We Are Doing Good Deeds

Xu Qing stood straight, his expression calm, while Liu Xiao and Su Changhe were similarly positioned, leading members of the patrol team in patrolling the surroundings.

If any displaced refugees or disaster victims were found cutting in line, they would naturally be kicked aside.

This time.

Xu Qing was able to see the Jiang family's eldest daughter, Jiang Feiying, who was well-regarded in Qingbei Town, up close. In all of Qingbei Town, there was no one who didn't know of Jiang Feiying, this pampered young lady.

The reason was simple.

It was because of her kind heart.

Although Jiang Feiying came from the Jiang Family and was a true lady from a prominent family, a pampered young lady, she carried none of the airs of one. Instead, she was kind-hearted and compassionate, having helped many impoverished families in Qingbei Town.

It could be said.

In the eyes of many, Jiang Feiying was like a fairy descended from heaven. Not only was she beautiful and kind, but she also had no pretensions whatsoever. Everyone praised Jiang Feiying without exception.

It was almost impossible to find any fault with Jiang Feiying.

If one had to mention a flaw.

It would probably be that she was too perfect.

"..."

Xu Qing was also watching Jiang Feiying. She wasn't wearing any luxurious silks today, just ordinary clothes, but on her, they gave a refreshing feeling.

She personally used a large ladle to serve porridge into the broken bowls of the disaster victims, offering a gentle smile to everyone, as if her kindness could warm people's hearts.

Hum! Hum!

However.

Xu Qing felt a tingling sensation on his scalp. Because as Jiang Feiying finished serving the porridge and walked past Xu Qing with her maid and servants, The 'evil ghost mask' reacted very strongly, as if the Shaman Evil Ghost was about to rush out. Such a reaction from the 'evil ghost mask' truly made Xu Qing's scalp tingle.

Xu Qing didn't know if Jiang Feiying had noticed the reaction of the 'evil ghost mask', but she suddenly turned her head, glanced at Xu Qing, and offered a gentle smile.

"Thank you for your protection," Jiang Feiying said.

"It's no trouble; it's our duty," Xu Qing responded quickly.

"Hoo..."

Xu Qing watched Jiang Feiying's figure disappear from his sight, letting out a subtle sigh of relief. He looked at the snow-filled sky, the vast white snow-covered land, and the disaster victims suffering from hunger and cold.

All these scenes.

Ultimately.

Intertwined to form a picture, a glimpse into a corner of a chaotic world.

It was truly moving.

Several hours later.

Afternoon.

Xu Qing's shift for the day had ended, and another patrol team took over.

In total.

There were nine patrol squadrons operating twenty-four hours a day.

With three shifts.

Therefore.

Each patrol shift lasted for eight hours.

"You've worked hard," Xu Qing greeted the captain of the patrol team that had taken over his shift.

"Mm," the captain of the patrol team simply nodded.

It should be known.

Eight hours had passed.

By the time Xu Qing returned to his courtyard, it was already nearing evening. He hadn't even had a chance to eat anything warm. Fortunately, Yu Hu, that kid, brought him another bowl of beef noodles.

"Master," Yu Hu called out, "My mother asked me to bring you this bowl of noodles."

"Good," Xu Qing smiled. He took the beef noodles from Yu Hu and finished them in a few bites. Moreover, Wang Cuilan had been very generous with the ingredients.

He finished his noodles.

Xu Qing began to teach Yu Hu the LV3 Eight Extremities Fist.

Evening.

Yu Hu went back.

"Because of the patrols, my daily martial arts practice time has been cut by more than half, and if this winter is to pass, there are still one or two months left."

Xu Qing frowned, but quickly relaxed. "Just one or two months, it'll pass quickly."

"Eight Extremities Fist!"

Boom! Boom!

In the courtyard.

Xu Qing continued to practice Eight Extremities Fist.

Deep night.

Outside the city.

The gathering place of many refugees.

In one day.

The number of refugees and disaster victims had reached forty thousand.

You must know.

Just two days ago, the number of refugees and disaster victims outside the city was only thirty thousand. Many of these disaster victims were from neighboring counties, and they had all come here.

The reason was simple.

Qingbei Town had a great philanthropist who distributed porridge, while other counties basically didn't care about the lives of these refugees and disaster victims. This led to disaster victims and refugees who wanted to survive flocking here like wolves smelling blood, seeing a glimmer of hope for survival.

Naturally, they all rushed over.

There were still one or two months until winter ended.

By then.

If this situation continued to develop, the refugees and disaster victims gathered outside the city would no longer be in the tens of thousands, but might even exceed a hundred thousand.

Also.

Qingbei Town could no longer afford not to distribute porridge.

Because.

These disaster victims and refugees had heard that Qingbei Town would distribute porridge, and they had come here with their last shred of hope. If Qingbei Town did not distribute porridge, their last hope would be extinguished.

One could imagine.

How desperate these disaster victims and refugees would fall into.

Taking advantage of this opportunity.

Those demonic cults would cause trouble.

Qingbei Town might be in danger of being breached.

Because of these reasons, the County Magistrate of Qingbei Town was already overwhelmed, and had even written several letters to the higher authorities for help.

Unfortunately.

These letters sent out were like stones sinking into the sea, and there was no response from the higher authorities.

Another point.

The number of refugees and disaster victims was still in the tens of thousands, but the grain in the Qingbei Town Yamen was almost depleted. As for the Three Great Families, they were in business, and it was impossible for them to take out their family fortunes to feed these refugees and disaster victims for free.

As the number of refugees and disaster victims increased.

By then.

Even if it was thin porridge, even if it was mixed with small stones and husks, it would probably not be enough to support so many disaster victims and refugees.

Therefore.

A solution must be found.

The Yamen summoned the three major martial arts schools in the outer city and gathered various forces to form a patrol team to maintain order among the disaster victims and refugees. This was just the initial stopgap measure.

It was treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

Yamen.

"Do you have any good ideas?"

The County Magistrate asked.

"This..."

Everyone present was a high-ranking official of Qingbei Town. They looked at each other and fell silent. No one had any good ideas.

"Strategist."

The County Magistrate looked at the Strategist, Sun Shiwu, "What do you think?"

"This..."

Sun Shiwu frowned, but after thinking for a moment, he still said, "Given the current situation, the first thing we must do is prevent more refugees and disaster victims from flocking to our Qingbei Town."

"The second point."

"We need to find a way to distribute these refugees and disaster victims to other county towns."

"The third point."

"Continue to strengthen patrols to prevent any opportunities for demonic cults."

"You must understand."

"These refugees and disaster victims are not really that scary. After all, they are ordinary people, and they are emaciated and gaunt from hunger, completely lacking any fighting strength."

"The truly terrifying ones are those demonic cults, and the 'Malevolent Spirits' and 'Ghostly Oddities' that might emerge."

"Indeed."

The County Magistrate nodded with some satisfaction. "The Strategist's analysis makes sense. But what method can we use to stop more refugees and disaster victims from flooding into our Qingbei Town? And how can we distribute them to other county towns?"

Finally.

They discussed all night but couldn't come up with any good ideas. They could only send people to spread rumors that Qingbei Town would no longer be distributing porridge, hoping this rumor would reduce the influx of refugees and disaster victims.

Additionally.

The County Magistrate also sent letters to the county magistrates of the surrounding counties, hoping they would accept some of the disaster victims and refugees.

The next day.

Xu Qing's patrol duty today was at a different time than yesterday. Yesterday, he started at six in the morning and finished at two in the afternoon.

Today, Xu Qing's patrol duty was in the latter half of the night.

That is, from ten in the evening until six the next morning.

Late at night.

The area where refugees and disaster victims were gathered.

"..."

After Xu Qing finished changing shifts with the previous patrol team, he carried a torch and patrolled a certain area along a fixed route.

At first.

Nothing happened. These refugees and disaster victims were very fearful when facing people like Xu Qing, not daring to offend them, and naturally being very obedient.

However.

Just as it turned midnight.

"M-my lord..."

At this moment.

Several disaster victims cautiously walked over. Most of them were gaunt and emaciated, with some having distended bellies. This was because they had eaten too much tree bark and substances like kaolin clay, which they couldn't digest and couldn't expel, causing their stomachs to swell.

"Hm?"

Xu Qing frowned, initially intending to ignore them.

"What is it?"

However.

Liu Xiao still asked.

"It's... it's like this..."

Among them.

The older disaster victim lowered his head, bowed, and had the others help a little girl forward. He said cautiously, "My lord, you... you see... this is this old man's granddaughter. She... only needs one... coarse bun, and she will serve you with all her heart."

This little girl was not old, at most sixteen years old. Perhaps because she was being offered for trade, she had been cleaned up quite well.

Although the little girl was thin, her features were quite delicate and indeed somewhat attractive. It was no wonder she was being offered for such a transaction.

Originally.

Liu Xiao had intended to tell them to get lost.

"Cough cough..."

However.

Among the members of the patrol team, several people had taken a liking to this little girl, and she was incredibly cheap, only costing one coarse bun.

To know.

If this were in the city, for example, at the Spring Breeze Pavilion, finding a girl would cost at least several taels of silver. The price difference was enormous.

Most importantly.

Although the old man's granddaughter was thin from hunger, her features were indeed pleasing.

"M-m-m-m-masters, you certainly wouldn't fancy someone like us, but, well, our standards are a bit low, so..."

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"..."

Several people looked towards Xu Qing and the others.

"I advise you, it's best not to cause trouble here. If you really can't control your third leg, you should go into the city."

Xu Qing said.

"Ahem..."

Liu Xiao and Su Changhe coughed lightly.

"Masters, we really only need a coarse biscuit!"

The old man even shed tears.

"Masters, even if we're doing a good deed, look how hungry they are."

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"We're doing a good thing!"

"..."

Several people who were tempted said.