Is Shangwan prefectural city nearby?
Tao Yongli asked while looking around this vast flooded area, finding it hard to tell where the path was.
The young man who had filled his stomach seemed to regain some ability to think normally. After thinking for a bit, he pointed to a protruding spot at the foot of the mountain. The road is down there. Just keep walking in that direction and you will reach it.
Tao Yongli asked again, How long will it take to walk?
The young man replied, The road is not easy. It takes about two hours.
Tao Yongli looked him up and down, then glanced back at his wife. He found it strange and asked, Since you can figure out the route accurately and will not get lost in this flooded land, and you even know the exact time to reach the prefectural city, you do not seem like an ignorant villager who has never left home. With a two hour journey, are you too lazy to walk it?
The young man explained, We have been there before. Almost everyone here has been. However the gates of the prefectural city are tightly closed. Soldiers guard them strictly and do not let disaster victims enter. If you want to enter you must produce five taels of silver to prove you have money to survive the disaster and will not cause trouble in the city.
We have no money. Our couple was washed out of our home by sudden floodwaters. We did not float on a piece of wood. We would have drowned long ago. How could we have time to grab money? At this point a bit of grief and anger appeared on his face. Perhaps because he had filled his stomach the numbness caused by hunger had lessened.
Tao Yongli nodded in understanding. Then he turned and patted Yu Qing on the shoulder. Brother, you heard them. Their two hour road, with your foot strength, is enough in half an hour. You also saw that here if you want to get good goods money can only be an aid. Eating is the most practical. You have no grain on hand. Hurry to Shangwan city and get a batch. The price may be high but it is definitely much cheaper than throwing money around to sweep goods.
According to the previous plan they would first find a spot, gather the acquired goods in one place with one person guarding them. The other three would go find people. After finding them one person would be responsible for sending them back.
After going back and forth several times to gather about a group of people two would first take them back, hand them over to the other brothers to handle, then they would carry another batch of dry food back.
This trouble was unavoidable. The amount of grain a few people could carry was limited. The grain you provide must give the goods you selected the strength to walk out.
At this moment Yu Qing ignored the boss words. He remained squatting there guarding his large leather bag without speaking. No one knew what he was thinking.
Tao Yongli pushed him again. Brother, what are you thinking about? Do not daze off. Hurry up. It is time to work.
Yu Qing took a deep breath. Looking at the expression on his face it seemed he had made some decision. He slowly stood up and asked the young man, How many people are on this mountain?
The young man shook his head. Not clear. There should be about a thousand.
Yu Qing fell silent for a moment then looked at the three companions who were staring at him without understanding. Boss, you have been in this line for so many years and have earned a lot of money from disaster victims. Why not give some back today?
These words stunned the three companions. Tao Yongli asked suspiciously, Brother, what do you mean?
Yu Qing said, What I mean is it is only about a thousand people. Five thousand taels of silver can send them into Shangwan city and save a thousand lives. This is a great merit. Why not do a good deed?
The young couple was stunned upon hearing this. They both looked at Yu Qing with expectation in their eyes.
The three companions were a bit dazed. They thought they had heard wrong.
Tao Yongli said, Brother, what are you thinking? We are notorious human traffickers here to make money, not to give money away. Can you have some basic respect for the rules of the trade? If you act like this you will not survive in any line of work, understand? Listen to me. Hurry and get your grain!
Yu Qing fell silent for a moment then said, How about this? I will take a step back. I will also contribute a share of this five thousand taels of silver. I will split it equally with you three. How about that?
The three companions were stunned again.
Yi Lifei came to his senses. He looked amused and said in a sarcastic tone with his fair face, From what you said earlier the money to save people refers to us three. It turns out it did not include you?
Yu Qing did not speak. He neither confirmed nor denied it, at least he did not deny.
He wanted to save people but indeed did not really want to spend his own money.
The reason was that he had not taken a single coin from the disaster victims while these three guys took from the people and should use it for the people. That was only natural.
Ge Dajun also smiled. The knife scar on his face seemed to split open as he laughed. What dream are you having? If you want to save them, use your own money to save them.
Yi Lifei said to Tao Yongli, Boss, did you hear that? He wants to be a good person but wants us to pay. Boss, I saw long ago that this guy is not a good thing. Full of flattery, showing loyalty to you on the surface but who knows what he is thinking inside. He is just the type to be a whore!
Tao Yongli stared at Yu Qing and said in a deep voice, Brother, if you act like this you are not following the rules. We can only go our separate ways. You do your good deeds and we earn our money. We will not interfere with each other. Safe travels. We will not see you off!
Fine then. Yu Qing nodded. He walked back to his large leather bag, squatted down, pulled open the mouth of the bag and began counting silver notes. Then I will have to pay it myself.
As soon as the bag mouth was pulled open the three companions took a glance. Their eyes went straight. They almost thought they had seen wrong.
Looking carefully again, it was correct. Silver notes, a large bag full of small denomination silver notes, bundled up and stuffed inside the bag.
At the beginning when Yu Qing came out of the money house the three had joked about him exchanging so much money. They thought the bag contained luggage or something.
Only now did the three realise that this guy had really exchanged so many silver notes. He was greedy enough. It turned out he really wanted to come and make a big fortune!
With a large bag full of money placed in front of them, what mood did the watchers have?
Yi Lifei’s eyes flickered. He suddenly pulled Tao Yongli’s sleeve and elbowed Ge Dajun. He snorted and said, Boss, it seems Brother Yu is really not joking. He really has a kind heart. Since it is not just pretending, it is a bit unreasonable for Brother Yu to pay this money alone. Since we have known each other, we should each contribute a bit as a gesture. How about that?
After speaking he took out silver notes from his bosom, counted out one thousand taels, showed them to Yu Qing and also to Tao Yongli and Ge Dajun. Let each of us contribute one thousand taels. As for the rest Brother Yu will have to pay it himself.
Tao Yongli and Ge Dajun looked at each other. No need to say anything. They gave each other a knowing look, both showing smiles as if they had just been joking. They each took out silver notes from their bodies and counted out one thousand taels each in front of Yu Qing.
Yi Lifei walked over first and handed the money. Brother, this is my share.
Tao Yongli and Ge Dajun timely moved to Yi Lifei’s left and right, forming a pincer towards Yu Qing with tacit cooperation.
Whoosh! A cold light was drawn from its sheath.
Yu Qing did not accept the silver notes. Instead he suddenly drew his sword.
Shock appeared in Yi Lifei’s eyes. He wanted to retreat urgently but under this unexpected sneak attack his movement was still a bit slow.
A cold light swept across his neck, leaving a line of blood.
He who dodged urgently covered his neck with his hand. Blood gushed out from between his fingers. He staggered back after landing, his eyes full of disbelief.
Facing Yu Qing’s sudden sneak attack, Tao Yongli and Ge Dajun’s first reaction was to dodge aside. A knife and a sword were already drawn in their hands.
The two looked at their brother of many years covering his neck and staggering in pain. They were both shocked!
Originally the three saw that Yu Qing had revealed his wealth and became greedy, wanting to betray and rob him.
For people in their line of work, betraying and robbing was not unheard of. Besides Yu Qing was already going to part ways with them. Since they were not on the same path there was no need to be polite.
Moreover they had accepted Yu Qing into the group only after testing each other’s strength before accepting. All four were at the upper martial realm in cultivation. The three of them were naturally at ease with one Yu Qing. If Yu Qing’s cultivation was too high they really might not have dared to accept him.
The three had cooperated for many years. No need for much explanation. One look and they knew how to coordinate.
It should have been the three offering money to make Yu Qing relax his vigilance. When Yi Lifei handed the silver notes he would suddenly grip Yu Qing’s hand tightly to restrain him instantly. Then Tao Yongli and Ge Dajun on the sides would take the opportunity to launch a joint sneak attack. Naturally it would succeed in one move.
The three did not expect Yu Qing to strike first.
They originally thought this person who showed intolerance and wanted to save the disaster victims was soft hearted and easy to bully. They did not expect he had another side, decisive in action, ruthless and merciless!
Yu Qing held the sword slanted in his hand and slowly stood up. The sword edge was stained with a touch of red. A few silver notes belonging to Yi Lifei floated down at his feet. At this moment he had no time to care about them. He stared at the other two.
Thud!
Yi Lifei fell down. He was still tightly covering his neck. His body twitched. His eyes were full of unwillingness.
The young couple was so scared that they quickly retreated.
Tao Yongli’s gaze returned to Yu Qing’s face. He waved his knife and angrily shouted, You dog thief, you dare to strike so viciously against your own people!
Yu Qing scoffed, When he handed the silver notes earlier his face was full of intent to sneak attack me. Big brother, tell me what should I do?
Tao Yongli and Ge Dajun looked at each other in surprise and doubt. Could it be that Yi Lifei had not restrained his thoughts earlier and exposed his intention?
Gurgle… Yi Lifei loosened one finger as if wanting to speak but in the end his hand drooped. His whole body went completely limp. He had no breath left. His eyes were wide open, dying with unresolved grievances.
Seeing his old brother dead, Tao Yongli roared in great anger, Stop with your clever arguments. Do you also want to kill me, your big brother?
Whoosh!
Yu Qing casually threw the sword. The sword stuck in the ground half a zhang in front of him to show he had no ill intent. I admit I am not a match for you two brothers. With such sincerity you should know that what this brother says is true.
However when Tao and Ge saw him discard his weapon their eyes immediately showed murderous intent. With one look at each other they pounced over without hesitation.
Tao Yongli leaped into the air and slashed down furiously with his knife.
Ge Dajun swept low to the ground with his sword coming horizontally.
Yu Qing raised his head, looking up at big brother descending from the sky. His wrist rotated. The sword thrown on the ground rose up with a whoosh and flew back inverted.
This scene slightly startled Ge Dajun who was charging with his sword. He vaguely felt that the way the sword rose and flew back was not like ordinary remote object control. The smooth returning feeling was different.