Chapter 398: Grain

The atmosphere at the table grew somewhat heavy, weighed down by the sudden worry and the feeling of helplessness in not being able to assist.

Seeing this, Temple Keeper Huang raised his cup and laughed, “Alright, Mr. Gu is a man of extraordinary caliber—he’s a True Immortal!”

“You all don’t know, but a True Immortal is the highest level of cultivation in the world. There’s simply no one who can harm Mr. Gu.”

“Let’s not worry about it. Let’s just enjoy our food and drink!”

At this point, Zhou Zhongtian took the opportunity to change the subject, “Come on, let’s drink and eat! It’s been over a year since we last met, we should catch up!”

Seeing that they were trying to shift the conversation, Feng Wei helped by saying, “It’s been a year, and you haven’t even brought back a sister-in-law for us yet?”

“Hey!” Zhou Zhongtian put down his cup and said seriously, “I, young master, have my eyes set on the world. Matters of romance? I never gave them any thought.”

Feng Wei teased, “Oh? Could it be that no girls are interested in you?”

“Big sister! Stop saying that! Every word you speak is like a dagger to my heart!” Zhou Zhongtian begged for mercy. “Look at Liu Feng. He’s older than me, and he’s still not married. You should talk to him, let me have a good laugh.”

At this, Liu Feng, who was feeding the black donkey sitting at his feet, immediately spoke up, “Don’t poke fun at me. There’s a rule in our sect. I can’t marry until the black donkey finds a partner.”

“Eh?”

The black donkey made a confused sound, its eyes filled with doubt.

Grandpa Donkey raised his wine pot and poured some wine while saying, “What a strange rule! I didn’t know about this. Did you make it up yourself?”

“Master, you can’t be sabotaging me like this!”

“I’m still your disciple!”

Liu Feng, with a face full of grievance, looked at everyone. “You all don’t know where I’ve been these past few days.”

“It wasn’t a graveyard, it was an old abandoned house with a dry well!”

“There were no girls, but I saw quite a few female ghosts.”

“Tell me, how can I get married in such a place?”

“Ha!” Grandpa Donkey slammed his cup on the table, pointing at his disciple. “Last time, after we helped exorcise the evil at the Wang family house, their eldest daughter gave you her personal handkerchief, didn’t she?”

“You, good for nothing, rejected the handkerchief, but kept staring at the money she was offering!”

“Wow! Liu Feng, you’re something else!” Zhou Zhongtian immediately urged, “Grandpa Donkey, hurry and tell us, what happened after that?”

Grandpa Donkey let out a loud burp and sighed, “Well, the girl was upset. She gave me the money, and we left.”

Hearing this, the group, who had been expecting some juicy gossip, all deflated in disappointment.

Miss Yu Ling couldn’t help but speak up, “Liu Feng, a girl’s personal handkerchief isn’t something she gives just anyone. Rejecting it like that must have hurt her feelings.”

“What’s there to be upset about? We only met two or three times,” Liu Feng said seriously. “I suspect she gave me the handkerchief because she wanted to use it to pay for the exorcism!”

“If I had taken the handkerchief, how could I still accept her money?”

“Don’t you all agree?”

Feng Wei pressed her forehead and asked, “Liu Feng, tell me, how much money was it?”

Liu Feng held up his fingers, gesturing, “Not much, exactly one qian!”

“Only one qian?” Feng Wei shook her head helplessly. “That could have been a good match, and you rejected it just because of one qian of silver?”

Hearing this, Liu Feng nodded and said, “I refused. One qian isn’t a small amount. There’s a famine everywhere right now, and one steamed bun costs fifty copper coins. With one qian, you can buy several buns and save a few lives.”

At these words, everyone’s expressions changed, and all the playful mood at the table disappeared.

Qiao Min, who had been silent for a long time, spoke calmly, “The world is harsh, and the common people can barely survive…”

Liu Feng continued, “While I’ve been out exorcising, everywhere I went, I saw refugees. Wherever they passed, even the tree bark and grass roots were stripped bare…”

“Sigh…”

Temple Keeper Huang let out a long sigh. “Recently, more and more refugees have been arriving in Four Corners Town.”

“The townspeople are kind-hearted and have been giving up empty houses and extra food to help the refugees settle in.”

“But now, with more and more refugees coming, Four Corners Town, despite being a large area, is nearing its capacity.”

“The biggest problem isn’t shelter… it’s food. Originally, the people of Four Corners Town were self-sufficient, with a surplus of grain. But now, even though they’ve been planting more, it’s still not enough.”

“Thankfully, the refugees are grateful. They work efficiently, eating little and being frugal, but over time, this won’t last.”

“If even more refugees come, there will definitely be trouble…”

Once the topic turned to the refugees, the atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.

The group stared at the table full of simple home-cooked food. Although it was far from the lavish feasts of the wealthy, it was still something that an ordinary family could afford for a holiday meal.

But now, with the conversation focused on the refugees, everyone found it hard to enjoy the meal in front of them, feeling a strange discomfort in their hearts.

Even Yao Wu, who usually had little care for such things, stopped “eating air” and stared at the food that he had already eaten, feeling a bit guilty.

After an unknown amount of time, a sharp sound of a sword being unsheathed broke the silence in the room.

Everyone looked in shock at Qiao Min, who had drawn her sword.

“Little girl, what’s…”

Before Temple Keeper Huang could finish his sentence, Qiao Min stood up and walked toward the door. Her cold voice rang out, “There are demons on the street… many of them…”

Swish!

In almost the next instant, everyone in the room stood up, following Qiao Min, who had already dashed outside!

When they arrived outside the temple’s main gate, they saw a large group of people dressed in black robes standing opposite Qiao Min.

These figures were all tall and clad in loose black robes, covering them from head to toe. Their wide, drooping hoods cast dark shadows over their faces, making it impossible to see their features.

Next to them, several carts filled with goods were parked, their cargo covered in black cloth, hiding whatever was underneath.

“They’re demons!” Yao Wu clenched his fists, his figure becoming somewhat ethereal, as if ready to rush forward and engage with these unexpected visitors.

“Be careful,” Qiao Min warned. “Each black robe contains hundreds of similar but not identical auras.”

Her sword began to glow with a soft, radiant light, clearly indicating that, with her deep hatred for demons, she had no intention of investigating the strangers’ intentions and was ready to attack directly.

However, in the next moment, the group of black-robed figures in front of them suddenly froze and made a bowing gesture in unison.

“We are the Blaze Bug Clan, and we’ve come to deliver grain, on the orders of Mr. Gu!”