Chapter 72

Chapter 72

A woman holding a child had been separated from her husband when the crowd scattered them. Suddenly, a bandit appeared from the side and tried to forcibly snatch the child from her arms.

The woman let out a startled cry and frantically tried to shield her child.

But the crowd was in complete chaos, and a passerby's bag smacked her in the back of the head.

The woman's vision went dark, and her whole body started to crumple toward the ground.

Seeing this, the child-snatching bandit let out a gleeful chuckle and snatched the child from her.

Before her vision even cleared, the woman was flailing around and screaming, "My child, my child! Don't take my child!"

Some people nearby heard her and wanted to jump in and help.

But more people were flooding out of the city, and there was an unknown army outside the walls. The city gate was now a sea of people.

They couldn't even get close before the crowd swept them away. Forget helping get the kid back—the woman herself disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Xie Licheng hadn't planned to get involved. There were too many poor souls in this world, and he couldn't possibly save them all.

But wouldn't you know it, the bandit who had snatched the child happened to run right past Xie Licheng.

The child the bandit had taken was a little girl, about four or five years old.

The girl was wailing and squirming, reaching out to scratch at the bandit's face.

Pissed off by her crying, the bandit raised his hand to knock her unconscious.

But just as he lifted his hand, his vision went black in the next instant, and he collapsed.

Xie Licheng offed the bandit and reached out to take the kid.

The kid couldn't tell if he was a good guy or a bad guy, and she kept wailing at the top of her lungs even after he picked her up.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng said helplessly, "I'll help you find your mom. Can you quit crying?"

The kid clearly didn't trust him, but her crying died down a bit.

The little girl shouted, "Mommy, I want my mommy!"

Xie Licheng nodded. "Alright, I'll help you find your mother."

With that, he carried her up to a higher spot. The view from up there was way better, so it was easier to spot someone.

Xie Licheng had seen her mother earlier, so he naturally knew what she looked like. Unlike everyone else—who were either bolting for the gates or looting the townsfolk—she wasn't running or grabbing stuff. Instead, she was desperately scanning the crowd for someone. So Xie Licheng spotted her fast and quickly brought the kid to her.

With the kid in one arm, Xie Licheng yanked the woman out of the crowd with the other.

At first, she was scared of him, but once she saw her kid in his arms and looking okay, she stopped fighting him.

If Xie Licheng meant any harm, he could have simply taken the child and left. He wouldn't have bothered coming back just to find her, so it was obvious he was there to help.

Xie Licheng pulled the two of them out of the crowd and asked, "Where's the rest of your family?"

The woman took the child and held her tightly before speaking. "Thank you, young man. My husband got separated from us in the mess. I... I want to wait here a bit. He should be able to find us any minute now."

Xie Licheng said, "You sure he can find you? How about... you come with me instead?"

The woman looked at him nervously and shook her head. "I... I'd rather just wait here for my husband."

Xie Licheng nodded at her words and got ready to head back to the city gate to check out the action.

He didn't think the woman was wrong for deciding that. He was a stranger—after helping them, he'd told them to come with him.

To be honest, that did sound kind of like a human trafficker.

Even though Xie Licheng had helped them, since they'd only just met, there was no way they could fully trust a stranger.

And since she wasn't desperate yet—she still had a husband out there to rely on—she was even less likely to go with Xie Licheng.

Just as Xie Licheng was leaving, he'd barely taken a few steps when the army that had been watching from the sidelines suddenly attacked the city.

Attacking while the people of Wencheng were fleeing meant they planned to kill these civilians too.

This army wasn't planning to take the city and hold it. It looked like they planned to kill and loot, then ditch Wencheng entirely.

Xie Licheng didn't know whose army this was. Just as he was wondering if he should go back and check his books, he heard a little girl's blood-curdling scream behind him.

Xie Licheng quickly turned around and saw an arrow piercing through the woman's chest.

The woman instinctively glanced down at her chest. Before she fell, she took a step toward Xie Licheng, as if trying to entrust her child to him. But before she could even lift the child up, her vision went dark and she collapsed.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng let out a sigh. He should have forced them to come with him.

But he wasn't one to wallow in self-blame or guilt. He had offered to take both of them with him—it was the woman herself who wanted to keep looking for her lost husband. This couldn't be blamed on Xie Licheng.

He walked over, intending to take the child away. Staying here would only mean certain death for her, so it was better to leave with him. But the child couldn't bear to part with her mother. She clung to her mother, refusing to let go, and tearfully begged Xie Licheng to save her.

Xie Licheng frowned at this. The woman's injuries were severe—even if he saved her, she might not survive.

He didn't want to bring too many dead people into his portable world, because many people in there had already lost family and friends.

Bringing in too many corpses would remind others of their departed loved ones, only adding to their grief.

Moreover, too many dead bodies could spread disease. The medical standards in his portable world were still too poor. Everyone he'd brought in before had been people he could save—he rarely brought in someone destined to die.

But to avoid wasting time, Xie Licheng ultimately sent both of them into his portable world.

He brought them in to be saved; whether the woman would survive was up to fate.

When the mother and daughter were brought in, they startled Xiao Rui, who was playing in the village. The woman had lost a lot of blood and looked like she might not make it.

She was a bit scared, but seeing the crying little girl beside the woman, and not wanting her to lose her only family, she quickly went to find an adult to help.

Meanwhile, after sending the mother and daughter in, Xie Licheng found himself facing a man in armor.

The two exchanged a brief clash, but with too many people around and arrows flying everywhere, they were forced to stop.

Then Xie Licheng went back to his own business, not giving the armored man another thought.

He didn't pay the man any mind, but the man etched Xie Licheng's face deeply into his memory.

The armored man's attendant caught up to him and asked in a worried whisper, "Young Marquis, are you alright?"

The armored man—the one the attendant called Young Marquis—shot him a sinister look at the question.

"If something had happened to me, would I still be standing here?"

The attendant was not a regular soldier; he had joined the army alongside the young lord. Knowing well his master's bad temper, he quickly lowered his head and admitted his fault: "It's my fault, I spoke out of turn. Please don't be mad, young lord, don't be mad."

The young lord: "Did you see that man just now?"

The attendant: "Yes, I saw him."

The young lord: "Get some men and find a way to catch him. I want him taken alive."

The attendant was in a tough spot, but he kept it to himself and went to carry out the order.

That man—he'd noticed him a while back.

The guy was really skilled, and with his tall frame, he really stood out in the crowd.

Just now, when the man had crossed hands with the young lord, even the young lord, who was freakishly strong, could only tie with him.

If even the young lord couldn't take him down, then even with a small squad, catching him would be a tall order.

But even so, he dutifully led his men to go find Xie Licheng.

When they found Xie Licheng, he had just killed a bandit and was going through the guy's stuff.

He fished out a knife, a money pouch, two coarse grain cakes, and a jade pendant that looked pricey.

Top-quality mutton-fat jade like this was obviously way too nice for some bandit like him to have. Who knows who he'd ripped it off of?

Xie Licheng glanced at the two coarse grain cakes and just tossed them to some refugee who looked half-starved.

Then he got up and looked back. The attendant flashed a grin and said, "Hey buddy, our young lord wants to see you."

Xie Licheng blinked slowly at the words "young lord."

Young lord?

The son of the Marquis of Jincheng, or the one from the Marquis of Shubei's house?

The Marquis of Jincheng shouldn't have made it here yet.

So the young lord showing up in Wencheng right now had to be from the Marquis of Shubei's house—the one who'd later take the capital.

The Marquis of Shubei later declared himself King of Northern Zhou. He had a son with freakish natural strength, a fierce war god of Northern Zhou.

If it was that young lord, no wonder the guy's strength had felt so insane when they'd fought just now.

Xie Licheng: "Just because he asks, I have to go?"

The attendant smiled wryly, "Hey buddy, just come with us. Otherwise, we can't report back to him."

Xie Licheng looked at him and said, "If you can't report back, then I'll just kill all of you. Then there's nothing to report."

Clearly not expecting him to be so cocky, the attendant's face fell a little.

He didn't say a word, but the soldiers behind him immediately moved in to grab Xie Licheng.

But the moment they made a move, they realized just how outclassed they were.

This guy... was probably even tougher than their young lord. Killing him would be hard enough, let alone trying to take him back alive.

Seeing that, the attendant quickly called his men off, "Enough, enough! Please go easy on us, buddy, go easy."

Xie Licheng had already been going easy on them; otherwise, those soldiers would've been down already.

Hearing the attendant's words now, he smiled, sheathing his blade as he said, "I'll let you go, but leave some ransom money."

The attendant sighed in resignation, but remembering how vicious Xie Licheng had been, he grudgingly tossed him a money pouch.

"Buddy, we're out here at war. This is all we've got on us."

Xie Licheng nodded. He didn't want to waste any more energy on them, so he was nice enough to let them go.

Watching Xie Licheng walk off all cool and easy, a soldier beside the attendant said, "So... what do we tell the young lord?"

The attendant: "Just say we couldn't find him."

Anyway, there were tons of people here, all in a total mess. Their army still had to hurry into the city to grab supplies, and the young lord wasn't about to skip the city over one guy.

Xie Licheng then hung around there for the rest of the afternoon. He brought nine more people into his pocket world, then found a quiet spot and went in himself.

Once inside, Xie Licheng started getting the villagers settled.

The village was just about full now. Some of the newcomers had money, so he just told them to go buy houses in town.

One family of three had a good chunk of money. Hearing that a county seat would be built here later, they didn't hurry off to town.

They planned to stay in the village and check things out. If this place was really as good as everyone said, they'd just move into the county seat later.

Xie Licheng had come back this time mainly for that Master Cao.

He'd been so wrapped up in Gu Changyuan that he'd completely forgotten about Master Cao. While out saving people, it suddenly hit him, so he came back just to check where the guy was now.

Chen Yaosan had locked Master Cao up. Master Cao had done wrong to Cui Niang and her kid, and to this day, nobody knew where Cui Niang's kid was. Now that Master Cao was in Chen Yaosan's hands, he was in for a rough time.

Xie Licheng had told him not to let the man die, and Chen Yaosan, worried the guy might run off if he still had all his limbs, just went ahead and broke both his legs.

Without his legs, the guy's fighting ability would take a huge hit, and there was no way he could run off.

When Xie Licheng went looking for him, Chen Yaosan had tossed him in the sheep pen, looking like a total wreck.

Those sheep were Xie Licheng's too, by the way. A village girl named Qing Niang was looking after them for him. Now Chen Yaosan had dumped the guy on her, and Qing Niang felt grossed out every time she came by.

Xie Licheng took one look, frowned in disgust, and said, "Get someone to wash him. He reeks."

Chen Yaosan laughed at that, "Boss, why bother washing him? He's gonna be killed sooner or later anyway. Might as well just leave him like this."

Xie Licheng: "He's hurt. In a filthy place like this, he could die easily."

Hearing that, Chen Yaosan got it. "Got it. I'll get someone to wash him right now."

If the guy died just like that, who'd pay for the sins he'd committed?

There were still plenty of victims here. Better to keep him alive to soothe their anger and pain.

After they got him washed up, Xie Licheng saw the guy still had the strength to fight back, so he just went ahead and broke both his arms too.

That way, even if some woman came looking for revenge, they wouldn't have to worry about him hurting her.

Xie Licheng: "Alright, keep an eye on him. Don't let him die, and don't let him get lost."

With that, Xie Licheng didn't bother with him anymore.

He was not one to advocate torture, so most of the killings he had done before were swift, single-stroke deaths.

But for some people, a swift death was simply too merciful.

Thinking of the suffering endured by those who had been captured, Xie Licheng did not feel he was being excessive now. He never had any sympathy for perverts like that.

Only a twisted person like him would pity or sympathize with someone like Master Cao.

After that, Xie Licheng rested for a day at the farmstead before heading out again.

This time, he left for several days, and during that period, he kept bringing new people to the village.

Since many newcomers had arrived, and some could afford to buy houses in town, Gu Zhangyuan had been quite busy these past few days handling matters in town.

Now that more people were in the pocket world, minor conflicts occasionally broke out.

Gu Zhangyuan was a young, handsome omega, and with all his daily trips in and out, he was likely to run into danger.

The nanny had Steward Xu and the new guard go with Gu Zhangyuan to handle matters in town.

The town matters involved houses, shops, and farmland.

To prevent people from regretting their purchases if better houses became available in the county town later, Gu Zhangyuan explained the county's situation beforehand when he took them to look at houses.

Some families, hoping for houses in the county, decided to rent in town for now, planning to wait until better options came along. Others thought it was too much hassle and just bought houses in town.

One afternoon, Gu Zhangyuan was taking newcomers to see houses as usual when a plump, well-off woman took a fancy to him.

She smiled and asked him, "Young master, which family do you belong to? Are you married, by any chance?"

Before Gu Zhangyuan could respond, Steward Xu couldn't help but speak up, "Our young master is dignified, virtuous, and as beautiful as a celestial being. Naturally, he's already married."

Hearing that Gu Zhangyuan was already married, a flicker of disappointment crossed the woman's eyes.

"What a shame."

Their family had been pretty lucky, having run into Xie Licheng early on. When Xie Licheng asked if they had somewhere to go, even though they did, the head of the family still chose to follow him.

Yeah, you heard that right.

When Xie Licheng rescued them, the head of that family immediately saw he was no ordinary man. So when Xie Licheng asked them his usual question, their head agreed right away to go with him.

It was because they agreed so fast that their family barely suffered any losses.

It was a husband and wife, along with three kids, an elderly mother, and two loyal servants.

All together, they were the biggest household in the pocket world besides the Gu family.

Plus, they'd brought a good amount of gold, silver, and valuables, so they were pretty well-off there.

She'd figured that since her youngest son wasn't married yet, and it was rare to meet such a talented, handsome omega, she'd boldly ask for his hand for her son. But she hadn't expected he was already married.

Noticing she was still staring at their young master, Steward Xu cleared his throat and said to the plump woman, "Our young master is married to Master Xie—the one who saved everyone."

When the plump woman realized this, she gasped softly.

Close call. Good thing she'd only been admiring his looks and hadn't done anything too bold, or she'd have offended their benefactor.