Did these people deserve to die?
The Daoist Sect had its ways, and the Demonic Sect had its methods. This was why the Quanzhen Sect was called demonic: they lacked tolerance.
These people certainly could not invite Quanzhen Sect cultivators to protect them. They were stinking dung now, and no one wanted any of it on them; those rogue cultivators, meanwhile, would not lift a finger without something to gain.
All the cultivation items belonging to these convicted officials' families had been confiscated to fill the holes they had left behind. They had only been allowed to take some gold and silver, and how could such things catch a rogue cultivator's eye?
Commandant Li might have done this out of pity, or to teach him a lesson for acting rashly, or both. So he had assigned him this fitting task at a fitting time, knowing he was bound to run into these people here.
These people did not recognize him, but he could not pretend they had nothing to do with him.
There were twenty-three of them in all. The crux was that there were few strong men among them; they were women, children, and elderly people. How were they supposed to cross the White Poplar Forest? The forest averaged several dozen li in width, and with the terrible ground conditions, these people might not make it out in a day even without those savage monsters. At night, the creatures in the forest would become far more active...
Seeing Hou Niao's brow still tightly furrowed, the old man ventured, "Upper Cultivator, we've already been delayed here for more than ten days. We're short of food and drinking water, and most importantly, everyone is in a very poor state of mind. Several of the elderly and children have fallen ill. We...