Black Wind Stronghold

The sound of horse hooves drew near, three in total.

Inside the tea shed,

Lu Sui and Shen Yu’s conversation ground to a sudden halt.

Even the invisible Yun Shu paused, her expression shifting slightly.

Almost at the exact same moment, all three of them looked toward the sound, their gazes landing on the dark figures slowly appearing at the city gates.

There, they saw...

Three sturdy men sat astride tall horses, each with a scimitar tucked into his waist, the scabbards looking somewhat worn.

The man in the middle was the oldest, around his early forties. A scar—an old wound—stretched across his cheekbone, but a genial smile hung on his face, making him look like an honest, law-abiding peasant.

He flipped off his horse and waved a hand behind him.

The two men behind him then unloaded two gunny sacks from their horses' backs, the tied openings revealing snow-white grains of rice.

“Folks of Yanping City!” The scarred man’s voice was exceptionally gravelly, yet he deliberately softened it. “Black Wind Stronghold is cooking porridge again today. Someone will carry it over in a bit. Hurry and call your children out to get some! The porridge is very thick, and there’s plenty to go around!”

As soon as he said this,

the elderly folks on the street holding walking sticks suddenly quickened their pace, urgently calling into their homes, “Erwa! Erwa, come out quickly! Black Wind Stronghold is distributing porridge again!”

“Cuicui, stop hiding and come with Grandfather to get some porridge!”

Within moments,

seven or eight children came running out onto the empty street.

The oldest was about twelve or thirteen, while the youngest was four or five, their patched clothes looking neither completely old nor new.

Like a nest of sparrows, they gathered around the three men, chattering away as they looked up with anticipation.

The scarred man squatted down, patted the head of the youngest child, and said with a smile, “Children are the best—not picky eaters at all. You’ll grow tall once you’ve eaten your fill. Oh, right, your parents are both farming on the mountain. The harvest is great this year. In a couple of days, they’ll send back some of the grain they grew up there.”

He pointed to the two sacks of rice on the ground. “It’s just like this snow-white rice in these sacks. Tell your granny not to worry.”

The child grinned and nodded vigorously.

As this scene unfolded before Lu Sui’s eyes, his furrowed brow gradually eased, and he seemed to let out a sigh of relief.

“Fuyan, I never expected the bandits of Yanping City to be so kind-hearted as to distribute porridge to the commoners.”

At this point,

a hint of surprise entered his voice.

“It’s simply unheard of.”

Shen Yu did not speak. He merely watched intently as the three bandits from Black Wind Stronghold distributed porridge at the city gates.

Across from them, Yun Shu held the squirming little fox, her gaze also fixed on the city gates.

She watched thoughtfully as the scarred man ladled the porridge scoop by scoop into the children’s coarse earthenware bowls.

Though they called it porridge, it was actually just rice water. Still, to distribute rice water every day during chaotic times was quite generous. It was not hard to see that this Black Wind Stronghold was surely very wealthy.

“Host, there really are many good people in this world. These bandits are not only distributing porridge but also taking people to farm on the mountain. But why don’t they give porridge to the elderly?” the little fox asked, puzzled.

Yun Shu suddenly sneered. “Good people? It’s just the weasel paying respects to the hen—they’re up to no good.”

Under the Eyes of Good and Evil, all sins lay bare. She could already see the lives these bandits had taken.

Moreover, their act of distributing porridge now did not look like they were turning over a new leaf, but rather as if they had an ulterior motive.

The system wanted to say more, but she pinched its snout shut, manually muting it so it couldn't make a sound.

Gradually,

Lu Sui began to harbor the same doubts as the system.

“How very strange. If they are doing good deeds, why do they completely ignore the elderly who come begging for porridge?”

Although the porridge belonged to them and they could give it to whomever they pleased, seeing the bandits’ differing attitudes toward the elderly compared to children and young adults made him feel an inexplicable sense of strangeness.

Shen Yu rested his hand on the tea table, his fingertips tapping lightly. “If I heard correctly just now, while distributing porridge, they also urged the young people of the city to go up the mountain with them to farm, claiming that all the grain was grown by themselves on the mountain.”

His gaze fell upon Lu Sui.

“Your mother is from Wuyuan, but have you ever seen any mountain in Wuyuan Prefecture capable of growing polished rice that only exists in the south?”

Seeing how quickly Shen Yu had spotted the anomaly, Yun Shu had to once again acknowledge that his intellect was indeed incredibly high. His observational skills were terrifyingly sharp. Fortunately, she had always maintained the distance of a goddess to a mortal with Shen Yu; otherwise, even a minor slip-up on her part might have resulted in him uncovering her entire secret.

Shen Yu seemed to sense something.

He turned his head and looked toward where Yun Shu was sitting. There was nothing there but an empty wooden stool.

Beside him, Lu Sui suddenly spoke up.

“Fuyan, if no crops can grow on the mountain, how are they feeding the commoners who followed them up? And where did their southern polished rice come from?”

“Let’s wait and see,” Shen Yu said, his expression unreadable.

The distribution of porridge at the city gates was drawing to a close. The scarred man set down the ladle and shouted, “Folks, if you come up the mountain with me to grow crops, I, Wei Laosan, guarantee you’ll live in comfort every single day!”

A white-haired old man knelt down, grabbing the hem of Wei Laosan’s trousers, pleading desperately, “Master, please have mercy and take me up the mountain. Don't look at my age—I'm the best farmer in all these surrounding villages...”

Wei Laosan’s brow furrowed so deeply it could have crushed a fly.

He instinctively wanted to kick the old man away, but his lackey behind him quietly pulled him back.

The lackey leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Third Chief, times have changed. The bandits of Yanping City have all been wiped out by the Zhenbei Army. Our Black Wind Stronghold is only safe and sound thanks to the Second Chief’s brilliant idea to make the folks of Yanping City think we're good people so they'll protect us. We can't afford to be reckless!”

Hearing his lackey's words, Wei Laosan withdrew his foot and put on a show of helping the kneeling old man up. “Old uncle, at your age, you should be enjoying your golden years at home. How could we let you come farm on the mountain with us? It's so hard working under the blazing sun and wind.”

In the crowd, a man said timidly, “Didn't you say farming on the mountain was easy?”

Wei Laosan’s expression stiffened. “Farming, you see... it’s naturally easy for young people, but it’s bound to be hard on the elderly!”

“Since farming on the mountain is also hard, we might as well listen to those young masters from Zhenbei Prefecture. We can reclaim wasteland outside the city to grow potatoes while raising cattle and sheep...”

“Exactly. I heard that once you go up the mountain with them, you can never come back down. I still have elderly parents and children to take care of at home. I’m not going anywhere; I just want to stay in Yanping City.”

“Me too...”

The crowd whispered among themselves, discussing the matter.

Hearing this, Wei Laosan’s face turned red and white with anger.

In his heart, he gnashed his teeth in hatred toward Zhenbei Prefecture.

In the past, the officials of Yanping City were corrupt and incompetent. Every time they went down the mountain, they could easily round up a group of refugees.

Now, the Zhenbei Army had pacified the north, completely replaced the officials in Yanping City, and even taken in refugees, settling them in the city and teaching them how to farm.

A while ago, an official from Zhenbei Prefecture even wanted to set up an academy in the city so all the children could go to school. How could they stand by and watch their source of wealth be cut off?