Unleashing the Troops to Plunder

Shen Hui sized the few of them up.

They were a family of five, old and young alike.

There was a gray-haired old man, a pair of sallow, emaciated middle-aged husband and wife, and two half-grown children.

The youngest was only six or seven, crying as vines cinched around him.

Beside them lay a battered wooden chest, bedding, pots and bowls, and a crooked shoulder pole.

Clearly, they were neither cultivators of the Plague Emperor Sect nor travelers who had come to admire the snowy scenery. They were plainly a family fleeing disaster.

At the sight of Shen Hui, the man first brightened and cried, "Help!"

But once he saw Shen Hui's appearance and found not a trace of expression on his face, he immediately fell silent.

That was hardly surprising. Meeting a white-haired man with a blank face deep in the mountains would make anyone's skin crawl.

Not to mention that they were trapped by an uncanny old tree. For all they knew, this man was in league with the tree—a mountain spirit or wild monster.

In a sense, that thought was not entirely wrong.

So Shen Hui offered no explanation. With a sweep of his sleeve, the old locust tree's roots slowly loosened and shrank back into the earth.

Once their feet touched the ground, the family stood stunned for a moment before repeatedly thanking Shen Hui.

"Thank you for saving us, Immortal Master... Thank you, Immortal Master..."

Shen Hui waved a hand and asked bluntly,

"Who are you people? What are you doing in these deep mountains?"

The man did not dare raise his head. Bowing at the waist, he answered,

"Replying to Immortal Master, my surname is Wang. We are from Wang Family Hollow, north of Floating Cloud County at the foot of the mountain."

"Just