Chapter 1721 - 545: Qingtan Village, Su He, Corvée and Reunion_2

Chapter 1721: Chapter 545: Qingtan Village, Su He, Corvée and Reunion_2

Their lavish dissemination of such news will only bring disaster upon Qingtan Village. After all, a place like theirs, full of black households, can be wiped out with a wave of a hand in the eyes of those big shots in Qinghua City.

Exactly!

The entire Qingtan Village doesn’t have a single registered resident, not even anyone with a slave status or lowly status.

Of course, including the village chief, who is my father, Su Lie, Qingtan Village has 13 individuals at the Cold Resistance Level. It is said that obtaining a slave status or lowly status should be easy, but my father Su Lie is a bit proud and doesn’t want to become a slave in Qinghua City, nor does he want to engage in humble professions. His cultivation is also a bit lacking to acquire resident status, so he simply stays in Qingtan Village to lead the more than 20,000 villagers in making a living.

The cohesion of Qingtan Village is still quite good. In recent years, although some with Cold Resistance Level have left one after another, overall it has still managed to maintain itself, ranking among the stronger ones in the dozen or so surrounding villages.

Of course, even if Qingtan Village ranks first in terms of strength, in the eyes of those big shots in the feudal town, it’s likely still insignificant.

Small people have the survival wisdom of small people. Four years ago, upon learning about the Bone-Eroding Path and the Black Wind General, and confirming that the conscription by those big shots in the feudal town was to send people to their deaths, Qingtan Village stopped trusting anyone easily afterward. Even when the County Guard Army came several times later, the village chief Su Lie hid all the young men at the first instance, crying and shouting in front of the County Guard Army that the camp had been hit by a disaster. Only then did they manage to ward off a few calamities.

But this year’s conscription is somewhat different.

The night before last, these five soldiers of the County Guard Army suddenly showed up to conscript the able-bodied men in the village to prepare for the southern advance of Cai Qiu’s army.

Because they came so quickly, my father, Su Lie, didn’t have time to react. The five were extremely firm in their demands, strictly ordering that all individuals with Cold Resistance Level and Earth-digging Realm be dispatched. My father, left with no choice, had to take everyone over.

Initially, Su He was a bit worried, given the incident four years ago, but after personally visiting the labor site and seeing his father and others genuinely serving alongside conscripts from other villages, he was relieved.

And the service was to clear snow-covered paths.

The scale of the cleared snow paths was enormous. Combined with the County Guard Army soldiers stating they were preparing for the southern advance, it was evident these were marching paths for the soldiers.

From this, even staying in the village, Su He could basically deduce that Cai Qiu intended to wage war on the Southern Slope Territory.

"Just the sixteen villages around Green Jade Valley have conscripted nearly ten thousand people. The whole Evergreen Valley must have conscripted no less than a hundred thousand laborers. With a hundred thousand people at work, what snow-covered path can’t be cleared? Yet they’re still conscripting more people..."

Though Su He’s face was all smiles at the moment, he was silently cursing inwardly.

Having grown up under the influence of his father, Su Lie, he loathed the upper echelons of Cai Qiu to the utmost. As for these five County Guard Army soldiers who would swallow a man’s bones, he wished for nothing more than to hack them to pieces, but lacking strength, he could only lower himself.

He wasn’t clear how many troops Cai Qiu had sent southward, but these five County Guard Army soldiers had already taken away his father and 13 others at Cold Resistance Level the day before yesterday, including everyone at Earth-digging Realm from the village. Now they had run up again, saying they wanted to conscript more young men.

Qingtan Village has a total of more than 20,000 people, with most individuals at Cold Resistance Level or Earth-digging Realm already gone, leaving only those with Wood Cutting Realm cultivation.

Reserves of grain are something only strong camps have. For a grassroots camp like Qingtan Village, most of the time, food is insufficient, and it’s only during those times when the Hunting Team has a good haul that they can stockpile some Beast Meat.

The night before last, when my father left with the mainstay of the village, the village immediately activated its reserve supplies. Su He calculated that relying on these supplies, they could only last for about ten days at most.

The problem was, after the County Guard Army took the people away, they didn’t say when the labor would end. If after ten days, my father and others haven’t returned, what would the villagers do then?

So, Su He started trying to find a way yesterday. After nightfall, he took the experienced Wood Cutting Realm villagers out to gather fruit, hoping to stockpile a bit more grain to tide them over until his father and others returned.

But just after a day, the County Guard Army came back asking for people.

As thoughts flew around in Su He’s mind, the five County Guard Army soldiers still didn’t pay him any direct heed, rendering his full-face smile useless.

The soldier leading them finally turned his head to look at him, eyes full of disdain and contempt.

"How dare you..."

His voice wasn’t very loud, but as he spoke, he quietly mobilized his energy and sent it crashing toward Su He.

This soldier was at the Cold Resistance Level, with a strength of 12 mane, while Su He only had Earth-digging Realm Limit Cultivation, with a mere power of over 50,000 pounds. How could he withstand this energy pressure?

Caught off guard as the energy pressed down suddenly, Su He almost kneeled to the ground, but thankfully, he reacted quickly, propping his knee forcefully to stabilize himself.

"Our feudal army is going to war, and speed is of the essence. If the march is delayed because the snow path hasn’t been cleared and we fail to seize the opportunity, can you bear the responsibility?

This conscription isn’t sending you to the battlefield, it’s just to clear snow paths. If you can’t even handle such minor tasks, why should the feudal town support your kind?"

Did the feudal town support us?

In Su He’s heart, he was cursing, but he dared not reveal anything on his face. He only assumed a servile and fearful stance, repeatedly apologizing.

Yet the other four soldiers seemed to be interested, and continued pressing the issue from behind.

"Struggling to protect you, yet when asked to handle such a minor task, you push and pull. It’s no wonder so many in Evergreen Valley can’t gain registration. With such limited vision, you can only stay at the bottom of the valley, living such a dark and unenlightened life."

"We’re only conscripting people to clear snow paths. Are you too stupid, or are your ears deaf, that you can’t understand us? Wood Cutting Realm can handle snow clearing at night. The army is arriving at Green Jade Valley tonight, and if they come and the path connecting to the Bone-Eroding Path hasn’t been cleared, not only this small village, but all the villages in Green Jade Valley will suffer!"

"Quickly go gather the young people from the village. Lord He has already said that each village must provide at least 1,000 people. I don’t want to repeat it again, now hurry and get them."

.........

Even if my father, Su Lie, would bow and scrape before these County Guard Army soldiers, what else could Su He, with only Earth-digging Realm Cultivation, do?

Additionally, his father, Su Lie, is also a black household. The so-called village chief position has never been officially recognized by Cai Qiu, so these County Guard Army soldiers naturally wouldn’t care about him.

Su He’s lips trembled, wanting to say something, but the five soldiers just turned their heads to glare at him, the leader even putting his hand on the handle of the dagger at his waist, his eyes full of obvious threat.

At this point, Su He shut his mouth directly and turned to walk into the village.

Faced with the current situation, he had no other way.

These County Guard Army soldiers truly dared to kill!

If he didn’t follow orders and do his job, he might lose his life, which was one thing, but it might also implicate others in the village.

"1,000 of them, I’ll have to find a way to muster them up..."

After notifying his subordinates to rally all the young men in the village, Su He turned and walked under a porch. After pausing for a moment, his eyes were filled with sorrow.

Clearing snow paths is indeed no difficult task, but to say there’s no risk at all is absolutely impossible.

Evergreen Valley has long been neglected; regional development is extremely backward. Especially their Green Jade Valley, situated in the deep valley, even more so.

While there is a road connecting the major camps, it has been disrepair for years. With no maintenance and frequent cold beasts, and occasionally deceitful monsters, emerging.

In the Ice Abyss Wilderness, the most taboo thing for humans is to gather in groups.

The army has inherent strength and is accompanied by powerful individuals, naturally fearing nothing.

But what about these temporarily conscripted laborers?

"Uncle He, don’t worry!"

While Su He was lost in thought, a soft female voice abruptly resounded from behind.

He quickly turned his head, looking with surprise at the back, clearly unfamiliar with this gentle feminine voice.

A white-robed woman, unknown to him, had somehow stood quietly in the room.

Su He was initially stunned; then upon seeing the white-robed woman’s face, the bewilderment on his face gradually turned to astonishment. He instinctively took a few steps nearer, his pupils sharply contracting.

"You... you are... Xing’er?"

"Uncle He, it’s been a long time!"

The white-robed woman remained silent, but at this moment, dozens of figures quietly emerged from the depths of the room. Leading them were three young men, who, upon nearing Su He, collectively smiled.

Seeing the appearance of these three youths, Su He’s face was full of shock.