C5 (1/2)
The city gate was wide open, and in front of it were piles of wooden posts with sharp and bright blades embedded in them. Beside the horse, there was a group of soldiers in cloth armor. There were about ten of them, holding long spears in their hands. About a hundred victims were scattered in groups in front of the city gate. Their dull eyes looked over here from time to time as if they were expecting something. More victims gathered on the hillside not far away, and the whole mountain was covered with caves of various sizes, which were crowded with thin, yellow, ragged victims, sheltering from the scorching sun.
”Uncle, is this the elm forest?” Jiang Shuo asked the victims in the shade.
The victims lifted their heads from their torn collars, looking at Jiang Shuo with their cloudy, dusty eyes. Opening their dry lips, they weakly said, ”Here it is.”
Jiang Shuo felt sorry for him and could not bear to look anymore. He abandoned the victims and walked straight towards the city gate. Walking up, Jiang Shuo turned around, intending to pass through the gap between the lines, but he was stopped by a soldier who quickly said, ”Go back, this Yulin City is not for you refugees to enter.”
”I am not a disaster victim.” Jiang Shuo said confidently. After a long and arduous journey, Jiang Shuo's hair was covered in mud and dirt, like a pile of dried weeds on his scalp. His entire body was dirty, but he never treated himself as a disaster victim.
”If you claim that you are not a victim, then do you have a fixed residence in Yulin City?” The soldier lifted his chin, seeing through Jiang Shuo's sophistry, showing his impatience.
Jiang Shuo was startled, and then asked, ”Why don't you count me as a victim? Who are you, and why aren't you letting me enter the city? Don't tell me this city is yours?”
The soldiers were stunned for a moment before recovering and saying angrily, ”Behind us is the imperial court. Under the heavens, the earth, the shore, the ground, the ground you are standing on, the sky above your head, even you and me, all belong to the imperial court. Let alone this insignificant Yulin City?”
”Court? A king? ” In the Crimson Cloud Village, Jiang Shuo had learned the ways of the world, such as benevolent, righteous, intelligent and so on. Although the dynasty had been involved, due to the closed environment, the Great Elder's explanation still could not be understood.
”Stop playing the fool here, scram!” The impatient soldier grabbed Jiang Shuo by the back of the neck, forcefully threw him out. Unexpectedly, Jiang Shuo's feet felt like they were rooted to the ground, and he couldn't move at all.
Noticing Jiang Shuo's resistance, the other soldiers crowded around him, the weapons in their hands shining brightly and coldly.
”Soldier brothers, please show mercy.” At this moment, a young man walked in quickly from outside the city. The young man stood in the middle and dragged the leader of the soldiers aside. He took out a bunch of coins from his bosom and secretly stuffed them into the young man's palm, ”Brother Soldier, that was my little brother just now. He was a bit stupid when he was young, and ended up in such a sorry state after losing him along the way with me. ”We are not the victims, we are here to do business in Yulin.”
The soldier weighed the coins, appearing to be in a difficult position. ”You know this, these victims are all mixed up. If put in the city, it would be hard to avoid stealing, which would affect the security.”
”That's right, that's true. I must trouble you all to guard the city gate.” The youth bent over and stuffed a few more coins in. He said softly, ”Think of it as me asking everyone here to drink some tea to ease the heat.”
The soldier's face finally revealed a satisfied smile. ”Be more careful next time. Don't let your brother wander around outside like this. The others won't be as easy to talk to as me.”
With that, he waved his hand behind him, and his companions sheathed their weapons and moved to either side of him, making way for him.
The young man nodded and bowed in agreement, dragging Jiang Shuo into the city.
The disaster had a certain effect on Yulin City as well. The shops on both sides of the street were quiet, with only a handful of vendors lazily shouting under the eaves. Occasionally, a couple of pedestrians would walk by with their heads lowered, hurrying on their way without saying a single word. The huge city was terrifyingly quiet. However, compared to the victims outside the city, their clothing and looks were not bad. The several zhang tall city wall separated the civilians into two completely different worlds.
Even when he was dragged into the city by the young man, Jiang Shuo was still confused. ”Who are you, why are you helping me?”
”My name is Li Zi Cheng. As for why I helped you … ” Li Zi Cheng's clever expression suddenly became gloomy, and he laughed bitterly: ”Among all the victims in this world, there is only one person who can help.”
The smile was full of helplessness and bitterness, without any pretence at all, which resonated with Jiang Shuo. Thinking back to what happened, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, ”Along the way, I saw that the whole forest was stripped of a layer of skin, and the roots of the grasses under the soil were dug clean. There is no longer anything left alive. These victims were forced to leave their homes, as if they had placed their trust in Yulin City, but in the end, they were ruthlessly cut off from it. It is said that the Imperial Court's mere paper prohibition order has crushed their only chance of survival. How cruel is this? ”
Li Zicheng looked deeply at Jiang Shuo, not expecting him to say such words, he could not help but echo him softly, ”Who knows, the government will kill and rob you. What can the citizens do to make such a decision?”
”Now that there is no grass in the wild and no dogs in the village, and the people are displaced, isn't the court at fault as well?” Jiang Shuo could not help but blurt out what he wanted to say.