Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

Chapter 377: Chapter 67 The Holy Object of the God Worship Sect, the Divine Fetus?_2

At that moment, the young girl heard the question Lin Qingyi had just asked.

“Hehe!” She looked up at Lin Qingyi, chuckled, and then said, “I was at Uncle Zhu’s house, just when his wife was writing a letter to Little Jin. I decided to join Little Jin in visiting your sister-in-law to play.”

“Where is Little Jin then?” Lin Qingyi asked with a puzzled expression.

The girl answered, “Little Jin’s father called her back on the way.”

Hearing this, Lin Qingyi furrowed her brows slightly.

She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, “It seems there’s no show!”

The girl saw Lin Qingyi’s slightly knitted brows and reached out to smooth them, saying, “Sister-in-law, are you worrying about that matter? About finding a husband for Little Jin?”

Lin Qingyi nodded, “Your Little Jin is gentle, modest, and gracious. It’s time for her to find a suitable husband and marry.”

At this point, the girl’s eyes showed excitement, “Sister-in-law, is that young man from Jiang Ning region as outstanding as you say?”

Lin Qingyi replied, “He’s even better than described!”

Hearing this, the handsome young man standing behind the girl immediately showed a trace of curiosity.

He had also read Lin Qingyi’s letter, and after reading it, he became curious about the Jiang Ning described in her letter.

That was also why he was willing to accompany his full sister, the Seventeenth Princess, to Luoshui County.

He had always had great admiration for heroes, especially those who emerged from humble origins.

Such talents, in his eyes, would, given the opportunity, rise meteorically.

They had far greater potential than the scions cultivated by the noble families and clans.

At the same time,

Dressed in pale yellow, the girl, upon hearing Lin Qingyi’s answer, suddenly said excitedly, “Sister-in-law, since Little Jin is occupied, I’m here! Let me go and meet that young man for a blind date!”

“You?” Lin Qingyi looked at the excited princess standing before her and shook her head, “You can’t! Your status is too noble.”

“Sister-in-law~~” The girl clung to Lin Qingyi’s arm, swaying it back and forth, “Please let me go! I’ve never tried matchmaking before! And you talk about how outstanding he is, but won’t let me meet him! That’s clearly favoritism, you favor Little Jin and don’t like me!”

Looking at the girl’s naive face as she playfully coaxed her, Lin Qingyi couldn’t help but look up at the young man standing behind her, who was looking elsewhere.

“Eighth Prince, please advise your younger sister!”

Upon hearing this, the young man’s face showed a gentle smile, “Cousin-in-law, Seventeenth Princess has a point. Why not let her meet the young man? I’m also quite curious to see the young man whom my cousin-in-law highly praises!”

“If they truly are fated, then the young man you mentioned could indeed become a consort prince!”

“Brother—” The girl stamped her foot and pounced with fieriness, “Don’t spout nonsense, don’t fill your mouth with madness!”

The young man grinned and stepped back, easily dodging the girl’s pounce.

“You’re quite generous of a brother!” Lin Qingyi looked at the Eighth Prince with a peculiar expression.

The young man, while casually evading the girl’s attacks, said, “Seventeenth Princess is growing up, and she will have to marry someone eventually! So, it might as well be me who keeps an eye on her suitors!”

“Brother!! If you say that again!!!”

At that moment,

Lin Qingyi watched the pair quarreling, and her eyes couldn’t help but fill with laughter.

…

In the outer city,

Jiang Ning was leading his team out of the outer city, treading the familiar road, when he couldn’t help but knit his brows.

Because ahead, he saw a family of four huddled under the eaves, shivering and begging.

Two adults and two children.

The adults looked pale and wore very little clothing, their lips blue, making it difficult to estimate their ages.

The children were also bloodless, but wore two additional layers of clothing, huddled together under the eaves, shaking and relying on their close body warmth to maintain their fading heat.

The children seemed to be around five or six and seven or eight years old.

At that moment, Feng Jiuge spoke upon seeing where Jiang Ning was looking,

“Sir, a group of refugees from other regions has come to Dongling County recently, some of whom have arrived at Luoshui County.”

“Are you saying that these people are those refugees?” asked Jiang Ning.

“Yes,” Feng Jiuge nodded and continued, “It’s not just them. There are many such refugees in the outer city of Luoshui County, and even more throughout Dongling County.”

“Due to the months-long drought recently, the harvests in many places failed completely. The people living around the Luoshui River fared a bit better and were able to irrigate their crops, achieving some yield, so they could still get by this year.”

“That’s why refugees from other counties have been entering Dongling County, making their way to Luoshui County.”

“Families like these are numerous in the outer city, and given the situation this winter, it will be difficult for them to survive.”

Next to him, Xie Xiaojiu also nodded in agreement, “It’s indeed going to be hard for them to make it through!”

“Hasn’t the County Lord done something?” Jiang Ning asked.

Feng Jiuge shook his head, “He can’t do much. The harvests have been poor in recent years, especially this year. There isn’t much surplus grain in Dongling City’s granaries, let alone in Luoshui County.”

“Everyone is in dire straits. How could they care for these refugees who don’t have identity tokens?”

“Not driving them out of the city is already showing them pity.”

Just then, Xie Xiaojiu spoke up, “Sir, should we help them?”

Jiang Ning glanced impassively at the family huddled in the distant corner.

He took out four strips of dried meat from the Sumeru Ring.

“Give these to them.”

“Yes, my Lord!” Xie Xiaojiu took the strip of meat from Jiang Ning’s hand and walked toward the distant corner.

A moment later,

they saw a family of four kneel to the ground, continuously kowtowing to Xie Xiaojiu and Jiang Ning.

Carried by the wind, one could also hear waves of thankful words.

Afterward,

Xie Xiaojiu returned, his expression somewhat downcast.

“My Lord, they’re really pitiable! Having treked for hundreds of miles, now they can only live under a bridge.”

Jiang Ning said, “In times like these, there are too many pitiable people!”

Having said this, he continued on his way forward.

…

In the Outer City.

Jiang Ning was extremely familiar with it, especially the road from the Inner City to the Outer City.

He knew it even better.

He had previously lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law in the Outer City, commuting to and from the Martial Arts Hall several times. With his memory, every brick and tile, and all facets of life were deeply etched in his mind.

However, upon returning to the Outer City after a long while, he noticed many new faces.

And there were many more refugees curled up in street corners.

Among them were clearly whole families, pairs dependent on each other, and more so, lone individuals, utterly solitary, without any ties.

After walking through several more streets,

Jiang Ning suddenly stopped.

Because ahead in the alley, there was a surging crowd, yet orderly.

“What’s going on there?” Jiang Ning asked.

Xie Xiaojiu answered, “My Lord, I know this—it’s the Yellow Heaven Sect distributing talisman water!”

Hearing this, Jiang Ning understood immediately.

In the Inspection Office, he would review the reports submitted from time to time.

As part of the Inspection Office’s duties, the movements of the Yellow Heaven Sect were certainly a focus.

Among those reports, there were accounts of the Yellow Heaven Sect administering talisman water.

According to the reports, the talisman water of the Yellow Heaven Sect was very miraculous.

A bowl of talisman water could dispel the cold and keep one warm for several hours as if next to a stove.

It also warded off hunger.

One could maintain a sense of fullness for half a day.

Furthermore, it purportedly had effects of remedying minor ailments and disasters.

Regarding such claims, Jiang Ning was noncommittal.

Neither denying nor acknowledging!

Had it been in his previous life, he would’ve dismissed it as nonsense.

But things were different in this world.

Even more wondrous events were possible.

The miraculous nature of this talisman water might not be false.

And it was one of the important means by which the Yellow Heaven Sect attracted followers.

Merely with a glance, Jiang Ning led his team to continue toward their destination.

According to the information provided by Feng Jiuge,

the suspected stronghold of the God Worship Sect where the big fish were located was in a courtyard in the northeastern corner of the Outer City.

That courtyard was a gathering place for blind, deaf, and disabled beggars.

That place was also suspected to be a property of the Black Tiger Gang.

The Black Tiger Gang, standing behind them, was one of the two major families of Luoshui County, the Liu family.

What Jiang Ning was most concerned about was the big fish of the God Worship Sect mentioned by Feng Jiuge.

If it was indeed a big fish, that meant a substantial amount of Contribution Points to be gained—Contribution Points being the tangible form of merit.

Within the Inspection Office, the utility of Contribution Points was extraordinarily crucial.

Contribution Points could be exchanged one-to-one for Silver Taels, and for any treasure available within the level of authority.

They could also be used to directly advance in official position.

Although this method was luxurious, it also represented a direct path to promotion.

At the same time, regarding the stronghold mentioned by Feng Jiuge,

what Jiang Ning most wanted to find was the sacred statue previously enshrined in the City God Temple.

Based on the speculations from higher-ups, the statue was still somewhere within Luoshui County.

If it could be found, that would be a reward of fifty thousand Contribution Points, which was very important to him.