Chapter 104: On the Mass Burial Ground

Lin Shuzhi was a bit irritable and loosened his collar. As soon as he entered the room, he put his helmet on the table with a hint of annoyance. When Pan Haiyun looked up and met Lin Shuzhi's gaze, he smiled helplessly, "Can't you sit still? You're making a fool of yourself in front of the younger ones." After saying that, he glanced at Pan Yueqing, who came in with Su Ruoqing, pointed at the table, poured a cup of tea, and was about to take a sip.

However, the young man who was escorted in stopped Pan Haiyun's action before he could take a sip. He said in a sarcastic tone, "You dare to drink the water in this hellhole? Well, go ahead and drink it! After you drink it, you'll kick the bucket!"

Pan Haiyun looked at the young man suspiciously and put down the teacup in his hand, asking, "What's going on?"

The young man shrugged his shoulders and shook off the soldier who was holding his shoulder. He snorted twice and didn't want to answer.

"Father, let me give it a try." Pan Yueqing stood beside Su Ruoqing and cupped her hands towards Pan Haiyun. After getting Pan Haiyun's approval, she turned around and looked at the young man whose features were not clearly visible.

She let out a soft sigh, stepped forward, and gently wiped the young man's dirty face with a fine silk handkerchief. Her expression remained normal, and she didn't frown at the stench on the young man. She carefully wiped the young man's cheeks clean and raised a smile, but there was no warmth in it. "Do you know what would have happened to you if Commander Qian had taken you away just now?"

"You're all corrupt officials! Just like that dog Qian!" The young man felt uneasy looking at her smile and stammered out the words. When Pan Yueqing heard this, her face turned cold. She turned the silk handkerchief to the clean side and pushed the young man's chest, shoving him back several steps. The young man stumbled and sat on the ground. Pan Yueqing turned sideways, her eyes devoid of any warmth. "Do we have to use Commander Qian's methods to make you talk properly?"

"You... If you weren't corrupt officials... Why did you go to the banquet prepared by that Qian fellow?" The young man bit his lower lip. His pale lips had no trace of blood, just like his face, which looked emaciated.

Pan Yueqing sneered, raised her eyes to meet Su Ruoqing's gaze, moved a stool and sat in front of the young man. Her Yunti boots lifted slightly, objectively showing her leisurely demeanor. Meeting the young man's guarded gaze, she chuckled softly, "Are you going to say: That Qian guy can prepare meals for so many people, why can't he give food to the common people? The common people are slowly starving to death, but why can these corrupt officials from the capital eat and drink heartily?"

"The common people have resorted to eating human flesh just to survive. Are those in the capital all blind?" Pan Yueqing said unhurriedly. She let out a long sigh, rested her chin in her hand, and lowered her eyes to look at the young man. "Does human flesh taste good?"

When the young man heard her words, his face suddenly turned pale. He covered his chest, turned his head, and retched twice. The acidic stomach water mixed with green bile and emitted a strange smell as it vomited onto the ground. Pan Yueqing sat there without changing her expression, neither avoiding nor dodging. The young man retched violently, and finally, he stared at Pan Yueqing with deep hatred in his eyes.

Pan Yueqing said calmly, "What's your name?"

"You... You're not human!" The young man struggled to get up. He rushed forward, trying to grab Pan Yueqing, but the soldier beside him stepped forward and pressed the blunt end of the spear against his shoulder.

"You're the one who's not human." Pan Yueqing said indifferently. "Humans don't eat their own kind. Only beasts without intelligence do that."

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the young man took three steps back, covered his ears, and let out a loud roar. The sound was like that of a wounded little beast, both helpless and sorrowful.

"Yue'er." Pan Haiyun frowned and said softly. However, Pan Yueqing didn't stop. She sat up straight. When the young man's voice gradually lowered and his sobbing sound exceeded his anger, Pan Yueqing placed her hands on her knees and tapped her left fingers randomly on the back of her right hand. She said, "Come on, tell us how that Qian guy turned you into this pitiful state."

Seeing that the young man curled up on the ground and still didn't respond, Pan Yueqing said softly, "Only we can save you now." Even if Pan Haiyun had someone bring the account books, it would be useless. In her previous life, if it hadn't been for the refugees breaking through the city and rebelling, no one would have known that the situation had become so irreconcilable.

These people would only rise up in rebellion when they were driven to despair.

The young man bit his lip and said in a hoarse voice, "He locked everyone up. Some people hadn't eaten for a long time and were extremely weak. That Qian guy said they were sick... He gathered them together, and they had nothing to eat or wear. He called it saving resources... But it's not true. No one received the relief food and supplies. We were originally displaced people... No one would care if we starved to death. Everyone was so hungry... So hungry..."

He didn't continue and covered his mouth, sobbing uncontrollably.

The unsaid words were like a huge stone weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Su Jing hammered the table angrily and cursed, "I knew that guy wasn't a good person!"

Pan Haiyun's eyes slightly narrowed as he tried to hide his emotions. Pan Yueqing sat there and asked, "Is there anything wrong with this place?"

She sat up very straight, and her tone was very calm. There was no sense of alienation, nor did it seem that her emotions were stirred up. She exuded an unfamiliar aura. Pan Haiyun couldn't help but keep looking at Pan Yueqing, as if he was meeting this daughter for the first time. The young man coughed several times lightly, "This place was designated as a mass burial ground not long ago. It's also the source of the flowing water that goes to the civilian area..." He closed his eyes in despair. The water here couldn't be drunk at all. It wasn't just water flowing in it, but also the water that seeped out after the corpses buried in the ground decayed.

Pan Yueqing raised her eyebrows. She had guessed it.

Su Ruoqing stepped forward and waved his hand, "Go and wash up. There are food and supplies with the army. You can eat something later." After saying that, he signaled the soldier to take the young man away. Before leaving, the young man turned around and looked at them. After some hesitation, he finally said to Pan Yueqing boldly, "That... Young master... This place... Actually, there are ghosts here..."

Pan Yueqing was a bit taken aback by the young man's sudden kindness. She smiled and nodded, "I'm not afraid."

Su Ruoqing clicked his tongue and said, "You sure have a way with people."

Pan Yueqing sat back in her original position and looked at the three elders with different expressions. Pan Haiyun was calm, while Lin Shuzhi and Su Jing were startled. She smiled, rested her chin in her hand, and joked, "Why are you looking at me as if you've seen a ghost?"

"Yue'er, a young lady shouldn't know so much." Su Jing said after some consideration. He glanced at Pan Haiyun's expression. Thinking about what the young man had said about ghosts just now, the more Su Jing looked at Pan Yueqing, the more uneasy he felt.

Pan Yueqing stared at Su Jing with her dark eyes and deliberately lowered her voice to scare him, "Uncle, you've noticed it..."

Seeing Su Jing's increasingly uneasy expression, Pan Haiyun laughed out loud, "Yue'er, don't be naughty."