101: One state is worse than another

Granny Chen pulled out the Jade Amulet Lord Chuping had bestowed upon her from her bosom, held it high, and rushed to the front of the line like a gust of wind.

"Don't panic! The Amulet is here; it will surely protect us!"

Under the gloom, the Jade Amulet actually glowed with a soft light. Though not dazzling, the light seemed to carry an inviolable power, causing the surrounding cold Qi to momentarily halt.

The Ghost Child seemed to sense the Amulet's threat, bypassed Granny Chen, and lunged towards Village Chief Cao, who was behind Granny Chen.

"Old sister! Help!"

In a moment of desperation, Cao Shengxiang took a swift step forward and grabbed Granny Chen's arm.

Granny Chen nearly stumbled from Village Chief Cao's sudden embrace, but she quickly regained her footing. The Ghost Child, however, was not so lucky.

Moving too fast, the Ghost Child's claws, upon contact with Village Chief Cao, seemed to be struck by an invisible force, letting out a sharp roar, and even a significant amount of its black Qi dissipated.

"Everyone, quickly grab each other! The power of the Jade Amulet can be transmitted!"

Granny Chen shouted. Everyone followed her instructions, quickly joining hands to form a tight circle, steadily protecting Granny Chen in the center.

For a moment, an indescribable warmth and strength spread through the crowd, as if everyone was tightly bound by an invisible thread.

Seeing this, the Ghost Child let out an even angrier roar. The black Qi around its body surged wildly, attempting to attack again.

However, whenever it approached the crowd, the power transmitted from the Jade Amulet acted like an indestructible barrier, fiercely pushing it away.

After several attempts, the Ghost Child gained no advantage and instead grew weaker.

Left with no choice, the Ghost Child flew around the crowd twice and then reluctantly departed.

"Phew..."

Everyone let out a long breath, their tense nerves finally relaxing.

"Old sister, where did you get this Jade Amulet?"

"It's incredible!"

"Was that the monster from outside just now? So scary!"

Everyone started talking at once, a cacophony of voices. The atmosphere finally recovered from the tension and fear, becoming more relaxed.

Yan Province and Qing Province are both on the border of Great Yan, and the situation in both is not good.

Before Lin Chuping's Awakening, Qing Province had already fallen, and all humans had become blood food, numbly awaiting death.

Although Yan Province was affected by the Corpse Demon underground and not heavily invaded by a large number of demons, this was merely a slow poison.

Many people from Yan Province were seeing demons and monsters for the first time; previously, these things only existed in their elders' stories.

"Oh my, that ghost thing is really ugly."

"You'll have plenty of chances to see these things in the future! You won't find it strange once you've seen more."

"Does Qing Province really have fields to plant and water to drink?"

"How much longer until we arrive?"

"Hey, Granny Chen, this Jade Amulet is truly miraculous! Please tell us, where did you get this treasure?"

Granny Chen smiled slightly.

She was very patient with everyone's questions, answering them one by one.

"Qing Province was also difficult before, but then the Divine Lord came, killed the local demons, and only then did life have hope."

"We had already discussed building a temple for the Divine Lord, and things will definitely get better and better in the future."

"Qing Province is not far; we'll arrive tomorrow at noon."

"This Jade Amulet was personally bestowed by the Divine Lord. After saving us, the Lord heard our wish to return home and specially granted us this protective Amulet!"

"I see. This Amulet is indeed incredibly effective."

"Speaking of which, what exactly was that Ghost Child? How did it appear in a place like this?" someone asked.

"I don't know. It looks so abstract, it definitely isn't anything good. But everyone, rest assured, with the Amulet, it can't harm us."

"That's right, that's right."

***

After a full day of travel, the group finally stepped into the territory of Qing Province. The sight before them, however, was starkly different from Yan Province, and equally shocking.

Although there were green mountains and clear waters everywhere, and the scenery was pleasant, there were simply too few people!

A vast Prefecture City couldn't even muster a mere fifty people.

The entire city seemed to have suffered a terrible bombardment, with ruins, rubble, and debris everywhere, a scene of desolation, and a strong post-war atmosphere assailed them.

"This... is this Qing Province Prefecture City?"

"The population of this one city is actually less than our one village! It's incredible."

A young man's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

"Alas, it seems the rumors were true."

Village Chief Cao sighed, his expression solemn. "Qing Province fell a long time ago. Humans became blood food for those demons."

Hearing this, everyone felt a sense of sorrow.

They had originally thought that the situation in Yan Province was bad enough, but they hadn't expected Qing Province to be even more tragic.

"Everyone, first drink some water and eat some porridge. Then we'll discuss what to do next."

Pei Yunchuan was leading the remaining people in building the temple. Seeing Granny Chen and her group return, he called for people to bring several large pots of water and thin porridge.

"Is this polished rice? It's been years since we've smelled the fragrance of polished rice!"

The people from Yan Province first gulped down a bellyful of water before finally recovering their strength.

The cool water washed over every part of their mouths, and their parched bodies were suddenly permeated by spring water, every inch of their dry muscles cheering as they stretched.

What they swallowed was not just water, but the life-giving rain after a long drought, the emerald spring emerging from the depths of the desert, until their internal organs rippled, and their entire being felt like softened rice paper, collapsing to the ground as warmth spread over their hair.

"Refreshing!"

Chen Dashan wiped his mouth, exclaiming sincerely.

"This water is as sweet as if it had honey in it!"

"So this is what it feels like not to be hungry."

Some emotional people in the crowd, for unknown reasons, held their porridge bowls with trembling hands. The moment the aroma of rice entered their nostrils, tears "pattered" into their porridge.

"Drink slowly, there's more in the pot."

"If we're lucky, we might even get to eat meat!"

"Meat?"

Cao Shengxiang's raspy voice suddenly rose eight octaves, and the porridge bowl in his hand almost dropped to the ground.

"Brother Pei, don't fool us; we haven't smelled meat in three years!"

Pei Yunchuan mysteriously pointed to the northwest corner: "The brothers on patrol last night discovered that the rabbits in the wild woods are starting to return to their burrows."

"Alright."

Granny Chen suddenly stood up, her withered finger pointing towards the foundation of the temple being built in the distance.

"If you ask me, building the temple is the most important thing!"

"We mustn't delay Lord Chuping's important work!"