Qin Kewei did not leave Yanjing directly at this time. What He Qiuan said last night was actually a lie. Qin Kewei had already received notice before, so she was not affected. Instead, she hid near the granary early and left everything to He Qiuan to deal with.
Upon hearing this, Qin Kewei was immediately touched and said, "Do you want to avenge me? This will definitely affect your plan, so forget it."
However, He Qiuan stubbornly said, "I failed to help you a few years ago, which is why you went to extremes. I have now understood that if I had helped you kill those two people back then, all subsequent events would not have happened. What you lacked at that time was justice, and now I want to give you this justice!"
At this moment, Qin Kewei suddenly recalled a scene from six years ago. Her memory had awakened, and after learning the truth, she wanted revenge. Although it was at the critical moment when mutated birds attacked the city, her goal was very simple: to kill the two esper users from the Heavenly Dragon Bureau, and that would be enough.
But no matter where Qin Kewei went to complain, the answer she always received was: "This matter is difficult to handle, please wait a few days."
Or: "The situation is special now, and the enemy is at the door. You must prioritize the overall situation!"
Therefore, Qin Kewei's answers were all perfunctory. She was clearly the victim, her body had been occupied by a scumbag, she had been toyed with by him, and her memory had been modified to make her like this scumbag. Little did she know that this scumbag was living a life of debauchery outside every day, selling her out without any reservation.
Her former teammates ignored her, and the person she loved was killed by her own hands. Looking around Yanjing, the only person she could still talk to was Li Keyi. Therefore, under these circumstances, Qin Kewei finally exploded. Since no one would help her seek justice, she would seek justice herself.
In despair, Qin Kewei chose an early morning time, pushed down all four city walls, and then mutated beasts rushed into the city. Yanjing was destroyed.
After doing such a thing, Qin Kewei had no intention of living. However, in the end, Xiao Sheng and Jin Zijue let her go, which was the last bit of camaraderie they could offer as teammates.
After recalling these events, Qin Kewei looked at He Qiuan with complex eyes and said, "If... if someone had helped me seek justice back then, perhaps I really wouldn't have gone to extremes. Unfortunately, it's too late to say this now."
Qu Zhaoqian's hatred for Qin Kewei lessened considerably after learning the truth of what happened from everyone's mouths, because Qin Kewei's irrational behavior was ultimately due to being controlled, and it couldn't all be blamed on Qin Kewei.
He Qiuan slowly walked out of the military camp, his face showing a look of grief. Then, appearing outside the military camp, he said, "I originally regarded this place as my hometown, and I wanted to save my fellow villagers. But your actions yesterday have greatly disappointed me. I thought you could trust me, but in the end, you rushed into my office building. Therefore, since I am not trusted by you, we shall part ways here. I will return to Ice City and will never enter the pass again!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was an immediate outcry of grief, because everyone clearly understood that if He Qiuan left at this time, there would be no one to rebuild Yanjing. They would have to return to their former lives of displacement. Therefore, everyone present was desperately trying to persuade him to stay.
"What happened last night was only the actions of a few people. In fact, not everyone distrusts you, the City Lord. It was just a few people acting on their own accord," everyone pleaded earnestly at this time, hoping He Qiuan would lead the soldiers to stay.
At the granary in the distance, soldiers were still transporting grain. The granary, which had been filled, was now being emptied of various grains. When people saw this scene, their hearts ached. Watching the grain move away from them, they felt as if their hearts were bleeding.
Dozens of people with their hands tied were kneeling in front of the military camp. These were the people who had participated in the commotion last night. Upon realizing that their actions had implicated their fellow villagers, they all voluntarily stepped forward, willing to die.
"City Lord, you are the saint spoken of by everyone, and we also believe that you can rebuild Yanjing. But the people who made mistakes last night are not related to them. It was all our doing. So, if you are angry, take it out on us. You can cut us into a thousand pieces, and we will not complain!" a thin man shouted loudly. He was indeed a man of courage and integrity, daring to take responsibility.
The others kneeling on the ground also explained: "We were also blinded by hatred and disrupted your plan to rebuild Yanjing. We deserve to die."
He Qiuan sighed and said, "Your actions make it very difficult for me. Because I don't know if this kind of thing will happen again in the future. Qin Kewei is my instructor, and you asking me to kill her is putting me in a difficult position. If I don't kill her, I'm letting you down. So, in the end, I am very troubled. It's better if I don't get involved in this matter. I will return to the Northeast. As for you, go back to where you came from!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts sank to the bottom, as they had no idea how to persuade He Qiuan to stay.
At this moment, someone parted the crowd and walked over. It was Wu Zhenyuan. He shouted, "I've caught the culprits! It was this group of people who were stirring up trouble. Everyone, make way and bring these people to the military camp for a confrontation."
A path was immediately cleared in the crowd. Wu Zhenyuan appeared outside the military camp with a group of people. These people were all bound tightly, their hands tied behind their backs, and their mouths gagged with cloth, unable to speak.
Wu Zhenyuan had very high prestige among the refugees. With his appearance, many people found their backbone. So, everyone said, "Mr. Wu, you must persuade the Holy Man He to stay. Please don't let him leave."
Wu Zhenyuan then said loudly to the surrounding refugees, "Everyone listen to me. The chaos last night has caused immense turmoil within the city. Many newly built houses have been destroyed. It can be said that most of the facilities we have built in Yanjing over the past month have been ruined. But, do you know? There are people behind all of this!"
After saying this, Wu Zhenyuan walked up to the refugees and said, "When I was patrolling last night, I caught a few spies. They were people from other forces who infiltrated our ranks. Bring them up and interrogate them strictly."
Then, Wu Zhenyuan brought these bound people to himself. The crowd also turned their attention to Wu Zhenyuan, who had appeared there. Many people knew that Wu Zhenyuan had not left the North China region for the past few years, regardless of how dangerous it was. Moreover, he often led the villagers to fight against mutated beasts and mutated birds, so his prestige was very high in the hearts of many people.
Reporters also turned their cameras towards Wu Zhenyuan and began to shoot. They had smelled a major news story, and once this news was reported, it would surely be welcomed by many people.
After Wu Zhenyuan brought these people up, he ordered, "Remove the cloth from their mouths and let them explain the original story of what happened yesterday. Otherwise, everyone will continue to be kept in the dark."
Then, someone removed the cloth from the mouths of these bound people. After the cloth was pulled off, some of the timid spies confessed everything that had happened before. "We were instigated by several families from Taiyuan. They said that if Yanjing were to be rebuilt, all the population would be snatched away, so they asked us to spread rumors and create chaos."
After these words were spoken, the refugees finally understood. It turned out to be someone else's scheme. These people did not want to see Yanjing rebuilt, so they wanted to create chaos, thereby causing He Qiuan to leave with his people.
Thus, upon learning the truth, the refugees became enraged. They all rushed forward and attacked these damned spies with fists and kicks, beating them to death on the spot. Those who had previously admitted to participating in the disturbance were also beaten to death. This scene was captured by reporters.
"Quick, quick, great news! Hurry and send a telegram to the south, reporting this matter as quickly as possible!" the reporters exclaimed. The internal conflict between the two major powers in the North at this time was indeed big news and had to be reported as quickly as possible.
The crowd was quickly parted again, and a group of village elders appeared. They knelt with Wu Zhenyuan and said to He Qiuan in front of the military camp, "Mr. He, please consider that this is your homeland and the place where millions of people once lived. Please continue to stay. Moreover, the chaos last night was caused by outsiders. The perpetrator has a debt to pay, and you should not let the actions of a few troublemakers implicate everyone."
The rest of the crowd also knelt on the ground, and the ground was immediately covered in a dense black mass. Everyone pleaded.
He Qiuan saw that his objective had been achieved, so he sighed and said, "Since it was the work of villains, I will naturally not implicate everyone. We are not leaving. I will immediately send people to put the grain back into the granary. But you all need to understand that our enemy is in Taiyuan. In half a month, I will send troops to attack them. Please support me..."
Before, He Qiuan had no reason to avenge Qin Kewei. Now, the reason for revenge had been delivered to his doorstep. How could he not take advantage of it?
After He Qiuan clarified the matter and expressed his intention not to leave, everyone present cheered. In the eyes of these refugees, it was their earnest persuasion that made him stay. Otherwise, He Qiuan would have returned to the Northeast with his people directly.
The refugees cheered and were very happy that He Qiuan was staying. At the same time, they were also very resentful of Taiyuan for sending spies, and they cursed them: "These bastards, playing dirty tricks on us. If Mr. Wu hadn't happened to discover the abnormality, the Holy Man He would have truly left."
In fact, this entire incident was orchestrated by He Qiuan. Since he learned that there were spies from other forces mixed in the crowd, He Qiuan had allowed these people to cause trouble. However, he also needed to use these people to create a tense atmosphere, ultimately guiding public opinion to attack Taiyuan.
Now, the opportunity was before him. He Qiuan had a reason to attack Taiyuan, because the other party had made the first move. The other party was in a disadvantageous position, and it was a normal action to counterattack after suffering losses.
He Qiuan thought for a moment and said to Fu Yingming beside him, "This time, I will personally lead the team to avenge the instructor. During my absence from Yanjing, everything will depend on you."
"City Lord, is it appropriate for you to lead the team personally? If anything unexpected happens, we won't be able to explain it to the Deputy City Lord when we return. Even if we want to get revenge, can't we just send a few people?" Fu Yingming quickly said.
"This matter requires sufficient strength. Moreover, I am doing this to avenge Sister Qin, so it's fine for me to go personally. This trip is not necessarily to conquer Taiyuan, but just to seek justice. There won't be any accidents, you can rest assured!" He Qiuan quickly said.
Fu Yingming hesitated for a moment and then agreed to the matter.