Chapter 100: Family Members

The ruthless bandits opened the large crates on the carts, dumped out the sundries inside, and then loaded the corpses in. Even so, there were still twenty or thirty bodies that wouldn't fit.

The remaining survivors stood in the open space, shivering like sick chickens. The ruthless bandits directed them to clean up the aftermath, digging up the blood-stained sand and soil to throw into the lake.

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

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

Everyone shifted their gaze to the water and indeed spotted a man rowing away in a boat. He must have run to the water's edge during the chaos, hidden in the tall grass, and then untied a small boat.

The wind aided the boat's progress, and it quickly moved far from the shore.

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

The man rowed with all his might, 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 authorities and beg the soldiers to kill these bastards!

However, he soon heard laughter from the shore. He looked back and saw the bandits pointing and gesturing at him, showing no signs of tension, instead chatting and laughing.

Had these bastards lost their minds? 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; her mother-in-law fainted on the spot.

After a violent rocking, the small boat actually flipped back over, but it was empty and alone.

The ripples from that moment quickly lapped against the shore and vanished.

In the time it took to draw a dozen breaths, the lake water was once again as smooth as a mirror.

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

The ruthless bandits also walked to the water's pier, untied a dozen boats, loaded the crates onto them, then sailed to the center of the lake and sank the crates.

They were also sailing, yet they were relaxed, chatting and laughing, and remained perfectly safe.

The crates contained dead bodies and large stones, so they sank firmly to the bottom.

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

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

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

By this time, the ruthless bandits had snatched up every family's children, and the scene was filled with crying and wailing.

The village head also slowly woke up; the moment he opened his eyes, he was so frightened that a glob of phlegm stuck in his throat. The caravan leader patted his shoulder and said, "Cooperate well, and you won't have to die. Understand?"

The village head nodded hurriedly.

"Forgot to ask, do you have any children under eleven in your family?"

The village head nodded again.

The caravan leader smiled: "Then I can rest easy."

He coughed twice, then smiled at the remaining survivors: "From now on, we are your family! As long as you play your parts in this show well, you will survive, and you can even get your children back—living, breathing children, my dear family!"

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

￥￥￥￥￥

"It's getting dark; we aren't going to spend the night in the wilderness, are we?" Lady Ying lifted the bamboo curtain of the carriage to look at the sky, filled with worry.

The mountain scenery was beautiful, but it became dull after seeing too much of it. Having walked through the stuffy, humid mountains all day, she only wanted a hot bath now.

"Perhaps." He Lingchuan leaned against the opposite side, a soft pillow tucked behind his waist. The carriage space was small, and with his long limbs, it wasn't easy to find a comfortable position. "I heard there are many blind caves deep in the mountains. As long as we pick the right one, we'll have roasted bear paw to eat tonight."

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

"Er also has a horse, isn't he here too?" Riding a horse was bumpy, and riding for too long chafed the inner thighs; He Lingchuan naturally chose the comfortable carriage.

He Yue coughed lightly: "The mountain road is muddy, which delayed the journey. The guide says County Magistrate Village is just ahead; we'll arrive in at most an hour or two."

He Lingchuan was a little disappointed: "Looks like we won't be eating roasted bear paw tonight."

He Yue smiled: "Big Brother can go into the mountains to hunt yourself."

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

He hadn't been able to dream of the Panlong Wasteland for several days, and the days were spent doing nothing but traveling; it was truly boring to the extreme.

The broken blade seemed to know his urgency, yet it deliberately refused to grant his wish.

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

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

He Lingchuan suddenly "shushed," interrupting their conversation: "Be quiet!"

"Why are you trying to scare people?" Lady Ying glared at him. There were over three hundred guards outside; she wasn't afraid.

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

At dusk, birds returning to their nests usually filled the trees and forests with chirping, loud enough to rival neighbors arguing in the street, and several times louder.

Since when had the mountain forests they passed been deathly silent?

Only the rhythmic sounds of hoofbeats and rolling wheels were tense. Lady Ying swallowed, and just as He Yue was about to speak, the large face of Zeng Feixiong suddenly appeared outside the carriage window:

"My Lady, Young Master, we are at County Magistrate Village."

Lady Ying leaned out to look; ahead was a large lake like a bright mirror, and by the lake were the shadowy outlines of houses.

They had arrived, hadn't they? What was all that talk about something being wrong? She let out a breath, almost having been scared by her mischievous eldest son.

……

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

The He father and son and Zeng Feixiong stepped forward, and soon someone from the village came out to greet them.

He Chunhua took out his State Order to identify himself and explain their intent to stay the night, and the steward, Old Mo, brought out the payment. The State Order proved his status as an official, so the village head nodded readily. The tall man beside him claimed to be the village head's nephew, surnamed Lu, called Lu Han.

Lu Han was all smiles, saying there weren't enough houses in the village, so the soldiers could spend the night at the threshing floor and granary behind the village.

The officials and female family members would naturally stay in the village cottages.

By this time it was already dark, and the window paper of every house glowed with warm light—the most cozy and normal rural life.

The He family, Zeng Feixiong, and others stayed in the best-conditioned houses. The villagers served them food, but their expressions were somewhat fearful, especially with their shifty eyes. Lady Ying kindly tried to chat with the hostess, who only answered one word for every three questions, her expression very strained.

The husband then scolded her with a "Tsk": "How are you talking to the noble guests? You ignorant woman!" He then turned to Lady Ying with an apologetic smile, "She has never been out of the mountains; she's just that stingy. Please don't take offense!"

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

(End of chapter)