Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 123 The Bandits' Spoils

On Crocodile Island, facing an attack from a group of armored crocodiles, Zhou Ye flashed out in three separate forms. One of the forms disappeared in a flash, and when it reappeared, an armored crocodile in the early stage of the Ming Jin realm was already hanging from the tip of its spear.

Zhou Ye tied the hunted oil crocodile to the gun barrel and smiled slightly.

Constant battles with peak-level Ming Jin beasts like Mimi have led to a rapid increase in his own strength. Therefore, while he may not be the strongest at the Ming Jin stage, he is more than capable of self-preservation. He can now easily hunt and kill early-stage Ming Jin beasts like the Oil Armor Crocodile, whose strengths and weaknesses are quite pronounced.

The only real problem is how to find the hidden monsters. Zhou Ye has been on Crocodile Island for three whole days now, and has only found one so far.

However, with this oil-armored crocodile, I'll have monster meat and new leather armor. I've already accomplished my hunting objective.

So, after most of the day, Zhou Ye returned to his little home. After cutting up the materials for the oil-armored crocodile, he rested there for two days, spending some time playing with Hua Hua.

Two days later, Zhou Ye bid farewell to the reluctant Hua Hua. He carried some other monster meat with him in his small garden, and then set off on his journey back to the county town.

However, after leaving the mountain pass and returning to the main road leading in and out of the county town, Zhou Ye couldn't help but frown slightly.

Along both sides of the road, several corpses would appear from time to time. Were these all refugees who had frozen or starved to death?

Zhou Ye's heart sank. Had the situation in Fufeng County become that serious? Even on the roads near the county seat, no one was burying the bodies of these refugees?

However, just as Zhou Ye was slightly distracted and sighing helplessly, a dozen or so bandits suddenly appeared in front of and behind him. Among these bandits, apart from the leaders, who were at the mid-stage of the Qi Refining realm, there were three at the early stage of the Qi Refining realm, and the rest were obviously ordinary people. They had already subtly surrounded him.

"Hehehe! Leave everything behind. Grandpa will grant you a quick death."

"???"

More than half an hour later, Zhou Ye looked at his "spoils of war" with a helpless expression in a secluded cave in a nearby mountain.

To be honest, Zhou Ye wasn't a bloodthirsty person. Even if he were robbed on the road, he could easily slip away and escape. Those weaklings wouldn't be able to catch him at all.

But while he might escape the death penalty, he was not spared punishment. Since these bandits had provoked him, they deserved to be taught a lesson. How dare they rob near the county seat? Was there no law left?

Okay! That has nothing to do with the law. It's mainly because I'm bored out of my mind.

Furthermore, as a master of stealth and concealment, Zhou Ye's tracking skills are also exceptional. In fact, the principles of many martial arts techniques and skills are interconnected, making tracking a few ordinary people a piece of cake.

Unexpectedly, after tracking down to the bandits' camp, they found dozens of corpses carelessly scattered outside the cave. Among them were more than a dozen young female corpses, completely naked and ravaged.

After sneaking into the cave, they discovered five naked, filthy young women.

In another corner of the cave, there was a girl whose clothes were still intact. She was locked in a dog cage that was so cramped that she couldn't even straighten her back.

Seeing such a horrific scene, Zhou Ye was instantly enraged. How could he possibly hold back? So, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, he swiftly and decisively killed all the bandits.

Killing someone is easy, but what about those six weeping women? Zhou Ye was dumbfounded on the spot.

From the accounts of those women, Zhou Ye finally grasped the general outline:

It turned out that these women were all refugees, and even the bandits were originally refugees. The area outside the county town was already in complete chaos, with war and uprisings everywhere. So these women, along with their families, wanted to flee to the county town for refuge.

But no one expected that while some of the refugees were law-abiding, many more were audacious and reckless. In one of the refugee caravans they had followed, some turned to bandits, killing their entire families and abducting all the young women. The bandits even wanted to expand their power; they robbed several other refugee caravans, including a wealthy family's fleeing convoy.

The beautiful young woman was named Wenxiu. She was the daughter of that wealthy family, whose entire household had also been wiped out.

Perhaps Wenxiu was very beautiful, and those bandits wanted to give her as a gift. They planned to pull off a few more heists before joining a powerful bandit group. Could Wenxiu really be given to one of the bandit leaders?

Until the bandits encountered Zhou Ye, they were ultimately wiped out.

Okay! Saving people is certainly the right thing to do. But now we're in an awkward situation.

"My kind sir! You can't abandon us. We sisters are all alone now, and we simply cannot survive in this freezing winter! Waaah—!"

The woman kneeling before Zhou Ye and speaking was named Sister Hui. She was probably the leader among those women—right? Despite being called "Sister Hui," Sister Hui wasn't very old, only around 18 or 9 years old.

"Don't you have any relatives in the county town to rely on? I can promise you, I'll see this through and make sure you get there."

"Master, really, no! If we had, my whole family would have fled to the county town long ago. How could we have been suffering in the countryside until now? We really couldn't have endured it any longer. But I never expected that halfway there— Waaah—!"

"And what about you?" Zhou Ye asked Wenxiu with anticipation.

Wenxiu knelt and bowed, saying, "Master, I have no family left. Even if we have to be your servants, please take us sisters in!"

Zhou Ye nearly coughed up blood. Saving someone had turned into rescuing a colossal problem?

And they really can't be left unattended, otherwise these women certainly won't survive. The best outcome would be for them to fall into prostitution, which would also be a hellish existence.

Zhou Ye wiped his face. What the hell was all this nonsense?

Forget it, since I can't think of a good solution, I won't bother thinking about it. Things will work themselves out!

"Okay! You all go and put on some clothes first, and make sure you stay warm. Also, make sure you eat a lot, and we'll talk after you've had your fill."

"Understood, sir. May I ask how you should address me, sir?"

"Uh—just call me Xiaotian! Also, I'm not some kind of master."

"That—Young Master Tian!" "Young Master Tian!" "Young Master!"

Zhou Ye moved his lips, but in the end, he was speechless and asked the heavens, "Whatever makes you happy. Call me whatever you want!"

You know what, those bandits weren't very strong, but they did manage to steal quite a lot of good stuff. Among them were three horses, over a dozen carts, a cow, a donkey, a dozen pigs and sheep, as well as poultry, eggs, salted meat, and so on.

Even the corners of the cave were piled with all sorts of random things. As for grains and dried vegetables, there were plenty in the cave.

But that's understandable. Unless absolutely necessary, who would leave their hometown and flee with their whole family? They would usually take only the most valuable possessions of the family.

Furthermore, if these were not wealthy refugees, they wouldn't have made it to the vicinity of the county town. They would have starved and frozen to death long ago. Therefore, robbing one person yields a huge amount of loot.

In addition, there were also money, weapons, shoes, hats, and cotton-padded clothes found on the bandits. These could also be sold for some money.

Seeing that Sister Hui and the others were busy cooking, Zhou Ye took down a piece of salted meat and a basket of eggs and placed them in front of her: "Eat more, don't be stingy!"

"Yes, thank you, young master!"

Ignoring the women for the time being, Zhou Ye harnessed three horse-drawn carts, one oxcart, and one donkey cart, tying all five together.

Aside from one carriage, which was reserved for the women, the rest of the space was filled with goods. The materials for the armored crocodile and the monster meat were placed there, along with all the livestock and poultry, and anything that looked most valuable.

Anyway, it's still the New Year period, and it's the dead of winter outside, so there are relatively few people going into the mountains. Not to mention, this cave is in a rather remote place.

Although there's still a lot left, we can move it later. Even if someone else discovers it and takes it all, well—maybe not! In the end, I don't really lose anything.

And so it dragged on until dusk before Zhou Ye led a long line of five carriages to an inn outside the city.

"Shopkeeper, do you have a private courtyard?"

"Yes, yes, esteemed guest. Our shop has several independent courtyards, the largest of which has a main house and four side rooms. We also have a dedicated stable and livestock shed, with grooms to take care of your animals. It only costs one tael and five cents a day?"

During the first month of the lunar calendar, inns are typically in their off-season. Seeing a large order come knocking, the innkeeper was extremely enthusiastic.

As for this strange convoy? Isn't that quite normal? They just encountered bandits on the road, resulting in many deaths and injuries, and these few are the survivors, right?

Besides, according to the rules of inns, there are plenty of strange and unusual customers. They would never be curious about a customer's background.

Zhou Ye tossed over a ten-tael silver ingot, which he had just stolen from the bandits: "Take five days' leave. Prepare a feast. After the meal, have the waiter bring plenty of hot water."

"Understood. Please come in, esteemed guest."

After everyone was settled, Zhou Ye finally entered the courtyard. Facing the six anxious women, Zhou Ye sighed, "Ah! Think it over one last time. If there are other places in the county town you can go, I absolutely guarantee a safe journey. Since we've met, I'll even give you some travel expenses."

The women exchanged glances. But after only a few breaths, their resolve hardened: "Young master, we don't want to leave. We want to follow you."

"Hey! Are you guys just trying to cling to me? Hey—!"

""

The women covered their mouths and burst into laughter.