"Ahhh! Help!" The coachman took off running, and the people did not stop him.
"Listen up in the carriage! Hand over your valuables, and we'll spare your lives!" the leader shouted.
Qin Mu Bai looked astonished. "A robbery? We've run into a robbery?"
Fang Tian Hui shook her head, offering them three seconds of silent pity in her heart.
Upon hearing this, Bai Ran lifted the curtain and stepped out of the carriage. The other two followed suit.
"Refugees?" Bai Ran frowned.
"Wow, such a beautiful young lady!"
"Yes, yes," the leader stammered, captivated.
Bai Ran smiled faintly. "And what if we have no money?"
No money? The leader's expression contorted. These three looked quite affluent, so how could they have no money?
"Never mind, then you may leave," the man said.
"Then you may leave?"
Qin Mu Bai's eyes widened in disbelief at what he had heard.
"Hahaha!" Fang Tian Hui couldn't help but laugh. How naive this man was!
The leader scratched his head, not understanding her laughter. From the crowd, a frail old woman with gray hair was helped forward.
"Miss, we are truly sorry. We are only forced by circumstances."
"Are you refugees from Xuanwu Kingdom?" Bai Ran asked.
Such simple folk, why had they become refugees?
"Damn that dog emperor! If he hadn't ascended the throne, how would we have become refugees and been driven out of our country!"
As they chatted, all three understood the cause of the situation.
These people were originally citizens of Xuanwu Kingdom, living simple, unadorned lives. But one day, the Crown Prince murdered the Emperor and became the new King.
Upon his ascension, the new King drastically increased taxes, oppressed the people, and indulged in depravity. The citizens lived in constant fear, starving from one meal to the next, their lives plunged into misery.
Finally, one day, a handsome young man stepped forward and led the lowest class of people in a rebellion.
The new King was enraged and ordered these protesting citizens to be expelled. He also, unusually, captured the young man alive.
The people were left homeless, becoming refugees. But the land around them was desolate, so they could only rob passing travelers to survive.
"What a wicked emperor!" Fang Tian Hui exclaimed in anger.
"Exactly! Even I would be a better emperor than him!" Qin Mu Bai's blood boiled with rage.
Bai Ran glanced at him. "Then you go be one."
Qin Mu Bai chuckled awkwardly, shrinking back like a turtle. "I was just speaking nonsense..."
He had no desire to be bound by the rigid rules of royalty, sitting on that throne. Being free was much more enjoyable.
"Miss, are you heading to Xuanwu Kingdom?" the old woman asked.
Bai Ran nodded. The old woman anxiously continued, "Could you help us with something?"
Worry spilled from everyone's eyes. In all these years, these were the first people who had truly listened to them.
Normally, passersby would either shout threats or flee in terror.
"Granny, please tell me," Bai Ran said, already having some guesses.
Qin Mu Bai and Fang Tian Hui found it incredible.
Bai Ran was actually interfering? Although they themselves wished to help these refugees, it wasn't Bai Ran's usual style.
The old woman withdrew her hand that was being supported and, trembling, bowed. The refugees behind her also bent their waists.
"Miss... could you save that young man..." He was a good person, suffering for the common folk like them; he didn't deserve this.
As expected, it concerned that young man. Bai Ran understood.
"There's no need for such formality. I am going there precisely to find that man," she said, helping the old woman up.
A bombshell exploded in Qin Mu Bai and Fang Tian Hui's ears.
What! To find that man!
Could it be that Bai Ran had found her beloved?
The two exchanged glances, seeing disbelief in each other's eyes.
Bai Ran felt a burning sensation on the back of her head.
The leader looked at her gratefully. "Miss, thank you so much!"
The old woman extended her hand, holding a small, green gemstone in her palm.
"This is our small token of appreciation. Please do not refuse it."
Bai Ran accepted the gemstone. To express their gratitude, the leader offered to be their coachman.
The three returned to the carriage, and the refugees watched them depart.
Qin Mu Bai looked back, intending to wave goodbye, but was stunned the next moment. He rubbed his eyes vigorously.
What was going on? Was there something wrong with his eyes?
"You, take a look back," he said dazedly to Fang Tian Hui.
"What is it?" She looked back and was also stunned.
Where did they go?
The barren grassland was empty. The hundreds of refugees who had been standing not far away had vanished into thin air??
"Bai Bai Bai, Sister Bai," Fang Tian Hui clung to Bai Ran, pointing behind them, unable to speak coherently.
"The refugees are gone, aren't they?" Bai Ran propped her chin, her expression calm, as if she had already guessed.
She toyed with the green gemstone in her hand and said, almost imperceptibly, "Refugees..."
"If you wish, you can look at the front of the carriage."
The front? Qin Mu Bai cautiously lifted a corner of the curtain and peered ahead.
The leader was gone! The driver's seat was empty, yet the carriage was moving on its own...
"Damn!" Qin Mu Bai yelped and stumbled back, thoroughly frightened.
Was this Xuanwu Kingdom so bizarre?
Qin Mu Bai and Fang Tian Hui felt their scalps tingle, their aversion to Xuanwu Kingdom growing.
"Should... should we get out of the carriage..." Fang Tian Hui tightly gripped Bai Ran's clothes, her voice trembling with fear.
"No need," Bai Ran replied. "This is their gesture of goodwill."
Qin Mu Bai and Fang Tian Hui huddled in the carriage, silent, unable even to cultivate.
The carriage drove on eerily for three days, stopping at a place not far from Xuanwu Kingdom.
Qin Mu Bai quickly leaped out of the carriage, taking deep breaths of the fresh air outside. It had been too terrifying.
Fang Tian Hui, however, wrinkled her nose. "Don't you smell something?"
Smell what? Qin Mu Bai sniffed and detected a strong stench of decay in the air.
Bai Ran got out of the carriage and also smelled the odor.
A large, withered tree stood by the city gates, which were completely deserted. In stark contrast to the prosperity of Qinglong Kingdom, it appeared desolate.
A cold wind blew, making Fang Tian Hui shiver.
"This... this isn't some ghost kingdom, is it..."
"How is that possible!"
Qin Mu Bai forced himself to be brave and strode in. Fang Tian Hui followed closely behind Bai Ran.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Not long after, he stumbled back in, as if he had seen something terrifying.
He stammered, "So! So many! Dead people!"