My lord, spare his life!

"Pooh!"

Wang Qi wiped the water stains off his face.

The river water was murky and yellowish, and when he emerged from it, he felt as if a thick layer of sand had been draped over his skin. His clothes, soaked with water, sank heavily to the bottom. He simply tore off his shirt, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it to the water leopard to carry. Then he bent down and rolled up his trouser legs, tying them in a knot.

He smashed the tree into dust with a single blow.

"I'll do this dirty work—"

He stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the roaring riverbank, his face grim and his temper flaring. Back in Dongxian, he was a notorious tyrant, not to mention personally braving the rain to do this dirty work in the water. It was already a favor that he hadn't harmed Wang Ba, his officers and servants, or any of Wang Ba's children. Fine, he'd do the work, but no one even saw him.

The leopard and Wang Qi were of one mind, and the leopard was also irritable and swished its tail.

"The mountain spirit can't see it."

Ji Shuibao nodded repeatedly.

Wang Qi suppressed his anger and gritted his teeth: "This is so annoying."

Despite being associated with the water element, Wang Qi doesn't like water. On the contrary, he hates this kind of torrential rain, and he's not a very good swimmer. He only managed to improve his swimming skills to compensate for this weakness; he sank to the bottom as soon as he entered the water and almost drowned.

Ji Shuibao nodded its big head again.

Wang Qi passed by and kicked it. Before being kicked, the water leopard raised its front paw: "What are you nodding for? Grow bigger and lie on the bank to see if you can scoop out the silt from underneath. It's so annoying!"

With a splash, the leopard jumped into the river.

Its current size is not yet at its peak, with a shoulder height of only a few dozen feet. For an ordinary person to stand in front of this size of Jishui Leopard would appear very small, but such a large phantom of a star is still like an ant trying to shake a tree in front of the surging river.

Wang Qi stood on the shore for quite a while.

His personal guards, who had come out with him, rushed over in the rain.

"Young Master, the villagers have been calling out lately. According to the village head, only an old woman is missing. What should we do?" She's nowhere to be seen in this weather; she's probably out in the fields checking on the crops in the rain. At her age, she's extremely vulnerable, and we don't even know if she's still alive. We can't let everyone wait here because of her.

"And then there's—"

The guard hesitated somewhat.

Wang Qi watched as Ji Shuibao worked.

The leopard used all four of its limbs and tail to continuously scoop sand and silt from the bank—to prevent the silt thrown ashore from being washed back into the river by rainwater, Wang Qi instructed the leopard to dig further. The farther the distance, the more effort it required.

He asked, "Anything else?"

The guard said, "Those unruly people all call us robbers."

It is true that bandits take advantage of natural disasters to rob and plunder, and even kidnap people to sell as slaves. The guards felt wronged. They had done many bad things with the young lord in the past, and were feared by the common people of Dongxian when they went out. But this time they were really doing a good deed of saving people.

Doing good deeds and still getting misunderstood, sigh.

Wang Qi showed no consideration for his personal guards.

"What do you care how they curse? Will it take a piece of your flesh away? If they don't cooperate, why don't you brandish knives to scare them?" Wang Qi wouldn't force himself to accommodate others; he wasn't like the mountain spirit who wanted to be the mother of everyone. Even parents, which parent hasn't disciplined their child? There's no need to spoil them.

Bodyguard: "They didn't scare you, they're quite pitiful."

Wang Qi's guards shared his wicked nature; the fears of ordinary people couldn't satisfy their pleasure threshold—those farmers were all thin and bony, their patched clothes clung to their dry, emaciated skin after the rain, clearly outlining their ribs. With the weather so cold now, if they caught a high fever or a chill, they might die within days.

Wang Qi said coldly, "Then why are you spouting nonsense?"

"Well, I just wanted to show some consideration for you, Young Master..."

Wang Qi kicked the man into the rushing river. Before the guard could even choke on the water, the water leopard grabbed his collar with its claws and flung him onto the bank with a thud, burying him in the mountain of silt.

Bodyguard: "..."

After finally managing to climb out, they couldn't find Shaojun anywhere.

The guard, clutching his backside, asked, "Young Master?"

In the village, hundreds of people huddled together, trembling, staring in terror at the direction from which the sound of horses' hooves came. The guard spoke a string of unintelligible words in a dialect, and the black-armored bandits surrounding them finally made a move, sternly urging them to set off.

The child was so frightened that he cried out once, but the adults covered his mouth.

The villagers moved like ants towards the higher mountains.

The bandits, clad in uniform black armor, didn't resort to violence, but they wouldn't allow any villagers to fall behind. Each of them was a large man with broad shoulders and a narrow waist; even the slightly slender women were a head taller than the village men. Just standing there, they cast large shadows, much like the deathly cloud hanging over the villagers' hearts. The bandits also gripped long knives almost as tall as the villagers, their gleaming blades reflecting a chilling light even in the dark, rainy night.

Despite the difficult mountain roads, not a single villager complained.

"There are no caves nearby that can provide shelter from the rain."

"If there's no cave, we'll carve one out and use it for now."

They could set up tents, but tents were expensive and difficult to carry. Wang Qi's personal guard consisted of only twenty-five men, all of whom carried emergency food, medicine, and firewood.

Opening a cave would obviously be more cost-effective.

"Go in and start a fire to boil water." Ignoring the villagers' terrified expressions, Lie Xing Jiang Li's personal guards, who were skilled at digging tunnels, quickly dug a hole several meters deep, ensuring that every villager had a place to stand. They then turned to unpack the relief supplies they had brought out.

Villager: "..."

They were all so frightened that their hands trembled, but they had to hold back their tears.

The black-armored bandit, crouching on the ground dismantling things, pulled something out of a box draped in a straw raincoat and handed it to the village head, who was taken aback. What the bandit offered was a large bundle of food wrapped in grass leaves, still warm. The village head trembled as he took it, observing the bandit's movements, and carefully passed the food to the weeping child. The child wolfed it down, and the black-armored bandit showed no displeasure—even if he did, it wouldn't be visible; the bandit's helmet was covered by a large veil of black armor plates, revealing only his eyes.

The villagers were very quiet, their faces filled with despair and numbness.

Until everyone had a piece of food in their hands.

This...this robber—

They probably wouldn't be so kind as to give them their precious food, would they?

The village headman told the villagers to squeeze into the cave, while he himself sat near the outside. Of the twenty or so black-armored bandits, only a few were inside the cave; the others stood guard outside like door gods.

"Heroes, are you from the government?"

This behavior doesn't look like that of a robber at all.

Recently, someone said, "No, I'm your enemy."

Village head: "..."

The guard said, "Why bother with all this?"

The village head was startled by a glare and dared not utter a sound.

Before long, the hot water was ready, and everyone was given warming pills prepared by the army doctor. Villagers whose clothes were wet were also asked to take off their clothes to warm themselves by the fire. In this situation, there was no regard for men or women.

Until a dark shadow approached the cave.

The village head was so frightened that his teeth chattered.

Only upon closer inspection could one discern what the enormous black shadow was—a monster, with a familiar-looking person dangling from its mouth. It was none other than the missing old woman from the village! The old woman's right leg looked odd; it was unclear whether she had injured it herself or had it broken.

The guards stepped forward and bowed: "Young Master!"

Wang Qi: "What are you all doing slacking off here?"

The guard said awkwardly, "Isn't this to take care of these people?"

"They have hands and feet, how could they not take care of themselves? I brought you out here to work, not to stand around like door gods. I don't see you all this neat and tidy when you're on duty guarding the door for me."

The old woman was put down by the water leopard.

"She slipped and fell into a ditch on a rainy day, breaking her leg. You two who know medicine, stay behind; the rest of you, go and do your work."

The guard clasped his hands in a fist and accepted the order: "Yes."

Wang Qi ignored the complex expressions in the eyes of the people inside the cave and led his men away into the rain. These villagers had brought some belongings with them when they went up the mountain, and with the supplies brought by his guards, they should be able to survive the heavy rain for a few days. Once the rain receded, they could return home.

"Young Master, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

"What's wrong?"

He even went into the ditch to retrieve people; isn't that fulfilling his responsibility?

"Isn't Lord Boyuan trying to win people's hearts this time? We can't do good deeds anonymously. If we don't say a few words, how will these villagers know who saved their lives? If that shameless bastard Sun Wukong says he did it himself, won't we suffer a huge loss?"

"That makes sense." Wang Qi said after being reminded, "When you send the people up the mountain later, you can introduce yourselves."

The guard nodded: "Which family's address should I give?"

Could it be that it is under the command of Wang Qi, the young ruler of Dongxian County?

Wang Qi glanced at him.

"Personal guards under the command of Prince Tianyue."

Bodyguard: "Huh?"

Wang Qi: "Just state your family background like that, stop with the nonsense."

Bodyguard: "Oh."

Unlike them, the Hundred Ghosts Guards were much more quick-witted. They didn't have stern faces like Wang Qi's personal guards, nor did they threaten people with knives. They immediately introduced themselves as "Hundred Ghosts Guards under Guan Siyin of Tianyue," and casually mentioned that Guan Siyin's lord had sent them to rescue people. If they couldn't hear them clearly, they could repeat themselves.

Zhang Yang went into the water several times.

The items salvaged were not limited to people, but also included poultry.

Whether it was oxen, pigs, or sheep, the loss of even one would cause financial hardship for an entire family. Therefore, in addition to villagers, chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep were also sent to the nearby mountains. Zhang Yang had to go back and forth into the water up to twenty times at a time. At first, the villagers on the shore just watched, but later someone brought a bamboo pole more than ten feet long from their home and handed it to Zhang Yang so that he could grab it for leverage and save his strength.

Thank you.

Even Zhang Yang was slightly out of breath.

Fortunately, her stamina was still safe.

"Those of you who follow me, go up the mountain to take refuge first. As for your belongings—" Zhang Yang looked into the distance, seeing the mud houses that looked particularly small and pitiful in the wind and rain. In her voice, which had become hoarse at some point, she said, "Don't worry, once the trouble is resolved, I will send people to repair them for you. I, Zhang Boyuan, assure you, whatever kind of house you lived in before the disaster, you will live in a sturdier one afterward. Even if the crops in the fields cannot be saved, it doesn't matter. I will take care of your food and drink, and I will never let you all starve to death."

and so--

Don't risk your life trying to save crops.

These words are truly shocking.

Through the thick, noisy rain, Guan Si's gaze subtly fell on Zhang Yang: "Why did you promise them all that?"

"We must always give people hope." Zhang Yang knew she should say something inspiring, but she was tongue-tied and couldn't come up with anything fancy. After opening her mouth for a long time, all she could think of was a promise.

It's just like coaxing a child.

Guan Si: "They've spoiled us too much."

Zhang Yang wrung out his clothes, which were soaked with sand and rain, but did not respond. Just then, the Thousand-Mile Eye returned and discovered another village, not far away, but the situation in the village was somewhat complicated.

Guan Si translated: "Someone has entered the village and is robbing people."

"robbery?"

"Judging from their clothes, they don't look like bandits."

Zhang Yang leaped onto the back of the telescope: "Take me to see it."

Good news, it's not a robbery.

The bad news is that the local government is requisitioning grain.

Zhang Yang, hiding in the shadows, listened to the commotion for a while, puzzled, and gave Guan Si a look. Guan Si, however, was unsurprised: "After a natural disaster, everyone is short of food. Local officials prioritize the common people in the city. They collect all the surplus grain from the villages and put it in the granary, so that if anything goes wrong, they can use it to quell the situation..."

In addition, there were also those who took advantage of the chaos to loot.

They euphemistically call it helping people salvage food and property.

In any case, these common people cannot be protected.

Zhang Yang gritted his teeth: "Truly despicable!"

All of these are human lives; how can there be any distinction between high and low, noble and base?

Guan Si was merely mistaking the situation; Zhang Yang had already drawn his bow and shot an arrow that killed one man, and the commotion unsurprisingly alerted others.

Zhang Yang found the bow and arrow too slow, so he simply grabbed his long spear and jumped out.

She shouted, "Who dares to run wild on my land?"

"What is it?"

The next second, he was stabbed to death by a golden light.

Zhang Yang killed five people, and the other red-named individuals were terrified at the sight, completely losing the arrogance they had displayed when facing the village's elderly and weak. They all thought Zhang Yang was some chivalrous outlaw who had run into trouble. Faced with pleas for mercy, Zhang Yang did not finish them off.

She stared intently at the red names above their heads.

He gripped the long spear tighter and tighter, suppressing the urge to kill those with high reputations, and said, "I'll give you a chance to redeem yourselves."

She needs people now.

"Please give your orders, sir."

"You gather the villagers and seek refuge in the nearby mountains. I will send men to accompany you. Don't try anything funny, or I'll stab you all to death!" The five unfortunate corpses were still lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.

"Yes, yes, I'll take care of it right away."

Saving lives is the priority; we can worry about the rest later.

He figured he was outnumbered, but once he reunited with his comrades, he could deal with this arrogant rogue later. He carried this thought with him as he climbed the mountain, until he saw a group of armored soldiers. His legs went weak, and he nearly tumbled down the slope.

No, these people—

What kind of demons and monsters are they?

Zhang Yang's men were scattered, but they had plenty of work to do, either cleaning and repairing the riverbanks or clearing silt. There were also several who, like Wang Qi, could release celestial illusions. Sun Ban, a scout, could spot the commotion from afar and immediately reported it.

At first, Sun Ban didn't expect that he was Zhang Yang's man.

On the third day of the torrential rain, all the low-lying riverside villages were submerged, barely reaching the rooftops of the small mud houses. Sun Ban's troops were trapped in their camp and had to build flood defenses. A message came back from the scout camp that a detachment of soldiers had been attacked while scouting the water level.

To be precise, the other party thought they had come to kidnap people.

They were the first to make a move.

Sun Ban: "Steal people? Steal whose people?"

? ?(?w?)

I'm not sure if it's a problem with the keyboard's motherboard or the switches, but the W key has been intermittently unresponsive since today (I remember it doing this once before). I can't type continuously, and the Pinyin input method is having difficulty recognizing it. At first, I thought the keyboard was out of power, but then I couldn't resist replacing the switches, and it worked again (even though they were cheap switches, are they really that easy to break?).