Chapter 229 - 164: Departing Again
Shanyang Prefecture City.
These past few days, Shanyang Prefecture City had become practically overrun. Countless refugees from the surrounding counties and towns, along with members of the Noble Families, had flooded into Shanyang Prefecture.
With such a massive influx of people, the pressure on the Shanyang Prefecture Government Office instantly became immense.
The price of grain, along with all sorts of other supplies, skyrocketed. Even with the prefecture opening its public granaries, it was just a drop in the bucket.
On top of that, the rent for taverns, inns, and any available residence also soared.
Overcrowded and with supplies stretched to their breaking point, one word described everything: expensive.
Of course, none of this was a problem for Fang Yue.
He simply moved his family into his tea house in the Prefecture City.
In fact, the tea house’s supply lines had already been cut, leaving only what was left in stock.
Once he had his family settled, Fang Yue began looking into the current situation in Shanyang Prefecture, as well as the Great Wei Dynasty’s response.
He had originally thought it was just an ordinary rebellion for the throne, but the altar he had seen underground in Xiahe County gave him a much deeper understanding of this uprising.
’At this point, even staying here in Shanyang Prefecture might not be safe.’
Leaving the house, Fang Yue sought out a tavern.
Taverns were bustling with people, and information flowed freely, so it wouldn’t be difficult to pick up some news there.
"Sigh... Right now, within our Shanyang Prefecture, only the Prefecture City and a dozen or so counties to the east are still stable. The rest have nearly all been attacked. I even heard that after several county seats fell, their people were brutally massacred."
"That’s nothing. I heard it’s not just our Shanyang Prefecture. The same thing is happening in Yongzhou Prefecture to the north, and it’s even worse than here. Their Prefecture City is surrounded by the Rebel Army. Who knows if it’s been breached yet."
"What’s going on? Things were perfectly fine. How did it all fall into chaos like this?!"
Hearing the discussions around him, Fang Yue furrowed his brow slightly. ’This chaos has already spread to three prefectures? The scale of this is far greater than I imagined.’
The Great Wei Dynasty was comprised of the Two Capitals and Thirteen Provinces. For three prefectures to be hit at once... that meant nearly a fifth of the empire had descended into chaos.
The thought made Fang Yue draw a sharp breath.
’I need to get out of Shanyang Prefecture as soon as possible,’ he thought, ’and make for a safer region.’
’Yongzhou Prefecture to the north is also in chaos, so I can’t go that way. The only option is to follow the river south from Boundary Mountain to Guangfeng Prefecture.’
’Or, to be even safer, I could go from Guangfeng Prefecture, cross through Qingzhou, and head for Yujing City.’
’As one of the core cities of Great Wei, Yujing City is surely safe from the chaos... right?’
’But I’ll need to make thorough preparations for the journey. Otherwise, one wrong step could lead to a point of no return.’
’After all, it’s a very long journey. To cross between prefectures, I’ll need the proper official documents and a Road Guide. Without them, I might not even be able to get out of Shanyang Prefecture.’
Just as Fang Yue was gathering information in the tavern, he caught sight of a blind girl being harassed by a group of men on a street corner.
’From the way they’re acting, it’s clear they’re up to no good.’
The blind girl was none other than Bai Li.
"Heh heh, I told you she was a looker. Don’t you know who I, Zhu Ergou, am? I could tell she was pretty even with all that soot smeared on her face."
one of the young thugs said with a smirk.
Another thug chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, who knew she’d be so pretty under all that? How about this: you have a little fun with us brothers, and we’ll give you a catty of grain. What do you say?"
"You animals!"
Hearing this, Bai Li flew into a rage.
"Ooh, she’s a feisty one. I like that! Get her, boys!"
At the young man’s shout, the thugs immediately closed in on Bai Li.
"Little beauty, if you play nice with us, maybe we’ll let you go. But if you don’t know what’s good for you... heh heh..."
The group of men surrounded Bai Li completely.
"How dare you!"
Bai Li was no frail, helpless maiden. She began to fight back fiercely.
"Well now, a little spitfire, are we? Looks like we’ll have to teach you a proper lesson today!"
Zhu Ergou laughed vilely.
He was just reaching out to grab the woman when he suddenly felt his body go light, and then he was sent flying.
"Aaaah!"
Zhu Ergou let out a wretched scream as his body slammed into the wall of the tavern, the impact nearly knocking him unconscious.
Zhu Ergou saw stars, and every bone in his body screamed in agony.
It was only then that Zhu Ergou saw a new figure standing where he had just been. Who else could it be but Fang Yue?
The other thugs, their faces pale with fright at the sight, immediately turned and fled.
Though they were local gangsters, they were just bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong, relying on their wealthy families to get by. Faced with someone truly powerful, their only reaction was to flee in terror.
None of them was any match for someone as formidable as Fang Yue.
They wouldn’t dare to linger for a second longer.
~~~~~~~~
A quarter of an hour later, Fang Yue had followed Bai Li back to the small courtyard again.
"Thank you. I’m sorry to have troubled you again," Bai Li said, looking at Fang Yue with gratitude.
Fang Yue shook his head. "It’s nothing. I happened to be there, so I helped. That’s all."
Bai Li nodded. She knew this wasn’t the first time Fang Yue had helped her, yet she had never been able to repay his kindness, and she felt deeply ashamed.