Chapter 215: Chapter 178: Crossing the River on a Reed_3 Chapter 215: Chapter 178: Crossing the River on a Reed_3 “There are quite a few people…”
Chen Mu’s gaze swept over the small hillside, his mind still deep in thought.

After all, he was only human, not a deity.

Perhaps those great figures from the Marrow Cleansing and Blood Exchange Realm could have single-handedly taken thousands from here to a place of safety, but he could not.

Even thinking of taking hundreds at once seemed impossible, and this place was not safe at all.

Monsters could emerge from the water at any moment, and these villagers had no strength to resist them; in an instant, they would become nourishment for the monsters.

However.

Chen Mu quickly thought of a strategy.

He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a Signal Arrow, pulled the fuse, and in an instant, a beam of light ascended into the sky and exploded above, emitting a sharp whistle.

Seeing this, Old Man Zhao hugging his granddaughter trembling, as well as many villagers, all showed a hopeful expression.

However, after releasing the signal, Chen Mu did not look further but turned his attention to Old Man Zhao and his granddaughter Hong’er, chopped a nearby wooden box into several pieces, and casually rubbed them together to set the wood on fire.

“Come over and warm yourselves.”
Chen Mu piled the wood on the side, speaking calmly to Old Man Zhao.

At the time, a drizzle was still falling from the sky.

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Though it was spring rain, it still carried a chill.

Most people wore straw raincoats, but Old Man Zhao and his granddaughter had fallen into the water earlier and were soaked through.

Old Man Zhao looked at Chen Mu, trembling a bit with hesitation, but seeing his granddaughter shivering from the cold, he still cautiously pulled Hong’er over to the fire, and then started to kowtow to Chen Mu.

“Alright, no need for such formalities.”
Chen Mu stopped Old Man Zhao, reached out and touched Hong’er’s head, wiping a streak of mud from her messy hair, and then asked, “How did you end up left behind here?”
Old Man Zhao kowtowed to Chen Mu again before tremblingly explaining, “People from the village came and said there was a flood coming.

All the young and able-bodied men ran.

My son took his two grandsons and ran as well.

Hong’er and I were slow, and the road was rough…”
Listening to Old Man Zhao’s intermittent words.

Chen Mu roughly understood that Old Man Zhao and Hong’er were not the only surviving grandfather and granddaughter; there were also a son, a daughter-in-law, and grandsons, but the son and daughter-in-law had taken the grandsons and fled first, leaving Old Man Zhao and his granddaughter behind.

There was not much to be said about that.

On one hand, this world valued males over females, and on the other hand, ordinary families simply could not take care of everyone.

Trying to escape with both the elderly and the young might end up with no one escaping in time.

Looking around the small hillside, it was apparent there were several families like this.

“You all are likely in the same situation.”
Chen Mu then looked at some people nearby.

The many villagers, who had never seen such an ‘amiable’ official as Chen Mu, were still trembling and did not dare to speak freely, all respectfully bowing their heads, making a small bow in the cramped space before responding in a low voice.

While one of them was recounting their situation, suddenly not far away the water surface splashed, stirring up a wave of muddy water, and then a monstrous creature almost two meters long, resembling a blue fish, leapt from the water, aiming to swallow the nearest child.

The child was so frightened that he froze on the spot, unable to move.

“Seeking death!”
Chen Mu snorted coldly, a glint of harshness flickering in his eyes.

At some point, a pebble had appeared at his fingertips, which he flicked violently.

The pebble streaked through the air forming a Thunder Arc, spanning a distance of over ten meters in an instant, striking the monster fish’s head!

The skull of the monster fish was seemingly as fragile as paper, instantly shattered and penetrated by the pebble, and its massive body also flew sideways, plummeting back into the water below, vanishing from sight.