Chapter 1420 - 1416

When it comes to showing off, Dragon Spirit is a professional. Adding on his demeanor of an expert, no one truly doubts that he’s putting on an act.

The young woman’s story might evoke some sympathy if it were someone else.

But Dragon Spirit truly can’t empathize much; cases of being abandoned by one’s family are far too common.

The young woman doesn’t perceive Dragon Spirit’s lack of emotional fluctuation and continues to deliver her account earnestly.

"In the end, we had to blend in with the refugees. At first, everyone could restrain their greed.

But as more people died along the way, everyone’s anxiety heightened, and I accidentally disclosed my identity.

These people wanted to capture my son and me; if Brother Murong and several other family allies hadn’t intervened, we would have perished already."

Speaking of the constant fear and hardships faced during the pursuit, the young woman’s eyes instantly redden.

If she died, that’s one thing, but her child is still so small...

Others quickly began introducing themselves.

Almost all were descendants of fallen noble families. Of course, these were not core members of their families.

After recognizing each other, they traveled together, outsiders perceiving them as one family.

In reality, along the way, people like them with some family background or identity were frequently pursued.

Some inadvertently flaunted wealth, but more were betrayed by so-called insiders.

Many interests and grudges were involved in these betrayals, even stemming from jealousy or animosity.

In a place with no absolute order, malice easily breeds; many people lose their moral baseline as humans completely.

These few rescued by Dragon Spirit are extremely fortunate despite their ragged state.

The truly pitiful are those who didn’t even react before becoming deceased souls scattered in the wilderness.

"Sir, if it weren’t for you today, we wouldn’t be seeing tomorrow’s sun."

Dragon Spirit waved his hand; this gratitude meant little to him.

As for these people’s ordeals, none stirred his emotions; he’s lived for thousands of years and witnessed countless human tragedies.

The individuals closest to him all introduced themselves one by one.

Dragon Spirit was satisfied with their perceptiveness and effortlessly shifted his gaze to those who had been pursuing them.

"Now, it’s your turn to speak!"

Dragon Spirit did not emphasize what would happen if these people lied at this point.

If anyone dared lie now, he wouldn’t mind making an example of killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

The leading man was the one who had slashed Murong Xiao’s thigh; he almost managed to kill this Child of Destiny.

Such a pity, truly a pity!

The man raised his eyes to meet Dragon Spirit, his fear had vanished, replaced with an expression of heroic resolve.

During Dragon Spirit’s inquiry of others, he had enough time to rebuild his mental defenses.

In the end, he concluded whether he told the truth or not, the outcome would not be favorable.

So, he chose not to speak; if he couldn’t kill the man before him, at least he could vex him as an act of defiance!

The man imagined it would be satisfying, even wondered if Dragon Spirit would be infuriated seeing his fearless demeanor.

"I..."

The man’s words had barely begun when Dragon Spirit slapped him from afar, knocking out several of his teeth.

One side of his face swiftly transformed into a swollen bun.

"No decorum! Who allowed you to provoke me with your gaze? And you dare refer to yourself as ’I’ before me.

If you don’t wish to speak properly, then don’t speak at all — may as well discard this worthless mouth!"

Dragon Spirit didn’t acknowledge that he simply chose the hardest target to deal with.

While others enjoy picking easier targets, he doesn’t; those with rebellious streaks must be taught a lesson!

Humph!

Rebelliousness is a trait only suited for the strong; if anyone else possesses it, that’s blatant provocation — won’t let that slip by!

This slap seemed gentle.

But only the man, whose face was now heavily swollen, knew this slap not only knocked out his teeth.

It seemed to have knocked his brain loose as well, rendering him unable to control his body whatsoever.

He could only lie on the ground, unable to move for a long time.

With this incident, the remaining individuals were thoroughly subdued; they dared not provoke nor even raise their heads.

"In response to the Lord, we... we were just carrying out orders and genuinely don’t know much else..."

"Mercy, Lord, we’ll never dare again!"

"Lord, I just took a bag of grain and tagged along with them to do this. I have an elderly mother over eighty at home..."

...

Who would imagine dozens of grown men kneeling and crying miserably, surrounded by various tools, creating an utterly bizarre image.

Dragon Spirit pursed his lips, his intuition telling him there was more complexity to the situation.

Staying here was unnecessary.

Dragon Spirit tossed a large bundle of ropes at Murong Xiao’s feet: "Tie all these people up."

Murong Xiao instinctively reached for the ropes, only for several others around him to snatch them up, efficiently starting to bind people.

Dragon Spirit: ...

This survival drive — it should be shown to his subordinates at the Special Administration Bureau.

Dozens of grown men, under Dragon Spirit’s absolute suppression, dared not muster a thought of rebellion.

They voluntarily extended their hands to those binding them.

Aside from their wailing, face smeared with snot and tears, the scene looked rather ’harmonious’.

These individuals Dragon Spirit planned to hand over to the people of Young Prince for interrogation and then negotiate with the refugee representatives.

He wouldn’t waste his time on these affairs, whether it burdened Young Prince’s people with extra work.

That’s simply outside his scope of concern.

With everyone bound, Dragon Spirit handed one end of the ropes to Murong Xiao: "Take them to the camp up ahead!"

Though Murong Xiao’s leg was bandaged, it was seriously injured.

Under normal circumstances, someone like him, being cared for as a wound patient.

Yet Dragon Spirit acted as if oblivious, directly assigning the task to him, taking on the role of an uninvolved supervisor.

When tying people up, Murong Xiao did not contest others due to his leg.

Having a task to do now, he dared not delay, fearing someone might snatch it away.

"Rest assured, sir, I’ll definitely keep watch over them, won’t fail your instructions."