Chapter 127: The Appearance of a Group of Fools

The so-called small path was actually an extremely hidden stone crevice, covered by dense vegetation inside and out, connecting Daqian to the border.

This was not a secret passage of Prince Dingyuan's estate.

Nor was it a hidden world passage containing secrets.

Its essence, its birth, was merely a coincidence of nature.

Wu Yingxue had discovered the existence of this stone crevice passage by accident; she was not the only one who knew, as many villagers near the crevice were aware of it.

It was just that no one would spread the word about it.

Everyone kept it hidden.

But now.

Wantonly flowing blood, shattered flesh, broken bones, and pulpy internal organs.

The scene before them was as if Hell had descended; there were many bloody traces scattered all around, and the vegetation originally used to conceal the passage was all stained black-red with blood.

It was chilling.

"What, what exactly happened here!?"

Wu Yingxue's pupils contracted, and the hand holding her spear trembled slightly; it was not fear, but anger.

She could not imagine what had happened here, or how many people had died to create such a horrifying scene.

"Calm down, Yingxue."

Xu Xi extended his palm, placing it on Wu Yingxue's shoulder to stop her from rushing into the stone crevice.

His Martial Artist Heavenly Eye of the Xiantian Realm allowed him to "see" more details that were difficult to observe, and he could be certain that it was not safe behind the passage.

[You see a scene like Hell on earth.]

[The stone crevice path you regarded as an escape route, which should have been incredibly safe, was unexpectedly covered everywhere with the corpses of the dead, as well as mangled, unrecognizable limbs.]

[You keenly perceive that some incident occurred here.]

[You stop the young girl and the commoners from attempting to enter the stone crevice.]

[You have people disperse to search for potential clues, and soon, someone discovers signs of hiding in the snow.]

[You follow the traces and find two people hiding in a burrow not far from the stone crevice; they appear particularly terrified upon seeing your arrival.]

[You patiently comfort them and take out some demon jerky.]

[Your comfort is quite effective, and the two gradually calm down.]

[You begin to ask about their identities and whether they know about the incident at the stone crevice.]

[They tell you through sobs that they come from a Daqian village on the other side of the stone crevice; unlike your action of wanting to flee the border, they were longing to leave Daqian.]

[At this time, Daqian had long been in turmoil.]

[High taxes, rebellions springing up everywhere, and harsh penalties were deeply devastating every ordinary person who longed for peace.]

[The villagers were unable to sustain themselves in terror and eventually decided collectively to leave Daqian and flee to this dangerous border, which was equally cruel but lacked so many corrupt officials.]

[However, such an action was quickly discovered by the Daqian border army.]

[The other side of the stone crevice was blocked and garrisoned by the army, and the villagers who wanted to escape were driven by swords and blades to the border, crashing headlong into the winter border where the Demon Tide was at its peak.]

[Thus, only the two people before you remained of the entire village.]

"Are you angry?"

"Are you furious?"

"Are you unwilling?"

It seemed none of them.

After listening to the two people's crying answers, Xu Xi slowly walked out of the burrow where they were hiding.

Snowflakes flew, cold wind howled.

Xu Xi's expression was very calm, seemingly without any fluctuation, but the truth was not so; in his chest, his hot heart beat more violently than ever before.

It showed how surging and undulating his inner heart was.

"The demons at the border are eating people."

"The demons of Daqian are also eating people."

"In this world, in this era, there is no escaping the eating of people anywhere."

Xu Xi closed his eyes, and only after a long silence did he open them again.

Surging emotions kept welling up; the hot-bloodedness of a Martial Artist was urging Xu Xi to do something, but he chose to be calm.

The current situation was too terrible.

Relying solely on a burst of rage could not solve the problem.

"Sir, what should we do next?" The young girl in red and white robes walked over, her face full of confusion.

Behind her were the commoners of Qingniu Town with equally confused expressions, as well as the commoners from different towns who had chosen to follow them along the way.

The stone crevice could no longer be passed.

There was a border army blockade on the other side.

In such a narrow passage, once entered, there was not even room to dodge.

Without a doubt, the stone crevice must absolutely not be entered.

"The next step…"

In the wind and snow, Xu Xi's gaze shifted, sweeping over those listless and numb faces; as he scanned, those faces also turned with him.

The commoners living at the border had only two paths.

One was to stay at the border, choosing to face the great demons of the Xiantian Realm, to face the endless Demon Tide of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The second was to force a breakthrough at the border pass, to be enemies with those border troops who wore armor and held blades, to face those "big figures" who were once imposing.

Xu Xi was silent.

Neither path was easy to walk.

No matter which one was taken, it was destined that people would bleed and people would die.

If he had to choose, forcing a breakthrough at the border pass would be better.

In recent days, with rebellions springing up inside Daqian, many of the border troops had been transferred away, unlike the overwhelming numbers before.

Furthermore.

The number of border troops was limited, unlike the demons of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, which were so numerous that they made people feel desperate.

"But, relying on me alone is not enough, and adding Yingxue is also not enough."

"With my current strength, I am far from being able to fight an army alone."

"The best way to defeat an army is to use another army."

Xu Xi hesitated slightly.

The commoners followed him to survive.

But now, would they still be willing to go and fight the border army?

Xu Xi did not hide his thoughts and announced them frankly to everyone; surprisingly, no one chose to leave after hearing them.

Why was this?

"Brother Xu, we no longer have homes."

The honest man who walked out of the crowd stated the real reason.

Was it because Xu Xi possessed unimaginable charisma that the people of Qingniu Town and the people of other towns followed him?

Xu Xi himself felt it was mostly not the case.

He had never said words to coax people's hearts.

The reason people stood here and chose to follow behind Xu Xi was simple enough to make one silent.

The home was gone.

There was no food to eat.

In this Demon Tide, many people had already died in heart, becoming like walking dead, but they were willing to follow Xu Xi to find the path to continue living.

"Then, come with me."

The wind stopped, the snow stalled, and Xu Xi smiled and raised his long saber high.

[The sudden change at the stone crevice interrupted your original plan.]

[You realized that if you want people to continue to survive, the only way is to force a breakthrough and enter the interior of Daqian.]

[If they continue to stay at the border, people will either be eaten by demons or frozen to death by the cold winter.]

[You have no other way out.]

[Only by risking one's life can one win a future.]

[You laugh out loud and teach everyone the Fools Art.]