My son, how could you be Lü Bu?!

Chapter 118 The Taoist of Peace

The large, sprawling caravan traveled for miles, swaying and rattling through Yanmen County, Taiyuan County, and Shangdang County.

They had already traversed the Taihang Mountains and arrived at the territory of Hanoi County.

Having arrived in Hanoi, Lü Ping, who had been cooped up in the carriage for half a month, finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He found following the caravan too slow, so he took his eldest son and a dozen or so wandering knights and broke away from the caravan, heading ahead first.

Since ancient times, the Taihang Mountains have been a breeding ground for bandits, especially during times of chaos and disaster, when the frequency and number of bandits are at their highest.

This is not.

As Lü Ping and his group were traveling along an official road, a group of bandits suddenly sprang out from the dense woods on both sides of the road.

"Hey!"

The leader of the bandits was dressed in rags; calling him a bandit would be more accurate than calling him a beggar.

He held a nicked ring-pommel sword in his hand and called out somewhat awkwardly.

"This mountain is mine! These trees are mine! I want to...I want to pass through here..."

But before the man could finish speaking...

With a whoosh!

An arrow flew straight out.

By sheer coincidence, the arrow struck the man's ring-pommel sword, piercing it through.

The shock caused him to loosen his grip and fly straight out.

Lu Bu slowly sheathed his arrow, his thick eyebrows furrowed as he looked at his father.

"Father."

"Why are there so many bandits here?"

"This is the third group we've encountered today!"

"The bandits were numerous, usually because the villagers couldn't survive, so they abandoned their hoes and went up the mountain to become thieves."

Lu Ping's expression was also unpleasant, and he shook his head slightly.

"However, I don't know the specific reason either."

"I remember there weren't this many bandits in the north."

"Life is hard for everyone, teach them a lesson, but don't take their lives."

Lü Bu nodded slightly.

Just as the Lü family father and son were talking.

The group of bandits in the distance, who looked like refugees, had been alerted by the arrow Lu Bu had just shot, realizing that although they were few in number, they were extremely dangerous.

While the two were talking, he hurriedly fled into the woods.

It made a series of rustling sounds as the leaves rubbed against each other.

When Lü Bu heard the sound, he instinctively gripped his bow and arrow tightly and looked up ahead.

This group of bandits, who had just robbed the road and hadn't even finished speaking, had long since disappeared from the sight of the dozen or so riders.

Lu Bu tightened the reins slightly, ready to spur his horse and give chase.

Lu Ping shook his head helplessly, but reached out to stop his eldest son.

"Never mind, it's unnecessary."

"Let's keep looking ahead and see if we can find a place with people, and ask around to find out where this place is."

Lu Bu then sheathed his bow and arrow and nodded slightly.

A group of a dozen or so riders, gripping their horses tightly, rode forward.

They traveled for another half an hour.

A village appeared faintly in the distance, accompanied by bursts of noise.

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the village.

"We've been walking all day, and finally we're seeing people!"

Upon seeing this, Lü Ping's eyes lit up instantly.

"Let's go take a look!"

A dozen or so riders spurred their horses and headed toward that place.

Right in the center of the crowd.

A middle-aged woman in her thirties was holding a child who looked no more than seven or eight years old, but was so thin and pale from hunger that she was wailing loudly.

The child was pale and unresponsive in her arms.

A group of villagers surrounded them, their faces full of sympathy, and they sighed softly.

"The Zhu family is truly in a sorry state."

"The head of the family was conscripted to fight in the war two years ago and never returned. The government did not give him the compensation that should have been paid, and it is said that someone took it."

"The head of the household is dead, leaving only a widow and her children at home. This Zhu woman doesn't have much earning power either."

"Originally, we had three children, but because we couldn't afford the head tax, we had to abandon the two younger ones and leave them in the wilderness to fend for themselves."

"The two younger ones had just passed away when the older one suddenly fainted and looks like he won't live more than a few days."

talking.

The villagers also looked saddened, as if they shared the same sentiment.

I don't know who sighed.

"That's how the world is, what can we do?"

The villagers who were watching all nodded in unison, their faces full of sorrow.

"Yeah, what can we do about it?"

Hearing the villagers' discussion from afar, Lü Ping was also taken aback.

He never expected that Hanoi County, which was only separated from Luoyang by a river, had already reached this point.

He led a dozen or so riders, dismounted, parted the crowd, and slowly approached the mother and child inside.

From a distance, Lu Ping could tell from the child's expression that the child had simply fainted from hunger because he hadn't eaten for a long time.

Seeing that this group of men, carrying knives and swords, were squeezing into the innermost part, the villagers who had just been muttering complaints immediately shut their mouths.

He simply made way for them, observing Lü Ping and his group with a hint of wariness.

Lu Ping walked beside the mother and son, sighed softly, and took out some specially made snacks from his pocket.

He broke the snack into pieces, squatted down, and was about to put it into the child's arms.

But his hand had not yet reached the child's mouth.

boom!

A slightly withered hand was immediately placed to cover the child's mouth.

"What are you going to do!"

Those hands belonged to the middle-aged woman, whose cheeks were sunken inward, revealing her bones, and she looked at Lü Ping with extreme caution as she witnessed this scene.

The surrounding villagers all looked anxious and whispered their advice to dissuade him.

"Zhu, what are you trying to do?"

"You woman, this important person wants to help you, how can you be so ungrateful?"

"that is!"

"6

""

The woman called Zhu simply glanced blankly at the group of villagers around her.

She didn't say anything, but stubbornly placed her hand between her child and Lü Ping.

Lu Ping glanced at what he was holding and spoke softly.

"I feed him something, it's all edible."

The middle-aged woman stubbornly raised her head and finally spoke, her voice hoarse but extremely firm.

"No! No way!"

"I can't trust anyone now!"

"No one can approach my youngest son unless the immortals come!"

Towards the end, the middle-aged woman's voice even carried a hint of ruthlessness.

She looked around warily, as if afraid someone would take her son away.

"An immortal?"

The middle-aged woman's words caused the group of riders following Lü Ping to look at each other in bewilderment.

Lu Ping was also completely taken aback.

The middle-aged woman had barely finished speaking when Lü Ping hadn't even had time to retract his outstretched hand.

Deep within the village, several Taoist priests wearing yellow turbans and carrying staffs hurried over, led by a villager.

Behind this group of Taoist priests followed several minor officials dressed in black robes, their faces full of helplessness.

The Taoists hurried toward this place.

The villagers quickly scattered.

The middle-aged woman on the ground immediately showed joy upon seeing the group of Taoists wearing yellow turbans.