Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 108: Mission, Ambush 25

Indeed, these people have lost their homes, their silver has been emptied by bandits, and they don’t have a bit of grain to their name. How are they supposed to survive?

Commander Xue couldn’t help but interrupt everyone’s conversation, "These people, now that they are homeless, have become refugees. From here to Yanzhou County, we pass through seven counties, seventeen towns, and thirty-two villages. Only two counties near Yanzhou County haven’t fallen. As we travel along the way, there is no safe place. Either there are deserted, desolate areas, or they are filled with starving refugees, human traffickers, murderers, and even cannibals. There’s no humanity left."

Hearing this, everyone fell silent, heartbroken. Has the situation become this dire?

Then where do these people go for a chance at survival?

Commander Xue continued, "The two counties near Yanzhou County don’t accept refugees, so going there is pointless. As for other places, the refugees are either on death’s door, just waiting for the end, or they have gone into the deep mountains and forests to fight with beasts for territory, with no remains left. Others have turned evil, occupied mountain tops, and have become bandits and robbers."

He glanced at everyone, "Where do you plan to evacuate these people to? The south is Great Xia, which is not possible to go to. The west is Yanzhou County, where the road is dangerous, normal people simply cannot make it, nor can we. Heading east is towards the Capital City, but the journey is long, and along the way, the towns might not accept refugees from Yanzhou County, even if we have travel permits, it will not help.

Meanwhile, heading north, it’s sparsely populated, requiring long journeys, passing through Yu King’s territory, which is the entire northern part of Tianqi. Beyond Yu King’s territory lies Beimang, where the people are fierce and belligerent, often harassing the border. So heading north is not suitable either; the environment is harsh with frequent dust storms, not suitable for living."

He asked his subordinate to bring out a complete map of Tianqi, pointing out the locations one by one for everyone to see.

According to Commander Xue, there’s nowhere to go.

After deliberating for a while, everyone’s opinions differed. Most importantly, they were all subjects of King Yan. Without the Court’s permission, they couldn’t establish a foothold in other regions.

This was indeed a problem. Without resolving the identity issue, any escape would lead to a dead end.

Doctor Xue said, "Is there nowhere for ordinary people to settle down and make a living?"

Cheng Xiaoxiao considered in her heart, this was the ultimate mission world, with a one in ten thousand probability. Could it not be difficult?

See! This disaster is far from over. This is just the beginning. Now is the flood disaster, after which there will surely be a great epidemic. I wonder if Qingshan Village is still safe. It looks like I need to prepare for an epidemic.

Unintentionally, she raised her head and saw the mission countdown: 02:56:32

Damn! This matter can’t be resolved quickly.

Her own matters are more urgent!

What to do?

Just then, Cui Da’s people came to report. His men had some martial arts skills and were quite strong. They were responsible for guarding the surrendered bandits. The young man who came to report said, "The captured bandits are rioting, what should we do?"

"Kill them, kill them all!" Tan Hua, filled with anger, his eyes began to redden faintly again.

Uh-oh! The mentally unstable man who couldn’t be provoked was here too! She hadn’t noticed before. He was also pitiable; when normal, he was an intelligent and capable person, but once provoked, he was not functional.

Boss Qian looked at his nephew with heartache. Alas! It’s really a sin. These heartless bandits, they had relatives who died at the hands of the bandits. How could they not hate them?

He beckoned, calling over two subordinates to take the increasingly agitated Tan Hua away.

Boss Qian watched his nephew’s despondent figure with heartache, speaking softly, "Perhaps we should just kill them. We still have so many refugees to arrange. These bandits are utterly evil, keeping them will only bring harm."

Most of the people nodded in agreement to Boss Qian’s words.

Doctor Xue said, "But they have already surrendered!"

Killing them all would be too cruel!

Yang Hu also stepped forward, saying, "I looked earlier; those captured are the lowest-level errand runners. Most fear death, they’ve never committed heinous crimes themselves, just followed orders, they’re pitiful fools. To kill them all, is it really...?"

Yang Hu did not continue further. He, too, was in disgrace and had no standing to speak for them. But he thought about the more than two hundred lives, dozens of whom he knew, some responsible for cleaning, purchasing, kitchen work—not really... all bad.

Cheng Xiaoxiao noticed Yang Hu’s hesitation, thinking that these were just small fries, simply cowardly followers acting on orders.

Killing them serves no purpose. Besides, living in this world is so difficult, death would be a relief. If this group could be made to obey, using them as cannon fodder might be a good idea.

Thus, Cheng Xiaoxiao stepped forward, "I don’t think we should kill these people."

Boss Qian glanced at Cheng Xiaoxiao, thinking the young girl was too kind-hearted, speaking of killing with hesitation, explaining patiently, "Miss Cheng, although these bandits are the lowest level, the inherent evil in their nature remains. Leaving them alive will only lead to further wrongdoing."

Others chimed in as well, "We can’t feel sorry for them just because they look pitiful now. Who knows if they’ll turn on you once freed."

Cheng Xiaoxiao shrugged, "I don’t sympathize with them! I just think letting them die like this is too generous."

Everyone’s gaze shifted. Wasn’t the young girl being overly sentimental, wanting to release the bandits, or was she intending to torment them?

Cheng Xiaoxiao ignored the strange looks and continued, "The bandits are all strong and sturdy. Killing them would be a waste. Let’s integrate them under Brother Yang, to escort the refugees."

Boss Zhao interjected, "But they are bandits, not good people. Can they be trusted to follow orders obediently?"

"No worries, I have something useful." With that, Cheng Xiaoxiao took out a bottle of pills from her pouch, "These are Pain Relief Pills I invented while learning medicine with Grandpa Huang."

Cheng Xiaoxiao didn’t want to recall the situation back then. Grandpa Huang taught her how to read pulses and prescribe medicine. Once, a man with diarrhea came to Grandpa Huang for medicine, but he wasn’t around. She volunteered to diagnose and prescribe medicine.

The result was, while the man stopped having diarrhea, his stomach continued to hurt. After some research with Doctor Huang, they found her prescription missed a balancing herb, with some dosing errors, creating the Pain Relief Pill. It caused pain for six to seven hours, but after its effects wore off, there were no side effects. Hence, Cheng Xiaoxiao named it the Pain Relief Pill.

She just didn’t expect that she hadn’t properly learned to diagnose and prescribe yet invented a new medicine first. Back then, Grandpa Huang’s expression was indescribable, unable to decide whether to praise her intelligence or remark on her smartness leading to blunders.

Doctor Xue stepped forward, grabbed Cheng Xiaoxiao’s wrist, took the bottle, and smelled it, analyzing the contents. Nodding continuously as he examined it.

Indeed, it was a harmless pill, causing at most stomach pain.

This girl was truly surprising to him.