In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 847 The Impulse to Shed Tears

Although the two successfully escaped the Lu family's pursuit, the pursuit still caused them to waste a lot of time, preventing them from arriving at Shaman Town immediately to inform Tian Yu of the Lu family's plot.

This undoubtedly made the two very worried about Tian Yu's safety, especially after Qianli'er learned from his informant that the Lu family had taken action today. The two were extremely anxious, fearing that Tian Yu would be harmed by the Lu family.

"How is it? Is General Tian alright?"

Zhu the Butcher said urgently. Escaping from a second-rank martial artist was obviously not an easy task. He was still injured, but compared to his own injuries, Zhu the Butcher was obviously more concerned about the situation in Kill Barbarian Town.

Qianli'er quickly read the contents of the note, then breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, "Don't worry, Lao Zhu, General Tian is not only unharmed, but he also annihilated the invading enemy!"

"what?"

Zhu the Butcher was immediately stunned, seemingly finding it hard to believe the information Qianli'er had given. The force sent by the Lu family was quite impressive, with not only two first-rank martial artists but also more than a dozen second- and third-rank martial artists. Such a powerful lineup not only failed to harm Tian Yu but was also completely killed by him.

"You mean... General Tian single-handedly annihilated all the experts sent by the Lu family?"

Butcher Zhu asked instinctively.

"Of course I'm not alone!"

Qianli'er shook his head and said, "No matter how powerful General Tian is, it would be difficult for him to deal with so many strong people on his own! Someone helped General Tian."

"Who?"

"Yang Zheng."

"Yang Zheng?"

Zhu the Butcher frowned and said, "Isn't Yang Zheng's territory Liangzhou and Qingzhou? How could he appear in Youzhou? Moreover... Yang Zheng is a rebel, while General Tian is a general of the imperial court. The two are not on the same side at all."

"The martial artist named Yang Tian that we saw at the Lu family's residence was Yang Zheng!"

"It turns out to be him!"

Zhu the butcher's body trembled, and he was extremely surprised!

Now that Yang Zheng controls two states, his status is undoubtedly extremely prestigious. Butcher Zhu never expected that Yang Zheng would risk going to the Lu family, and even more unexpectedly, that this traitor would help Tian Yu.

"and many more!"

Zhu the Butcher seemed to have thought of something and said, "If Yang Tian is Yang Zheng, then could Mr. Chen be Yang Zheng's subordinate?"

Butcher Zhu found it hard to imagine that someone as fearless of authority as Mr. Chen would be willing to become someone else's subordinate.

"no!"

Qianli'er replied, "Mr. Chen is the head of Chenjia Village. As far as I know, Mr. Chen and Yang Zheng should have a cooperative relationship!"

"I see!"

Zhu the butcher suddenly realized.

Qianli'er continued, "Yang Zheng, Mr. Chen, and Mr. Chen's guards, along with Senior Li Qiao who was accompanying Mr. Chen, worked together to help General Tian annihilate the invading Lu family's enemies. Unfortunately..."

Qianli'er glanced at the small note in his hand and said with regret, "General Tian failed to capture that barbarian king, and he escaped successfully!"

"Humph!"

Zhu the Butcher snorted coldly, his face full of disgust, and said, "The Lu family is called the family of sages, but their actions have nothing to do with sages! Not only do they enslave the people of Youzhou, but they also have illicit relations with the barbarians on the grasslands. They are truly despicable!"

Upon hearing this, Qianli Er sighed inwardly. The fact that the Lu family had colluded with the barbarians was not exactly common knowledge, but it was not a secret either.

Whether it was officials in the imperial court or warriors scattered throughout the Nine Provinces, everyone knew about the Lu family's trade with the barbarians.

Logically speaking, trading with barbarians is a serious crime of treason, however...

The Lu family did not receive even the slightest punishment. The current court and the emperor sitting on the dragon throne are truly disappointing.

Qianli'er shook his head, clearing his mind of unnecessary thoughts, and said, "Now that General Tian is out of danger, we don't need to rush to kill the barbarian town. How about we find a village nearby to rest for the night?"

"Row!"

Butcher Zhu nodded.

So the two walked along the official road and soon came to see a village.

But when they entered the village, the two looked at each other in bewilderment.

The village was completely deserted, with dilapidated houses everywhere you looked, and the main road was in disrepair and in a terrible state.

"Why is there not a single person in this village?"

Zhu the butcher was suspicious. Martial artists' hearing is undoubtedly extremely sharp. Logically speaking, if there were people in this village, he should have been able to hear the voices coming from each house the moment he stepped into the village.

Standing on the main road of the village, Zhu the butcher could not hear a single human voice. The entire village was deathly silent, like a village that had long been abandoned.

"Let's look for it!"

The two searched all over the village and finally found several elderly farmers working in the fields.

Gazing at the hunched figures in the field, Qianli'er and Butcher Zhu exchanged a glance and fell into a long silence.

They had searched the entire village and were almost certain that, apart from the few old farmers in the fields, no one else remained in the village...

At this moment, several old farmers who were busy in the fields also noticed Zhu the butcher and his companion. They put down their work and walked to the edge of the field, scrutinizing the two men with their cloudy eyes, and asked warily, "Who are you? Why have you come to our Qishui Village?"

"Old man, we are just travelers passing through this place."

Qianli'er clasped his hands and said, "Because I am quite tired from the journey, I plan to stay in the village for the night."

The old farmers, unsuspecting, smiled bitterly and said, "If you want to stay, then stay. Our village lacks everything, but we don't lack empty houses."

After saying that, the old farmers carried their farm tools and headed towards the village.

As Qianli'er and Butcher Zhu followed the group, they asked the old farmers for their names.

Before long, the group arrived in the village. The old farmer Feng Mu, who was in charge, casually pushed open the door of a house and said, "You can stay in these empty houses, but because they have been uninhabited for a long time, they are covered in dust. You will need to clean them yourselves."

While telling Zhu the butcher and his companion to clean up themselves, Feng Mu took the initiative to start cleaning. He grabbed a broom from a corner of the room and bent down to sweep the dust off the bed and table!

Other elderly farmers in the same industry also got to work. Although they were old and their backs were hunched, they were still very agile when they started working.

Looking at these busy old farmers, Butcher Zhu and Qianli'er couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion and tears welled up in their eyes.

Judging from their appearance, the youngest of these elderly farmers is probably fifty years old, and the oldest is over 60, well past the age of enjoying their retirement.