One man, two riders, whipping their horses onward. A journey that should have taken five days was forced into just two. When Ming Jing finally appeared before Hizashi Hyuga, even this Hyuga Clan expert was moved. He glanced at the two horses foaming at the mouth, then finally nodded and said, "You're finally here!"
Ming Jing sorrowfully stroked the horse he had ridden here. The other had already collapsed and died from exhaustion along the way. Ming Jing had not even had time to bury it before switching to another horse and continuing onward. Only after this horse stopped breathing did he rise and look at Hizashi Hyuga. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Let's hurry and see what the disaster area looks like now." Hizashi Hyuga did not waste words as he handed the scroll in his hand to Ming Jing.
"Alright. Mr. Hizashi, please bury this horse." Ming Jing nodded, took the scroll, and began reading. Four counties had suffered flooding: Muchuan County, Dafeng County, Shangye County, and Chuan Nai County. Muchuan County had been hit the hardest, and most of the refugees came from there.
The refugees' emotions were currently unstable. On one hand, rumors were spreading that the Land of Fire had abandoned them. On the other, food supplies were steadily dwindling, while more and more people were falling ill. Ming Jing carefully examined the Muchuan County Magistrate's food distribution records. It turned out that the man had not initially realized how severe the flooding would be, and he had failed to distribute the food properly. This had forced him to reduce rations later on to ensure there was something to eat every day.
Of the twelve carriages Ming Jing had brought from the Kurama Clan, ten carried food, while the remaining two contained essential medicine. The food in those ten carriages would be enough to feed the refugees for a week. By then, the Royal Capital's disaster relief grain would arrive.
Just as Ming Jing was focused on reviewing the documents, a civilian ran in frantically and shouted, "B-Bad news!!! There's a riot! The refugees are in open revolt!"
Ming Jing was startled. He put down the scroll and walked out, only to see Qing Yan restraining the civilian.
"Who are you?!" Ming Jing strode over and asked coldly.
"M-My lord, I was entrusted by Lord Hiashi to observe the refugees' situation," the civilian said with a stammer after staring at Ming Jing in surprise. Ming Jing turned to look at Hizashi Hyuga, who had hurried over. After seeing him nod, Ming Jing had Qing Yan release the man.
"Sorry, my subordinate was reckless. What happened to the refugees?" Ming Jing asked.
The civilian glanced at Hizashi Hyuga before replying, "I don't know what happened. Everything was fine this morning. But when food was distributed at noon, they suddenly started causing trouble, and then more and more people joined in. Even the magistrate has been detained by them. When I left, the refugees were planning to raid the government office for grain!"
Ming Jing could not help frowning after hearing that. The thing he had feared most had still happened. Now, he had to prevent the situation from escalating further.
He said to Hizashi Hyuga, "Mr. Hizashi, I'll need you to come with me."
"Have you figured out what to do?" Hizashi Hyuga asked in return.
"I have a rough idea. We'll assess the situation once we get there and adapt as needed." Ming Jing thought for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.
"Alright!" Hizashi Hyuga nodded. Of course, he agreed so readily not because he trusted Ming Jing, but because he trusted his own strength. Even if something unexpected happened, he could safely bring Ming Jing out.
Thus, Ming Jing headed for Muchuan County with Hizashi Hyuga and Qing Yan. The three had only just entered Muchuan County when they heard shouting in the distance. They found a concealed spot to observe from and discovered that the refugees had already seized the government office. They were opening the granary doors and looting the food. The scene was utter chaos.
"What do we do?" Hizashi Hyuga asked as he watched the refugees in disarray below.
"Wait!" Ming Jing gritted his teeth and slowly spat out a single word. He knew full well that rushing out now would only get him tied up and strung from a pole by the enraged refugees. It would be better to wait until they finished looting and their emotions had calmed before stepping forward to take control of the situation. After all, Ming Jing only had two people with him. No matter how powerful Hizashi Hyuga was, he could not fight tens of thousands of people at once!
When Hizashi Hyuga saw weak women and children below being shoved to the ground by strong men, never to get back up again, he took a deep breath and asked, "Ming Jing, what did you come here for?"
Without waiting for Ming Jing's answer, Hizashi Hyuga continued, "Wasn't it to protect those who need protecting?!"
Ming Jing was startled. He had forgotten again—this was a world of hot-blooded heroes! There was no shortage of passion in this world. How could Hizashi Hyuga remain calm after witnessing such misery below? He did not wait for Ming Jing to react before charging down. Hizashi Hyuga had only one thought in his heart: save those women and children!
"Damn it!" Ming Jing cursed angrily. What use was there in Hizashi Hyuga charging down like that?! Did he not understand that a small lapse in patience could ruin a great plan?!
Honma was hiding among the refugees. When he saw Hizashi Hyuga rushing down from afar, delight rose in his heart. Then Shoko's signal arrived as well—there were two more people hidden on the mountain! Honma immediately made hand signals in two other directions. The two people hidden in the shadows, both masters of assassination, began to move. Blending into the refugees, they slowly but steadily made their way toward the mountainside.
"Byakugan!" Halfway through his charge, Hizashi Hyuga suddenly activated his Byakugan and immediately discovered seven ninja hiding among the refugees. Hizashi Hyuga's heart tightened as he noticed the direction in which two of them were moving. Making a snap decision, he raised both palms and struck at them. "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
"Hm?! Is that the Hyuga Clan? This is... a jonin! We'll pretend to retreat. Shoko, go!" Honma was a sensory-type ninja. The moment Hizashi Hyuga made his move, he sensed the other man's strength. If they fought head-on, the seven of them still had confidence in leaving Hizashi Hyuga here forever, but there was no point in doing so. Honma made a swift decision and chose to retreat without hesitation.
Hizashi Hyuga struck out with both palms. The two assassins hidden among the refugees saw that they could not evade the attack, so they simultaneously dragged nearby refugees in front of themselves as shields.
"Despicable!" Hizashi Hyuga roared. Then he pressed both palms down, and the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm he had already unleashed actually dispersed, becoming a gust of wind that blew away the surrounding refugees.
When Honma saw that Hizashi Hyuga had reservations, he nodded toward Honda, the one most skilled in escape techniques. Honda understood. He stopped and formed Hand Seals with both hands. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" Honda violently spewed a dragon-shaped stream of water from his mouth, blasting it straight toward the area with the most refugees.
"Eight Trigrams Revolving Palm!" Every movement Honda made was within Hizashi Hyuga's sight. The moment the Water Dragon Bullet appeared, Hizashi Hyuga raised a palm and knocked it off course. Then, with a backhand sweep, he actually altered the Water Dragon Bullet's direction slightly under his control, sending it crashing toward Honma in another direction.
Ming Jing was completely dumbfounded when he saw that from the mountain!
Wasn't that the White Rainbow Palm Force from Jin Yong's novels?! He could actually control someone else's ninjutsu from afar! Hizashi, you're this badass—does Hiashi know?!
"Hah!" Fukuyama, the most skilled in taijutsu among the seven, appeared in front of Honma. Facing the Water Dragon Bullet, he swung his fully charged right hand fiercely. With a boom, he shattered the Water Dragon Bullet directly.
"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!" Honma swiftly formed Hand Seals as well and violently spat out a large amount of water, shoving the surrounding refugees toward Hizashi Hyuga. Hizashi Hyuga had no choice but to divide his attention to rescue the rushing refugees, allowing Honma, Fukuyama, and Honda to retreat at once.
Shoko was hiding atop a large tree. She had originally been stationed on the outskirts to observe the situation in case anything unexpected happened. Who would have thought that she would inexplicably spot Ming Jing's group of three? She watched Ming Jing from afar, feeling somewhat puzzled. Was such a child really the Prime Minister of the Land of Fire? Combined with the latest intelligence received yesterday, the Land of Fire's prime minister truly was someone quite young. It seemed highly likely that this was him.
Then she saw Hizashi Hyuga charge down and force Nakamura and Seto, the two most skilled assassins, back with only two palms. When she saw Honma, Honda, and Fukuyama make their moves, she understood. Everyone was creating an opportunity for her!
Thus, she concealed her presence, held a pebble in her hand, and carefully hid herself within the shadows of the trees. When she was only twenty meters away from Ming Jing, Shoko stopped and flicked the pebble toward Qing Yan. At the same time, she drew her poisoned short blade and charged calmly toward Ming Jing.
"No matter what, please die!"
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