Cold Mountain Village wasn't too far from Novice Village 10021.
It didn't take long for Qin Shujian to return to this place.
As soon as he arrived at the foot of the mountain, he saw a group of people dressed in rags and with yellowish complexions. They looked like refugees.
There were men and women, old and young.
Some of them looked young and strong, and they were even holding wooden sticks as weapons.
At the same time.
There were also dozens of bandits in the Cold Mountain Stronghold who surrounded these people.
The leader was Zhang Tieniu, one of the leaders of Cold Mountain Village.
The two sides seemed to be confronting each other. No one dared to act rashly, but the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
Seeing Qin Shujian return, Zhang Tieniu immediately went to greet him, as if he had seen his backbone.
"Village Head!"
"What's going on?" Looking at the scene, Qin Shujian frowned.
"Village Head …"
Just as Zhang Tieniu was about to speak, an old man who looked like he was in his seventies among the refugees spoke first.
"May I ask if you are the owner of this place? How should I address you?"
Hearing this, Qin Shujian looked towards the source of the voice.
The old man was also dressed in rags. His complexion was yellowish and dull, but his eyes weren't as turbid as the old man's. Instead, they were extremely bright.
Even though he was in such dire straits, he still had a faint elegance.
This was a kind of temperament.
A temperament that couldn't be easily changed by external factors.
Qin Shujian took a deep look at the other party and said indifferently, "I am the Village Head of Cold Mountain Village. Who are you?"
"This old man, Zheng Fang, greets the Village Head!"
The old man, Zheng Fang, first bowed, then said in a deep voice, "Today, this old man and the others hope that the Village Head can take us in and give us food to eat. We are also willing to join Cold Mountain Village and serve the Village Head."
As soon as he finished speaking.
Qin Shujian immediately received the System's message.
"There are refugees who want to join Cold Mountain Village. Do you agree?"
Refugees!
Seeing this, Qin Shujian did not immediately agree. Instead, he said calmly, "If you are willing to join Cold Mountain Stronghold, I will not refuse. However, do you know what kind of place Cold Mountain Stronghold is?"
"Don't worry about that, Stockade Master. Your honorable stockade has a great reputation in the Forest. We've heard a lot about it on our way here." Zheng Fang's expression was solemn as he said, "We are sincerely begging the Chieftain to take us in. We only hope that the Chieftain can fulfill our wish."
At this point, Zheng Fang stared intently at Qin Shujian, his heart filled with sorrow.
Once upon a time, he had already fallen to the point of associating himself with bandits and robbers.
But …
The situation was stronger than the person.
In this chaotic era of war, human lives were like grass. Innocent and kind people had no way to survive.
Along the way, more than half of the original team of hundreds of people had been lost.
If they did not find a place to settle down, Zheng Fang had a premonition.
Most likely, it wouldn't be long before all of them died.
As Zheng Fang's voice fell, the refugees behind him all looked at Qin Shujian with hopeful eyes. They did not fear the bandits at all.
In their eyes, there was no longer any distinction between good and evil.
Filling their stomachs and finding a place to stay were the most extravagant wishes they had right now.
Qin Shujian looked at the refugees and did not immediately reply.
There were about sixty to seventy refugees in front of him. Most of them were thin and malnourished young men. Among them, there were only a dozen or so children and the elderly.
Even if the young men were weak from hunger, one could still vaguely see the sturdiness of the farmers.
These people were all living forces.
With this in mind, Qin Shujian finally lowered his head slowly. "Since you are sincere in joining my Cold Mountain Stronghold, I will not refuse."
"But there is one thing I hope you can understand!"
"Once you join my Cold Mountain Stronghold, you will forever be a member of my Cold Mountain Stronghold. If anyone wants to withdraw midway, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
As he spoke, Qin Shujian's eyes were bright and full of expression.
An intimidating aura suddenly erupted from his body.
It was as if a prostrating black tiger was staring coldly at them.
"We understand!" Zheng Fang's heart trembled. He immediately bowed.
As for the refugees behind him, they all lowered their heads in unison.
Many of them still had lingering fear in their eyes.
Seeing this, Qin Shujian withdrew his aura and nodded in satisfaction. "From now on, you will be a member of my Cold Mountain Stronghold."
"You agreed to the refugees' request!"
"Sixty-three refugees have joined the Cold Mountain Stronghold!"
Two messages popped up in a row. When Qin Shujian looked at Zheng Fang again, his attributes had already appeared before his eyes.
Name: Zheng Fang
Identity: Bandit
Affiliation: Cold Mountain Stronghold
Realm: Fourth Level of the Basic Realm
Cultivation Method: Eternal Spring Arts Fourth Level, Seven Flower Leaf Palm (Perfection), Five Elements Eight Trigrams Steps (Perfection)
When he saw this, Qin Shujian couldn't help but be startled.
Fourth Level of the Basic Realm.
Three cultivation methods. One of them was the main cultivation method, while the other two were auxiliary cultivation methods.
He had never expected that this sallow and emaciated old man in front of him would actually be a hidden expert.
But soon, Qin Shujian came to his senses.
He looked at Zheng Fang as if he was looking at a delicious cake.
He had struck gold!
This time, he had really struck gold.
One had to know that in such a large Cold Mountain Stronghold, there were only two bandits, Zhang Tieniu and Wang Tiezhu, who were at the second level of the Basic Realm. Above them was him, the leader of the sixth level of the Basic Realm.
It could be said that the Cold Mountain Stronghold's strength was severely lacking.
Basically, opponents above the third level of the Basic Realm would require him, the leader, to personally deal with them.
Once he left the Cold Mountain Stronghold, the Cold Mountain Stronghold would fall into an awkward situation where there was no expert to oversee it.
Moreover, even if he wanted to send people out to do things, he didn't have any real experts that he could use.
Now that he saw Zheng Fang, Qin Shujian seemed to see the hope of solving these problems.
A fourth level of the Basic Realm delivered himself to his doorstep. This wasn't just a matter of words. He was a rare expert.
After all —
Even the previous leader of the Cold Mountain Stronghold, Wu Sheng, was only at the third level of the Basic Realm without the support of his faction. In terms of true strength, he was even weaker than Zheng Fang.
His gaze paused on Zheng Fang for a few seconds before Qin Shujian turned to look at the other refugees.
Name: Zhao Shanlin
Status: Bandit
Faction: Cold Mountain Stronghold
Realm: Second level of the Basic Realm
Cultivation Method: Eternal Spring Arts (second level), Seven Flower Leaf Palm (Advanced), Five Elements Bagua Steps (Elementary)
… …
Name: Wang Hu
Status: Bandit
Faction: Cold Mountain Stronghold
Realm: Second level of the Basic Realm
Cultivation Method: Eternal Spring Arts (fourth level), Seven Flower Leaf Palm (Elementary), Five Elements Bagua Steps (Elementary)
Second level of the Basic Realm!
Another two experts at the second level of the Basic Realm.
However, after seeing Zheng Fang, a genius in the fourth stage of the New Martial Realm, and then seeing two people in the second stage of the New Martial Realm, although Qin Shujian was happy, he was not as excited as before.
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