Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World-Chapter 70: Moving Away; Deserted Village

’The equipment slot is gone. I guess it figured the thing was useless. It seems what the Stone Ring gives me isn’t set in stone. Does the ring adjust automatically? Or is there some kind of system spirit watching me?’

I read plenty of novels in my past life; otherwise, I wouldn’t have done something as dumb as dripping blood on the Stone Ring to claim it.

Thankfully, it worked.

So, if you ever come across something special, don’t throw it away. Just drip a little blood on it, and maybe you’ll get a system too!

Shaking off his rambling thoughts, he looked at the Martial Arts section.

’Based on the Saber Technique, just thirty minutes of training, repeating it thirteen times, added twenty-six progress points. That’s even faster than Body Forging with medicinal baths!’

’I just don’t know if the medicinal meal had anything to do with it.’

Cheng Zongyang felt he would have to test it properly next time.

But when he recalled the effects of that bowl of Deer Antler medicinal soup, he couldn’t help but shiver.

It was terrifying.

’Just three strands of Ginseng Root made his body so hot. Good thing he didn’t put it all in, or he would have been spitting blood.’

’It nourishes the body, sure, but it also nourishes desire.’

’I’ll switch to the sika deer meat next time. With no women around, eating too much of this stuff will just harm my body.’

Cheng Zongyang shook his head.

Then, he began to help pack up their belongings.

For now, they were only taking the light items. He planned to come back alone tomorrow to move the heavy things, which he could transport through the Wilderness World.

As night deepened toward midnight, the entire village was deathly still. Due to the lack of water, even the chirping of insects had ceased.

The old and young of the three families, each carrying, shouldering, and holding their things, quietly headed toward the north end of the village.

Although he had found a new path, its entrance wasn’t near Golden Bridge Village.

As the large group moved through the village, the sound of their numerous footsteps seemed amplified in the silent surroundings.

But some commotion on the village road made Cheng Zongyang and the others, who had just left their homes, freeze.

"Brother-in-law, Yang’Er, listen to that. Doesn’t sound like we’re alone, does it?" Zhou Hansong said cautiously, moving closer to Cheng Guanghai.

"It’s fine. Let’s keep moving. I’m here," Cheng Zongyang said, unconcerned.

Even before he became a Martial Artist, few in the village dared to provoke him. They didn’t before, and they certainly wouldn’t now.

However, just as they reached the village crossroads, Cheng Zongyang’s large group saw other people, also with their elders and children, heading south.

Apparently, Cheng Zongyang’s group wasn’t the only one trying to flee in the dead of night. To avoid the draft and forced labor, other families were also escaping.

There were quite a few families on the run.

No one was a fool!

"Younger Brother Cheng? Zongyang?"

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from the north.

The night was so dark it was hard to see even up close, let alone from a distance.

"Elder Ming?" Cheng Zongyang couldn’t see clearly, but he recognized the voice.

Hearing his son identify Li Ming, Cheng Guanghai, who was being supported, looked somewhat surprised.

He slowly walked forward, and Li Ming’s group approached as well.

"And you all are...?" Cheng Guanghai asked, glancing at the crowd of people behind Li Ming.

’Is that almost all of the Li Clan Members?’ 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"We’re all in the same boat. If we stay any longer, our already broken families will likely be shattered completely."

Li Ming gave a bitter smile. "Besides, the village wells are nearly dry. If we don’t run, are we supposed to stay here and wait to die?"

Meeting like this in the middle of the night, everyone understood the situation without a word needing to be spoken.

Cheng Guanghai nodded in empathy. "You’re right. So, where are you all headed?"

Li Ming didn’t answer. Instead, he glanced at the people beside Cheng Guanghai and the women, children, and elderly behind him, then asked in return:

"Seeing as you’re heading north, are you going to the County Town?"

"That’s right. We’re heading to the county," Cheng Zongyang said before anyone else could speak.

"Yes, my younger brother is in the County Town. We plan to move in with him. It might save us some trouble."

Hearing his son’s words, Cheng Guanghai understood his intention and added a supporting statement.

He wasn’t a fool; he knew that for something like this, the more secretive, the better.

Li Ming chuckled dryly.

"That’s not bad. Having contacts and connections in the county makes things easier. It’s much better than our situation, wandering homeless after leaving our homes."

"By the way, have Chen Dashan and his family left too?" Cheng Guanghai asked.

Li Ming nodded. "They already left ahead of us."

After speaking, he cupped his fists. "We won’t delay you any longer. Younger Brother Cheng, let’s hope we meet again someday."

Cheng Guanghai also cupped his fists. "Take care on your journey."

"You too."

As the two groups parted ways, the rustling on the village path faded, and silence returned.

The members of the Jin clan had also left, but they hadn’t gone elsewhere. They had departed for the County Town much earlier.

They still didn’t know that their backer, the Li Zheng, was already dead, which was why they were heading to the county to seek a sliver of hope.

The once-bustling and lively Golden Bridge Village, plagued by drought and displaced people, had now completely disintegrated, becoming a deserted village with no water, no food, and no people.

They walked for about half a mile along the country path until they reached a small ravine.

Following Cheng Zongyang’s instructions, the group began to enter the mountains, with everyone carrying, holding, or shouldering what they could.

Cheng Zongyang had already cleared some of the obstacles on his way down the mountain earlier, so they didn’t have to worry about tripping.

Even as they climbed, there were vines along the mountain path that they could use for support.

Cheng Zongyang had put them there so everyone could grab onto the vines and help each other up.

From below, Cheng Zongyang helped people with the climb.

But when it was his younger brother’s turn, he heard him say to the Chen Family Sisters behind him:

"You two go on up. I’ll stay down here and help you. Don’t be afraid, I’m here."

"Mm-hm, thank you, Brother Liang."

"Thank you, Big Brother Liang."

The two sisters nodded shyly, their replies soft and low.

"Hehe, it’s nothing, it’s nothing. Go on up."

Cheng Zongyang: "???"

He gave his younger brother a strange look. ’No wonder he’s been so quiet and well-behaved the last two days... So he’s been trying to be a gentleman.’

’Wait, since when has this been going on?’

’She’s even calling him Big Brother Liang?’

’The kid is only eleven, the same age as Laidi. It makes sense for Laidi to call him "brother." But Zhaodi is thirteen, so why is she calling him that too?’

After the two girls were up, Cheng Zongyang couldn’t help but lean down and whisper in his younger brother’s ear, "You’re enjoying being a ’big brother,’ aren’t you? I’ll deal with you later."

Hearing this, Cheng Zongliang shivered and said defensively, "Mom told me to take care of them..."

"Get going. Stop dawdling," Cheng Zongyang said, glaring at him.

At that, Cheng Zongliang started up the path dejectedly, as if recalling all the times his big brother had beaten him up...

Only after everyone was inside the forest did Cheng Zongyang light the torches.

As several points of firelight flared up, the path became somewhat illuminated. With the light, everyone inexplicably relaxed a little, feeling a greater sense of security.

To fear the dark and yearn for the light is human nature.

Cheng Zongyang took the lead, with Cheng Guanghai in the middle, and Zhou Hansong and Zhou Hanchang bringing up the rear.

This way, they could ensure the safety of the front, middle, and back of the group.

Cheng Zongyang had taken the elderly and children into consideration, so the path he had scouted was relatively flat.

He didn’t mind if it meant taking a slight detour.

Three hours later, the large group, supporting one another, slowly arrived at their destination.

Upon arriving, the first thing everyone heard was the gushing sound of flowing water.

At the same time, by the weak light of the few torches, they could faintly make out that the terrain here was relatively flat.