u're saying this research facility existed before the zerg invasion, and they were working on something really shady, something dangerous The fact that it's underground means they were probably funded...A man in a blue robe jumped out of the carriage, taking hold of the driver's hand.

The ripples' vision was excellent, and through the half-open train car door, it saw a gray-clad attendant with a dagger in his chest. It must be this man's subordinate, but how he ended up dead inside the train remained a mystery.

The man got out of the car and first bowed to Lianyi in thanks.

"Thank you, heroic woman, for your righteous help!"

"My lord is too kind! It's just that there are many refugees gathered at the gates of Haoyun City ahead. If your carriage were to rush through, it would likely cause chaos."

R ripples also courteously bowed his hand, giving a simple explanation of the reason for his assistance.

Then the ripples prepared to turn and leave. For someone like this official, if you acted too aggressively, they would suspect you had ulterior motives. It was better for her to retreat strategically. Besides, there was still a corpse in the other party's car, who definitely needed her help as a righteous "heroine."

As expected, after taking five steps, the man called out to Lian'yi:

"Wait, Heroine!"

This time, Lianyi pretended to be wary, turning her head and asking:

"Excuse me, sir, is there something you need"

Although the man stopped his steps as he saw the ripples, he was still wary of them. Half of his worries were put aside, and he immediately bowed:

To be honest, I'm on my way to Haoyun City. Unfortunately, I was betrayed by my loyal servant for many years, and almost lost both my carriage and my life. Thankfully, I was saved by the help of a female warrior. As I am just a scholar with no fighting skills, I hope the female warrior will protect me. Once I safely enter Haoyun City, I will definitely reward you handsomely.

Yu Junyu immediately spoke, his attitude extremely sincere, afraid that Lianyi would refuse.

Are you a scholar or a jinshi, sir

Ripples tilted her head and asked.

"I was a successful candidate (jinshi) in the Imperial Examinations of the reign year 184 of the Great Qin dynasty."

Yu Junyu immediately declared himself a scholar, after all, the social status of a scholar was very high. As for his imperial envoy identity, he wouldn't deliberately explain it to Lianyi.

“If you truly are a juren lord, then you should be able to enter Haoyuan City smoothly. I won't ask for heavy compensation from you, I just need you to take our family into Haoyuan City without spending any money, and I will agree to become your bodyguard and protect your safety.”

It is appropriate to put forward requests in a timely manner.

"You mean that no silver can enter Haoyun City"

Yu Junyu's radar immediately activated, catching the most crucial word, and immediately asked.

“Not only that, even with silver, it's not guaranteed you can get in. Haoyuan City is now under lockdown, only one small gate is open, allowing wealthy households and civilians willing to sell their children to enter. Even if our family were willing to tighten our belts and pay silver, we may not be able to get in.”

Ripple effects, spoken truthfully.

"Is the situation that bad already"

Yu Junyu frowned.

If you don't believe me, just have your driver investigate. The soldiers guarding the city gate have colluded with those traffickers. I think it's only a matter of time before Haoyuan City falls.

The ripples said dismissively.

Yù Jūnyǔ thought for a moment, called the coachman over, and whispered something in his ear. Then he said to Liàn Yī:

"I agree to your request, shall we depart now"

"Now it looks like nightfall is approaching, and it's not safe at night. I would be indebted if you, esteemed sir, would follow me into the forest to hide for the night until tomorrow morning when I can escort you into the city."

Yu Junyu looked at the sky and accepted Lianyi's proposal.

"Horses must be taken into the forest, otherwise they will become the food of the victims overnight."

Ripple reminded casually.

Yù Jūn yǔ nodded to the coachman. The coachman first climbed into the carriage, put away the dagger stuck in the dead man's chest, searched the other party, found nothing, and then threw the body into the ditch. Then he led the carriage behind Lián Yī, going to the place where the Zhang family was hiding.

Before the ripples could reach the forest's edge, Song Dachuan and Zhang Fengliang had already met them. Seeing two people and a car behind them, they were both very cautious. Song Dachuan didn't say anything, he just gestured with his eyes to Ripples.

"Father, this is the scholar, he can take us into Haoyuan City. Tomorrow, we will follow him into the city. Tonight, he will rest with us."

Ripple succinctly explained the situation.

"Reliable"

Song Dachuan asked in a low voice.

"Give it a try, if not we'll figure something else out."

Ripple knew the other party's identity was reliable, but she couldn't say it directly, so she could only answer like this.

"Ripple Sister, it's a horse!"

Zhang Fengliang lowered his voice excitedly.

"Well! It's a horse! A horse that lived to get here!"

R ripples smiled and said.

Because they were traveling through the forest, the carriage was very inconvenient, so it eventually became a situation where the coachman led one horse and Zhang Fengliang grabbed the task of leading another. Lian Yi cooperated with Song Dachuan to move the separate carriages deep into the forest, while Yu Junyu just made sure he didn't fall behind.

After walking for another two hours into the forest, they finally saw Zhang's family.

Old Zhang saw Lian Ri and Song Dawan return, along with two strangers. He immediately went over to inquire about the situation. Upon learning that they were juren (successful examinee) lords who could bring them into Haoyuan City tomorrow, Old Zhang blurted out three "good"s.

Yu Junyu also fully played to his advantage as a scholar, quickly chatting with the men from the Zhang family. He learned that they were the first batch of refugees and, because of their decisive decision, they hadn't encountered major crises, managing to keep their entire family safe. It was already very difficult for them to escape here.

Especially upon learning that the place they wanted to go was Huangzhou, rather than the nearby Huzhou, he was even more surprised.

"Grandpa, with your family and a newborn, why go all the way to Huangzhou instead of staying closer to Huzhou At least Huzhou is more prosperous than Huangzhou."

“Alas! We are just common folk, only knowing how to farm. Even in a large place like Huzhou, if we spend all our money, we may not be able to buy land. Without land, what will we eat Surely we can't let future generations have no farmland after a hundred years!”

Huangzhou is far away and somewhat desolate, but there's land there. As long as we are willing to cultivate it, with our family's labor, we will surely earn a few acres of thin fields. With land, we can survive. Land is the foundation for our farming families.

Although Lao Zhangtou couldn't speak any profound truths, everything he said was the plain truth, so Yu Junyu listened very attentively.

At night, Yu Junyu and the charioteer ate congee with them. The congee was a bit spicy and burned his throat, but seeing that the Zhang family members were eating it with relish, he didn't say anything and finished all the congee in his bowl.

Ripples glanced at the other person and then finished her bowl of porridge in three or two gulps. Then, she held Tiger Cub and warmed him up again before putting him to sleep. She didn't have to watch the night shift tonight, so she could rest soundly.

After a night of silence, the Zhang family started moving as soon as dawn broke. Today's breakfast was more plentiful than usual because of Yu Junyu's arrival. Also, since they were going to help the disaster victims, Old Zhang, the head of the family, ordered a thick porridge – the kind where you could stand chopsticks upright in it – to fill everyone up and give them the energy they needed for whatever challenges might come. had left the council hall, messages flew out like messengers. In less than an hour, the uproar surrounding Qiao Lianyi's alleged harm to her fellow disciples took a sharp turn. And in the end, it was...