I Can Strengthen Infinitely

Chapter 252 188: Sandy Islet

Reaching for the knives dropped by the protectors on the ground, Qin Yuesheng swung them one after another, beheading the fine horses they rode. In a few blinks, the fine steeds had all turned into headless dead horses.

"If you're hungry, you can gather firewood, and I'll help you prepare some horse meat to eat." Qin Yuesheng said, looking at the refugees around him, all gaunt, their faces yellow, and their bones protruding.

"Horse meat!"

Upon hearing these two words, the people's eyes lit up, each seeming like a hungry wolf that spotted food.

"You've got some nerve! How dare you kill my horse!" Zhang Huangzhi was furious upon seeing his beloved horse beheaded by Qin Yuesheng in a single blow.

"I was going to spare your life, but it seems unnecessary now." Qin Yuesheng glanced coldly, and with a flick, a cold light shot out directly, piercing Zhang Huangzhi's throat—it was Qin Yuesheng's flying knife, which he carried with him.

"Young master!" The protectors widened their eyes in disbelief.

This is bad; even if they could take Qin Yuesheng back to the Jiang He Salt Gang, it wouldn't atone for their sins.

Seeing Qin Yuesheng commit murder, all refugees were momentarily frozen.

These refugees were ordinary citizens before leaving their hometowns, having never witnessed such a scene, and suddenly they were all dumbstruck.

Qin Yuesheng shouted: "If you want to eat horse meat, hurry up, if you don't gather firewood, I'll be gone."

Under the torment of hunger, nothing else mattered anymore—the men turned immediately to search for firewood nearby, luckily finding many branches and leaves along the wooded roadside.

Qin Yuesheng chopped the horse carcass into several large pieces, using his tinder to light up the firewood pile for the refugees, and soon a blazing bonfire rose by the roadside.

"These people are temporarily incapacitated due to my actions. You can choose to kill them or tie them up; it's up to you. The fire is almost ready; handle the horse skin yourself, and roast it over the fire. Though there's no salt, it is still edible." Qin Yuesheng said.

With so many horses, the refugees could eat their fill—performing a good deed might save these people's lives, which was somewhat reassuring.

"Thank you, benefactor, thank you, benefactor."

Amidst the gratitude of many refugees, Qin Yuesheng continued his journey eastward.

Watching Qin Yuesheng's departing figure, Huang Rou, the girl he had just saved, immediately spoke to those around her: "Come, everyone act swiftly and tie these people up first, then roast the horse meat."

Tearing their own tattered clothes, everyone bound Zhang Huangzhi's protectors tightly, then flocked to the horse meat Qin Yuesheng had cut, starting to roast it over the bonfire.

While the refugees were busy roasting meat, Huang Rou went to the side of the old man who had been knocked down earlier—unfortunately, due to age and frail health, the old man had already died upon impact.

Huang Rou shook her head regretfully, moved him to the roadside, and covered his corpse with earth, dug by her own hands.

In this vast world, the lives of these homeless refugees were as worthless as ants, and no one would care—ensuring he wouldn't be left to rot in the wild was considered a good treatment by Huang Rou.

Looking up at the sky, Huang Rou couldn't help but touch the Yellow Turban tied around her wrist and sighed: "Master, how much longer will this land belong to the Great Tang."

...

At Qin Yuesheng's rapid pace, he soon reached the East Sea at sunset.

Where the land met the sea, there was pure white sand—the beach stretched in a vast white scene, reflected by the red glow of the setting sun on the sea, making quite a pleasant view.

However, the place Qin Yuesheng arrived was deserted, with no village or shop in sight—it was far from human habitation, so he set out southward along the snowy white beach.

In the records room at the Inspector's Office, he had seen that although the Sand Isle area was remote, there were still villages—communities of destitute people coming together for warmth, building houses together and gradually developing into villages.

With Qin Yuesheng's sprinting, he did indeed discover a small fishing village along the beach smoke rising twenty miles south, where it seemed people were cooking dinner.

"Tonight I don't have to camp in the wild," Qin Yuesheng laughed.

As he entered the small fishing village, he saw several children with sky-high braids and longevity necklaces around their necks, playing under a big tree at the village entrance.

Upon seeing the stranger Qin Yuesheng, they immediately turned and ran, shouting in alarm: "A kidnapper is here! A kidnapper is here!"

Qin Yuesheng couldn't help but laugh and cry.

Their young age, yet their sense of vigilance was quite strong.

Thanks to the children's shouting, a woman holding a spatula quickly ran out of the houses. Seeing Qin Yuesheng, her face couldn't help but show a hint of confusion.

"I was passing through here, and seeing that it's already late, not fit for traveling further, I thought of borrowing a place to sleep in your village, and a meal to fill my belly. I can pay for it," Qin Yuesheng said, taking out a piece of silver.

At the sight of the silver, everyone's eyes immediately widened. Although they lived by the East Sea, whenever they needed to buy some daily supplies, they had to go to Yangzhou Prefecture. Thinking of how her husband toils all day fishing and selling fish just to earn a few coins, and now this young man is so generous with his money, how could she resist the temptation of the silver.

She immediately smiled and said, "Of course, of course, young master, please come in and have a seat. I am just making dinner, you came just in time."

Under the woman's invitation, Qin Yuesheng walked into the house and immediately smelled a delicious aroma, it seemed the woman's cooking skills were quite good.

Sitting down at the table, Qin Yuesheng saw two young children sitting opposite him, staring at him with bright eyes, both curious and wary.

"Is it rare for outsiders to come here?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

"Mm..." One of the children responded, a bit timidly.

Qin Yuesheng then searched in the Celestial Demon's waist bag, finally taking out a piece of broken silver and handed it to him: "Do you know what this is?"

"Yes, it's silver." The child cautiously received it.

"If you can answer a few questions from me, I'll give you each more of this silver, and then you can ask your mother to take you to Yangzhou Prefecture to buy candies and toys," Qin Yuesheng smiled and said, "Understood?"

"Yes, understood."

"Very good, then let me ask you, is there any place like a ruined city on Sazi Island?"

"What is a ruined city?"

"It's a city where the walls are broken but still standing, similar in shape to Yangzhou Prefecture, but not as large," Qin Yuesheng explained in detail.

"Hmm..." The two children propped their chins with their hands, thinking hard, but it seemed they hadn't seen such a place. In the end, they shook their heads regrettably.

"Are there any other villages like yours around here?"

"Yes, there's Broken Ship Village and Hailuo Village, but they're quite far from here, you have to go south to see them."

Qin Yuesheng memorized this information secretly, thinking if he couldn't find any information in this village, he naturally would have to go to other villages to inquire.

After throwing another piece of broken silver to them, Qin Yuesheng stopped questioning and waited quietly for the meal.

Bang!

Suddenly, the door was slammed open from outside with a loud crash.

They saw a dark-skinned strong man entering from outside holding a fishing net.

"It might rain heavily tonight. I saw dark clouds gathering over the sea when I was coming back from fishing. If it rains, it will be a heavy one," the strong man noticed Qin Yuesheng sitting beside the table, immediately closed his mouth, puzzled, "Do we have a guest at home?"

"A young master passing through, staying a night at our house. Make sure to treat him well," the woman's voice came from the kitchen.

"A rare visitor indeed, we rarely have people visiting our village," the strong man put down the fishing net, which was covered in shells, giving off a distinct fishy smell.

Qin Yuesheng said, "Sorry to bother you."

"Hey! Brother, I don't like the way you put it. Since you're in my home, there's fate between us, there's no disturbance. In such a vast world, meeting and speaking to each other is fate," the strong man took a cloth to wipe his face, waiting until all the sweat was gone, then took a jar of wine from a small cabinet and sat by the table, saying, "This is wine I've treasured for a long time. Let's have a few drinks tonight, it's been so long since anyone visited our village, this Sazi Island is truly a godforsaken place."

Qin Yuesheng smiled, "Okay."

Soon, the woman served the meal, consisting of seafood like crabs, shrimps, fish, and shells; a typical coastal meal, these things would not be affordable for an ordinary family in Cyan Yang City.

Watching the family dining in a cheerful atmosphere, Qin Yuesheng drank with the strong man, listening to him talk about life fishing at sea, which was quite interesting.

After eating and drinking heartily, Qin Yuesheng lay down on the bed prepared by the woman and fell asleep.

This bed originally belonged to the two children, but with Qin Yuesheng's arrival, they had to share the bed with their parents.

After all, Qin Yuesheng was a 'big customer' who paid money.

In the deep night, large patches of dark clouds drifted silently from the sea to the land, accompanied by thunderous roars in the clouds, just as the strong man said, indicating an approaching rainstorm.

However, amidst the shrouding dark clouds, shadow-like figures seemed to be approaching the shore from under the sea…