On the road, two people were leading a group of fully armed people, whose heads were covered with fine iron helmets, walking forward.
"Brother, are you tired? Is this armor heavy? How about I hold it for you?"
One of them was dressed simply, looked simple and had a serious expression.
The armored man he was answering bowed and said, "Xu Daxian, I'm not tired."
"Really? Are you tired? It's okay, just tell me if you're tired. I'm level four and I have enough strength." He looked at the other person.
"Xu Chengzhu, are you done yet?"
Next to him, a burly man with a face full of flesh shouted, "They are the Imperial Guards! Do you know what the Imperial Guards are? If a set of armor is too tiring, then the high-grade pills would have been eaten in vain!"
Xu Chengzhu scratched his head and said, "Junior Brother Xiahou, I am just worried that they will get tired. I have the energy to spare and can share more of the burden."
"I'm not your junior, we're from the same class!"
Xiahou Chi said angrily: "You are only one level higher than me, don't be too arrogant, I will catch up soon!"
Xu Chengzhu was delighted when he heard this, "That's great, if my junior brother becomes stronger, we can better help our master!"
"you"
Looking at that simple and serious expression, Xiahou Chi wanted to scold but didn't know how to start.
Why did you act together with this guy
During the harvest season, there is a shortage of manpower. The hundred defenders of the city are already busy enough, especially after hearing that some people had disappeared recently. It happened that Xu Chengzhu was in the city at that time, so he volunteered to go there in person.
What's more coincidental is that he was there too.
In two years, Xiahou Chi went from racking his brains to learn to read to his current level of third-level combat power. He and his brothers had fought against evil forces and killed bandits, so he could be said to have experienced many ups and downs.
In a case like this where someone disappears inexplicably, it's most likely related to evil spirits. He definitely doesn't want to go there, as that kind of thing is not something he can deal with.
But Xu Chengzhu was so strong that he managed to pull him over.
As the only one of the top two outer disciples, Xu Chengzhu was called the Heart of a Child by his senior brothers. He also personally entered the alchemy furnace and learned the human alchemy method. However, no outer disciple was willing to follow him and they were just being polite on the surface.
He, Xiahou Chi, could not learn the Rendan method, so he chose the Shidan method of his inner senior brother Wang Hu. However, at the third level, he was superior to other junior brothers, and since everyone had similar qualities, they were willing to listen to his orders.
As a senior brother of the outer sect, he cannot be timid when encountering problems, even for the sake of face.
Besides, we are just collecting food, not going to wipe out evil spirits. I heard that the eldest brother has come out of retreat and has already set out, so there is no big problem.
However, whenever he was with Xu Chengzhu, he couldn't help getting angry.
Why
Why do all the good things belong to him? On the mortal side, he is the one who is liked by others, and when he goes out to do things, he is respected by others. But it is obviously he who comes up with the plans and makes the careful decisions!
Even if he was mocking others secretly, they wouldn't be able to hear it. Even if they cursed him in person, he didn't care. Instead, he always had a smile on his face, which made Xiahou Chi have no temper at all.
How could he not die when he followed others to eliminate the evil
Xiahou Chi took a deep breath, stopped looking at him, and said, "Cuiwu Village is just ahead. Stop talking nonsense and collect the grain quickly!"
At the end of the road, there is a quiet little village. The surrounding farmlands have been harvested, and the remaining roots appear unusually peaceful in the dusk. The whole village is so quiet and peaceful.
"All of this has been collected. I originally wanted to help." Xu Chengzhu said.
"Tsk, with so many farm tools, how can we not finish the harvest?" Xiahou Chi said with disdain.
Cuiwu Village is one of the many villages and towns under the protection of the Jinxian Sect. Two years ago, the eldest senior brother brought in a lot of people, but not all of them were willing to gather around the city. Some of them moved away from the city and settled in the wilderness, forming villages and towns.
In these places, Su Yougen distributed seeds for free and helped them to reclaim wasteland, which is now the main source of food. The original plants they planted could basically be harvested once a year, but as they continued to refine pills and come up with formulas, and also made some good harvesting tools, and helped to cultivate seeds, they could already harvest twice a year.
As they walked, they could see many children playing at the entrance of the village.
The sudden appearance of a group of people naturally attracted the children's attention.
"Imperial Guards! It's the Imperial Guards!"
The children, about ten of them, gathered around these people as if they had seen some kind of idol.
"Wow, what shiny armor! The Imperial Guards are so mighty! I want to be a member of the Imperial Guards when I grow up!" A seven or eight-year-old child had almost light in his eyes.
"That's great. You must practice diligently. The Imperial Guards are very powerful!" Xu Chengzhu clenched his fists and said with a smile.
"Eh? Who are you..." The child looked at Xu Chengzhu without armor and asked in confusion.
"I am Xu Chengzhu, a disciple of the Golden Immortal Sect. Hello." Xu Chengzhu said with a smile.
“It’s the Immortal!”
"The Great Immortal is more powerful, I want to be a Great Immortal in the future!"
A group of children came out cheering again.
"Great Immortal, this is for you. I made it."
A little girl handed Xu Chengzhu a bouquet of wild flowers.
The remaining children did not seem to be outdone, and gave these imperial guards toys such as hand towels, wooden spinning tops, ceramic balls, and nine-bead beads.
However, Xiahou Chi was clearly right in front, and these children, who were closest to them, automatically moved around him one by one, as if ignoring him.
This made his face visibly gloomy.
"Brother Xiahou, don't be sad. You look fierce. Here, this is for you."
Seeing this, Xu Chengzhu very considerately handed a piece of maltose to Xiahou Chi.
"I don't want it!"
Xiahou Chi glared at him and said, "It's just a kid's stuff. What's so good about it? If I go to the city, I won't find anything. I have jade, gold and silver at home, and I have as much as you want!"
After becoming an immortal and receiving a salary, he made a lot of money by selling the things he refined into elixirs. He kept some of the money and exchanged some for valuable treasures. He did nothing every day but lay at home counting money and looking at treasures.
He was born a bandit, and his favorite thing was to see treasure.
What's good about a broken candy
"Great Immortal."
At this moment, a child who seemed unsociable came silently from behind and handed Xiahou Chi an extremely crudely made wooden sword.
"Here, this is for you!" The child straightened his chest, mustered up his courage, and said loudly.
The wooden sword had a rough and twisted wooden handle, a long and short guard, and an unplaned wooden blade. Rather than being called a wooden sword, it was actually no different from a wooden stick.
Xiahou was stunned for a moment, his eyes wavered, and the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he was trying to force a smile. However, because he looked too fierce, the twitching of his mouth made him look even fiercer, and the child was so scared that he took a step back.
“Tsk!”
Xiahou Chi slapped the wooden sword away, glared at the child, and said, "I don't have time to play with you, I'm here to collect food!"
He stepped over the wooden sword and walked towards the village, shouting, "The Golden Immortal Sect is here to collect food. Prepare your food and come to the center of the village to exchange it with us! Hurry up, don't waste time!"
"Wow!"
The child behind him started crying, and Xiahou Chi's face became even gloomier.
Children are the most annoying!
The children I met in school before were like this, the children playing on the streets were like this, and these children are like this as well!
In this broken world, we have only enjoyed a few days of happiness. Why should we be so happy
Playing with swords? What kind of sword are you playing with
The imperial guards quickly stepped forward and took out cloth bags from their waists, which were filled with silver and money.
This is the money used to collect grain.
They naturally would not collect the tax by force, but the price would be just a reasonable price. With this money, ordinary people would go to the city to buy the necessities of life and expand their houses. One day when the population increased, the village would expand, vendors would appear, and then it would become a new city.
If this cycle continues, people will prosper and things will get better.
They remembered that when the old man said this, he was full of longing and expectation.
The center of the village had long been filled with carts filled with large cloth bags, and rice and vegetables were scattered around.
Following Xiahou Chi's words, a group of villagers came out of the house. The old man in the lead was leaning on a cane and smiling: "We have been waiting for the Immortal for a long time. Please check it out."
One of them frowned as he looked at the crying child at the entrance of the village and shouted, "Shu Wa, why are you crying? The immortal is here, come quickly!"
Then he apologized, "My child is a little noisy, please forgive me."
"This is also our fault, Junior Brother Xiahou. That wooden sword is actually quite nice. It's a pity that they won't give it to me even though I want it." Xu Chengzhu said from the side.
"I'm not your junior fellow apprentice!"
Xiahou Chi glared at him, took a deep breath, and said to the imperial guards: "Go and check!"
Ten imperial guards walked up to the carts and began to count them.
Xu Chengzhu said to the villagers, "Be careful recently. People from a village ahead seem to have disappeared. You must also be careful and protect yourself. We will intensify patrols and try our best to keep you safe."
"It's good that the Immortal has this intention. We come from outside and die every few days. Look at us, we were not from the same village before, we were from other villages, and everyone died, leaving only one or two of us here."
The old man smiled and said, "We have had a few years of peace, which is great. Now we can also get the protection of the immortal and patrol, which makes us very satisfied."
"That won't work."
Xu Chengzhu frowned and said, "We at the Golden Immortal Sect want to ensure your long-term peace and stability. We don't want you to live for a short time, but to live until the end of your lifespan!"
"Then I'll leave it to you, Great Immortal."
The old man bent down, raised his head, opened and closed his mouth, and said something.
Xiahou Chi felt annoyed and stepped back. He turned around to look at the wooden sword lying in the mud and sighed again.
So fed up.
Why he would do this.
Isn’t it nice to enjoy life in the city
These people chatter and talk all the time, but what is there to say
Just leave after the inspection. They are just a group of mortals. Is there any need to listen to them
"What did you say, old man?"
Xu Chengzhu was so close, but he seemed to be unable to hear anyone talking. Humph, this mortal must be praising him again. He was so happy that he wanted to hear it again.
Why is this person so disgusting
"Father-in-law, I can't hear you clearly. What are you saying? Did you say anything?" Xu Chengzhu's voice sounded again.
Xiahou Chi turned his head impatiently and said, "Are you done yet, he said."
Suddenly, he was stunned.
The villagers around all had smiles on their faces, their mouths opening and closing, as if they were saying something.
But no sound could be heard.
The sound of the breeze stopped, and the chirping of cicadas and frogs, which are unique to the summer evening, had not been noticed before because I was so used to hearing them. But now when I listened to them, it seemed that they were gone.
In the village, there was no other sound except Xu Chengzhu's voice.
At this moment, the eyes of those people darkened, and their faces that should have been smiling became calm, standing there like puppets.
Not moving.