76: Suffered the loss of never being poor

"Do you think you're very cool?"

"Why take on this kind of task for no reason?"

"You're just suffering for being too young!"

Su Yi, walking along the riverbank, complained grumpily to the two disciples behind him.

Gu Wanquan and Yin Chaoge followed behind with their heads bowed as if receiving a lecture, but they were actually thinking about how to handle this matter secretly behind their Master's back.

"I'll go this time, and you go next time!" Yin Chaoge whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Junior Brother should stay by Master's side and fully comprehend your Saber Intent before competing with This Elder Brother!" Gu Wanquan said to Yin Chaoge with a shake of his head and a smile.

"White Noodle, are you trying to hog Master's items from hundreds of years ago for yourself?" Yin Chaoge asked angrily, keeping his voice low.

"Then if Junior Brother goes alone, aren't you also thinking of monopolizing Master's things?" Gu Wanquan said, refusing to back down.

"Is that the same?"

"How is it different?"

"My surname is Su now, and Master is my father!"

Yin Chaoge spoke smugly, causing the veins on Gu Wanquan's forehead to throb.

All the calculations of a clever man are no match for a fool's sudden inspiration.

The usually clever Gu Wanquan never expected that Yin Chaoge would use such a despicable method to draw closer to their Master!

No bottom line at all; he really was suffering for caring too much about Face!

The two of them, having accepted the task, never considered letting their Master step in to resolve it.

Their only worry was how to sneak out and handle it without their Master's knowledge.

Of course, if they could have Master's items from hundreds of years ago all to themselves, that would be even better!

"What are you two boys whispering about so secretively?" Su Yi suddenly turned around, looking at the two rebellious disciples with dissatisfaction.

Over time, the true nature of these two rascals was being revealed; they even dared to ignore his words!

"Master is right to lecture us!" Gu Wanquan and Yin Chaoge glared at each other and quickly bowed to Su Yi to admit their fault.

After following the Ying River into Yingzhou Prefecture, Su Yi clearly felt that Yingzhou was much drier than Yuzhou Prefecture, with even the air carrying a parching heat.

Although only separated by a border, it felt like entering two different worlds.

The dried-up riverbed, the desolate banks, and vast stretches of abandoned fields looked as though they were suffering through a severe drought; villages could be seen faintly in the distance.

But at this time, the villages showed no signs of life, leaving only abandoned settlements.

The three walked upon what used to be farmland, feeling as if they were trekking across a bleak wilderness.

Something was very wrong. For villagers who relied on the land to survive to abandon their fields meant this drought had lasted for a long time.

When the land could no longer produce crops, the commoners had no choice but to flee and become refugees.

This kind of situation was very common when Su Yi first underwent Transmigration.

A tree dies if moved, but a person thrives by moving.

Rather than waiting to die with eyes wide open, people will always find any way possible to survive.

Upon entering a village, they found hundreds of households with their doors tightly closed and locked. Although it seemed somewhat desolate due to the absence of people, the houses were intact, further confirming Su Yi's suspicion.

If a village had been slaughtered, you couldn't expect the killers to politely knock on every door, commit murder and robbery, and then politely help lock the doors afterward, could you?

Gu Wanquan and Yin Chaoge exchanged a glance and each jumped into a courtyard, then jumped back over the walls.

Yin Chaoge spoke first: "Master, the houses are all locked inside as well. It seems the people of this village have all gone to seek refuge elsewhere!"

"The Ying River originates from the Lan River and flows into Chao Lake; it doesn't draw from Yingzhou's local water sources. The drying up of the Ying River alone shouldn't cause such a drought! Moreover, the Yu River in the distance hasn't dried up. Although it would be hard work, humans aren't gods, and fetching water from the Yu River for consumption shouldn't be a problem!" Gu Wanquan said cautiously.

"White Noodle, your words are quite interesting. Can people live just by drinking water?" Yin Chaoge sneered, looking at Gu Wanquan with disdain.

The Yu River, which hadn't dried up, was a full twenty miles away. Relying entirely on manual labor to carry water for irrigation would be a mere drop in the bucket!

Why not dig an irrigation canal?

Asking that is like asking why starving people don't just eat meat.

Since ancient times, water and land have been the most important keys to human survival.

In a year of great drought, fetching water for drinking is fine, but if you want to divert the water, you have to ask if the villages that have water are willing.

Over a single well, two villages could become blood rivals with hundreds of casualties; this was nothing new in ancient times.

Before being adopted by Master, he was from a wealthy family in his village, and after the village was destroyed, he stayed by Master's side.

Upon entering the world, he was honored as "Sword Immortal Gu" by those Righteous Path figures of Southern Liang!

How could such a pampered Young Master know the hardships of the common people at the bottom?

So when faced with the entire village fleeing, Gu Wanquan's lack of understanding was clearly a case of suffering from never having been poor!

On the other hand, before Yin Chaoge's identity was revealed, he had lived a hard life for over a decade with his mother.

He knew all too well that when survival becomes the greatest challenge, it can turn normal people into monsters!

Seeing Yin Chaoge's disdainful look, Gu Wanquan knew he had misspoken and sensibly stopped talking.

Su Yi glanced at the village and said, "They're all empty houses anyway. Let's just find one to stay in and leave some silver as compensation when we go!"

Gu Wanquan nodded and was about to use his finger as a sword to slice off the lock on the door, but he was interrupted by Yin Chaoge!

Yin Chaoge mocked Gu Wanquan, saying, "How can you be so selfish? If you break their lock, what will they do after we leave?"

At this moment, the child of a poor family held the upper hand in every way because of his past poverty.

Yin Chaoge looked around, picked up a piece of dried twig from the ground, walked to a main door, and fiddled with the lock for a moment.

With a click, the lock on the door was opened by Yin Chaoge.

Pushing the door open as if it were his own home, Yin Chaoge bowed and said with a grin to Su Yi, "Master, please, after you!"

As Gu Wanquan stepped through the door, he looked at Yin Chaoge with interest and said, "I didn't realize, Junior Brother, that you knew such thieving tricks!"

Yin Chaoge glared fiercely at Gu Wanquan, gave a cold snort, and followed Su Yi into the house.

The three of them stayed in someone else's house quite openly; one cooked while the other cleaned the rooms, with Gu Wanquan and Yin Chaoge having a clear division of labor.

After dinner, night fell; due to the terrible experience of the 'free taxi', Su Yi went to bed early.

But once they were sure Su Yi was fast asleep, Gu Wanquan and Yin Chaoge quietly stepped out of their rooms.

The two exchanged a glance, snorted coldly in unison with some annoyance, and jumped onto the wall together, vanishing into the night.

After the two had gone far away, Su Yi's door opened with a creak.

Su Yi, with a coat draped over his shoulders, looked at the starry sky and sighed softly.

Although he knew these two rascals would act on their own, their intentions were good after all.

Su Yi moved a chair and sat by his door, watching the starry sky and feeling the slightly sultry summer night breeze.

Quietly waiting for his two disciples to return!