"Honey, say something!"
In the southeastern White Cloud City, in a mansion that appeared to be of some means, a woman who was dressed reasonably well was now crying uncontrollably, her face streaked with tears and snot, looking utterly disheveled.
Another middle-aged man sat on the steps of the courtyard, staring blankly into space.
He spoke? What could he possibly say?
In this day and age, what use are his words?
"Honey, if we don't do something soon, Xiaoling will really be taken away by those people. She's our only child."
The man's eyes remained vacant as he gazed at the child beside the woman, who looked helpless and unsure of what was about to happen. His eyes finally reddened.
The child had no idea what he was about to face, but he had seen it all: these children would be cruelly skinned, put into alcohol to be pickled alive, and kept conscious with special medicine. They would scream for a day and a night in agony as the strong alcohol corroded their flesh before finally dying.
Even seasoned warriors who have experienced battle couldn't withstand such torment, let alone children?
How could such monstrous behavior exist in this world? Do those Southern Barbarians beasts truly have no heart?
Since the fall of Bishan City and the massacre of its inhabitants, no other major city in the Southeast Commandery has dared to resist the Southern Barbarians.
After all, the imperial court's elite troops had all been withdrawn, leaving behind only a bunch of lazy, good-for-nothing soldiers. How could they possibly hold off those demonic Southern Barbarians soldiers?
But if they don't resist, they'll end up like livestock.
Any beautiful woman in a family who caught the eye of the Southern Barbarians would be abducted. Exquisite jewelry, delicious food, and fine wine—whenever a Southern Barbarians lord came to the door, the best of everything had to be brought out. If even one of these things displeased the lord, the entire family would be slaughtered.
Even with his careful service, the beautiful concubines offered early on, and his ugly wife and daughter barely avoiding being chosen, he still couldn't escape his tragic fate. His only son would have to be sent up tomorrow to be sacrificed to those beasts for some damned ghosts and gods.
Her poor child, so obedient and sensible from a young age, with exceptional academic talent and a photographic memory, mastering the Four Books by the age of five—a precocious genius even Master Chen found astonishing. She had been planning to send him to the capital for further studies, dreaming every night of him passing the imperial examinations and bringing glory to the family. But now...
That damned Southern Barbarians devil!!!
At this moment, everyone in the mansion sighed in pity, but no one could see that the five-year-old child's mind was more active than anyone else's!
What the hell is going on?!
We finally escaped, and this is how it starts? Couldn't the damn system administrator have been a little more accurate? With this hellish start, whoever comes along is just asking for trouble.
Jiang Xiaoling's mind was in turmoil, constantly cursing the so-called system administrator. She appeared dull and pitiful on the surface, but inwardly she was racking her brains for a way to break the deadlock.
Actually, he felt something was wrong when he heard that the imperial court was withdrawing its troops. When Bishan City was massacred, he wanted to persuade his family to flee the famine, but after all, he was so young, and no matter how talented he was, how could he make such a big decision?
My cheapskate father is a spineless man. He's still hesitating even when his pants are on fire. Now he's all pity for his precious son, but what good is that? Am I about to enter the first Samsara reincarnation?
This won't do! According to the system administrator, preserving memories is extremely difficult in this world. They used a lot of resources to ensure I retained all my memories, but upon entering this world, I was maliciously targeted and trapped in an energy vortex during Samsara, where I remained for several years. They tried numerous methods, even employing unknown means, to finally get me Samsara reincarnation successfully. Just when I was about to make my mark, it's going to end here?
That won't do. The higher-ups have repeatedly warned me that preserving my life is the top priority, because once Samsara, they might not have the ability to help me escape that vortex a second time.
But in this situation, I'm just a five-year-old child. In today's world, even a mutated chick could kill me. What can I do?
"Father." Jiang Xiaoling calmed down, raised her head, and timidly looked at her father, whose eyes were red with tears. "They said that Xiaoling will be fed to evil spirits, is that true?"
"No, no!!" The middle-aged man finally lost his composure, rushing forward to hug his son, trembling as he said, "Father won't hand you over, absolutely not!"
Jiang Xiaoling was startled by the hug, his heart filled with complex emotions. After transmigrating, he knew the other person was an NPC, and he didn't really want to develop any feelings for them. But people are made of flesh and blood. After five years of pampering and genuine treatment, how could he possibly harden his heart?
"Then Father, shall we escape?" Jiang Xiaoling asked hopefully.
"Escape?" The middle-aged man was taken aback and suddenly looked at the woman beside him. In his mind, it must have been his wife who taught his child what to say.
The wife was taken aback, but didn't pay it any mind. Instead, she chimed in, "Master, let's run away. You can't bear to part with Xiaoling, can you? I've had enough of living in fear. If we hand over Xiaoling today, our family can survive for a few days, but how long can we really survive? Didn't you see how those beasts treated Old Wang and his men at the restaurant this morning?"
The man's face turned pale again upon hearing this.
Those evil spirits were not human at all; they used excuses to humiliate and torture the Central Plains people.
Old Wang's family ran an honest beef noodle shop, but they couldn't produce anything good. As a result, those bastards picked a fight with them. They tortured and killed the entire family of five because they put scallions in the beef noodles, which they didn't like. They even boiled Old Wang's daughter alive in a pot right in front of him.
These people are no longer human; they are demons in human skin—no, they are things even more disgusting than demons.
"Escape. We have to escape!" the man stammered, but reality instantly crushed him, and he clutched his head, crying out, "How can we escape?!"
The entire city is under the control of those Southern Barbarians, and the city gates are heavily guarded. If you dare to escape, your whole family will be boiled alive!
Jiang Xiaoling frowned, secretly pondering a solution. Should she use that now?
Just as his adoptive father had said, the city was under control, and there was no way his family could escape. Besides, demons were everywhere outside, and even if they did escape, they would likely get into trouble.
Damn it, didn't that intelligence officer say the world was incredibly stable right now?
Wasn't it said that the previous generation of Corrector had already completed the first phase of their mission here, temporarily suppressing those ancient beings?
Why is this completely different from what the intelligence officer said?
When I was two years old, I heard that there was a zombie outbreak in Jiangnan, and it was obvious that the Earth Spirit had begun to revive, which was completely different from what the intelligence officer had said.
Was the intelligence agent lying, or was Pu Yunchuan lying?
--
"Do we really have to do this?"
The location of East Sea City has been shrouded in thick fog for the past six months, and no one dares to easily invade it, including Chen Qing from Jiangnan.
Because everyone knows who controls this place.
Meanwhile, the King of Qin, who looked exactly like Chen Qing, was standing in the thick fog at the highest point of East Sea City, gazing at the Central Plains.
Behind him stood a man with a stiff expression. If Chen Qing were here, she would definitely recognize him.
It was Mr. Origami who confronted him in the palace back then!!
"Only by doing this can we force that guy to use the summoning device," the King of Qin sneered. "The court has already withdrawn its troops. Apart from the Four Seas and Jiangnan, there is nowhere else we can defend ourselves. Judging by the timeline, that guy is at most five years old and cannot possibly protect himself. If he wants to survive, he has to use that thing, unless he wants to enter Samsara again!"
"What if he's in Jiangnan or somewhere else in the world?"
"That at least narrows down our search area, doesn't it?"
Mr. Origami stared at the King of Qin for a long time, finally letting out a soft sigh, "You've changed."
The passionate young man who once wanted to find a way out for all humanity has completely changed. He can be so ruthless and calculating just for a result!