Chapter 704: Continue Forward

n mages arrived due to sensing elemental fluctuations, they saw countless souls gathered outside Soul Hill and mistook it for a soul riot. They immediately began summoning nearby mages to help quell t...Having heard Shiju's words, Lianyi felt that being an envoy wasn't easy either. Besides, traveling so low-key was quite difficult. If she hadn't encountered her as a tasker, he would have been truly gone for good.

He didn't want to go to Haoyuan City alone. His servant, in order to lure him out by himself, said that the county magistrate of Haoyuan City had sent money through his family's relatives, wanting him to provide information about the imperial envoy's whereabouts and route. The county magistrate could prepare in advance and fool the imperial envoy.

That servant, in order to make Yu Junyu believe him, specially took out two gold bars. Only then did Yu Junyu be fooled and, with the servant and coachman, secretly rushed towards Haoyun City, which gave the other party a chance to take advantage.

Shíjiù explained things, after all, those who could sit in the position of imperial envoy were not fools.

"Alright! As long as Yu Junyu is a good official for the people, it's worth my while helping him out."

"Rest assured, now Haoyun City has started to receive the refugees, and relief grain from Huzhou is also on its way. The situation should improve."

After Shiju reported the situation here, he continued to remain silent.

The ripples band had traveled for five days, with only a little dry food left, when they finally saw Huangshi City, the outermost city of Huangzhou Prefecture. The city was named after its abundance of stones.

The entrance fee to the city is one copper coin per person. Children under five years old are exempt, and a group of people paid fourteen copper coins to enter the city.

After entering the city, the first thing they did was find an inn to stay at so everyone could rest comfortably for the night.

They took a bath and changed into clean clothes. They didn't look like refugees anymore. The next day, everyone slept until the sun was high in the sky before they were woken up by hunger.

The Zhang family almost had the entire inn to themselves. They cooked their own meals using the inn's stove, enjoying a bowl of glutinous rice soup with pickled vegetables provided by the inn. After a satisfying meal, Old Zhang led his eldest son and son-in-law out to gather information.

Zhang Jun and Zhang Cheng went out with a few young children to buy some food. They had already run out of the provisions they had brought, and the womenfolk were busy washing, mending, and looking after the little ones at the inn. They did not go outside, as they were all cautious in this unfamiliar place.

When all the men who went out in the afternoon came back, they had dinner. After dinner, Old Zhang told everyone the news he had heard outside today.

It's not difficult to settle here, as long as you have a household registration and state your reason for moving. Half a tael of silver is enough to register your household. However, where you are assigned to live is not up to us! If you want to choose a better location, you'll need to pay more silver.

There's another way. Here, we can buy land, and where you buy the land is where you can settle down. But buying land isn't easy either. After all, we're outsiders. We'd have to look around carefully for a good spot, or perhaps hire an intermediary at a real estate agency and pay them some silver to find us a few decent plots.

Lao Zhang told everyone the news he had heard and wanted to hear their opinions.

"Dad, if you think so, there shouldn't be much good land left around Yellowstone."

Chang Shih was the first to speak.

"We slipped a few copper coins to the clerk in charge of registering households. He said that the villages nearby were all poor, and the land wasn't very fertile."

Song Dachuan spoke first.

That petty official did recommend a dental shop with a good reputation, so we went there. They could tell we were from out of town and started jacking up the prices, so we left.

Zhang Zhong frowned and said.

"Dad means, if you can buy good land with money, spending a few more silver coins doesn't matter. But if you spend the silver and can't buy good land, and then get tricked into settling in a poor village, it wouldn't be worth it."

Song Dachuan added.

“Father, elder brother, brother-in-law, this Huangshi City is the first city we’ve seen after arriving in Huangzhou. We don’t have to settle here. We can continue walking further and look at more places. We’re sure to find a suitable place to call home.”

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Cheng said.

"My third uncle is right. I saw the Da Qian map before, and Huangzhou's most prosperous city is Huangfeng City because General Chang's mansion is located in Huangfeng City."

We may not be able to settle in Huangfeng City, but the surrounding villages are decent. We could consider settling there, even if it costs us more money.

The ripples spoke up at an opportune moment, sharing their opinion.

What do you think

Old Zhang still asked the others, everyone had no opinion. Anyway, they were all first-time visitors here, it didn't matter where they went, as long as the family was together.

After making the decision, everyone rested for another night before setting off again toward Huang Fengcheng's location.

The rest of the journey wasn't as nerve-wracking as during their escape. Several boys became more lively, running ahead to scout the way. They would only turn back and chase each other when called by their mothers.

That day, Lianyi dozed off against the ox cart when she heard several boys from the Zhang family shouting her name ahead of them, yelling, "Help!"

R ripples ears twitched, and she immediately opened her eyes, jumping down from the ox cart. She heard the sound of horse hooves.

"Ripple Sister! Help! There are Hu people!"

"Ripples Sister!"

The Zhang family was also taken aback, not expecting to meet a Hu person here. Their faces turned pale.

"Grandpa, don't leave, wait here, I'll go take a look!"

Ripple, clutching a handy stick, began to speed towards the source of the sound.

Song Dachuan and Zhang Shi looked at each other, each carrying a hatchet, they followed Ripple closely. Zhang Zhong, Zhang Jun, and Zhang Cheng also grabbed their weapons and guarded around the two oxcarts. Although they were anxious, they didn't dare to run to help without authorization. Their wives and daughters were on the carts, they had to protect them.

The women sitting in the car were also anxious, but none of them spoke. They all stared longingly at the three figures who had already disappeared from their sight.

As the ripples passed, he just happened to see a mounted barbarian holding Zhang Fengrui, his third uncle's son, in his arms, a sinister smile on his face, with a knife pressed against Zhang Fengrui's neck. He turned his horse's head and shouted to the people behind him:

"Feng Kun, you better let us go, or I'll kill this kid!"

And Zhang Fengliang and Zhang Fengyong were rolling on the ground, dodging the horses' hooves, while shouting "Ripple sister, help!" They looked so embarrassed!

Ripple's eyes darkened, her beautiful gaze narrowing as she faced the opposing party. Unnoticed amidst their standoff, she reached into her bosom and drew out a dagger, flinging it directly at the back of the Hu man holding her third brother hostage. Regardless of whether it struck its mark, Ripple leaped several times and sprinted forward, charging into the Hu man's cavalry ranks with a club in hand, beginning to strike at their horses' legs.jections.Ripples took back the eight hundred yuan deposit and the rental agreement from her, then said with a smile:"Zou Jie, I've already packed everything up. I'll be leaving soon, and you can start...