I've never felt happy to become an immortal.

Chapter 236 Redmi
It's another morning.

"I need to go into town."

Which city?

“Of course, it’s Youzhou City.” Ouyang Qingfeng packed his medicine box. “Do you really think I can support myself with a small clinic in this town or village?”

He shook his head and said, "Whether it's the medicinal herbs I have or the living expenses, they all come from treating high-ranking officials and nobles. Some of these illnesses can't be told to outsiders, so I have to go there in person."

Earning money to support your family is never easy.

"Got it. Do you need someone to come with you?"

“No need, they will send someone.” Ouyang Qingfeng had just said this when the sound of horses’ hooves came from outside the door.

A group of armored guards arrived at the village clinic.

"Young Master Qingfeng, are you ready? My master is waiting for you."

“Okay, let’s go.” Ouyang Qingfeng nodded.

Before leaving, he said, "If I don't return today, I will send someone to inform you."

Bai Xuan asked, "What if you haven't returned by nightfall?"

Ouyang Qingfeng transmitted his voice secretly, saying, "Then there's no need to wait for me to return. Just take the mute girl and leave this place."

"I am from Southern Chu," Bai Xuan asked in a low voice. "Where are you taking her?"

"Ask her yourself." Ouyang Qingfeng's tone was casual: "I'm not familiar with her, and I don't owe her anything, but she saved you, so you can't just abandon her, can you?"

Bai Xuan felt that Young Master Taixu's words were loaded with hidden meaning, and that he was definitely hiding something from others.

After watching Ouyang Qingfeng being helped onto the carriage, the guards quickly disappeared into the distance on the dusty road.

Bai Xuan leaned against the door, unable to see Ouyang Qingfeng for a while, and didn't know what to do, becoming idle.

The mute woman next to her was also squatting in front of the door, her hands supporting her cheeks.

"What do you usually do? Just stand here daydreaming?"

The mute woman thought for a moment and then made a gesture of 'scratching fish'.

"You're quite the swimmer." Bai Xuan thought for a moment, glancing at the fishing rod beside him, wondering if he could go fishing.

He spent a full two weeks cultivating his mind and body, unable to use his inner energy. He didn't find it particularly tedious, just a little boring.

However, it's not like there's absolutely nothing worth doing.

Since Jiang Chengzi has been lost, all he has left is the Lone Goose sword. Therefore, he has begun to re-bind the sword with blood, trying to communicate with the Lone Goose and establish a connection.

The process was much faster than Jiang Chengzi had initially.

In just half a month, the spirituality of the Lone Goose Sword has gradually become apparent.

Compared to the impetuous Jiang Chengzi, Gu Wu is more like a melancholy sword, as melancholy and sorrowful as an old man forced to separate from his wife.

Because of its characteristics, every time Bai Xuan talked to it, it would affect his mood, making him feel slightly emo, like he had opened NetEase Cloud Music, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, feeling tears streaming down his cheeks... Why did he cry? Probably because he heard the sound of a heart breaking.

Although this property is quite unpleasant, if its characteristics are amplified further, it can have a greater impact on people's minds.

Jiang Chengzi is a symbol of sharpness, with all its characteristics focused on sharpness and killing, thus lacking self-expression; Guwu, on the other hand, expresses itself too strongly, driven by a specific mood, making anyone it cuts feel EMO, or anyone it stabs feel depressed.

Thinking about it this way, Wenren Yue's Seven Emotions Sword Intent might just be a good fit for it.

But Bai Xuan certainly wouldn't practice swordsmanship seriously. Given his status, he doesn't need to practice at all; he'll naturally grasp it when the time is right.

Out of boredom, he rummaged through his storage ring for a while and took out a map of a tycoon, which he then spread on the ground.

"Let's play a board game for a bit," he said. "I'll teach you the rules."

The mute woman blinked, a strange look in her eyes.

……

The carriage was on its way to Youzhou City.

Ouyang Qingfeng was resting with his eyes closed.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of rapid hoofbeats, and the carriage pulled over to the side of the road to avoid the main road.

More than thirty riders galloped along the official road.

Judging from the armor, they should belong to the Youzhou army.

However, they should not be considered Gongsun Sheng's personal guards.

Gongsun Sheng was not only warlike and ambitious, but also had a certain degree of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

His elite imperial guards must be White Horse Cavalry. The White Horse Cavalry are skilled in mounted archery, and they come and go like the wind and shadow. They are extremely fast, which is why they can suppress the grassland people. They are superior and have completely absorbed the grassland people's fighting style. They have three thousand light cavalry under their command, all of whom are personal guards and imperial guards. The rest of the Youzhou army is organized into other units.

Although these cavalrymen were all riding black horses, they were all wearing armor, and should be the elite of the Youzhou army.

Thirty riders leaving the city is not a small number.

Ouyang Qingfeng glanced at it quickly, but did not notice that a small beggar wrapped in a cloak was tucked into the waistband of one of the cavalrymen.

……

More than thirty elite cavalrymen galloped across the official road.

"What was that carriage just now?"

"It must be from the Gongsun family. They heard that the daughter of Prefect Gongsun was in poor health and were searching everywhere for a famous doctor to treat her."

"Gongsun Sheng is quite generous, spending money everywhere to hire famous doctors. He's really almost unable to pay his soldiers' salaries."

The leading cavalrymen were talking in secret.

One of them spoke with a more forceful urge when he was angry.

The little beggar, whose arm was caught in the strait, felt his bones being crushed and hurriedly begged for mercy: "Sir, spare my life!"

"Don't strangle him to death, you'll need this little thing to lead the way."

"Brother, is it really worth making this trip just for some rice?"

"What do you know? This white rice is as white as jade. Even in Jiangnan, it would be considered top-quality tribute rice. How could it suddenly appear in Youzhou?" The centurion stroked his beard and said, "Why should commoners be able to eat such good rice? There must be something wrong with its origin, and this rice isn't old either. Don't you think there's something strange about it?"

"Brother, we're not very bright, can you explain it to us more clearly?"

The centurion cursed, "They're all idiots! Isn't it obvious that there are spies from Southern Chu here?"

One of the cavalrymen asked curiously, "But if they were spies, would they openly use this kind of white rice?"

"Whether he uses it openly or secretly is not important; what matters is that he uses it." The centurion's tone was calm but carried a chilling undertone.

"Now that we know, it's our task to confiscate this rice that doesn't belong to them."

"Besides, you don't want to go hungry, do you?"

As he spoke, the centurion, his face full of fierce features, gritted his teeth.

"Why should I risk my life to kill those barbarians on the grasslands if the soldiers' pay isn't being paid?"

"Right now, there's a place that has betrayed the Northern Zhou and is secretly colluding with the Southern Chu. There's an unknown amount of pure white rice hidden there. Just taking some back would be enough to eat for several months, and you could easily resell it for several hundred taels of silver!"

"Tell me, who wouldn't want this immense wealth?"

Almost all the cavalrymen's throats bobbed.

Of course I want it.

The land of Youzhou is bitterly cold, and who wouldn't lack food? Even soldiers might not get two meals a day.

"So we must take back the grain!" One of the cavalrymen, swayed by the words, shouted with red eyes, "Damn it, let's do it!"

"Bullshit!" the centurion cursed. "We're going to wipe out the spies sent by Southern Chu, don't you understand!"

"Yes, the boss is right!"

In the blink of an eye, a group of elite cavalrymen from Youzhou became butchers sharpening their knives at the common people.

In ancient times, it was perfectly normal for armies to plunder civilians.

Allowing soldiers to plunder the city after it has been breached has become a tacit reward.

The profession of soldier is neither noble nor sacred. Since it came onto the historical stage, it has never been given any sacred mission; it was born to kill and plunder.

In the history of humankind, there is only one army that has transcended the fundamental definition of a soldier, transforming from plunderers into guardians.

People in this era are far from having that awareness, and even many self-proclaimed civilized modern countries are the same.

They talk about ideas, but in their hearts they're all calculating business deals.

The centurion rode his horse at breakneck speed along the road, his expression cold, but inwardly he was secretly delighted and mocking.

His inner calculations were actually more complex than he could express.

Even if you manage to grab a lot of rice and exchange it for some silver, what good will it do?
How could one rise so quickly in the Youzhou army?

Can you spend money to donate a centurion?

Even if you keep a low profile in the army, you still won't be able to become a captain!
Therefore, yesterday he took the white rice from the little beggar's hand to meet a noble person, who came from Luocheng... Luojing!
This benefactor gave him an idea.

"Go and take back the rice, but don't just take the rice; do it thoroughly, preferably... massacre the entire village!"

"Now the entire Youzhou is dissatisfied with Gongsun Sheng."

"The military pay has been delayed, and there is not even enough food for the army. The powerful families in Youzhou are almost drained of their reserves by Gongsun Sheng."

"The common people are also living in great hardship. If the army were to massacre villages and plunder grain at this time, it would greatly damage Gongsun Sheng's reputation among the people."

“If Gongsun Sheng does not deal with the soldiers who massacred the village, it will incite public anger. Whether Gongsun Sheng ordered it or condoned it is not important.”

“If we deal with it, it will unsettle the soldiers. After all, if the army is targeted for the sake of a few commoners, who would dare to follow him?”

"Remember, you have to make a big fuss about it; nothing will get done if you try to do it secretly."

"Once the situation escalates, Gongsun Sheng will be unable to control it, and the governor of Youzhou will issue a decree. Do you still need to worry about your future not being bright and upright?"

Upon hearing these words, the centurion was filled with excitement. The thought that he might become a general in the future fueled his greed and wickedness.

A massacre of a village is nothing more than killing people.

He's done this kind of thing a lot!

Moreover, the village is full of the elderly and weak. Even the strongest men, without weapons, armor, or cultivation, how many blows could they withstand?

……

Guided by the little beggar, the thirty-odd cavalrymen galloped all the way to the village.

Upon seeing so many cavalrymen, the villagers hurriedly went to call for help. Soon, the village head, who was of high prestige, stepped forward. He was older and, sensing the pressure from the cavalry, bowed and asked, "What brings you here, esteemed soldiers?"

The centurion threw a small bag of white rice at the village head's feet: "Is this rice from your village?"

White rice was scattered on the ground, and Muramasa instinctively bent down to pick it up.

The next moment, the centurion drew his sword, charged forward on his horse, and beheaded Muramasa.

The old man's head fell to the ground, rolled twice, and remained frozen in a daze.

"As expected, he's a spy from Southern Chu! He actually ambushed and injured me!"

The centurion drew blood on the back of his hand with his knife.

He raised his knife and roared menacingly, "Brothers, kill these traitors!"

Leave no one alive!

The warhorses neighed and charged into the terrified crowd.

The little beggar collapsed to the ground, his hands trembling as he picked up the small bag of rice that had fallen to the ground. He stared blankly at the village before him, which had been transformed into a living hell, with cavalrymen charging around and slaughtering the defenseless civilians.

A knife pierced his chest and abdomen from behind, and blood gushed out, splattering onto the pure white rice.

His body trembled slightly, and all his strength seemed to drain away.

It slowly collapsed onto the ground, unable to move.

My gaze was fixed on the pure white rice stained red with blood.

It resembles white jade that has shed blood.

It's so beautiful...

It tastes delicious too.

he thought.

But, this rice is so beautiful...

Why would it cause the deaths of so many people?

(End of this chapter)