Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery-Chapter 83 - 76 Starving Citizens_1

"’Bingli Fairy’ Long Xiuyun hails from the Sihai Trading Company and is the daughter of the company’s president. She has reached Internal Qi Perfection at a young age. It’s said that her beauty is unparalleled, pure, and graceful, making her one of the two Fairies on the Righteous Path."

"’Qinghe’ Fairy Chen Xi, now that’s the current Emperor’s beloved Princess, the apple of His Majesty’s eye, titled County Lord Qinghe. How could these two possibly compete in martial arts?"

Some were curious.

"It’s said that these two fairies have established two organizations, Bingli Pavilion and Qinghe Building, gathering famous women warriors of extraordinary talent from Jianghu. Normally, there’s no conflict between them, their topics are mostly martial arts or the private affairs of women. This time, for some reason, they’re confronting each other."

"Bingli Pavilion and Qinghe Building?"

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Many young heroes’ eyes lit up.

Even if the two fairies are high above the clouds, to find one or two kindred spirits as companions in Jianghu would surely be a great fortune in life, wouldn’t it?

Immediately, some became restless and made plans to visit Chizhong Mansion to see for themselves.

Jiang Ding noticed a flicker of emotion in Gong Caiyu’s expression.

"What’s wrong?"

"Young Master, I want to go to Chizhong Mansion," Gong Caiyu said softly. "I have traveled the Jianghu with my parents, visiting elders, and I have some acquaintance with Princess Qinghechang. We enjoyed each other’s company."

"So, you want to see if you can leverage her influence to save your mother."

Jiang Ding spread out a map.

On the way to Yuejing, Chizhong Mansion was indeed an important stop, without deviating from the route.

"It’s on the way after all."

"Thank you, Young Master."

Gong Caiyu’s eyes brightened.

Jiang Ding stood up to leave, and after Gong Caiyu topped up some food supplies, they did not delay further and left the small town directly.

...

They moved further and further away from Dongzhou.

On the official roads,

many famine-stricken people with sallow complexions moved slowly. Occasionally, someone would collapse with a thump, but no one gave more than a brief glance, aside from their family members who would cry out before catching up with the refugee groups.

The merchant caravans and the travelers of Jianghu moved on, with the starving people shuffling along the sides of the road, the division between them clear cut.

Two individuals, a man and a woman wearing bamboo hats, watched this scene.

"What... is this?"

Jiang Ding had shock in his eyes as the image of humans collapsing and dying from hunger replayed repeatedly in his mind, greatly challenging his worldview.

Originally, he had thought that Dongling City was already a living hell.

Inside the Marquis’s mansion, people openly plundered children and Jianghu figures to refine Blood Pills. Those in the Jianghu and the government with martial power freely oppressed the commoners, many of whom teetered on the brink of starvation and poverty. A lot of displaced farmers and urban poor were forced into banditry.

If this wasn’t a living hell, what was?

He had heard of the Zhendong Marquis’s rebellion and dismissed it with a laugh, thinking it had no chance of success. How could such a person win the hearts of the people and command the world? It was bound to be a temporary success, swiftly obliterated by various forces.

But now, he was confused.

"Old man, where are you headed?"

Jiang Ding stopped an old man fleeing with his family, took food and water from Gong Caiyu’s hands, and handed it to them while asking softly.

"Thank you, Young Master, thank you!"

The old man, clothed in ragged garments, excitedly looked at the food. He first passed a portion to his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson, then wolfed down the flatbread in his hands.

The surrounding famine victims grew restless, with several robust men showing signs of intense longing, but once they saw the longswords in the hands of the two travelers in bamboo hats, they calmed down and continued onward.

"Young Master, I appreciate your great kindness and mercy!"

The old man took a sip of water and then, with tears at the corners of his eyes, said, "My family originally came from Lingshui County in Bianchi Mansion, where we owned a small plot of land. This year’s drought, coupled with the relentless demands of the officials, made life unbearable, so I brought my family here hoping to find a way to survive in Dongling City."

"Dongling City?" Jiang Ding asked.

"Yes, Young Master," the old man replied with hope in his eyes. "Years ago, a relative of ours could no longer make ends meet and also fled to Dongling City to escape famine. Eventually, they settled down there and even returned to visit our ancestors’ graves."

Jiang Ding’s worldview was once again shaken.

After a long silence, he discreetly placed a silver bar into the old man’s pocket, bid farewell to the family, and the two continued on their way.

Having lived for most of his life, the old man should know the principle of not flaunting wealth, so there was no need for a reminder.

Jiang Ding didn’t persuade the old man’s family not to go to Dongling City, which was currently in the throes of war.

As long as luck was on their side and they didn’t happen to encounter the malice of the people from the Marquis’s residence, there was still hope for the old man’s family to survive. The Marquis’s residence was now recruiting soldiers and people in droves and providing food cultivation, so there were relatively more job opportunities.

Considering the millions of people in the vast Dongling City, the chances of encountering someone from the Marquis’s residence were actually pretty low.

If luck was bad,

then they would have to die in a land far from home, but that would still be better than staying where they were.

"This world..."

Jiang Ding sighed softly and asked, "Are droughts and famines like this common?"

"From time to time, there’s one somewhere," Gong Caiyu thought for a moment. "Uncle Ziteng said that there seemed to be more in recent years, but that’s a matter for the officials, and it doesn’t concern us people of the Jianghu."

Even in times of famine, there would never be a shortage of food for those in control of martial power in the Jianghu.

"Okay."

Jiang Ding nodded, speaking softly, "Next, I’ll be going out alone to take care of some matters for a while. You should continue your journey. Before entering Chizhong Mansion, I will find you again."

"Master, you’re leaving?"

Gong Caiyu asked in alarm.

She keenly sensed that the young man in green clothes and a bamboo hat in front of her had suddenly become very despondent, yet she didn’t know the reason.

"For a while, you should pay more attention to practicing your solo survival skills."

Jiang Ding responded softly, and without waiting for her reply, he tapped the ground with his toes and his figure leapt into the forest, disappearing after a few bounds.

This was an opportunity.

He would only help when convenient; much more depended on oneself.

...

It was Sunday, a little past six in the evening.

Jiang Ding looked out the window at the neon lights and the flow of traffic starting to illuminate, feeling an inexplicable sense of relief.

"I wonder how many sacrifices the seniors of the Xianmen Sect made for this era of prosperity and the lights of thousands of homes..."

The history books clearly recorded multiple large-scale internal wars.

Many were caused by disputes over paths of cultivation instigated by high-level cultivators, and in the end, all sorts of heretical and heterodox factions were suppressed, leading to the current reality.

Most cultivators were definitely good, but there must be a part of high-level cultivators who yearn for the self-centeredness of high-level cultivators from the Outer Realm; adherence to the laws of the Xianmen Sect was merely due to oppression.

This was also the reason he never dared expose this world; if even one Golden Pill Monk were to lose rationale due to greed, his entire family would fall into grave danger.

Glancing at his phone, the last batch of Blue Luminous Butterflies was on the way. According to the liaison from Beidou University’s Affiliated Biological Research Center, it would take about a month to produce the ’Blue Gold 2431 Potion.’

After leaving his room, his clothes automatically transformed into the style of a shirt and jeans.

After dinner, the family watched television together.

"... with 185 days remaining until the College Entrance Exam, teachers responsible for setting the exam questions and respected seniors from the academic community are being invited to the Xiandu Capital Education Department to create the exam papers for the students taking the college entrance exams in June of Year 11127. They will then engage in six months of closed-door cultivation under the protection of the Central Array Spirit Computer..."

"... This year’s Xianmen College Entrance Exam is supervised by the Minister of Education, a Nascent Soul Monk, Immortal Dinghai Zhang Zhen..."

"... Immortal Dinghai served for four hundred years in the 32nd Tiangang Orbital Troop. His flagship, the Air-Space Mothership ’Dinghai Zhenyuan,’ repelled multiple invasions by cultivators from the Outer Realm. During his service, he killed twelve Nascent Soul Monks from the Outer Realm, participated in repelling three attacks by Divinity Transformation Cultivators, and received the ’First-Class Air-Space Hero’ medal for his outstanding military achievements and incorruptibility..."

"Ah! The finals are coming up soon!"

Jiang Yuan’s little face showed shock as he counted on his fingers the number of days left until the final exams.

"Come on, Dingding!"

Lin Wanqiu cheered Jiang Ding on.

"Yeah, okay."

Jiang Ding smiled.

He wondered what it would be like on the Air-Space Mothership, with Nascent Soul Monks commanding the flagship at the core, surrounded by a protective fleet of Golden Pill Monks, and a large array formed by Foundation-building cultivators piloting air-space warplanes in the starry sky.