ATPnovel #521 - tolerance
#521 - tolerance
A roaring bonfire burned in front of the camp, the aroma of roasted and stewed meat filling the air and spreading far and wide.
The surviving men happily roasted meat, while relatives of the deceased sat by the fire, quietly sobbing.
When Zhang Chen returned to his camp, Cheng Yu had lit a bonfire and was roasting meat, the fat sizzling and dripping, making one's mouth water.
"Zhang Chen, you're back! Come and eat meat to replenish your strength," Cheng Yu said, handing a piece of roasted venison to Zhang Chen.
Now that the sandstorm had dissipated, there was no fear of sand getting on the roasted meat.
Zhang Chen took the roasted meat, a look of satisfaction in his eyes. "Your cooking skills have greatly improved. You haven't wasted good ingredients."
"Hmph, you're looking down on my cooking skills. My cooking is amazing now," Cheng Yu rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay attention to Zhang Chen, and turned to continue roasting meat.
"Are you alright?" Zhang Shi looked at Zhang Chen with concern. Seeing that his clothes were clean and not stained with blood, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked.
Zhang Chen was now the pillar of the family, and he couldn't afford to have any accidents, otherwise the family would not be able to survive.
Hearing Zhang Shi's words, Zhang Chen shook his head. "Just a few insignificant little demons, not worth my attention. Don't worry, even if those great demon kings come, I won't be afraid. I will definitely protect the peace of the family."
"It's good that you're alright. Let's take this opportunity to smoke more meat. We need to prepare early for the long journey ahead," Zhang Shi said, picking up a small knife and starting to shave the skin off a sika deer, then peeling off the skin and putting the venison on the grill to smoke.
The three little ones stood obediently in front of the grill, helping Cheng Yu smoke the jerky. Zhang Chen nodded secretly when he saw this. Zhang Tui and Zhang Fei had made great progress, showing the precociousness of young men and becoming particularly sensible.
Even after the beast tide, there were still 40,000 refugees in the camp. Everyone was constantly selecting wild animals, skinning some and smoking others.
The jerky was also divided into different grades. The best was venison, followed by donkey, dog, and pork, and then wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards.
Venison had the best taste, donkey and pork were second best, and the worst was wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards, whose meat was sour and not suitable for consumption.
Zhang Chen also found a sika deer and began to skin it skillfully. Zhang Shi curiously said, "Why is there not a drop of blood on these animals? Even the ground where the battle took place is bloodless."
"Maybe some monster sucked all the blood dry," Zhang Chen replied casually.
This was not only Zhang Shi's surprise, but also the surprise of all the survivors.
The underground blood sea churned, silently transforming into a drop of blood, seeping out from the ground, then bouncing up and landing on Zhang Chen's ankle skin, quickly disappearing.
Zhang Chen's eyes looked at the golden finger panel:
[3 skills (seventh level): Body transforms into blood river (3000000/2000000000000)]
"Only three million points, that's too little, not enough to fill a gap between my teeth," Zhang Chen muttered in dissatisfaction, looking at the points on the golden finger panel.
However, thinking that this battle was fought by civilians and wild beasts, without any mysterious entrants, and it was just a small war with thousands of casualties and tens of thousands of wild beasts, three million points was not a small amount.
"Only devouring those demon beasts and gods is the best supplement for me," Zhang Chen thought to himself.
Just as Zhang Chen was skinning and roasting meat, a figure came from afar and stopped in front of Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen looked up and saw that the other party was wearing a security bureau uniform, presumably a bodyguard from the Dragon Tiger Security Bureau.
"Boy, my young master invites you to come over for a chat. Come with me," the bodyguard shouted at Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen's heart moved. He put down the venison in his hand, stood up, and followed the bodyguard all the way away.
Along the way, he saw bonfires burning brightly in the night. Bodyguards from the security bureau were boiling herbal medicine for the refugees, and the security bureau's reserve doctors were bandaging the refugees.
"The Dragon Tiger Security Bureau is kind-hearted," Zhang Chen thought as he looked at the pots constantly boiling in front of the bonfire.
Logically speaking, the life and death of these refugees had nothing to do with the Dragon Tiger Security Bureau, but the Dragon Tiger Security Bureau took out spare medicine to treat the injured people, which was benevolent.
Zhang Chen walked through the crowd and came to the security bureau's camp, where he saw the bodyguards sitting in groups of three or five around the bonfire. Some were bandaging wounds, some were applying ointment, some were sharpening knives, and some were stewing meat.
Zhang Chen was brought to a bonfire and saw Chen Ping sitting in front of the bonfire drinking herbal medicine. At this time, his breath had stabilized. There was a tiger skin peeled off on the ground, and tiger bones and various herbs were stewed in front of him, obviously a great tonic stewed according to some secret recipe.
Seeing Zhang Chen, Chen Ping waved to Zhang Chen from afar. Zhang Chen was brought to Chen Ping by the bodyguard, and then the bodyguard said to Zhang Chen, "This is my young master!"
Zhang Chen bowed and saluted, "Greetings, Young Master Chen."
"Don't be polite! Don't be polite!" Chen Ping quickly said to the bodyguard beside him, "Quickly bring a stool and ask this little brother to sit down and talk. Go and stew some meat, and bring some fine wine and pastries. I want to entertain this little brother."
The bodyguard quickly greeted the porters to carry the items, placing stools and various pastries in front of Zhang Chen, inviting Zhang Chen to sit down before retreating.
Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen, seeing that he was wearing ragged clothes and his face was covered in dirt, but he was calm and composed, and he secretly nodded in his heart, looking at Zhang Chen with admiration.
"My name is Chen Ping, the young head of the Dragon Tiger Security Bureau. I am a few years older than you. You can call me Brother Chen. May I ask where this little brother is from and where are you going?" Chen Ping poured wine for Zhang Chen, but because he aggravated his injury, he grimaced in pain, looking quite comical.
"My name is Zhang Chen, from Goulan County. My family suffered from floods and was ravaged by demon beasts, so I have no choice but to bring my family to Jinling in the south to seek refuge with relatives," Zhang Chen replied.
"You are going to Jinling? That's really a coincidence. I am also going to Jinling. We can be companions along the way," Chen Ping's eyes lit up. "Which wealthy family is your relative in Jinling?"
Hearing this, Zhang Chen smiled bitterly, "Just ordinary people."
Chen Ping nodded when he heard this. He expected that too. If Zhang Chen's relatives were wealthy, Zhang Chen's family should not be bad. How could they be so downcast, with an orphan and a widow on the road without even an old servant to take care of them?
"You saved my life. Logically speaking, I should reward you with a lot of money, but you are going south with an orphan and a widow. If I give you gold and silver, it will only harm you," Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen with a solemn voice. "Why don't you join my security bureau? I will teach you martial arts, and all the martial arts resources you need for future cultivation will be borne by me. You will also have the capital to settle down. Even if you leave the security bureau one day, you can still live a rich life. When you arrive in Jinling, I will arrange for you to live there. I dare not say anything else, but I will definitely arrange a three-in-one courtyard for you in Jinling City, and buy you hundreds of acres of fertile land, so that you can rely on it for the rest of your life. What do you think? If you want to set up any business in Jinling City in the future, as long as I, Chen Ping, can do it, I will definitely do it for you."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen glanced at Chen Ping. The other party's conditions were a sincere reward. Not to mention the fertile land and houses, even the materials consumed for martial arts practice were an astronomical figure.
But Zhang Chen had already planned for the future, so how could he join the security bureau?
So Zhang Chen said, "Young Master, you are too polite. We rely on the security bureau for protection when we go south. The security bureau protects us all the way. I just saved the young master once, and it is my duty. I have relatives to rely on when I arrive in Jinling. I appreciate the young master's kindness. What are you talking about rewarding me? I am really ashamed."
Hearing this, Chen Ping was stunned, looking at Zhang Chen in astonishment. He did not expect that the other party would reject such favorable conditions without even thinking about it. He looked at Zhang Chen even more highly in his heart, so he tentatively asked, "Do you think I am giving too little?"
Zhang Chen shook his head. "That's not what I mean. The young master is definitely giving a lot, enough for my family to live a good life for several generations. How can it be little? I just don't think I have such great merit and can't afford it."
Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen up and down. Under the distorted bonfire, he saw that the young man on the opposite side had a calm face and was not moved at all. Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen even more highly in his heart.
"Brother, do you really not want a reward?" Chen Ping changed his address and directly called him brother.
Zhang Chen shook his head.
Chen Ping pondered for a while before saying, "If you don't want a reward, then is it okay for my security bureau to escort you on the ten thousand mile journey south to Jinling? My security bureau will be responsible for all your food, clothing, housing, and transportation."
Speaking of this, Chen Ping looked at Zhang Chen solemnly, "Brother, don't refuse this time. My life, Chen Ping, should be worth something, right? Besides, you are an orphan and a widow. This journey to Jinling is thousands of miles away. If you are not careful, you will be robbed. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should consider your mother, younger brother, and younger sister. Why suffer when you can reach Jinling comfortably?"
Hearing this, Zhang Chen hesitated slightly. He originally planned to follow behind the security bureau to get protection. If he encountered any powerful demon king, he would directly lead his family to run away in advance. But at this time, Chen Ping spoke sincerely. If he didn't give him face again, he was afraid that he would not be able to justify it.
"Alright, I will trouble Head Escort Chen on the journey south," Zhang Chen bowed and saluted.
Hearing this, Chen Ping's face suddenly darkened, and he said very dissatisfied, "What are you talking about, Young Head Escort? Just call me big brother! You saved my life, you are my own brother, why be so polite?"
Although Chen Ping was a child of a wealthy family, he had traveled north and south since he was a child, and had seen all kinds of people in the world. He had dealt with countless people from the three religions and nine streams of society and grassroots heroes. He did not look down on Zhang Chen's background.