Chapter 277: Shelter

The once lively and bustling streets of Kucha had lost their vitality. Only a distant wind drifted by, carrying the scent of ashes and tumbling red and green silk scarves across the ground. The song girls and dance girls had long since fled, their whereabouts unknown.

War was cruel, like a blast of cold wind. Where it went, leaves left branches, grass withered, and vast stretches of land became barren. Everything died.

Chen Ji carried his whale knife, his gaze watchful as he observed his surroundings, his ears listening for any movement on the street.

Qi Shen Zhe quickly took two steps and came to Chen Ji’s side, whispering, “Chen Ji, before I was a dog-eyed fool who looked down on others. I hope you, being a man of great capacity, won’t hold it against me!”

Chen Ji looked at him in surprise, but didn't respond.

Qi Shen Zhe hesitated for a moment. “Chen Ji, can you teach me some fighting skills?”

Chen Ji said calmly, “No.”

Qi Shen Zhe said shamelessly, “Don’t worry, when we work for the Crown Prince later, if you point east I will never go west, if you point west I will never go east. I can even become your disciple!”

Chen Ji frowned. “The Yu Lin Army has instructors. Why do you have to become my disciple?”

Qi Shen Zhe sighed. “Most of the instructors in the Yu Lin Army just teach flashy moves. They teach whatever looks good, all for reviews. They’re useless in a real fight!”

Xiao Man, holding Black Cloud in her arms, scurried over. “How can you be so shameless? My young master already said no! You even disliked my young master before. Are you holding back some more bad intentions?”

Qi Shen Zhe opened his mouth to speak but stopped. The Crown Prince actually spoke up to help. “Vice Envoy Qi’s words are indeed true. If we can return to the capital alive, the five thousand Yu Lin Army troops should get new instructors before the emperor. I think Zuo Si Wei is very suitable?”

Chen Ji interrupted, “Your Highness, now is not the time to discuss this. Follow me!” Saying this, he turned towards Peach Locust Alley, the direction where he had earlier shaken off the divine archer.

Behind him, Chen Li Qin saw the direction he intended to go and immediately rushed forward. “Chen Ji, we saw everything clearly from the roof. That side is full of Jing Dynasty bandits burning, killing, and looting! It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I was worried you didn’t go up to the roof, so you don’t know what’s happening outside!”

Chen Ji didn't answer, just continued on his path.

As things stood, there was no safe place within Gu Yuan City. The Jing Dynasty cavalry would trample every corner sooner or later.

Escaping towards the places that the Tian Ce Army hadn't yet attacked was still a difficult path to death.

Their only hope now was to hide in the cellar of the grain and oil shop. But he had no time to argue with people. If they were willing to believe him, they could follow him. If not, he wouldn't force them.

Seeing Chen Ji walking further and further away, and even the Crown Prince following behind without a word, Chen Li Qin hesitated for a moment, but finally followed suit.

Chen Ji led the group carefully through small alleys, finally stopping behind an adobe house.

Here, it was the intersection where the Tian Ce Army and the border army were fighting, a gap where they came and went, the sounds of killing close at hand.

Everyone was uneasy hearing the sounds of fighting, yet they didn't know why Chen Ji had stopped in such a dangerous place.

Chen Ji just silently glanced at the color of the sky. The last rays of the setting sun had just disappeared, and the orange-red light, like a thin veil covering Gu Yuan City, was being slowly drawn away.

One joss stick's time!

In another joss stick's time, the sky would be completely dark! Chen Ji leaned against the adobe wall, listening to the sounds of fighting slowly fade, a sense of fatigue like the rising tide, slowly submerging his heart. Zhang Xia leaned against the adobe wall beside him, turned her head to look at his tired face, then silently turned her head back to look at the sky, saying, “If I were also a Xing Zou Official, that would be great. It's a pity that my uncle clearly has a Xing Zou Official path, but he's not willing to pass it on to me!”

Chen Ji, with his eyes closed, responded, “I think your uncle’s Xing Zou Official path is not unique, so he’s worried that a Xing Zou Official with the same path will discover you and secretly kill you. Being a Xing Zou Official is not necessarily a good thing!”

Zhang Xia lowered her head and sighed, “But if I were a Xing Zou Official, today… Today I would have the ability to protect myself and wouldn't be so miserable! If I can survive this time, I will go and seek a Xing Zou Official path myself. Buying one is fine, exchanging for one is fine, I must find an opportunity to become a Xing Zou Official!”

Chen Ji said “Mm.”

Xiao Man, holding Black Cloud in her arms, kindly reminded, “Second Miss Zhang, there are indeed places in the Pan Family Garden in the capital that sell Xing Zou Official paths, but those Xing Zou Official paths can only be cultivated to the Innate realm.”

Zhang Xia was silent for a moment. “Being able to cultivate to the Innate realm is not bad!”

Chen Ji’s heart stirred. He did have a Xing Zou Official path with an extremely high upper limit.

While thinking, the sky gradually darkened.

Chen Ji immediately signaled Black Cloud with his eyes. Black Cloud stepped on Xiao Man’s head, lightly jumped onto the roof, and dashed towards Peach Locust Alley.

Chen Ji followed closely, listening to Black Cloud’s guidance for direction.

“Meow!”

The next moment, Chen Ji suddenly stopped at the entrance of an alley, his right hand clenched into a fist.

Behind him, everyone else followed suit and stopped, not daring to breathe, afraid of accidentally revealing their presence.

It was a long time before hurried footsteps approached.

Everyone quietly looked out of the alley and saw Li Xuan carrying a seven or eight-year-old girl, followed by six other common people who were also fleeing in panic.

Behind these people, the sound of the Tian Ce Army’s horse hooves grew more and more urgent.

As they passed the alley entrance, Li Xuan unintentionally turned his head and suddenly saw Chen Ji standing in the shadow of the eaves, calmly looking at him.

Li Xuan was about to open his mouth to ask for help, but then he saw Chen Ji’s indifferent eyes. In his eyes was alienation, and also a warning.

He hesitated for an instant, still holding back the words he wanted to say, and pretended not to see the people in the alley.

Behind him, a woman tripped and fell to the ground. The girl on Li Xuan’s back cried out, “Mother, uncle, save my mother.”

Li Xuan wanted to turn back to help the woman up, but he turned his head and saw the galloping Tian Ce Army cavalry.

The woman lying on the ground waved her hand, urging him, “Good man, go quickly, don’t worry about me. I can’t run. Please take the girl and go.”

Li Xuan’s teeth almost broke from clenching. Finally, he hardened his heart, turned his body, and left.

Qi Shen Zhe was about to call out “brother-in-law,” but as soon as he opened his mouth, Xiao Man, as if she knew in advance, came to his side and covered his mouth.

A whistling arrow flew over the heads of the crowd, drawing a sharp sound, and the Tian Ce Army howled past.

On the saddle of every Tian Ce Army cavalryman, there was a rope strung full of right ears, all blood-dripping war achievements.

The woman who had just fallen just climbed up from the ground, but was immediately knocked down again by the passing Tian Ce Army cavalry. The cavalry behind stepped over her one by one, almost crushing her into a pulp.

Chen Wen Zong’s eyes were splitting with rage, but Chen Ji had somehow come to his side, covering his mouth with one hand and holding his body tightly with the other.

He turned his head to look at Chen Ji, his eyes filled with despair and helplessness.

Chen Ji didn't look at him, just quietly waited for the sound of the horse hooves to fade into the distance.

He didn't know how long passed, but he gradually let go of Chen Wen Zong, his gaze slowly sweeping over the faces of everyone present.

Everyone was still immersed in the despair they had just witnessed, and for a while they couldn’t recover.

Chen Wen Zong stared at Chen Ji, but didn't say anything.

Chen Ji stood in the shadow and said softly, “Brother, you don’t have to look at me that way. I was never a good person! I don’t care what you want to do, but don’t involve other people!”

Qi Shen Zhe’s heart was in turmoil. “But my brother-in-law, he!!”

Xiao Man laughed coldly. “You were just arguing with your brother-in-law. I heard you speaking very unpleasantly!”

Qi Shen Zhe regretted it so much his intestines turned green. “Those were just angry words! Chen Ji, is there any way to save my brother-in-law? I…”

Just then, Black Cloud meowed on the roof.

Chen Ji whispered, “Shut up.”

As soon as he finished speaking, an iron bow arrow flew straight towards Black Cloud on the roof not far away. It was clear that a divine archer on a high platform had heard the cat’s meow and didn’t even plan to let the cat go.

Seeing that he hadn't hit Black Cloud, the divine archer’s heart immediately filled with doubt.

He jumped down from the high platform, quietly heading towards the place where Black Cloud had just been, searching for Black Cloud’s whereabouts while drawing his bowstring taut.

Chen Ji and the others stuck to the wall, standing in a line under the eaves, not even daring to breathe.

On the eaves, the divine archer stopped above their heads, his eyes like a hawk searching the dark night, his bowstring drawn tighter and tighter.

Under the eaves, Chen Ji’s hand gripped the handle of his whale knife, gripping tighter and tighter.

At this critical moment, a commoner “corpse” on the ground in the neighboring street quietly sat up. It seemed he had been pretending to be dead to escape a calamity, and now, seeing no one around, he stood up to escape.

With a whoosh, the sound of the bowstring vibrating rang out, and the iron bow arrow shot out, nailing him dead to the ground.

From afar, Li Xuan’s angry roar came, seeming to indicate he had already been caught up by the cavalry! The divine archer crossed over the roof and flew towards the sound.

Chen Ji ignored Li Xuan’s angry roar, immediately pulled Chen Wen Zong and moved towards Peach Locust Alley, rushing straight for the grain and oil shop.

By this time, the grain and oil shop had already been burned to ruins by the big fire. The grain piled up like a small mountain in the yard had also all been burned to charcoal.

Chen Ji came to the wellhead and pulled up the well rope, handing it to Zhang Xia. “Go down quickly!”

The Crown Prince bent over the wellhead in confusion, but it was too dark inside the well to see anything clearly.

Then, he watched with wide eyes as Zhang Xia, halfway down, kicked open several bricks on the well wall and钻 into a side cave.

The Crown Prince looked up at Chen Ji in astonishment. There was actually a hidden secret inside this well.

Chen Ji urged, “Your Highness, go down and hide well quickly.”

After everyone had drilled one by one down the well rope into the cellar in the middle of the well, Xiao Man took out a match, lit the candle inside the cellar, illuminating the bags of grain inside.

Wang Gui pounced on the grain and said excitedly, “There’s actually such a treasure place! With water and grain, we can live for several months! We’re saved, old master, we’re saved.”

Liang Shi collapsed onto the ground, finally daring to breathe heavily.

Chen Li Qin also sat down weakly, leaning against a bag of grain, closing his eyes and trembling slightly.

The Crown Prince silently surveyed the cellar, his palm slowly stroking the bags of grain. After a long time, he finally said, “If it weren’t for Chen Ji this time, perhaps ten lives wouldn’t have been enough for us!”

Qi Shen Zhe suddenly choked up and said, “What about my brother-in-law?”

Xiao Man frowned. “Aren’t you also a Xing Zou Official? If you want to save him, then go and save him yourself. Who’s stopping you?”

Qi Shen Zhe was speechless for a moment, finally saying dejectedly, “I, I don’t dare. My skills are not good. I’m afraid, I’m useless!”

Zhang Zheng sighed. “I originally wanted to scold you, but then I thought about it, if it were me, I wouldn’t dare go either. You and I are just ordinary people!”

Xiao Man said from the side, “But don’t expect my young master to go and save people. My young master doesn’t owe anyone. Ah, where is my young master?”

Everyone suddenly looked up. Where was Chen Ji in the middle of the cellar?