Chapter Twenty: Wen Zhi

As Zhao Mu made a move, he felt his wrist being clamped firmly.

He turned his head to see Wang Wu shaking his head at him, saying, "Brother Mu, don't be impulsive."

Although Wang Wu was a man of passion, he knew how to read the situation. If Zhao Mu dared to lay a hand on these young noblemen, even if they managed to enter Taiping County, they would only end up suffering in a prison cell.

"Alright!"

Zhao Mu clenched his fists repeatedly before finally loosening them. He understood better than Wang Wu what the consequences would be if he truly provoked these young men. His earlier impulse was merely a momentary flare of hot-bloodedness. He was not a cold-blooded person; when he first transmigrated here, he had only acted with such numbness to survive.

Now, Taiping County was a place of luxury and decadence, a world entirely apart from the misery of the refugees. Yet, these young men, dressed in fine silks and riding spirited horses, treated the refugees with such cruelty. To be born human, yet act in such a way—they were unworthy of the name!

"Let’s go, we..."

Wang Wu patted Zhao Mu on the shoulder, but before he could finish his sentence, he saw more expensively dressed men emerging from the city gate.

"Our master is looking to adopt daughters! Anyone willing will be given three liters of grain each!" the leader shouted to the crowd.

Hearing this, a group of refugees swarmed forward. Even families without daughters ran up to inquire, hoping that perhaps they might accept foster sons as well. But before long, they returned in disappointment. While these men were looking for foster daughters, they were selective. First, there was an age limit—only those between ten and sixteen. Second, they had to be beautiful and in perfect health.

Zhao Mu sighed inwardly. The concepts of "exchanging children to eat" and "selling sons and daughters" were things he had only ever read about in history books. Yet now, they were happening right before his eyes. Furthermore, these men were not adopting daughters; they were human