Refugees

Luo Zheng draped an arm over Li Chuan's shoulder and comforted him in a low voice:

"Junior Brother Li, there's no need to worry. My uncle knows you lack experience in escorting medicinal goods. The shipment he's taking you on this time isn't anything precious. With him, a Dark Force expert, leading the team, the sky could fall and it wouldn't be your turn to hold it up. Besides, the world isn't all that chaotic right now, and the Luo Family's banner is still enough to bluff quite a few people."

Li Chuan nodded gratefully.

"A-Chuan, let's go," Luo Houping called out from a distance.

Li Chuan cupped his fists toward Luo Zheng before hurrying to catch up.

Outside the gate, about twenty people were already waiting.

Behind them stood eight horse-drawn carriages; it was truly a grand display.

Li Chuan took a rough look and realized that among these twenty or so escorts, seven or eight were at the Bright Force level, and even those who weren't were all brawny men.

Luo Houping smiled and introduced them:

"Master Jia of Huangshi County also runs a pharmacy. He ordered a batch of 'Dragon-Snake Grass.' It's not very valuable—only worth a few dozen taels of silver—so we've brought along some newcomers for this trip. You don't need to feel pressured; they won't necessarily do any better than you."

A few dozen taels of silver... not very valuable?

Li Chuan clicked his tongue, once again feeling shocked by the sheer extravagance of the Luo Family Pharmacy.

Luo Houping seemed to read his thoughts:

"A few dozen taels of silver is indeed not much. We are about a hundred miles away from Huangshi County, and the labor and resources for a round trip alone cost at least a dozen taels."

Li Chuan nodded in agreement.

This world was clearly different from his previous life; there were no cars or asphalt roads. With eight carriages in tow, a hundred-mile journey would take three or four days.

After finishing, Luo Houping introduced him to the group:

"This is Li Chuan from the Pine Wind Martial Hall. He only recently entered the Bright Force stage."

Upon hearing the words "Pine Wind Martial Hall" and "Bright Force," the gazes of many of the hired hands turned respectful.

A Bright Force expert alone was not something an ordinary person could compare to.

Moreover, coming from the Pine Wind Martial Hall meant he was far better than some self-taught rogue.

Immediately, many people came over to greet him warmly.

Strange... Li Chuan felt a bit surprised. No one had tried to put on a show of looking down on him, which he found somewhat unusual.

But after a moment's thought, it made sense. Those who took jobs at the Luo Family Pharmacy were all seasoned veterans looking to make a living, unlike the disciples within a martial hall who judged people solely by "potential."

On the road, no one cared about your potential; being able to get the job done was what truly mattered.

A round-faced man leaned in and chuckled:

"Brother Li, I'm Wang Youfang from the neighboring Riding Wind Martial Hall. Since we both come from martial halls, we can travel together and look out for one another."

Li Chuan looked at the thick beard on his face and asked guardedly:

"Are you married?"

Wang Youfang was confused but replied:

"I just got married not long ago."

Li Chuan felt slightly relieved and laughed off the topic.

"Most of you are new to escorting medicine, though two or three of you have done it once or twice. I will reiterate the rules," Luo Houping said loudly.

"First, you are not to talk during the escort, you are not to do anything unnecessary, and you must remain vigilant and observe your surroundings."

"Second, in the event of an emergency, you must follow my commands and coordination; no one is to act on their own."

"Third, maintain the formation. You will move in pairs and look out for each other."

Luo Houping emphasized these three rules and gave a few more trivial instructions before the entire caravan set off in a grand procession.

It was Li Chuan's first time hearing that there were such rules for escorting medicine, but upon reflection, he agreed with them.

Escorting medicine was essentially "guarding a caravan," just with medicinal goods instead of valuables.

The road was fraught with danger; wolves, tigers, or leopards could emerge from anywhere, and there were even mountain bandits gathered to harass travelers.

The ban on talking was to maintain maximum focus and prevent danger.

The carriage wheels rolled over the flagstone road and headed straight out of the city.

Outside the city, the conditions were not as good as they were inside.

The road was made of yellow mud, uneven and riddled with potholes.

I never understood why people in TV shows would get motion sickness from carriages, but now it seems it would be strange if they didn't!

Li Chuan muttered to himself.

If you were inside a carriage, you were constantly being jolted up and down.

Perhaps that was where the term "weary from travel" came from.

The group walked in silence.

Roughly every hour, they would stop to rest.

Li Chuan was unwilling to waste such idle time, so he seized every opportunity to practice the Through-Arm Fist whenever they stopped.

Since he had yet to reach the minor success stage with the Through-Arm Fist, he always felt a sense of insecurity.

And so, in an open space, Li Chuan's fists whistled through the air as he moved without pause.

Some who saw this scene felt that Li Chuan lacked a sense of proportion, choosing to expend his energy instead of resting to save his strength.

In the distance, however, Luo Houping's eyes held a look of appreciation.

Hardworking people were held in higher regard wherever they went.

Perhaps A-Zheng's judgment isn't bad after all. Although he has no hope of breaking through to the Dark Force, if he can diligently study combat techniques, he will still be a capable hand in the future, Luo Houping thought to himself.

About a quarter of an hour later, Luo Houping signaled for everyone to set off.

Perhaps because they were still close to Anning County, there was no danger along the way.

But as they drew closer to Huangshi County, Li Chuan noticed a faint trickle of refugees on the road.

The closer they got to Huangshi County, the more refugees there were.

During this time, whenever they saw refugees begging, Luo Houping would have the group stop to distribute porridge.

The porridge was mixed with sand; only the truly starving would drink it, which effectively deterred those begging out of malice.

Even so, many refugees still gulped it down in large mouthfuls.

Compared to the sand, filling their stomachs was what mattered most.

After finishing, many refugees kowtowed to thank them, loudly praising the Luo family for their benevolence and righteousness.

Wang Youfang, who was walking alongside him, had been holding back for a while and couldn't help but whisper:

"I'd long heard that the Luo Family Pharmacy was benevolent and righteous. Every time they leave the city, they specifically prepare a carriage filled with relief grain to distribute to the refugees wandering outside. Seeing it now, it's truly no exaggeration!"

Li Chuan remembered that he had indeed noticed one carriage that looked different from the others before they set out.

Out of a total of eight carriages, they had set aside one specifically to provide relief to refugees.

One had to realize that a single carriage could likely bring in several, if not ten, taels of silver in profit.

For the Luo family to take such an action, they were truly worthy of the words "benevolent and righteous."

"With such a pure family tradition, it's no wonder they could produce someone like Senior Brother Luo." Li Chuan nodded inwardly and asked casually, "Why are there so many refugees outside the city?"

Hearing this, Wang Youfang seemed to have opened a floodgate:

"It seems there's a war between our dynasty and the Hu Barbarians to the north. The front lines are strained, so they've increased taxes below. Those who can't pay are having their fields forcibly seized and are being driven out of the city, which is why there are so many refugees."

"Our Anning County is still doing alright, but Huangshi County is the most extortionate. I hope there won't be any trouble on this trip; I just got married, and I haven't even enjoyed a few good days yet!"

"By the way, Brother Li, are you married? What kind do you like? I can recommend one to you; I heard there's one in the south of the city..."

As Wang Youfang spoke, he gradually veered off topic, drifting further and further away.

Li Chuan felt helpless; he could see now that Wang Youfang was a chatterbox.

However, he didn't interrupt him. After all, he hadn't left the city in a long time and didn't know much about the outside world, so listening more was for the best.

"You're from the Pine Wind Martial Hall, so you must know Senior Brother Luo Zheng, right? I was recommended by him. Senior Brother Luo is truly righteous; he was even willing to give me a monthly salary of two taels for a part-time position."

"How much?" Li Chuan blinked.

"Two taels, aren't you getting the same?"

"Right, I misheard just now," Li Chuan replied after a moment of silence.

The sky soon darkened, and the sound of wolves howling could be heard from time to time. Wang Youfang stopped talking and turned serious.

After the group traveled another five miles, they arrived at a set of abandoned buildings.

The exterior of the buildings was dilapidated, but inside there were lit braziers and even several water kettles.

Li Chuan understood immediately; this must be a resting spot established by the Luo Family Pharmacy.

They couldn't travel at night and needed a relatively safe place to rest.

The Luo family likely controlled many such locations.

Compared to this shipment of medicinal herbs, the routes in Luo Houping's head were probably the most valuable thing of all.

After all, there were no GPS maps in this world.

Even if there were, they wouldn't necessarily lead to a good path...

"Eight people outside, the rest of you, hurry and rest. We'll take turns standing guard," Luo Houping said, knitting his brows as he gave the order.

Li Chuan was assigned to the first shift, which was the safest and easiest. At this time, the others hadn't fully fallen asleep, and the night was still young.

He knew clearly that this must be the "special care" Luo Zheng had mentioned.

The night was very safe, and no accidents occurred.

The next day was the same.

It wasn't until the third day, when they were only twenty miles from Huangshi County, that the situation changed.