Chapter 1112: Chapter 1112

It seemed as if she had found an outlet, or perhaps it was the sense of familiarity that Zhang Menglong brought to the little girl that affected the woman, causing her to open up.

In fact, a long time ago, the Lingyun Sect was highly regarded by the citizens of the Sacred Gold Dynasty. The disciples of the Lingyun Sect used the skills they learned from the sect to champion the weak and uphold justice, and at one point, their reputation even surpassed that of the Royal Family.

This situation persisted for a long time, until recent years.

There's a critical turning point in this story, which happened five years ago, when Ling Meng took over the entire Lingyun Sect as the new Sect Master.

Even though the Lingyun Sect had already developed some resistance towards the Royal Family before, and even fostered ambitions toward the entire Sacred Gold Dynasty, they still kept such thoughts deeply hidden within, at least maintaining appearances very well.

In the past, those who went to the Lingyun Sect to collect taxes never faced difficulties. In fact, they were often treated to good food and drink, and sent off warmly.

But after Ling Meng became the new Sect Master, the entire Lingyun Sect went through an earth-shaking change.

They completely changed their stance, directly confronting the Sacred Gold Dynasty with strong opposition, dismissing the royal decrees as mere nonsense, and even started actively seeking trouble.

As for the nearby cities, the Lingyun Sect allowed its disciples to prey on the citizens at will. Not paying for meals was just a minor issue; they even committed acts of arson, killing, looting, and robbery.

Some reported these matters to the Lingyun Sect, but no one paid them any attention. If those people persisted, they would even be beaten up.

Quickly, someone locally thought of reporting this matter to the Imperial City. No matter how strong the Lingyun Sect was, they were still just a sect under the Sacred Gold Dynasty. Could they really dare to defy the Royal Family?

But what they didn't expect was that the Lingyun Sect dared!

They directly blocked off the surrounding cities, even dispatching disciples to strictly guard every entrance and exit. Anyone trying to escape these cities would be immediately driven back. In this way, Lingyun City almost became a place where cries for help went unheard by both heaven and earth.

The reason they were so panicked when they saw Zhang Menglong and the others was that both Qi Xiu and Qi Ning were carrying swords, and wearing swords was a privilege of Lingyun Sect disciples. No one else was allowed to stroll around Lingyun City with swords.

"How audacious, truly outrageous, it's as if the Royal Family of our Sacred Gold Dynasty doesn't exist!" Qi Xiu burst into a rage, and even those around him could sense his spreading anger.

"Are you a member of the Royal Family of the Sacred Gold Dynasty?" The woman seemed to see hope in an instant, and she knelt down on the spot, "Master, please save the citizens of our Lingyun City!"

"Rest assured," Qi Xiu promised, "We have come to Lingyun City this time to stir up trouble for them!"

"Sister," Zhang Menglong's eyes twinkled, "Do you know how they solve their daily meals in Lingyun City?"

Qi Xiu looked at Zhang Menglong curiously; why did he suddenly ask such a question?

"In the past, the people of the Lingyun Sect grew their own food and raised animals at the foothills for self-sufficiency," the woman said, "but in recent years, those farmlands have been abandoned, and our farmers in Lingyun City have become their targets of exploitation." ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ noⅴelfire.net

"They claim to buy vegetables, grain, and meat from our farmers and herders, but the money they offer is less than a fifth of the market price. They even glamorously say that the Lingyun Sect provides them with a fixed sales channel; it's simply a joke!" The woman grew angrier the more she spoke, as her family were farmers too.

"We are all farming folk, relying on selling our own produce to make a living. What they're doing is driving us into a corner!"

"Since that's the case, why not just stop farming?"

"We've certainly tried," the woman sighed, "but they bring people to force us to continue farming and raising livestock. Any slight resistance is met with a beating."

"Then how do you survive?" Qi Xiu pursued, as with such prices, you'd barely get by, let alone support an entire family.

"Their sect recruits laborers from among the citizens of Lingyun City, but the work is hard and exhausting, and the wages barely allow us to survive, leaving us in a state of hunger that won't kill us but never fills us up either."

"This practically treats people like livestock!" Qi Ning had heard of the misdeeds of the Lingyun Sect on his last visit to Lingyun City, but he hadn't taken a closer look because they were in a hurry, and he couldn't have imagined that what he heard was just the tip of the iceberg.

"Sister, could you show me around your area?" Zhang Menglong asked.

"Certainly," the woman said, "we farmers and herders all live in one area."

The woman led Zhang Menglong and the others through the bustling city, but this prosperity was only superficial. On the outskirts of the city were stretches of fields and pastures, where once prosperous farmers and herders had now become targets of societal oppression.

Zhang Menglong and the others walked into a village through those low houses. The only people left in the village were women, the elderly, and children. Any man with a bit of strength had been forced to do hard labor for the Lingyun Sect.

Of course, there were some exceptions, but these people all bore injuries, and the women and the elderly were tearfully bandaging wounds and applying medicine.

"Sirs, we don't have much here, please try some of our wild vegetable soup!" The woman brought out a few relatively clean bowls, somewhat nervously. People from the Royal Family probably wouldn't deign to look at such things, right?

Having eaten so many gourmet dishes, Qi Xiu and the others felt a bit awkward, but they tried it anyway. The soup, though incomparable to the delicacies in the palace, was refreshingly delicious.

"Wow! This taste is amazing!" Zhang Menglong exclaimed after taking a sip, gulping down the entire bowl of soup, "Could I have another bowl?"

"Of course!" The woman smiled with relief. As a farmer, no one could refuse praise for their produce.

"Such good farmlands and pastures!" Zhang Menglong sighed, for the energy was so abundant that the vegetables grown in these fields were far superior to those inferior goods in Universe Seven.

"No way, such great stuff going to waste on those bastards is just too much," Zhang Menglong stood up, "Sister, why don't you lease these fields to me?"

The woman was stunned.

"I mean, I want all the vegetables you grow, the fish in your ponds, and the meat your herders raise!" Zhang Menglong said, "I'll pay you double the market price."

"You're... you're not joking with us?" The woman's hands were trembling a bit.

"I'm definitely not joking," Zhang Menglong turned and asked, "Qi Xiu, how much is this sister's field worth?"

Although Qi Xiu was a noble, he'd spent several years in his own fiefdom and was familiar with the lives of common people, so he knew about such matters.

"Given the area of these fields and the quality of these vegetables, the annual output value should be around 200 Xuan Silver."

The woman nodded, Qi Xiu's estimate matched closely with the actual situation, 200 Xuan Silver was about enough to cover her family's yearly expenses.

"Here's 40,000 Xuan Silver!" Zhang Menglong took out a large string of coins from his pocket. This was given to him by Wang Long earlier, as pocket money, "I'll lease your fields for 100 years, starting today, all the vegetables produced here will belong to me!"

"And!" Zhang Menglong waved his hand grandly, "Who's the owner of this fish pond? Tell them I want to lease it too, and the field over there, and that pasture, I'll lease them all for 100 years!"