Chapter 100: Oh, my family

The fierce bandits opened the large boxes on the carts, dumped out the sundries inside, and then loaded all the corpses in. Even so, there were still twenty or thirty corpses that couldn't fit.

The remaining living people stood in the open space, shivering like plague-stricken chickens. The fierce bandits directed them to clean up the aftermath, digging up the blood-stained sand and throwing it into the lake.

A quarter of an hour later, the open space by the lake was clean again, except for the small mountain of corpses on the side.

A bandit suddenly pointed his finger at the lake surface: "Someone escaped!"

Everyone's eyes moved to the water surface, and sure enough, they discovered a man escaping by boat. He had probably run to the water's edge during the chaos, hid in the long grass, and then untied a small boat.

The wind helped the boat move, and the small boat quickly moved away from the shore.

Lady Zhu on the shore bit her lip; she recognized that the escaping back was her husband.

The man rowed hard, heading toward the center of the lake.

A little further and he would be safe. He wanted to go to the nearest town to report to the officials and beg the government soldiers to kill this bunch of dogs!

However, he soon heard laughter on the shore, and when he looked back, the group of bandits were pointing at him, not showing any tension at all, but instead chatting and laughing.

Had these dogs gone crazy? Just a few breaths later, the calm lake water suddenly made a splashing sound.

The boat capsized.

The person on the boat was gone.

Lady Zhu covered her mouth to keep from screaming, and her mother-in-law fainted directly.

After a violent shaking, the small boat actually flipped back, but it was solitary and empty.

Those waves quickly slapped against the shore and disappeared.

In the time of just a dozen breaths, the lake water was smooth as a mirror again.

The villagers on the shore were dumbfounded, not knowing what had happened.

The fierce bandits also walked to the water's edge pier, untied a dozen boats, transported all the boxes up, and then drove the boats into the center of the lake, and then sank the boxes.

It was the same boat trip, but they were relaxed, chatting and laughing, yet they were safe and sound.

There were dead people in the boxes, as well as large stones, so they sank firmly to the bottom.

As for the corpses piled on the shore, the fierce bandits threw them all into the water.

Soon, one floating corpse after another disappeared, as if dragged into the bottom of the lake by something, and never appeared again.

A few ripples and bubbles emerged on the water surface, returning to calm.

At this time, the fierce bandits had grabbed all the children from each household, and the scene was full of crying and noise.

The village chief also woke up slowly, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he was so scared that a mouthful of phlegm got stuck in his throat. The caravan leader patted him on the shoulder and said: "Cooperate well, and you won't have to die, understand?"

The village chief nodded hurriedly.

"Forgot to ask, do you have children under eleven years old at home?"

The village chief nodded again.

The caravan leader laughed: "Then I can rest assured."

He coughed twice and said with a smile to the remaining living people: "From now on, we are your family! As long as you play this scene well with us, you can live, and you can get your children back, living children, oh, my family!"

Two quarters of an hour later, two bandits discovered Lady Zhu hiding in the shrine and dragged her out.

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"It's getting dark; we aren't going to spend the night in the wilderness, are we?" Lady Ying lifted the bamboo curtain on the carriage and looked at the sky, worried.

The mountain scenery is beautiful, but it's boring after seeing too much. After walking for a day in the stuffy and humid mountains, she just wanted to take a hot bath now.

"Maybe." He Lingchuan leaned diagonally opposite her, with a soft pillow behind his waist. The carriage space was small, and he had long arms and legs, so it wasn't easy to find a comfortable posture. "I heard there are many blind caves in the deep mountains; as long as we find the right place, we will have roasted bear paws to eat tonight."

Lady Ying was dissatisfied: "You have your own horse; why are you still lingering here?"

"The second one also has a horse; isn't he here too?" Riding a horse is bumpy, and riding for a long time grinds the inner thighs; He Lingchuan naturally chose the comfortable carriage.

He Yue coughed lightly: "The mountain road is muddy, delaying the journey. The guide said that County Magistrate Village is ahead, and we will arrive in at most one or two quarters of an hour."

He Lingchuan was a little disappointed: "It seems we won't be eating roasted bear paws tonight."

He Yue smiled: "Brother can go hunting in the mountains himself."

He Lingchuan was sullen, propping his head up to look at the darkening sky outside.

For the past few days, he hadn't been able to dream of returning to the Panlong Wasteland, and during the day, it was just rushing on the road, which was extremely boring.

The broken knife seemed to know his urgency, but it just wouldn't let him have his wish.

In his ears, Lady Ying and He Yue were talking about trivial matters, all about what to do after arriving in Xiazhou.

Lady Ying liked the warm East and hoped to buy a favorite large mansion in the Xiazhou capital, Dunyi City, decorate it well, and then hire seventeen or eighteen servants... blah blah blah.

He Lingchuan suddenly made a "shh" sound, interrupting their conversation: "Don't make a sound!"

"Why are you scaring people?" Lady Ying glared at him. There were more than 300 guards outside; she wasn't afraid.

"Something is wrong." He Lingchuan's expression was serious. "Birds return to their nests at dusk, but why is the mountain forest so quiet?"

At dusk, birds returning to their nests are full of chirping in the trees and forests, comparable to human neighbors arguing, and the volume is several times louder.

Since when did the mountains and forests they passed through become silent?

Only the sound of hooves and the rumbling of carts—this regular sound was what made people nervous. Lady Ying swallowed, and He Yue was about to speak when Zeng Feixiong's large face suddenly appeared outside the carriage window:

"Lady, Young Master, ahead is County Magistrate Village."

Lady Ying stretched her head out to look; ahead was a large lake like a bright mirror, with the outlines of houses by the lake.

Isn't this the destination? What was there to talk about being wrong? She let out a breath, almost scared by her eldest son who liked to make trouble.

Passing through the half-harvested wheat fields, the team soon arrived outside the village, and all the knights dismounted.

The He father and son and Zeng Feixiong stepped forward, and soon someone from the village greeted them.

He Chunhua took out the State Foundation Order to report his identity and explain the intention of borrowing lodging. The steward, Old Mo, took out the lodging gold. The State Foundation Order could prove his official status, and the village chief nodded in agreement very readily. The tall man beside him claimed to be the village chief's nephew, surnamed Lu, called Lu Han.

Lu Han was all smiles, saying that there were not enough houses in the village, and the soldiers could spend the night at the grain-drying ground and granary behind the village.

Officials and women naturally had to borrow lodging in the village houses.

At this time, it was already dark, and the window paper of every household showed warm light, which was the most warm and normal farm life.

The He family, Zeng Feixiong, and others all lived in the best houses, and the villagers served them food, but their expressions were all a bit shy, especially their eyes were drifting. Lady Ying kindly chatted with the hostess, asking three questions before answering one, and her expression was also very reluctant.

The husband scolded her with a "tsk": "How are you talking to the noble guests? You ignorant woman!" He turned to Lady Ying and apologized with a smile, "She has never been out of the mountains; she is just that stingy. Don't take offense!"

Lady Ying waved her hand, gave them two pieces of broken silver, and said to He Chunhua: "The night is cold and the dew is heavy; the guards must also have hot water and hot food."

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 101 =====