Chapter 342

Chapter 342

Although knowing that the possibility of assassinating the Xuan Qin Emperor was not big, Qin Ran still felt that he should go take a look at that man called Zhao Zheng...He was curiously tight.

This man who intended to unify the land of immortal remnants made him think of the man in his previous life who had unified Huaxia, he could not see the man in his previous life anymore, but he could see this man at first sight.

He took the map and set off from Wuyi City, following the nearest route towards Xuanqin flying.

All the way flying by, under his feet were all the places in North Chu occupied by Xuanqin. Heavy snow and rarely seen people. The people seen were either the exposed corpses of North Chu soldiers in the wilderness, no one to collect the corpses, or the women, children and old people who froze to death by the roadside.

Under the so-called war, ten rooms and nine emptinesses, floating corpses for thousands of miles.

Qin Ran couldnt bear to look more, he flew high, and accelerated towards Xuanqin. Finally, when it was near dusk, he flew into the territory of Xuanqin.

After flying in the Xuanqin country for not long, the night color gradually thickened, and he stopped.

In the black and fuzzy sky, it was snowing, the sky was already dark, and he couldnt see his fingers when he stretched out his hand. At that time, it was extremely cold and the cold wind was blowing.

Qin Ran thought in the snow:

He still didnt know what the situation was in the capital of Xuanqin, but he was going to find the Emperor of Xuanqin. In all probability there would be a fight. He hurried in the dark, hurried slowly to hurry to an unfamiliar place, and the situation was unclear. It was too dangerous. If he was not in good condition, he might directly send his head.

It is better to find a place to rest first, take things slowly, and discuss long-term plans.

He lowered his altitude and flew while searching for low-altitude smoke, looking for a good while before finally finding a place with smoke from cooking fires.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

Over there in the valley, there were chicken and dog cries, and he could also see the smoke from cooking fires in the night, probably still a not small village.

As he approached the village, he landed on the ground, changed his body shape, and turned into an old man who was on the road, holding a crutch, coughing, staggering, and walking pitifully into the village.

Strangely, although there were chicken and dog cries in the village, as well as the smell of cooking smoke and firewood, and even the faint yellow light in the houses by the road, you could still see the silhouette of people through the windows, and hear human voices, but on the road outside the houses, you couldnt see a single living thing, no one was walking, not even a cat or a dog.

In this situation, Qin Ran was doubtful in his heart, and he also had guesses.

He knocked on the door of a household not far away where there were voices inside, and said, "Cough cough, host, the old man is from Anlu City, on his way to Mo City this time. But it was dark and heavy snow, I had to stop here on the way and want to stay overnight. Please do me a favor, host."

Then, as soon as he knocked on the door, the voices in the room stopped immediately. Originally there was talking and laughing inside the house, lively, but now there was no sound at all, as if there was no one in the room.

He frowned, knocked on the door again. This time, before he had time to speak, the light in the house went out.

His hand stopped awkwardly in front of the door.

Qin Ran stood in front of the door for a while, then changed to another house, but still no one responded to him. Even after knocking on several doors in a row, the results were almost the same. Either hold their breath and blow out the lights, or let the dogs bark, or the host family urges them directly, and no one is willing to take him in.

After going through four or five families in a row, at last, when he was about to slip away and wander in the snow for one night, someone finally took him in.

This house had a very small door, a small courtyard, and several rammed earth houses. The light in the house was dim, which looked particularly bleak on the cold night.

"My dad is a war hero!" Before the woman could answer, the little boy raised his head and shouted loudly, "He opened up territory for Xuanqin, made great achievements in battle, and is admired by everyone. A great hero!!"

Qin Ran and the woman both looked at the little boy. The little boy's face was full of pride, and his eyes shone with glorious light.

Your hero is a demon in someone else's eyes. Qin Ran's heart became even more complicated.

"My husband went to war at the beginning of the year and has not returned," said the woman as she reached out and stroked the little boy's head, her eyes full of compassion. "The army sent word a few days ago that the front lines are tight on supplies and even the expeditionary forces won't be coming home for New Year's. Ultimately, I just hope he returns home safely. It's been hard on the poor child not having seen his father for over half a year... I want my son to always have his father's company."

As she spoke, they ate their meal and sat by the fire. The woman heated more water for Qin Ran to soak his feet, then showed him to a guest room where he could sleep. Worried that Qin Ran would be cold, she brought him two extra blankets.

The next morning at first light, when the sky had just begun to brighten, Qin Ran heard a commotion break out in the yard.

There were angry shouts from men mixed with women and children crying and dogs barking, the noise rising sharply.

Listening closely, he could make out that some young village men had dodged the draft and officers had come to forcibly take them away to serve.

...It was like a scene straight out of The Stone Moat Official.

Qin Ran couldn't help but sigh. He got up, got dressed, and prepared to go outside to see what was happening.

But just as he had finished getting dressed and went to open the door, the woman from last night hurried over and led him swiftly around the back of the house, telling him urgently as they went, "I heard the front lines are strained and the officers have come again to collect taxes. You mustn't let them see you."

With hundreds of thousands of soldiers facing off on the front lines, the daily burn rate of supplies in Xuanqin would be astronomical. It was normal for the government to collect taxes frequently. Qin Ran understood this, but still...

"Why?" he asked as they walked. "What does it have to do with me? I'm just a passing old man."

"If they see you, they'll count you as part of our household and tax us more," explained the woman. "What's more, with the tense domestic situation, ordinary people are forbidden from traveling around freely. If they catch you, they'll charge you with vagrancy and take you away..."

Before she could finish, they heard the main gate of the yard shoved open roughly, followed by a loud shout: "Where are you hiding?! Come out!"

"Old man, hurry and run for your life!" the woman told him. She hastily stuffed a hard steamed bun into Qin Ran's hands then turned and rushed back into the house.

Qin Ran watched her retreating figure, the steamed bun in his hand. For some reason, he sighed again.

Soon the clamor drifted out from the house:

"There's someone else in their family..."

"I saw her hide that man inside last night."

"There isn't anyone else..."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Before long, the woman was shoved back out to the yard by the officers, but in the end they did not find the old man the villagers had described.

One bystander piped up, "Where did he go? That old fellow knocked on half the doors in the village last night, and she took him in..."