

"You, you're trying to rebel, so why are there so few of you?" Miao Zhiming exclaimed incredulously, his eyes wide.

Liu Qi quickly denied it, saying, "Who said we were going to rebel? You can't just say things like that!"

Rebellion is punishable by death.

Undeterred, Miao Zhiming pressed on, "Then why are you looking for scholars?"

"Oh, the Immortal Lord asked me to find scholars, but as for why, we don't know," Liu Qi replied.

Hehe, Immortal Lord, Immortal Lord?

Miao Zhiming felt as if the sky had fallen.

He thought he was the leader of a righteous rebel against the imperial court, but he was actually a swindler who used the guise of a deity to deceive people.

He was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and naturally did not believe in the existence of immortals or Buddhas, but he could understand that it was not wrong to use the name of gods and immortals to win people's hearts.

But that so-called Iron Mountain God General is probably just a person who has been deceived by so-called immortal magic and believes that he is an ordinary person who is invulnerable to swords and spears.

Moreover, since it wasn't for rebellion, yet they paraded around under the guise of an immortal lord, their true intentions were obvious.

It's not uncommon in history for people to enjoy power through deception.

I never thought I'd be wrong about something.

Sigh, I'd rather just lie outside the city and die.

"We're almost there!"

Just as Miao Zhiming began to doubt his life, Liu Ping's voice came from beside him.

So what if they arrive? There are only two of them. How can they possibly handle the starving people behind them?

Wait, what's going on?

Miao Zhiming stared blankly at the scene before him.