Chapter 36: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 36: Turning a Blind Eye
Captain Sun hesitated for a moment. There was a risk in unlocking the shackles; who knew if the Chens would try to escape. However, he reasoned that the Chens had nowhere to run and stood a better chance of survival by cooperating. Eventually, he agreed but only unlocked the shackles for Chen Xue, her parents, and, at Chen Xue's insistence, for Xiao Die and Yang Xiaohua as well.
Chen Xue insisted that only Xu Tian should unlock the shackles. Although Captain Sun was puzzled, he agreed considering the current need for their cooperation.
Xu Tian, although puzzled, was delighted to help Chen Xue's family. However, when he unlocked Chen's mother's shackles, he was surprised by their light weight.
As a longtime bailiff, Xu Tian was familiar with the weight of shackles, and these were unusually light, raising his suspicions.
Chen Xue, noticing Xu Tian's confusion, hurried him along, and although perplexed, he continued to help them.
Xu Tian noticed that while Yang Xiaohua's shackles were normal, Xiao Die's were not. As he unlocked Chen Xue's shackles, he became even more convinced that something was wrong.
One oddity could be dismissed, but several indicated a problem. However, when he looked into Chen Xue's eyes, he felt momentarily dazed, hearing her voice in his mind. After shaking his head to clear it, he no longer questioned the shackles' weight.
Chen Xue breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that her investment in hypnosis techniques had paid off. Although costly, she had managed to gather enough contributions to obtain the technique.
However, hypnosis had its limitations; it required direct eye contact and could only affect one person at a time. Additionally, resistance to oneself made it easier to be hypnotized.
Thus, she chose Xu Tian to unlock the shackles, trusting his positive attitude and unlikelihood of causing a scene.
After the shackles were unlocked, Chen Xue felt liberated and eagerly stretched, relieved to be free of the restrictions.
Captain Sun urged them to identify nearby medicinal herbs promptly, eager to profit as much as possible.
Chen Xue wasted no time, hoping to gather more herbs for contribution points.
The announcement that medicinal herbs could be exchanged for food sparked excitement among the exiles. They were accustomed to meager rations and welcomed the opportunity to gather herbs, even if it required effort.
Captain Sun was pleased with the lack of opposition to the announcement.
Some doubts were raised about sharing profits with the Chens, but Captain Sun had no intention of doing so. He planned to sell the herbs in the Southern Barbarian region, where the Chens would be handed over to local authorities and unable to interfere.
He was well aware of Guo Qiang's ruthless nature and doubted the Chens would survive long enough to reach their destination.
As expected, many herbs were collected and brought to Captain Sun's group.
Chen Xue's involvement was not for monetary gain; she knew they wouldn't be able to profit from the herbs. Instead, she aimed to exchange them for contribution points discreetly.
However, when she approached the bailiff in charge, he refused her request, indicating a desire to renege on their agreement.
Chen Xue insisted on inspecting the herbs, but the bailiff remained adamant. It seemed he was prepared to turn his back on their arrangement.
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