Doctor will never die in a hellish situation.

Even if it doesn't reach the level of mastery of the Dark Rope, the grappling hook designed by the Snow Pheasant is easy to use, and it only requires enough strength to grab the rocks on the cliff.

After several attempts, Oleg successfully constructed an escape route.

Qin Duanyu and Vika were manageable; given the quality of Rhodes Island's technology department's products, Nearl could barely handle them. However, the fully armed Shield Guards, resembling human tanks, were clearly too heavy for ropes and grappling hooks to bear.

Although it is often said that weapons and armor are a warrior's life, in this situation, no one would be so foolish as to actually intend to hold onto them and wait to die in the mudslide. Oleg made a decisive decision and ordered his men to remove their heavy equipment.

Finally, just before the boulder beneath their feet was swallowed up, the group managed to escape danger and, under the cover of night, fled into the distance. They had traveled all day and ended up in this comical state.

But this doesn't mean Qin Duanyu and the others are safe. Everything is not over until they return to Longmen.

The first problem we face is the severe shortage of supplies.

It's one thing to abandon large items like vehicles and tents, but being stuck in a cave like this is bearable. However, the lack of food is a real problem. They didn't have much supplies with them after abandoning the vehicles, and most of them were swallowed up by mudslides because they didn't have time to take them during the evacuation.

"Even including the food we can get from hunting, it should only last for two days," Oleg said helplessly. They were almost out of their Lao Gan chili sauce to eat with their meals.

“If I remember correctly, the Longmen reconnaissance teams have discovered several settlements in this area. We can try our luck there; it would be best if we could buy supplies.” Qin Duanyu recalled the information and said somewhat uncertainly, “The closest one should be a few hours’ walk from us.”

"Ideally, it would be a bigger town, one where I can buy a car," Vika said expectantly, wiping her soft, white feet with water. "I've been walking for several days in a row, and my feet are almost covered in blisters."

Looking at those bear paws that were comparable to works of art, Qin Duanyu seemed to have awakened some strange yet gentlemanly hobby. Come to think of it, Lan Du's looks pretty good too... Ugh, I must have been influenced by Bo.

……

At noon that day, a village nestled at the foot of a small hill came into view.

A gentle breeze rippled through the wheat fields, oxen grazed by the fields, and two or three farmers sat under the trees enjoying the cool shade—a scene of tranquility and peace, a veritable paradise.

"Ah, finally I can take a hot bath!" Vika stretched, and the cleavage on her chest shook violently, reminding Qin Duanyu of the scene where Bo tricked her into learning Originium Arts.

Although Lin Guang didn't say anything, the little ponytail behind him swayed excitedly.

"Hopefully there's a tavern in the village where we can have a drink." The Shield Guards' thoughts were much simpler. Having just escaped death, they were eager for some drinks to calm their nerves, even if it wasn't the Water of Life, the cheapest ale would do.

Soon, they crossed the fields and came to an old farmer who was resting.

“Hello sir, we are…” Oleg stepped forward with a smile, preparing to explain his purpose.

"Help! Bandits are coming!" Upon seeing this, the old man from Ursus quickly dropped his rake and ran towards the village.

It's no wonder he thought that way. Suddenly seeing several burly men with dusty faces, tattered clothes, and weapons at their waists, they didn't look like good people at all. They looked more like bandits who hadn't made a sale in a long time.

“Don’t be afraid, sir. We’re just refugees.” Qin Duanyu quickly told Oleg to step back, spread his hands to show that he had no hostility, and said in a gentle tone, “Our village was attacked by the Reunion Movement. We barely managed to escape. When we saw people around here, we thought we’d come and buy some food.”

"A prank movement? I think I've heard that term before. So you're refugees." Thanks to Qin Duanyu's non-threatening physique, the old man stopped, his expression softening slightly.

He had indeed heard travelers passing through the village mention that "troublemaking movement," which seemed to be a particularly large group of bandits who had even robbed the city of Chernobog.

"Yes, it's that prank movement, so could you sell us some food? If you're worried we're really robbers, we'll leave as soon as we get what we need," Qin Duanyu asked tentatively, suppressing the urge to laugh.

"I didn't think it was a big deal. As long as they're not here to rob us, that's fine." The old man grinned and led them into the village. "The food is alright. The harvests have been good these past few years, and everyone has some surplus grain. But if you want to stay overnight, you'll have to get the village chief's permission first. He's the only worldly person in the village. If you need anything, just talk to him."

"Okay, thank you." Qin Duanyu nodded with a smile.

He now hopes that this worldly person knows what the "prank movement" is, so that it will be easier to fool him.

Chapter 23, Section 201: I'd love to hear more.

“Those big guys look like they’re good at working in the fields. They could probably finish cultivating our few acres of land in an afternoon.”

"But the one in the middle who looks thin and small doesn't seem like a farmer."

"Hey, who knows, maybe he's a schoolteacher? I heard there are places in the city that specialize in teaching reading and writing, I think they're called Xuexiao. Those are all cultured people, maybe even more knowledgeable than old Neptune!"

The village called Xige Village is not large, with only a dozen or so households. Qin Duanyu's God's-eye view can easily cover the entire village. The sudden visit of outsiders is undoubtedly a novel event, which naturally attracts the attention of the villagers.

The elderly men and women stood at the door of the village chief's house, whispering about the group, much like the onlookers in my previous life.

“The village chief’s house is the biggest in the village, and he’s the only one who’s seen the world, so he’s the one who makes the arrangements when guests come,” the old farmer said, pushing open the courtyard gate. “Old Nip, we have guests from outside!”

Qin Duanyu looked around at the village chief's "mansion," which was still a low stone house. Stones of different sizes were stacked together and mixed with some kind of clay to build four walls. The roof was made of wooden beams covered with thick thatch, which meant that it occupied a larger area than ordinary residents.

Judging from the farm tools neatly stacked against the wall, the village chief here also has to work in the fields, which is quite different from the image of a petty nobleman who abuses his power in the village, as he had imagined.

"Come in, all of you." An elderly Ursus man sitting inside, drinking tea, beckoned to them.

The old man sat upright with his back straight. Although his hair was somewhat gray, his eyes were bright and alert. He looked quite different from the other farmers, which explained why he was the most knowledgeable person in the village.

“Village Chief, we are refugees who escaped from Yiya Village on the other side of the mountain. We would like to buy some food here and stay for the night. Would you be so kind as to do us this favor?” Qin Duanyu bowed and said in a low voice.

According to the captured map, the village had already been attacked by Mephistopheles' herds, which would be perfect for concealing their identities.

"So that's how it is. You're young people from Iya Village. Sigh, this damned world, it's hard to even live a peaceful life." The old man looked enlightened and sighed. "You must be starving after traveling such a long way. My wife, quickly make something to eat and bring it up."

"Alright, wait a moment!" A shrewish Ursus woman, clearly a formidable fighter, emerged from the inner room, smiled at everyone, and then went into the adjacent kitchen to get busy.

"Village Chief, thank you so much. To be honest, we haven't had a decent meal in the past few days." Qin Duanyu breathed a sigh of relief and took out a few pieces of synthetic jade from his pocket.

Although LMD has a wide circulation, it is still geographically limited and cannot compare to Synthetic Jade, a hard currency recognized throughout Terra.

“The village doesn’t need this. Besides, everyone has their difficulties. Let’s save it for the road. You don’t need to be so polite. Just call me Old Neptune like they do.” The village chief didn’t go to take He Chengyu, but looked at Oleg and the others. “If I’m not mistaken, those young men over there must be former soldiers, right?”

Even though they had lost the shield guards' signature large shields, halberds, and heavy armor, leaving only their standard military swords as self-defense weapons, their habits as elite soldiers were hard to change. They could fool the unsophisticated villagers, but those who knew their stuff could easily see through their deception.

“Sir, you have a good eye. We did indeed serve in the 16th Infantry Regiment, and returned to the village after our discharge.” Oleg remained calm and gave the same answer they had agreed upon earlier.

“I joined the army when the late emperor was still around, in the 32nd Infantry Regiment. I fought against Sami, Kazimierz, and Victoria.” Looking at the sabers at their waists, Nip showed a nostalgic expression. “Later, I got too old and injured my thigh, so I went back to the village, found a wife, and settled down.”

Then, the group talked about the war, and even when the aunt brought out the steaming hot food, old Neptune was still very interested and kept talking to Oleg.

"Alright, stop bragging about your petty squabbles to everyone you meet. Let the children eat properly." The aunt wiped her hands on her apron and said irritably, "What's so good about war? It's better to manage your few acres of land and harvest more grain to store up."

“It’s alright, I enjoyed chatting with the old master. Tell me the story of how the shield guard killed the enemy general with his javelin.” Oleg grinned, a satisfied smile on his face.

After all, what old Neptune was talking about was how the shield guards breached the enemy's city gates, killed the Kazimierz knights, and rescued their comrades who were surrounded in the snowstorm, which made the people present feel good.

The shield guard is very happy, sir, please continue!

The dishes were simple: roasted potatoes, smoked sausages, black bread, and borscht. However, the auntie's cooking skills were quite good. These home-style dishes were comparable to Gumi, which made Qin Duanyu, who was fed up with the Shield Guards' cooking, very happy. Later, when the ale was served, Oleg and the others were all smiles.

"Old sir, why are there so few young people in the village? Have they gone to work elsewhere?" Qin Duanyu peeled a potato, dipped it in salt, and recalled the scene when he entered the village, so he couldn't help but ask curiously.

He hadn't seen a single child along the way, and most of the adults were over forty or fifty. Even Oleg, the oldest in the group, was considered a junior here.

“Most of them were forced into labor to pay off their debts because they couldn’t afford the poll tax,” Nip sighed and said with a wry smile. “The remaining young people who could run away all ran away, and since we can’t collect much land tax, the officials are unwilling to come here.”

Listening to the old man's rambling, it was roughly about how the taxes on various projects were too heavy in the past few years, forcing young people to leave their hometowns, leaving only the elderly who were unable to walk or unwilling to leave.

“That’s not right. In order to support the development of the Empire’s agriculture, Speaker Witt abolished these tax items more than ten years ago. Why is Chern still collecting them…” Vika was about to ask for clarification when Qin Duanyu pressed her shoulder and shook her head.

Vika realized she had spoken out of turn. How could an ordinary village girl possibly know these things? Despite her doubts and confusion, she refrained from asking any further questions. Fortunately, old Neptune was too busy lamenting the hardships of life to notice her unusual behavior.

"The emperor is far away, and the temple is small but the evil wind blows." Qin Duanyu said in a low voice in Yan language. Vika immediately understood and nodded solemnly.

Chernobog is located on the border and is the area where the imperial rule is weakest. Various orders issued by the Ursus government would probably have to be approved by the local nobles before they could be implemented.

Speaker Witte's proposed abolition of taxes would undoubtedly reduce the income of these people, and it would be a miracle if the people under him were to carry it out seriously. Moreover, in such a secluded and isolated village, not to mention the nobles in charge of managing the area, the villagers might never even know that such a thing existed in their entire lives.

Even if old Nippon accidentally discovered the truth and took the matter all the way to Saint-Germain, which of those politicians, whose minds were full of power struggles, would stand up for a small village with a population of less than a hundred?

"No wonder you always like to fleece the nobles first when you play games. These bastards really deserve to die!" For some reason, Vika thought of something else.

"Sister, calm down. Your family is also noble, the highest class. Do you really want to kill yourself too?" Qin Duanyu pursed her lips, somewhat confused about Vika's stance.

Chapter 24, Section 202: The Landlord's Foolish Son

A moment later, only a pile of empty plates remained on the table.

"Sorry, we were just too hungry... I didn't expect to eat so much..." Oleg said somewhat embarrassedly. The shield guards had eaten about a week's worth of food from the old couple.

"It's good that you can eat. I ate even more when I was young!" Old Neptune waved his hand dismissively and said with a smile.

"Uncle Nip, please accept this money, otherwise we'll feel really bad about staying here!" Qin Duanyu took out the synthetic jade again, along with some Lungmen coins.

The reason he was extorting money from Lao Wei was because the old man was wealthy and didn't care about the loss, but the villagers were barely making ends meet, and he couldn't afford to take advantage of them.

“I’ve already said that the money is useless here. It’s only useful when I go to the city to buy things every six months, but you all know the situation in Chernobog right now.” Old Nip shook his head and pushed the money back again. “If you really feel bad about it, help us with some farm work before you leave. The village is short of a few strong laborers.”

“No problem, leave it to us!” Oleg said quickly. He and several shield guards came from poor families and had done a lot of these kinds of things when they were young, so they were very familiar with the job.

"Uncle Nip, I'm back. This time the harvest was good." At that moment, a slightly hoarse voice came from outside the door.

"Oh, it's Boris. You've worked hard." Old Neptune hurriedly ran into the yard and opened the outer gate.

"I've left the prey at the door; please distribute it to everyone." A thin, dark-haired man stood at the door, placed a reindeer that looked even bigger than himself on the ground, and then turned to leave.

"Uncle Nip, didn't you say that all the young people in the village..." Qin Duanyu asked with some doubt.

“This kid escaped from the mine three months ago during the Reunion Movement’s attack. He suffered a lot along the way.” Old Nip sighed and turned to the old woman, saying, “My dear, remember to take the brewed wine to him tonight.”

Infected person?

The young man named Boris made no attempt to hide the Originium crystal on his neck, and the villagers didn't seem to mind his identity. One of the women even carefully wiped the bloodstains off his body.

According to the policies of Ursus in recent years, infected people are not much better off than rats in the street. Even if they are not universally hated, most people avoid them like the plague, as if getting close to them would lead to infection.

The scene before them was far beyond their imagination.

“We’ve watched him grow up, how could we really look down on him because of something like this? It’s just that he seems to care a lot about this identity and doesn’t want to have much contact with us.” Nip seemed to have guessed what Qin Duanyu and the others were thinking and explained in a low voice.

Boris's family were hunters in the village. Perhaps because he had been hunting with his father in the mountains since he was a child, his physical fitness far exceeded that of his peers, which is why he was able to escape from the mine. The dozen or so young men who were also captured and forced into labor did not manage to last until the end.

Those families who lost their children undoubtedly regarded him as their last remaining child, and they were too busy caring for him to pay attention to him. Besides, the villagers were mostly elderly people who were halfway to the grave, so they wouldn't care about whether he was contagious or not.

"Doctor, that person is not simple." After helping old Neptune drag the reindeer to the backyard, Oleg whispered to Qin Duanyu.

He had just examined the reindeer carcass; the arrow had entered right through its mouth, killing it cleanly and perfectly, leaving the hide intact. Such archery skills were beyond the capabilities of ordinary hunters.

Moreover, Boris's seemingly relaxed gait actually suggests he is ready to respond to any sudden attack. When the older woman gets close, he subconsciously places his right hand on his left hip, as if preparing to draw a weapon for defense, clearly indicating he is a well-trained soldier.

"It's none of our business. We're just refugees passing by." Qin Duanyu shrugged, indicating that he shouldn't take it to heart.

……

Soon, Qin Duanyu lost all interest in Boris, and for the first time, he was disliked by everyone.

"Doctor, let us do this kind of strenuous work. Why don't you go and check out the girls? Maybe they're better suited for delicate tasks," Valentin said helplessly, stopping Qin Duanyu.

Unexpectedly, the usually shrewd PhD is not good at such simple tasks. It's one thing that he doesn't know how to use farm tools, but when asked to help remove some weeds, this guy actually started by hitting the crops...