I let you have children and you lead seven sinful girls to rebel?

Chapter 176: The Bandits Chasing

"What's going on? Why are you sneezing again? That's two times today."

Chen Xuan rubbed his nose and looked strange.

"Master Chen, are you catching a cold?" Xiao Liuzi asked with concern.

"Do you think I'll catch a cold?" Chen Xuan glanced at him.

Xiao Liuzi chuckled and immediately flattered him: "Master Chen is blessed with great fortune and good health. He will definitely not get such a minor illness."

"Then why do you think I sneezed twice?"

Chen Xuan touched his chin, his intuition telling him that these two sneezes were not that simple.

The first sneeze actually made him feel dangerous.

The second sneeze made him feel like he was in trouble.

But I was just drinking tea here, I didn't fight or swear at anyone, how could I get into trouble?

Could it be that his own subordinates caused trouble for him?

Although this feeling is very strange, I don't know why it is particularly strong.

Xiao Liuzi scratched his head, not knowing how to answer Chen Xuan at all.

At this moment, they suddenly saw many people in tattered clothes carrying large and small bags on the road. They were running on the road as if they were fleeing famine, and they looked back in horror from time to time, as if there were jackals, tigers and leopards chasing them.

"Xiao Liuzi, bring someone over to ask what's going on!"

Chen Xuan's eyes flashed, and he immediately realized that these people might be the people from the countryside of Shecheng.

Xiao Liuzi nodded and immediately walked over happily, bringing an old man with him. The old man was accompanied by a little girl. Both of them were wearing tattered clothes and looked sloppy. Their faces were dirty, and they were unkempt and looked exhausted.

"Old man, where are you going?"

Chen Xuan asked politely.

The old man's mouth was dry and he seemed unable to speak. There was no saliva in his throat. He had been eating dust all the way and had not drunk a drop of water.

Chen Xuan immediately signaled Xiao Liuzi to pour a bowl of tea for the old man. Xiao Liuzi did as he was told and brought the tea to the old man's mouth. Unexpectedly, the old man gave the tea to the little girl beside him.

The little girl was very sensible. After taking a small sip, she gave the rest to the old man. The old man insisted that she drink more, but the little girl said she didn't want to drink anything else.

It’s not that I’m picky about food, but I want to leave this hard-earned tea for grandpa to drink.

Chen Xuan couldn't help feeling sad when he saw this scene.

He personally poured a bowl of tea, handed it to the old man, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, old man, there is plenty of tea here, you two can have some."

He patted the teapot on the table gently and said, "This pot of tea is all yours."

Hearing this, the old man immediately pulled the little girl to kneel on the ground in gratitude, kowtowing and worshipping her. Chen Xuan felt helpless and sad. He just gave them a cup of tea, but they were so grateful to him.

From this we can see that the lives of ordinary people have become something unimaginable!

After the little girl drank two bowls of tea and the old man drank five bowls of tea, and drank up the entire pot of tea, he finally began to make a sound in his throat:

"Thank you so much, benefactor. I will never forget your kindness!"

"Hehe, no need to thank me."

Chen Xuan chuckled and then asked, "Old man, I see a lot of people on the road, just like you, all exhausted and rushing along, as if someone is chasing you. What's going on?"

When the old man heard this, a look of horror suddenly appeared on his face. He quickly said, "My benefactor, you should run away quickly. Those bandits have ravaged the villages near Snake City. Not only are they robbing, they're also killing and burning people!"

"We are now fleeing towards the Barbarian City. There is no other way. If we want to survive, we have to keep on running."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan frowned and asked, "Why are you running towards Barbarian City? Can't you go into Snake City? Even if the governor of Snake City doesn't send troops to suppress the bandits, he wouldn't even let you enter the city gate, right?"

The old man sighed and smiled bitterly, "Countless people have already squeezed into Snake City. Although a large group can still be squeezed in, the governor has already ordered the city gates to be closed. He is worried that if there are too many people in the city, there will be riots and affect his rule."

"Furthermore, with so many people crammed into the city, how much food will the governor have to provide for disaster relief? The governor of Snake City is not a good person. Even if the grain in the granary was eaten by rats, he would not be willing to give it to ordinary people like us to eat."

As he spoke, the old man wiped his tears with the corner of his clothes. "What kind of world is this? People don't live like human beings. Every day they are either bullied by the government or by bandits. There is simply no way for us ordinary people to survive!"

Chen Xuan clenched his fists secretly when he heard this. The people at the border were suffering so much.

"Old man, what if you go to Barbarian City and they close the city gates and don't let you in?" Xiao Liuzi suddenly asked.

The old man sighed and said, "There's no other way. We can only keep running. We can go to Jincheng, Huangcheng, or wherever they take us in. If no one will take us in, we'll just starve to death on the road. But even if we starve to death on the road, it's still a hundred times better than falling into the hands of bandits!"

"Those beasts are not human! My granddaughter's mother was not only defiled by these beasts, but they also killed her. My son, in revenge for his wife, was beheaded by these beasts and kicked around like a ball. That's a human head, how could it be humiliated like this!"

As the old man spoke, tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

The little girl nearby burst into tears upon hearing the news of her parents' death, her tears falling like pearls from a broken string.

Chen Xuan sighed softly, took out a few taels of silver, stuffed it into the old man's arms, and said, "Old man, it's not much money, please accept it."

"No, benefactor, I am already grateful enough for inviting me to tea. Besides, you are giving too much. We cannot afford it."

The old man quickly returned the money. For an ordinary person, a few taels of silver was enough to cover his food expenses for several months.

However, Chen Xuan pushed the money back and said, "I don't mind this little money. Please take it. If you don't have money for the journey, you and your granddaughter will starve to death."

Looking at their clothes full of patches, you can tell that they live in extreme poverty. Moreover, their sons and daughters-in-law have all died, making it difficult for them to make a living.

After refusing several times, the old man accepted the money with great gratitude. Holding the little girl's head, the grandfather and granddaughter knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Chen Xuan several times.

"My benefactor, hurry up and leave. Those bandits will catch up with us soon."