95: Chapter 91: Quite Complete, Huh!

_2 95: Chapter 91: Quite Complete, Huh!

_2 “Please, have mercy, my lord!” a group of people kowtowed repeatedly.

“It was agreed beforehand to stagger the rescue efforts!” Chen Qing said sternly, “Are you disregarding the official’s orders as if they were mere words carried away by the wind?”

The crowd was scolded into silence, and only then did Chen Qing soften his tone, “You needn’t worry, for the family members of all enlisted personnel will be the priority in the rescue.

Trust in your comrades; as soldiers, it’s essential to rely on each other’s lives to survive on the battlefield.”

“Moreover, most of your relatives live in rural areas away from the rivers and are much safer than those in this county town.”

With this last sentence, a glimmer of hope appeared before everyone’s eyes, and vitality returned to their faces.

“No more delays, we need to rescue the survivors before night falls.

Don’t forget, those going to save your relatives are also counting on you to bring their families back safely!”

Upon hearing these words, the group felt a surge of warmth and promptly wiped away their tears, standing up in shame and saying, “You are right, my lord…”

Chen Qing sighed and looked around, his expression complex.

Luling…

was his hometown.

The Chen Family had lived in Chen Family Village on the northern slope outside the county town, and he had no fondness for those clan elders who had bullied his widowed mother, ganged up to seize their land at low prices, and the clan chief who had actively obstructed his mother from selling the land to a wealthy merchant from the county.

If it hadn’t been for Master Yang’s help, allowing him to persist until he became a Chosen Man, it’s hard to imagine how much more they could have been bullied.

Now that he had become a Magistrate, he wondered if his mother and the rest of his family had returned to their hometown to gloat…

He was just as concerned about his family as these men were about theirs.

He hoped the Emperor would be a bit more petty and keep his family detained in Capital City; he didn’t wish his mother to get involved in the turmoil of Jiangnan.

“Spread out and search, and recite what I taught you!”

“Yes, my lord!” The leading soldier wiped his face and stood at attention, replying, “First: Avoid dark corners when searching.

Make as much noise as possible in open areas to startle both survivors and monsters, letting them know we’re here to rescue them.”

“Second: No one should act alone; you must move in groups of five, watching each other’s blind spots, and remember never to separate and act alone at any time!”

“Third: Stay within a hundred meters of the main troop; call out loudly for help if you encounter danger.

Call for help instead of trying to be a reckless hero!”

Chen Ying, standing to the side, found the way the lord instructed his soldiers to be peculiarly cautious.

“Excellent!” Chen Qing nodded with satisfaction.

He feared that his soldiers would act as rashly as the fools in television dramas from his past life, wandering off on their own and invariably getting bitten to death…

“Begin, and be efficient.

In at most two hours, we must regroup here!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Watching the soldiers begin to disperse orderly into the various streets, Chen Ying couldn’t help but ask, “My lord, isn’t two hours a bit too rushed?”

It was a large county after all; shouldn’t it be searched more thoroughly?

“Luling County, being densely populated and adjacent to the river, is the kind of place that attracts plenty of zombified corpses; survivors are rare,” Chen Qing explained patiently, “Whereas the rural areas, being farther from the river and mostly narrow paths, generally don’t attract large numbers of these corpses, so there are likely to be more survivors.

It’s proper to spend more time searching the countryside.”

Honestly, if not for the fact that there were many scholars in Luling County, he would not have been keen to come here at all.

The risk was high, the reward, little; spending two hours was already the limit of his patience.

“I see.” Chen Ying nodded, taking the lesson to heart, and wanting to ask more, but soldiers were already reporting from a distance, “My lord, there’s a situation here!”

Chen Qing hurried over.

It was a small courtyard, evidently an ordinary household.

But the courtyard of this ordinary household was a scene of intense carnage.

Although the streets of the entire county town were grim, this spot was particularly gruesome.

Scattered across the not-so-large courtyard were the bodies of at least three or five dozen corpses—not of people bitten to death, but of zombified corpses!

Most of the bodies were deformed, clearly having suffered heavy blunt weapon strikes.

Following the direction of the bodies into the yard, the number of undead bludgeoned to death increased the deeper one went, until, by a well deep in the backyard, stood a nearly nine-foot-tall giant, fiercely guarding the well with his body.

His flesh was mangled, parts of his body bitten away revealing bones, and half of his face gnawed off!

Despite the gruesome sight, he had managed to kill all the surrounding undead.

Chen Qing could see that several of the corpses at the giant’s side had their necks snapped by bare hands!

“Truly a fierce man…” Chen Qing couldn’t help but exclaim.

Chen Ying also nodded, “Indeed a valiant warrior.

Without noble blood, yet so brave; even a commoner deserves our respect.”

Chen Qing gave her a look upon hearing this.

“My lord, did I speak out of turn?” Chen Ying asked, puzzled by Chen Qing’s expression.

“No…” Chen Qing shook his head, “It’s just that it’s quite a reflection.

I remember Wei Gongcheng telling me that you also come from a common peasant family and it was by pure chance that you entered the Yin Yang Academy.

And now, you can utter things like ‘even if they are but commoners’…”

“Is there something wrong with that?” Chen Ying frowned slightly, feeling offended by his words.

“Don’t underestimate commoners…” Chen Qing said seriously, looking at the young girl whose worldview still needed transformation, “You just happened to be luckier, and besides, in the coming era, the achievements of those you call ‘commoners’ might well surpass yours…”