Starting with Xingyi Quan, it swept across the chaotic world.

Chapter 32 Refugees

"Old Ma!"

"What is that thing?!"

Behind them, the bodyguards were filled with doubt and suspicion. Those who knew the man were trembling all over, whether from sheer fear or regret for not saving their acquaintance.

Taking advantage of their superior numbers, some of the bolder individuals took torches and approached the location where the dark figure had appeared, hoping to investigate for clues such as claw marks.

But the further they went into the darkness, the stronger the stench of blood and the foul smell of unknown beasts became.

Something's strange...

Lu Li did not rush forward, but frowned and unconsciously took half a step back.

Although Ming Jin martial artists are still mortals, they are not so helpless when facing wild beasts.

Moreover, the dark shadow was too blurry for Lu Li to see clearly what it was. It didn't look like a wolf, a tiger, or a bear at all, but rather an unknown beast that Lu Li had never seen before.

Alarm bells rang in Lu Li's mind. He looked back at the house behind him and then at Wang Kui beside him.

Because of his minor mastery of the Thunder Leg technique, he hesitated whether he could help the镖头 (bodyguard/escort) escape if they encountered danger.

But then I thought about it again, and it seemed that the other party was the one leading me.

At this moment, Wang Kui was also in a state of fear and anger.

Wang Kui strode towards the scene of the incident, picked up the pungent soil, and smelled it:

"It's a red-eyed bear! Come inside quickly!"

His eyesight and knowledge far surpassed those of the other Ming Jin practitioners present, so he naturally noticed the two fiery eyes in the shadowy figure. The fishy smell from the soil just now only confirmed his suspicions.

"Uncle, where are you going!"

Lu Li saw that Wang Kui not only did not return to the house with the others, but even walked into the darkness.

"Red-eyed bears are very wild, ruling the mountains and usually acting alone." Wang Kui turned around, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "That person was someone I brought out, so I have to bring him back with me, more or less."

After saying this, Wang Kui walked straight into the darkness.

He knew that since Wang Kui dared to go, it meant that Wang Kui's strength was definitely above that of the Red-Eyed Bear, and that he was not blinded by so-called feelings or loyalty.

Therefore, Lu Li did not hesitate at all and turned to walk towards the house.

The veteran bodyguards on this journey quickly gathered torches, retreated into the house, and even brought specially made thick wooden planks to block the doors and windows.

They all knew that the red-eyed bear had only disappeared; there was still a possibility that it might return.

The room was small, but about twenty people were crammed inside. The windows were blocked, and torches were burning inside, rapidly depleting the oxygen supply.

There were ferocious wild beasts outside, and apart from the elderly who were still somewhat calm, most of the newcomers were panting heavily, their expressions filled with fear.

Most of the elderly people held their breath and listened carefully to the sounds outside.

It was quiet outside; apart from the crackling of the campfire, nothing could be heard.

"I wonder how the boss is doing."

"The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) had already reached the mid-stage of Inner Strength more than half a year ago, so there's absolutely no problem."

After talking for a while, everyone comforted each other and felt much better.

Just then, a rustling sound came from outside.

Everyone in the room was shocked, even the newcomer who was panting heavily didn't dare to make a sound.

Lu Li also held his breath and listened for a while. He suddenly realized that this was not the voice of the red-eyed bear. On the contrary, it sounded somewhat like human conversation.

Some experienced bodyguards also noticed something amiss.

The veteran bodyguards exchanged glances and chose to push open the door a crack.

With a creak, the door was pushed open a crack, and the people behind holding the thick wooden plank stood ready, staring intently at the crack. If anything went wrong, they would not hesitate to push the plank forward.

but……

There were no red-eyed bears outside.

Instead, several ragged people were sneaking around the carriage.

"Damn it, we've been avoiding those red-eyed bears for a while, and now some refugees dare to steal from us!"

One of the old bodyguards snorted coldly, and after discussing with the people around him, he pushed open the door and went out.

"Put your things down!"

Inside the house, the other bodyguards also came out.

Once outside, everyone realized that there were at least thirty or forty refugees, old and young mixed together, looking extremely pitiful.

Lu Li frowned upon seeing this scene.

There are already strange beasts like the Red-Eyed Bear in the mountains, so why are there so many refugees here?

Moreover, there are also the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled.

"Are you from the Yongxing Escort Agency?" One of the vagrants, who was stealing goods, suddenly knelt down and burst into tears. "We are people from Tonglu County. We haven't eaten for days. Please have mercy and share some food with us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of beggars behind him, regardless of age, weakness, or disability, all knelt down in unison as if they had been trained, weeping bitterly as if they had suffered a great injustice.

Upon hearing this, one of the veteran bodyguards lowered his eyes.

Humans have a compassionate heart.

but……

"The porridge we used for almsgiving was distributed yesterday."

The old镖师 (bodyguard/escort) stepped forward, opened the door of one of the empty carriages, and sighed:

"If you wish, you can wait for us here. We will also make donations after we return from Tonglu County and replenish our grain supplies."

The beggar knelt down and walked towards the old bodyguard, grabbed his leg, and wept bitterly:

"Please, sir, have mercy and give us some money, or we'll really starve to death!"

The old镖师 (bodyguard/escort) looked somewhat helpless and took out half a string of copper coins from his pocket:

"We escorts are just trying to make a living; we don't earn much money..."

The refugee's eyes lit up, and he instantly took the half string of copper coins. Seeing that his pleas had been effective, he burst into tears again.

"There are so many of us... this isn't enough!"

The old bodyguard frowned upon hearing this. It was the first time he had ever seen such a shameless vagrant, but he still patiently said:

"We don't really have that much money for escorting goods."

"Then you must have some money, right?" The refugee turned to look at the large group of bodyguards outside the house. Seeing them shaking their heads repeatedly, he frowned and looked back at the carriage.

"If you don't have money, you could share some of the food in the carriage with us, otherwise we'll really starve to death!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding refugees joined in a shout:

"Yes, gentlemen, please share some of your food with us! Please have mercy!"

Upon hearing this, the old bodyguard abruptly kicked away the refugee who was clinging to him.

By now, he was well aware that these refugees clearly had ill intentions!

Right now, the group of refugees didn't care about anything else; some were leading horses, and some were even climbing onto the carriages to carry goods!

"What should we do?"

At this moment, the group of bodyguards looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some of them were newcomers, and some were veterans, but it was the first time they had ever seen such a scene.

Lu Li remained silent upon hearing this.

He felt that the eyes of these refugees were not much different from those of the red-eyed bear from before, both filled with greedy gazes.

They weren't refugees; they were clearly packs of hungry wolves!

"How about we kill one or two? We can't let them run rampant like this!" one of the bodyguards said through gritted teeth.

If something goes wrong with the goods being transported, their job will be affected.

The saying goes, "To cut off someone's livelihood is to kill their parents," and many bodyguards had considered murder.

"Killing one is easy, but there are so many of them, we can't possibly kill them all, can we?" A young镖师 (bodyguard/escort) sighed. "But if they spread the word, wouldn't that ruin Yongxing镖局's reputation for benevolence and righteousness?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of bodyguards were once again caught in a dilemma.

The two words "benevolence and righteousness" were key to the rise of Yongxing Escort Agency.

But it is precisely this sense of benevolence and righteousness that makes it so difficult for them to move forward at this moment.