This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 84 It's hard to save the world

After entering the village, the woman's home was not far away. After walking about a few hundred steps into the village, the group arrived at a courtyard with two thatched houses.

The weather was already very cold, and it was even more so in this village near the mountains. The north wind blew all the way down, and the woman was shivering with cold when she arrived at her doorstep.

There was a dead tree in front of the house, with paper spirit-calling banners hanging on its frosted branches. They were swaying left and right in the night wind, giving it an eerie feel.

"My dear heroes, this is my residence. Come in!"

The woman opened the gate and invited the four people in, then opened the door and went into the house together. At this point, the woman no longer cared about other people's gossip.

The house was not big, and the interior was made of ordinary rammed earth, with only a straw mat spread beside the table. After Lu Jing entered the room, he saw the oil lamp on the table and subconsciously wanted to take the flint beside it to light the lamp, but was hurriedly stopped by the woman.

"My hero, please don't light the lamp, this night is not peaceful."

"it is good!"

Lu Jing responded and stopped insisting. The three people who came in later and heard the conversation didn't have any objections. They sat down on the nearby stools and wooden bars beside the table.

The woman was deeply moved when she saw the three men carefully put down the children they were carrying or holding and supporting them on their legs.

When the three children came back, they were full. They felt safe with the other two and were warmed by their blood and body temperature. They had already fallen asleep.

"Sister-in-law, where does the child sleep?"

"Just put it on the bed in the inner room. I'll go get you some water. It's inconvenient to light a fire right now, so just make do with it."

"Oh, good!"

The woman bowed to the four people, then walked out of the house and went to the kitchen, as if she didn't care at all that there were four strangers in her house.

Lu Jing and others first put the child on the bed in the inner room, took off his shoes and pulled up the quilt, and then came out one after another.

The house was described as bare and empty, which was quite poor even for ordinary people. The four of them sat around a square table, talking in low voices while waiting for the girl to come back.

"There's something strange about this village. Could it be the monster the Master is looking for?" "It's hard to say!"

"shush"

The woman outside came in carrying a clay pot and a stack of bowls. She first closed the door, then put the clay bowls on the table and poured water for the four people one by one.

"My four heroes, I have nothing to offer you, just some cold water, which I boiled during the day."

After pouring the water, the woman handed the bowl of water to each person one by one, and the four of them thanked her after taking the bowl.

Afterwards, the woman put down the pottery jar and sat at the table. After the four of them finished drinking the water, the scene was silent for a while.

Yang Tianlei looked at Lu Cheng. Normally, he was the most talkative, but at this moment Lu Cheng was unable to speak. In the end, it was Lu Jing who asked.

"I wonder what my sister-in-law's plans are going to be?"

"As a woman, what else can I plan? I'll just live a miserable life. I'll send my three children to Shanglu City and see if there's any wealthy family that can take them in as slaves. It's better than starving to death with me."

At the grave in the mountains, the four men already knew the woman's family situation. Her husband had died of illness, and they had spent all their family's money but still failed to save him. Now she had suddenly lost hope in life.

While the woman was speaking, she was actually observing the reactions of the four people. Although it was dim, she could still see a little bit. She seemed to have thought of something, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and forced a smile to face the four people.

"Please forgive me, my family is limited. We don't have any extra guest rooms, let alone extra bedding. I can only give you one quilt. As for the beds."

"Oh, sister-in-law, don't bother. I'll be fine waiting here!" "Yes, yes, don't bother. When we are in the mountains, it's nice to have a flat place to sleep!"

"That's right, that's right. We can just do it here on the living room floor. We even have straw mats. It's much better than in the mountains, and there's a house to keep us out of the wind and rain!"

"We don't need blankets either. We warriors have hot bodies. If we cover ourselves with blankets, we'll sweat and won't be able to sleep!"

The four of them explained repeatedly, mainly because they had just seen in the house that there were only two quilts on the mud and stone bunk bed, which was not enough for four adults and children.
As they were talking, someone took out some silver from his bag and put it on the table.

"We will pay for the night, sister-in-law, please accept it."

The woman covered her mouth slightly, then stood up, stepped back a few steps, and knelt down facing the four people in front of the table.

"I know the four heroes are good people. Can you take the three children with you? I'd be willing to work like a slave for them."

"No!" "Please get up quickly."

Lu Jing and others were shocked and rushed over to support her. They didn't care about the taboo between men and women and lifted the woman up. But the woman wanted to kneel down again, so they could only support her.

"No, sister-in-law!" "We are people of the martial arts world and have important matters to attend to. How can we possibly carry such a burden with us? Uh, that's not what I meant."

"Sister-in-law, please don't do this."

The woman struggled to break free but couldn't. She went from crying silently to sobbing, which made the person holding her let go of his hand. Then the woman collapsed to the ground.

The four of them were in a dilemma whether to reach out or not. If there were outsiders present who didn't know the situation, they would think it was a robber bullying a decent woman.
After a moment, the woman stood up, bowed to the four men, and without saying anything, wiped her tears and went into the inner room, leaving the four men outside at a loss.

"Ugh"

After a long time, Lu Jing finally sighed, followed by the other three sighs, some light and some heavy.

"What a hell of a world." The reason for this sigh is probably because those who travel the world know how difficult life is today, and this family's situation is by no means an isolated case.

In comparison, although Wuling County had just experienced a period of trouble with monsters and bandits would occasionally appear, it could indeed be considered a paradise.

"What should we do now?"

He Yuchen asked again. He had asked this question several times today. The people around him were a little helpless and knew what he was asking.

"You can't really take the child with you, right?" "But if the child becomes a slave, there's no turning back!"

This is not hiring a domestic slave in the general sense. Children like this one are really selling themselves into slavery. Once they become slaves, it is very difficult to get out.

However, the four of them didn't have a good solution.

"How about pooling some money to buy him some land?"

"The money should be enough, but they are orphans and widows, how can they keep them safe? Widows are always surrounded by gossip. Look at the neighbors here, no one goes to call them home when it gets dark, they don't seem very kind-hearted."

The relationship between neighbors is sometimes very realistic.

Several people were silent again.

"How about helping him find a reliable woman to marry? I think she's not too old."

As soon as Lu Cheng said this, the other three people all looked at him.

"I think your words are the most unreliable. We are strangers in this place and you are acting as matchmakers?" "Who should I marry again? For you?"

"No, no, I have to marry a virgin in the future. I mean, find a suitable one, a suitable one. Isn't this a common thing?"

"We can't stay here for long!"

"Yeah, and remarrying with three kids? Four more mouths to feed? She's probably being sold off again!"

The woman who entered the inner room was not resting either. She was sitting by the bed, looking at her sleeping child, while listening to the noises outside.

The whispered conversation between the four wanderers was clearly audible in the quiet night, but the woman seemed to have become numb and had no reaction to those unintentional hurtful words.

At this moment, the woman's body trembled slightly because she felt someone holding her hand.

"Mom, I don't want to be sold. I don't want to be sold. I can help you with work, a lot of work."

It was the oldest girl, about ten years old. She had woken up at some point and couldn't help but hold her mother's hand tightly. Her little face in the dim light was filled with fear.
The four men outside immediately fell silent. They had also heard the noise inside and were sitting there with frowns on their faces.

Outside the thatched hut, a Confucian scholar with a wooden sword behind his back had been standing outside the courtyard for a while. It was Zhuang Lin who had returned from heaven.

Looking at the desolate courtyard, the soul-calling banners fluttering in the north wind, and listening to the noises in the hall and inner rooms, even Zhuang Lin couldn't help but sigh.

After this sigh, the dark clouds in the sky shifted, revealing the moon. Its light shone down on the front of the house, seemingly dispelling some of the gloom that had settled there. It also revealed the quinoa stalks with their dead leaves, a plant that provided a lifeline for the poor when they were desperate.
Even though Zhuang Lin had seen poverty and had a certain understanding of the background of this era, and even learned about more difficult times from the Internet and books, he was essentially a person who grew up in a relatively comfortable environment.

Seeing people struggling at the bottom of society, especially after seeing Yin Kuangzhi and his friends on a boat trip not long ago, Zhuang Lin was deeply moved!
It can be said that the fate is depressed and gradually entering a state of desolation.
"The frosty branches are broken by the north wind, the moon's shadow moves on the cold anvil in the thatched house, the child cries with a hoarse throat, the rice at the firewood door is exhausted and the weak quinoa is cooked."

The sound of poetry entered the room, and the four people in the hall who were feeling depressed suddenly became more energetic.

"Master!" "The Master is here!"

"Hurry up and open the door!"

The four of them stood up one after another and rushed to the door of the living room. They opened the wooden door and looked out. The figure standing outside the gate was none other than the Master.

"Master!" "Master, you are here!"

The four of them came out of the house one after another and arrived at the gate of the courtyard. The woman in the inner room also heard the noise and came out involuntarily. She leaned against the door and looked outside. When she saw the plain-clothed figure bathed in the moonlight, she looked like a person from another world.
Zhuang Lin nodded slightly to the four people in front of him, then bowed to the woman in front of the door.

"excuse me!"

A clear and peaceful voice came, and the woman woke up as if from a dream.

"This, this is the Master the heroes are talking about, right? Please, please come in."

Zhuang Lin nodded again, and followed the excited Lu Jing and the other three into the yard and then into the hall. The woman seemed to want to clean the house, but was stopped by Zhuang Lin again.

"There's no need to be like this, sister-in-law. It's getting late, so go get some rest!"

"Well, please make yourselves at ease."

The woman felt embarrassed in front of this Confucian gentleman and did not stay any longer.

Zhuang Lin looked towards the inner room again. A little girl was secretly looking outside. When she saw her mother coming back, she hid back.

"Master, what's the situation of this family?"

Hearing Lu Jing's words, Zhuang Lin withdrew his gaze and smiled.

"I can't save everyone in the world, but saving this family shouldn't be a problem!"

Zhuang Lin's heart skipped a beat as he glanced back towards the inner room. He realized that this family's fortunes were beginning to brighten.
(End of this chapter)