Cornflower Witch

Chapter 247 Return to Jiaoshi City

Sitting by the campfire, Xilutiya listened to these people recount the changes in Jiaoshi City over the past few years. Originally, she wanted to get some information from the pursuer captain, but unfortunately, he was not strong enough, or perhaps her blade was too fast. Before Xilutiya could use medicine to stop the bleeding, he passed away.

"Since the Antirians occupied this place, they first seized Viscount Schefeng's castle, held constant banquets, and then searched the wealthy area in the west of the city one by one. The original nobles and rich people were all plundered, and they had to pay a lot of money to avoid being imprisoned by them on various charges."

"During that period, I heard that Viscount Xue Feng also suffered a lot of losses."

"However, after that, Viscount Xue Feng, along with his family and Maester Hyde, left Jiao Shi City and went to a distant place."

About six months later, the new lord of Jiaoshi City was appointed. It was Somailin, the former logistics officer of Antiy's army. He was cunning and cruel, and always used various excuses to increase taxes. Many people suffered and were forced to flee Jiaoshi City.

“During that period, the permanent population of Jiaoshicheng decreased significantly.”

"Seeing that the situation could not be sustained, he reluctantly agreed to reduce taxes, but soon he discovered the mine buried in the back mountain and began to find people to dig the mine shaft and resume mining."

"After the mine was restored, it was usable, but it was extremely deep and winding, and mining was very dangerous. He was reluctant to part with his loyal Antian soldiers, so he announced a series of strict laws in the city. Anyone who made a slight mistake would be sent to the mine to work."

"That's how we were captured by his soldiers and then forced to go there to mine."

“People die there almost every day, and the work is extremely tiring. Even if you find gems, you can only exchange them for food. Under such circumstances, we have no choice but to find a chance to escape.”

"So much has happened," Silti sighed.

She didn't quite understand why Somailin was so cruel and short-sighted. If things continued like this, Jiaoshi City would definitely gradually decline and the population would dwindle.

Without a population, territory alone is of little use. It is impossible to solidify the physical form through the rituals of the "Royal School," and without a population, there is no tax base, making economic development impossible.

A lord with even a little insight and foresight wouldn't be so harsh. Even if he were greedy, he would at least maintain a semblance of a good reputation. Many nobles still care a lot about their image.

After calming everyone down, Hilti took out the food she had stored and distributed it to everyone. Many of these were high-quality food biscuits that the association had given her when she was in the Shadow World. Because she grew her own, she had just left these uneaten.

Just a small piece was enough to fill their stomachs. The high-quality dry rations and biscuits quickly satiated these refugees, who then slept by the campfire.

Hiltiya did a quick count and found that there were 31 refugees in total. There were originally 42 people when they fled, and about 11 of them died on the way.

They said there were about 400 laborers in the mine, and even if they escaped, they would be replaced quickly.

After a night, Hilti served breakfast to everyone and then asked them what their plans were.

“We dare not go to other cities because there are Antiochians there too, and they will definitely put out a warrant for our arrest.”

"We can only go deeper into the mountains, and maybe we can find a place to settle down there."

Living in the deep mountains alone would be extremely dangerous, but now that there are 31 of them, with a little division of labor and cooperation, they might be able to survive.

“In that case, I’ll help you find a suitable place to settle down first.” After thinking for a moment, Hilti decided to go all out and help.

After that, she spent about three days helping these people find a secluded canyon deep in the mountains so they could build a settlement there.

Because Hilti had previously led the establishment of Lantern Town, she was quite adept at handling small settlements of about thirty people.

After setting up the well, the shed, and the small plots of land cultivated in the woods, she also scattered a lot of 'sickle vine' seeds around the settlement and encouraged them to ripen.

Some vines block the way, making it impossible for ordinary wild animals to get close, and the hidden path through the thorn bushes is known only to the residents inside.

"Thank you, Lady Tiya."

After the settlement was built, the people bowed to the girl with great gratitude, and some were so excited that they couldn't speak.

"If you need anything after this, just tell us what to do." If it weren't for this girl saving them, they would either have died that night or been dragged back to that mine to suffer and wait to die.

Not only can they survive now, but they will also have a safe place to live in the future. In today's chaotic country, there is probably no better place than this.

"Don't get so worked up. There's not much I can do anyway." Hilti shook her head, then thought of something.

She summoned the white windhorse and had it stay at the settlement for the time being. This would serve two purposes: firstly, to protect the people, and secondly, because she was going to Jiaoshi City later, taking the horse with her would be too conspicuous, and she wouldn't be able to travel alone afterwards.

"You can stay here for now, I'll be back later." Sylvia stroked the white horse's forehead and patted its neck, telling it to stay.

After giving some instructions to everyone, Hiltiah put her hood back on and left.

It wasn't far from Scorched Stone City; she could reach it in a day on foot, and as a superhuman, her speed far exceeded that of ordinary people. On the way, Silti thought about the familiar faces in Scorched Stone City, probably the Adventurers' Guild's Mylin. She wondered if Ray was still there; he might still be there, or he might have gone elsewhere to study or travel.

To avoid being discovered, Hilti changed into a simple linen outfit, dyed her hair black, and then recalled the thief's diary she had read in her early years, as well as the 'stealth technique.' With her current level of knowledge and status, mastering this low-level ability was a piece of cake.

【Concealment Technique Lv.2】(Mist Shadow): Blurrs one's own figure, reducing one's presence and making one less noticeable. In battle, it can also make one harder to hit.

With this aid, one can barely suppress their aura to around 'first rank'.

As for her identity, she quickly came up with a plan: she would say that she was a herb gatherer who lived in the countryside and came to the city to sell the herbs she had collected. However, considering that the guards might not believe her, Hilti also prepared a 'Phantom Eye' potion, the effects of which were similar to the 'Phantom Curse Eye' that Komia had used back then.

As evening approached, Hilti arrived at the gates of Scorched Stone City.

Looking up at this familiar door, the scene of Mrs. Fran and Maestro Hyde seeing me off three years ago is still vivid in my mind. I never imagined that a few years have passed and everything has changed.

Hiltiya sighed inwardly for a moment, then lowered her head and followed the others through the city gate.

"What are you doing here?" Antioch guards stopped the girl and asked, seeing that she was wearing a hood.

“I’m here to sell the herbs I’ve gathered myself.” Hiltiya opened the basket she was carrying, revealing the various herbs she had collected inside.

After a quick check, it was confirmed that there was nothing wrong, but the guard still grabbed a handful of herbs and placed them on the table next to him.

"We need these for inspection. You can go in now."

The loss of some common herbs wasn't a big deal for Hilti, but she still lowered her head and didn't protest, lest she attract the guards' attention.

Afterwards, she and the other travelers entered the city. When they were quite far from the city gate, her companions began to complain about the guards they had seen earlier.

"These guys are like wild dogs that have never eaten meat; they'll plunder everything they can find." The man in front of them was an uncle selling fruit.

"That's right, these Antigeans have no manners at all," the woman next to me complained.

“Back in the days of Legas, I never heard of any nobles allowing their men to confiscate goods brought into the city. Now, who would dare to do business in Scorched Stone City, except for those of us who live in the surrounding villages and can’t go far away?”

"Just you wait and see, there will only be fewer and fewer people in this city in the future. In a few years, I will save up some money, move to live with relatives far away, and never stay here again."

"Where can we move to? The Antirians have taken over everything, and I've heard other countries are also at war." The uncle sighed.

Listening to the whispers of the residents around her, Hilti didn't interrupt. Instead, she slowly walked across the street and finally stopped in front of the Adventurers' Guild.

This place is much quieter than before. Although you can still see some adventurers, most of them are only 'Tier 1' and no 'Tier 2' characters have appeared.

Hiltiya thought for a moment, then picked up her basket and went inside.

She first went to the bulletin board and looked at the recent task list. As usual, there were tasks such as clearing dangerous wild animals and finding rare medicinal herbs, but the number of tasks was significantly reduced.

However, compared to the past, there are now many more wanted notices. The most prominent ones are the wanted notices for Prince Steve Jobs and Princess Mosha, followed by notices for some dangerous criminals.

It seems that during the period of transition between the two countries, there were many cases of lost or stolen property. It makes sense, as the official forces were tied up in the war at that time and no one paid attention to the activities of thieves. As long as they didn't steal from the homes of high-ranking nobles, no one would bother to investigate.

Then, at the very bottom, Silti saw a newly posted notice.

'Wanted Criminal (★★)'; This person is dressed in a dark gray hooded robe and may be an assassin. He is elusive and has killed the guards of Jiaoshi City and let the escaped miners go free.

Uh… is this talking about herself? Hilti looked at the hooded portrait above, and it seemed that apart from the clothes being roughly described, there was nothing about her.

Yesterday, the soldiers fled in a panic, so there was no chance to take a close look and remember anything. Besides, she was wearing a veil at the time, so it was impossible to discern her appearance.

The reward is five gold coins, and one more gold coin will be awarded after the whereabouts are confirmed. After silently reading the rewards, Hiltiya was a little amused and exasperated.

Is that all? No, for ordinary people in the surface world, that's a lot. She shook her head, shaking off the price system she had developed in the woodland, and tried to restore her past concept of prices.

However, such a notice certainly couldn't confirm her identity. Reassured, she walked towards the inner side of the Adventurers' Guild, where she saw familiar faces.

The saleswoman, Mylene, remained seated, explaining the mission to an adventure team.

(End of this chapter)