Chapter 225: Pebbles

~~~

Pebble Town is as insignificant-looking as its name suggests, little different from a bunch of pebbles lying on the side of the road. The entire town is a collection of about one hundred houses made of wood and stone arranged in no particular order. It is protected by a rudimentary wall made of wood cut from a nearby forest. It’s decently well-made, but Liu Jin doubts it could stop anyone above the Inner Realm.

“Hear me, people of Pebble Town!” Ten yells at the top of his lungs. He could use Qi to magnify his voice, but he doesn’t. The people here are too weak to react well to an expression of Qi from someone like him. “We are here on orders of General Murong Bang!”

The people on the town square, what passes for it at any rate, flinch when they hear the general’s name.

“The pleas of the City Lord have been heard!” Ten shouts. “General Murong ordered us to purge this land of the scourge that calls itself the Brotherhood of Thunder!”

Tall and powerfully built, Ten cuts a striking appearance. Even more so dressed in armor and on top of a horse. He’s exactly the sort of person that people would imagine when thinking of someone in charge of a hundred men. It is exactly why Liu Jin delegated this duty to him.

Besides, he’s tired of people finding him ominous.

“Those of you who know anything about these criminals are invited to come forward. You will be handsomely rewarded for your help!”

Ten keeps talking for a few minutes, but no one comes forward. Not then, and not later. The people of Pebble Town disperse and hide in their houses as though Liu Jin and his soldiers were a storm they needed to wait out.

“I apologize, Senior Brother,” Ten tells him later that day. “It seems I could not inspire any trust once again.”

“You’re older than me,” Liu Jin points out. “There is no reason why you should call me Senior Brother.”

“On the contrary, referring to Senior Brother as Senior Brother is the least I can do,” replies the older and taller disciple. He sounds offended at the idea of using a less respectful title for Liu Jin. “Senior Brother has proven himself numerous times and in numerous ways. That is something everyone knows.”

Liu Jin refrains from sighing. He knows Ten means well, but the reverence with which he, Lei Kong, and… an increasingly large number of people treat him is trying.

“That matter aside, there is no reason for you to apologize,” Liu Jin says. “I already told you that I did not expect many people, if any, to come forward. We are here as soldiers of Murong Bang. We should be thankful that people don’t run away screaming at the mere sight of us.”

“That might be true, but still…” Ten frowns. “For no one to be tempted by the promise of money? That’s not natural.”

Liu Jin hums and nods. “It is, isn’t it? Similar things happened in the other towns.”

At Liu Jin’s insistence, City Lord Lei–or rather, City Lord Lei’s men–gave him a map of all the towns and villages in the area. They also gave him the location of all the places the Brotherhood of Thunder has attacked.

Pebble Town is the fifth town they have visited thus far, and in every town, the same story has repeated itself. By large, the people have nothing to say to them. At most, one or two people will volunteer information, and they will usually do so later in the day, as though they were thieves skulking in the night. Even then, the information is never anything meaningful. Just hearsay and rumors.

“Do the people fear Murong Bang and his soldiers so much that they won’t support them even when it would be in their best interests to do so?” Ten wonders.

Liu Jin hums. “Is that really what is going on? Obviously, they fear us, but that’s not all there is to it. Look at this town. Does there seem to be anything strange about it?”

Ten looks at houses then turns to him in confusion.

“I beg your pardon, Senior Brother, but I see nothing of interest here.”

“Does this look like a town routinely attacked by bandits?” Liu Jin asks. “The walls are not damaged. In fact, they’re in relatively good condition. The same can be said of the houses. The people are not injured or depressed. Small and plain as this village is, I think the people here are generally happier than those in Rainstorm City.”

“But… we were told the bandits were attacking the towns?” It is not a question, but Ten voices it as such. “Maybe there was no point in stealing anything from a place like this?”

“Maybe,” Liu Jin says. “Either way, it’s interesting, don’t you think?”

~~~

“This is… different.”

Liu Jin finds himself nodding at Ten’s words. Slate Village, the sixth settlement they are visiting, is certainly different. A little smaller than Pebble Town. More rustic too. It is also quieter. Much quieter.

It has to be, considering that it is empty.

There is not a single person in the village. Not a young child. Not an old man. Not even a pet. The whole place has been abandoned.

“What happened here?” Ten asks, looking around.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“Perhaps this place was attacked by the Brotherhood, my lord?” Lei Kong suggests.

“Perhaps,” Liu Jin says. In a louder voice, he says, “Men! I want you to search every inch of this place! Bring me anything you can find! People, food, clothes, valuables! No object is too small or unimportant.”

“Smart,” Ten says as the men go into the houses to follow his orders. “Some of the men are still annoyed that they didn’t get to go into the city. Some looting might calm them down.”

“No,” Liu Jin says, shaking his head. “That’s not why I’m doing this. I’d rather not expose the men to bad habits, but there is something wrong about this whole thing.”

“Wrong, my lord?” Lei Kong asks. “How so?”

“You have seen villages and cities raided before,” Liu Jin says. The reminder causes Lei Kong to flinch. Liu Jin waves his hand at the houses around them. “Why don’t you tell us what’s wrong with this place?”

It takes a few seconds for Lei Kong to answer.

“There are no bodies,” Lei Kong says, his voice only shaking slightly. “There are a few broken doors here and there, but otherwise, the houses are fine. I don’t smell any bodies left to rot, and I don’t see dried blood anywhere. Whatever happened here caused very little violence. By itself, that’s not odd. When faced with a superior force, most small settlements tend to submit rather than fight. However, the lack of people means the bandits took everyone here. Someone usually tries to fight when that happens. That person is usually made an example of. It’s also not rare for the town to be torched once divested of everything, and-“

“Lei Kong, that’s enough,” Liu Jin says. Lei Kong has begun trembling. The scars of his past run deep.