After a male student transmigrated into the body of a widow,

Chapter 114 Coveting

When Gu Lin stepped out of his house, he saw corpses and severed limbs scattered all over the ground, and the steps in front of the door were stained red with blood.

Familiar faces, young and old, were resting in front of their homes, some sitting, some squatting; the men...

They then went to move the bodies of the disaster victims.

At first, apart from Niu Qiang and his group and Bai Lang, who dared to move the bodies, the other men hesitated and dared not step forward. Although they had just fought against the disaster victims with Niu Qiang and the others and their hands were stained with blood, after recovering, they felt weak in the knees, let alone move the bodies.

After a fierce battle and a baptism of blood, Niu Qiang and his men exuded an even stronger aura of ferocity, but now was no longer the time for them to settle things with their fists.

Niu Qiang turned his gaze to the men who were weak in the knees and said, "If we don't move the bodies out of the alley while the weather is clear, the rain will soak them and cause them to rot during the day. This will attract many insects and rats. When the rats that have eaten the bodies run into everyone's homes and eat and drink with everyone, it will be only a matter of time before the plague breaks out. At that time, it will be too late to save us."

No one paid attention to what Niu Qiang had said earlier, but when they heard the word "plague" later, everyone's expression changed.

Bai Lang continued, "Brother Niu is right. I've been a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) for many years and I've heard experienced镖师 say ​​that floods are more terrible than droughts. This is because once a flood occurs, the corpses that have been bitten by insects and rats will float on the water, and once the flood recedes, the plague will immediately spread!"

The young and strong men present might have doubts about what Niu Qiang and Bai Lang said, but the elderly who had experienced severe droughts and floods in the past immediately understood the seriousness of the situation. They quickly raised their hands to urge their sons to move the corpses: "Hurry up and move those corpses out. Don't let them lose their lives because we are lazy after surviving the disaster victims' knives."

So, apart from the man who was more seriously injured, everyone else mustered their spirits and started working despite their sore legs.

Gu Lin glanced around and then walked toward the wounded leaning against the wall. The two injured bodyguards were not there; the wives and family members of the other wounded were taking care of them.

Gu Lin first turned to look at Zheng Hao, who, upon receiving the signal, stepped forward and handed the wine jar to Uncle Gu.

Just before he was about to leave, Uncle Gu suddenly called him back and asked him to fetch a jar of liquor from the kitchen. Because Uncle Gu had been unwell for many years, Zheng Hao had read some medical books and knew that strong liquor could remove evil spirits from wounds.

Gu Lin lowered his head slightly and took out several bottles of hemostatic and anti-inflammatory powder from the medicine box. Because of his gender, Gu Lin was not a doctor and it was not appropriate for him to bandage the wounds of the injured in public.

So he handed the wine and medicine powder to the injured man's or woman and said, "The yellow bottle contains hemostatic medicine, the white bottle contains anti-inflammatory medicine, and the wine is for disinfection. After you disinfect their wounds with the wine, sprinkle on the medicine powder."

"Remember to use clean cloth to bandage them, otherwise the injuries will worsen."

Faced with the medicine powder and wine given by Gu Lin, the injured woman, her husband, and their family members were filled with gratitude and thanked him profusely. These medicine powder and wine were not cheap items; if they had gone to a clinic to treat their injuries themselves, they would have spent a lot of money.

"Thank you, Mr. Gu."

"Thank you, Mr. Gu."

There were dozens of people carrying corpses ahead, but the number of corpses was more than ten times theirs. If they were to carry them by manpower alone, it would probably take until tomorrow.

Later, each family took out their own carts. Unlike before, when each person had to carry a corpse in a clumsy manner, which was both physically and mentally exhausting, with the carts, they piled the corpses on the carts and then walked out of the alley, transporting out more than a dozen corpses at once.

Sister-in-law Zhao and Brother Zhao carried two large wooden buckets out of their house. When Gu Lin saw the soup in the buckets, he turned to everyone and said, "Everyone has been working hard all night. Come and have some ginger soup and mint water."

"There's plenty of ginger soup and mint water, but you'll need to bring your own bowls and chopsticks, as we don't have that many," Zhao's wife added.

Some of the wives and husbands immediately replied, "We have some at home, I'll go back and get it."

After saying this, the wives and husbands of each household went home to get bowls. Once everyone had a bowl, Sister Zhao picked up a large ladle and ladled soup for them.

Everyone who looked down had drunk ginger soup.

The chill of autumn in the north is no joke, especially when people are caught off guard and run out of their homes in the dead of night while they are sound asleep.

With the dew getting heavier and deeper, everyone had been outside all night, their bodies covered in dew. Even though they were wearing thick clothes, they still felt cold to the bone. Not to mention some people who were trying to escape and didn't even have time to put on thick clothes, running out in just a thin shirt.

The elderly, women, men, and children couldn't stand the cold; their bodies trembled uncontrollably. Only after drinking the spicy and piping hot ginger soup did they feel alive again, and their bodies slowly warmed up from the inside out.

At this moment, everyone couldn't help but look at the young man not far away. Despite his shock, he was still thinking of making ginger soup and mint water for them. Instantly, everyone's impression of Gu Lin's family improved.

After they finished drinking the ginger soup, Niu Qiang and his group of men carried all the bodies out of the alley.

Sister-in-law Zhao called to them, "Hurry up and wash your hands, then come and drink the ginger soup."

These men weren't usually so clean; they all believed that a grown man shouldn't be bothered with trivial matters and that a little dirt won't hurt. They would wash their hands before meals. But having just killed someone and moved the body, they were all listless, washing their hands with water before coming over.

Unlike the elderly and children, and the wives and husbands who drank ginger soup, these men had no appetite for such hot soup. The hot ginger soup reminded them of splashing, still hot blood, and the thought of it made them feel stuffy in their chests and stomachs. They all asked Zhao's wife to ladle mint water for them.

Niu Qiang and his group were used to this kind of scene, and without any taboos, they chose ginger soup and mint water according to their own preferences. Gu Lin and Zheng Hao, who were originally watching from the side, were also given two bowls of soup by Zhao's sister-in-law.

Gu Lin looked down and saw that his bowl contained ginger soup. Then he turned his head and saw that Zheng Hao's bowl contained mint water.

Gu Lin was a little puzzled and said to Sister Zhao, "Sister-in-law, I want some mint water."

Having just seen the blood-soaked corpses, it was already a great effort for him not to vomit, but the overwhelming stench of blood made it impossible for Gu Lin to drink the ginger soup.

However, while Sister-in-law Zhao was busy serving soup to others, Gu Lin turned his gaze to Brother Zhao, but he was just as busy as Sister-in-law Zhao.

Zheng Hao, who was standing nearby, said, "Uncle Gu, have some of my mint water."

Gu Lin turned to look at him, thinking that the other had been fighting against the disaster victims for a long time and needed this bowl of mint water more than he did, so he said, "I can drink ginger soup too."

Zheng Hao reached out to Gu Lin, took the ginger soup from his hand, and then handed him his own mint water.

As they were exchanging soups, their hands accidentally touched. Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Ginger soup and mint water are the same to me."

Under Gu Lin's gaze, Zheng Hao calmly raised his glass of ginger soup and drank it. The two stood facing each other, with Gu Lin's height just reaching Zheng Hao's chin. Whenever they talked or looked at each other, Gu Lin had to look up at the other person.

However, at this moment, Zheng Hao was drinking ginger soup with his head tilted back. Gu Lin could not see the other person's face, but could only see a hand with distinct knuckles, as slender as jade, half-holding the soup bowl, and the prominent Adam's apple on his neck bobbing up and down with each swallow.

After finishing the bowl, Zheng Hao put down the soup bowl and lowered his eyes slightly, just in time to meet Gu Lin's gaze.

Zheng Hao paused slightly, then remained calm and continued to stare at Gu Lin.

In an instant, Gu Lin came to his senses and looked away.

As usual, Zheng Hao looked at the untouched mint water and said calmly, "Uncle Gu, drink some mint water to clear your mind and refresh your spirit."

Gu Lin nodded without saying anything, but picked up the mint water and drank it.

He didn't notice that as he drank his mint water, Zheng Hao's deep eyes were looking at him. Unlike him, who could only see the lower half of Zheng Hao's face and neck, Zheng Hao was a head taller than him, so with his eyes slightly lowered, he could see his entire appearance.

The night was terrifying. Even though the people had driven the refugees out of the alley, they still dared not go back home to sleep, fearing that another group of refugees would attack them soon.

Everyone gathered together and sat outside the Gu family's gate.

The darkness on the horizon gradually faded, and the sun slowly rose in the east, its bright light illuminating the streets and alleys of the prefecture. But unlike the usual days when the sunlight only brought warmth and light to people, at this moment, the bright light revealed the tragic scenes of every street and every household.

"Da da da"

In the midst of the silence, a series of rapid and orderly footsteps broke the stillness. The sudden commotion caused everyone to tense up. Without a word, the men gripped their weapons and shielded the elderly, children, women, and boys behind them.

They watched the alleyway entrance warily. Suddenly, the man guarding the alleyway entrance turned around, his face a mixture of panic and excitement, and shouted to everyone, "The soldiers are here! The soldiers are here!"

Upon hearing the man's words, Gu Lin couldn't help but look up at Zheng Hao, and they met eyes. Before he could speak, Zheng Hao nodded slightly, his eyes conveying reassurance.

Gu Lin caught his breath and turned to look at the approaching soldiers.

"Soldier!"

"grown ups!"

Eleven men, all soldiers, arrived. The squad leader, who was in charge, stepped forward. His face was stern, and his eyes held impatience as he asked, "How many refugees broke in last night? How many people died in total?"

Having carried so many bodies back and forth, these men knew the exact number of dead disaster victims: "More than two hundred disaster victims died in total."

The squad leader paused, then looked directly at the man who had spoken and repeated, "Say it again, how many disaster victims died?"

The squad leader's face was fierce, and his impatience and anxiety were almost overflowing when he raised his eyes. The man who was originally speaking dared not speak.

What are you dawdling about for!

Seeing that the men were speechless, the sergeant and the soldiers behind him grew increasingly impatient.

At that moment, a voice came from behind the crowd: "The dead were all disaster victims, a total of two hundred and twenty people!"

The platoon leader and his men turned their gazes toward the direction from which the sound came, and behind them appeared a handsome young man, or rather, a youth with an extraordinary air about him.

The reason why it is difficult to distinguish whether the other party is a young man or a teenager is that the other party is taller than an average adult man, but his face is more youthful than that of an adult man. However, if the other party is a teenager, the long sword he is holding will show that the sword has seen blood. An ordinary teenager would not be so mature and calm after experiencing a battle.

The sergeant narrowed his eyes: "Who are you?"

The sergeant couldn't believe that the person describing his behavior was just an ordinary citizen.

Zheng Hao said, "My name is Zheng Hao, and I am a student at the prefectural school."

The squad leader quickly figured out the other person's identity, and his expression softened as he said, "So it's Scholar Zheng."

Then he asked Zheng Hao, "Were the corpses outside the alley killed by you last night?"

Zheng Hao said, "Last night, the refugees attacked our homes. We were asleep at the time and were roused in a panic. Fortunately, the bodyguards led us to defend against the refugees."

The squad leader glanced around and saw the bodyguard behind Zheng Hao. He noticed the thick aura of blood on the bodyguard, wondering if it was from the previous night or something that had been there before.

Then, the squad leader asked, "Zheng Xiucai is a scholar, how could he have dealings with bodyguards?"

Zheng Hao said calmly, "Recently, there have been many cases of theft, murder, and robbery in the city. The elders in my family are all old and helpless. I travel between the prefectural school and the prefectural government every day. I am worried that my elders may be in danger, so I specially hired bodyguards to protect them."

The squad leader looked on with suspicion. Hiring bodyguards was not cheap. The young man in front of him was just a scholar. If his family was not wealthy, where would he get the money to hire bodyguards? If he had money, he wouldn't be living in this place.

Seeing that the other party remained silent and looked suspicious, Bai Lang said, "Sir, the elders in Zheng Xiucai's family are indeed old women, and because he runs a restaurant, he is afraid of attracting thieves. Therefore, Zheng Xiucai is so worried about the safety of his elders and has hired bodyguards to protect them."

Someone pointed in the direction of Gu Lin and Sister-in-law Zhao: "Yes, yes, Master Niu and the others were hired by Scholar Zheng to protect Boss Gu and his group. If you don't believe me, look over there. Boss Gu and Sister-in-law Zhao are all women. Although Brother Zhao is a man, he has an old leg injury. If Scholar Zheng doesn't arrange for people to protect Boss Gu and his group, I'm afraid he won't be able to concentrate on his studies at the prefectural school."

Then someone else said, "I have never seen anyone more filial than Zheng Xiucai."

The squad leader looked in the direction the person in front pointed, and the first people he saw were Sister-in-law Zhao and Brother Zhao, an elderly couple who did not attract much of his attention.

Then, his gaze shifted, and suddenly, his eyes lingered on one spot for a long time.

Beneath the fallen, withered leaves and blood splattered on the ground, stood a slender young man with snow-white skin and a beautiful face. With a single glance, his eyes seemed to hold the light of autumn water and starlight. The squad leader had never seen such a charming young man before, and in an instant, his impatience and anxiety vanished.

Seeing the change in the man in front of him, Zheng Hao's face turned cold and his eyes became dark and intense. He then completely shielded Gu Lin behind him.