Could Not Bear to See Them Die

In comparison, although Yin Yunze always complained that he was incomplete and half-baked, he was still unanimously recognized by the villagers as a legitimate Land God!

In some folk tales and supernatural novels, even a slightly powerful household spirit can wreak havoc on an entire village.

Not to mention Yin Yunze, who truly controls the Earth Vein Power of an entire village.

To be fair, if Yin Yunze really wanted to do something bad, he could have easily caused Clear Creek Village to have no harvest at all by diverting fertilizer.

Even if his divine status is low, Yin Yunze is still a god with divine status.

At least, it's not something a mortal like Wang Guisheng, who has learned a few evil tricks, could pull off.

Even with all his might, Wang Guisheng was still no match for Yin Yunze, who was weakened and whom he was willing to go all out against.

Yin Yunze, who is now relying on Zhao Wan to escape Clear Creek Village, can be said to be in his weakest state.

Once outside Clear Creek Village, Zhao Wan's presence not only fails to benefit Yin Yunze, but instead becomes a limitation.

Outside Clear Creek Village, Zhao Wan's anchor point was mainly used for scouting the area and slightly sensing the Earth Vein Power, even less effective than her spirit form without an anchor point. After all, the absence of an anchor point did not affect Yin Yunze's ability to use characters; on the contrary, it allowed Yin Yunze to remain in an invisible state, unaffected by normal attacks.

Of course, Yin Yunze is at his Spirit Descent when he is possessing Zhao Wan and standing on the land of Clear Creek Village. That is when he is in the state of a true Land God, empowered by the earth's veins and able to manipulate the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Putting everything else aside, the extra Earth Escape is a type of magic that allows one to escape through earth) would increase Yin Yunze's agility many times over. Instead of being limited by his short legs, he would have to be a clumsy, immobile turret mage if he didn't want to waste the Power of Incense Offerings.

If Yin Yunze were willing to expend the Earth Vein Power, a single Earth Escape: Burial Technique could instantly kill Wang Guisheng, even saving the trouble of collecting his body.

When it came to collecting the body, Yin Yunze's gaze fell on Wang Guisheng was lying scattered on the ground.

Of course, Yin Yunze wasn't kind enough to offer to collect Wang Guisheng's body; he was simply after what Wang Guisheng had on him.

It might be a bit weak, but who knows what good stuff it might contain!

After defeating the monsters, it's time to reap the rewards.

However, looking at Wang Guisheng lying all over the ground, Yin Yunze hesitated for a moment before beginning his first time touching a corpse in this world.

Half an hour later, outside Qingling County, a girl who looked to be about ten years old was walking towards the county town, waving a white whip in her hand.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the whip was not made of ordinary materials, but rather transformed from segments of bone.

But the little girl seemed carefree, completely unconcerned about the chilling sight of the bone whip, and instead seemed to be having a great time playing with it.

The little girl wielding the white bone whip was naturally Yin Yunze, who was possessing Zhao Wan's body. And this white bone whip was the same one in Wang Guisheng's hand, the Flame-Extinguishing Whip made from the bones of that so- Fire-Averse Snake Serpent.

However, Yin Yunze felt that the name "Flame-Extinguishing Whip" sounded a bit awful, so he decided to just call it "Snake Bone Whip."

It was able to withstand Fox Fire for more than ten minutes without any damage; this Snake Bone Whip must be no ordinary item.

However, apart from being fireproof and extremely hard, Yin Yunze hasn't discovered any other special effects yet.

This made Yin Yunze feel a little regretful, but after thinking about it, it was normal for Wang Guisheng not to have any other functions.

Yin Yunze's insatiable greed is entirely due to being spoiled by that black command flag. He doesn't even realize that Law Treasure capable of summoning thunder is not something an ordinary person can use!

So even after adjusting his mindset, Yin Yunze still didn't let go of this trophy.

After all, this was the first time Yin Yunze had obtained spoils of war after fighting against a cultivator!

Even though Yin Yunze wasn't particularly fond of soft whip-type weapons, it still had considerable commemorative value as a collectible.

If all else fails, giving it to subordinates as a reward later is also a viable option.

Aside from the Snake Bone Whip, Yin Yunze only found a dozen or so taels of silver on Wang Guisheng. He didn't know if there were truly no other valuables, or if the other valuables weren't as heat-resistant as the Snake Bone Whip and were simply burned away by the Fox Fire.

It was after this incident of looting the corpse that Yin Yunze realized he didn't seem to be particularly averse to such things.

Unbeknownst to him, Yin Yunze's attitude towards the lives of others had also undergone a significant change.

I just don't know whether this change is good or bad.

After touching the corpse, Yin Yunze did not care about Wang Guisheng's remains.

It wasn't that Yin Yunze wanted to leave Wang Guisheng's body to rot in the wilderness to vent his anger; it was simply that Yin Yunze found it troublesome to collect his body.

Since he was an enemy anyway, Yin Yunze didn't feel guilty about not collecting the body.

Hmm? Snake Bone Whip and silver?

Those were Yin Yunze's spoils of war, and had absolutely nothing to do with that old geezer!

As Yin Yunze approached the county town, the number of pedestrians in the surrounding area began to increase.

After thinking for a moment, to avoid attracting attention, Yin Yunze, as usual, temporarily sent the Snake Bone Whip to the real world as well, and then walked towards the city gate.

As he approached, what first caught Yin Yunze's eye was not the ancient city wall of Qingling County, which was only a few meters high.

Instead, at the foot of the city wall, around the city gate, sat rows of children with withered grass stuck in their hair.

Even some adults, not just children, were sitting among them, with dry grass stuck in their hair.

This situation has a specific name. "Selling the first item by inserting a price tag".

Sticking grass in one's hair signifies selling one's life as a commodity.

To be honest, Yin Yunze was genuinely shocked when he saw this scene.

The sight of hundreds of people displaying themselves as commodities at the city gate for others to choose from was a shocking experience for Yin Yunze.

Yin Yunze knew that things might be terrible outside, but there was always a huge gap between imagination and reality.

Some things, when heard from others, are just idle gossip. Only when they are actually presented to him do Yin Yunze truly understand what cruelty is.

During a great famine, people resorted to cannibalism.

It may only be six words in history books, but behind them could be hundreds of thousands of lives.

"Lord Yi Yun." Seeing this scene, Zhao Wan, who hadn't spoken for over half an hour since the battle with Wang Guisheng, couldn't help but whisper in Yin Yunze's mind, "Could you... help them?"

"Help? How can I help?"

Yin Yunze really wanted to ask a question in return: if he could help one, or even ten, it would mean taking all the children here at once.

But tomorrow, only more people who can't survive will arrive here.

If we don't resolve the issue of that Prince Jing in his Tomb of Prince Jing...

No, even if it were resolved now, it would be too late.

The planting season has passed, and this year's famine is now inevitable.

In other words, merely rescuing these people without addressing the local famine would be a drop in the ocean.

However, Yin Yunze ultimately said nothing.

Seeing the tragic scene before him, Yin Yunze's mindset also underwent some changes.

Originally, Yin Yunze came here only to personally investigate the county magistrate's situation and, incidentally, to make some contact and establish a good relationship.

So that if the county magistrate were to come knocking on their door later, they would have more leverage.

But now it seems that Yin Yunze realized he was indeed not the kind of person who could accomplish great things; he wasn't ruthless enough.

Just grit your teeth and ignore their lives!

Yin Yunze was able to proceed according to his plan, waiting for the county magistrate to come to him for help.

The same thing can be completely different when you approach someone for cooperation versus when someone asks you for help.

The latter is the choice that maximizes Yin Yunze's interests.

"May you be blessed with good fortune, Miss! May you prosper, Miss! Could you please give me something to eat?"

Suddenly, a girl who was so thin that it was impossible to tell whether she was five or six or seven or eight years old crawled up in front of Yin Yunze.

Looking at Yin Yunze, the little girl showed a hint of fear, but still licked her chapped lips and whispered:

"May you be blessed with good fortune, Miss! May you prosper, Miss! I'm so hungry, could you have pity on me and give me some food?"

As they spoke, the little girl showed signs of wanting to hug Yin Yunze's leg.

However, seeing Yin Yunze's clean new clothes seemed to remind her of some bad memories. The little girl shuddered, but ultimately did not do it.

She looked at Yin Yunze with a pitiful and timid expression, like a wounded fawn.

After a month of nourishment, Zhao Wan had also gained some weight and her face had become chubby, forming a stark contrast with the pale and thin children.

Especially this outfit, it's obvious that it's a new outfit that ordinary people can't afford.

Coupled with Yin Yunze's completely different temperament from ordinary children, these children naturally thought he was some rich heiress who had sneaked out to play.

"Well..."

A wise person, when dealing with animals, cannot bear to see them die, even if they are alive.

If one reacts this way to beasts, how much more so to a living, breathing human being in front of Yin Yunze?

With a helpless sigh, Yin Yunze's hand trembled, and several items quickly fell into the little girl's arms through her collar.