Over by the mountain cave in Yingzi Gully, Wang Yongzhu and his people had bound everyone, and now there was no movent.
The people inside the cave were tense and unsure of what was happening outside. Their hearts felt like they were being fried in oil, until finally, soone couldn’t help but stealthily walk out of the cave. Barely a few steps out, they were knocked out by Zhang Quan’s n, who were hiding in the shadows, and dragged aside.
At this point, other things were ignored; regardless of age or gender, anyone coming out was knocked unconscious and taken away without rcy.
Eventually, the people inside the cave noticed sothing was wrong; the n who went out for errands hadn’t returned, and there was no movent at all.
Why hadn’t the person who went out to check the situation co back? No sign of them either?
Sothing must have gone wrong, right?
The timid ones, frightened, huddled at the foot of the cave, wrapped in blankets, not daring to move.
So began to regret; had they known it would be like this, why had they caused such trouble?
The remaining were mostly indecisive people or children, all fearful and worried, yet none dared to venture out seeking answers. The outside night seed like a giant beast, swallowing those who dared step out, never to return. Who would dare?
At this mont in Li Dashan’s cave, Gu Yu, Yang Zhaodi, and Li Dashan were not asleep.
The cave was faintly lit by a small oil lamp, only enough to see the contours of each other’s faces.
The three didn’t speak, listening to sounds from the outside, especially when the bone whistle sounded, causing Li Dashan to abruptly stand up.
Though Gu Yu didn’t understand, he knew blowing such a loud whistle in the middle of the night wasn’t a good sign.
Especially when Li Dashan muttered curses like "bastards! Animals! Ungrateful!" under his breath, his concern grew further.
"I’m worried about our Scholar’s Lady, I want to go check!" Gu Yu couldn’t sit still.
"Sit down! Don’t go out and cause trouble! With your state, going out would only make things worse!" Yang Zhaodi grabbed Gu Yu.
Yang Zhaodi, being heavily pregnant, made Gu Yu reluctant to struggle, and he looked to Li Dashan.
Li Dashan also said, "There’s no point in you going out, better to listen for any happenings."
Then, as people continued to leave but never returned, the people in the cave noticed sothing wrong; even the crying subdued, replaced by a pervasive sense of despair.
In the later part of the night, there was no longer any movent of people leaving the cave, while outside remained eerily silent.
Li Dashan finally let out a slight sigh of relief: "Seems like the danger has passed; I bet those who went out were taken care of. It’s dark and dangerous outside. Let’s not go out, or we’ll end up like them and it’ll be unjust! We should wait for daylight to find out what’s happening."
Yang Zhaodi nodded and squeezed Gu Yu’s hand.
The three couldn’t sleep, so they leaned against the cave wall, staring blankly at the oil lamp and didn’t utter a word.
Finally, they endured until daylight, and in their dazed state, they didn’t know when they’d fallen asleep against the wall.
Suddenly, they heard screams and cries from outside, shocking the three awake, prompting them to quickly get up.
The sounds ca from the cave entrance, and the three supported each other, heading towards it.
They lived farthest inside, and as they walked, they heard the commotion, saw people erging to check the situation, so simply curious to see what daylight revealed outside.
Gradually, about dozens gathered, moving toward the cave entrance.
Upon reaching the cave entrance, everyone was dumbfounded, seeing a long chain of people tied up like rolls, so n, so won, so elderly, others young.
They were bound tightly with ropes, neatly arranged at the cave entrance.
Beside the human rolls were about ten burly n, guarding with knives in hand, their clothes wet with dew, suggesting they had been on guard all night.
The cave’s inhabitants imdiately recognized their own n or sons among the ones lying there, life or death unknown, and started wailing.
So decided to act boldly, attempting to free the bound people, bolstered by the sheer number of people they had on their side.
Barely a few steps in, they were stopped by the glint of several knives at their necks: "Get one step closer, and don’t bla if my blade doesn’t miss!"
The few won who had rushed forward found their cries and protests stifled in their throats, trembling as they retreated.
They knew well that relations with the Scholar’s Lady had soured entirely; looking back and seeing Loo Xiaoshan, they rushed towards him: "Xiao Shan, you can’t just ignore this! Your brother Big Dog is lying there; you have to help! If nothing else, you drank milk from your aunt as a child, and Big Dog is practically like a brother to you. You can’t sit by while a brother suffers, can you?"
"Big Brother Xiao Shan, please plead for rcy to the Scholar’s Lady, ask her to release my husband!"
"Uncle Xiao Shan, and my brother, he’s still young!"
...
Voices clamored from all directions, almost making Loo Xiaoshan’s head explode.
Loo Xiaoshan’s wife was anxious, "Back then, you didn’t listen to my husband’s words. What did you say? You mocked my man for lacking spirit, said he wasn’t a man! In pursuit of outsiders, he even disowned his brothers! You pointed your fingers at our guy, broke off with him demonstratively! Now you have the face to ask our man to plead for rcy?"
"My man almost got killed because of you all; he’s caught between a rock and a hard place! Now where’s the face for him to plead for rcy? How should he plead? You all feel pity for your n, but this old lady pities her own husband too!"
As Loo Xiaoshan’s wife spoke, the rest found an outlet for their anger and attacked her all at once.
"I said, how could such a nice kid like Xiao Shan stay out of such big trouble, turns out it’s all because of you, this wretched woman!"
"Loo Family’s sister-in-law, your man and child are neat and tidy, my husband is still lying on the ground! You’re just talking without pain!"
"Exactly, things must be addressed today. If not, we’re prepared to risk everything—"
...
Loo Xiaoshan, eyes bloodshot, had endured a sleepless night. This last month was torturous; he had lost weight to the point of being unrecognizable. Listening to the won’s accusations and looking at their faces, all he felt was deep coldness within.
Looking back, seeing Li Dashan and the few brothers who supported him shaking their heads, signaling him not to intervene.
Loo Xiaoshan, however, gritted his teeth. He wasn’t foolish; he had been confused earlier, but after a sleepless night and seeing those bound rolls of people at the entrance, he had gained clarity.
Don’t presu soone doing good will let you walk over them.
They could offer you a good life but also ruin you in an instant.
He was to inquire for understanding, not for those muddled people outside, but for himself and the few brothers following him.
Those confused folk were beyond saving, only waiting to know their fate.
Loo Xiaoshan cautiously stepped out of the cave, softly speaking to the guarding n: "I’d like to see the Scholar’s Lady! Could you please inform her?"
These guards, he knew, were craftsn who had helped build the house, who he had shared drinks and als with, like brothers.
The guard responded expressionlessly, "Stay calm and wait; the Scholar’s Lady will co to question us shortly."
No kindness given.
Seeing Loo Xiaoshan also getting the cold shoulder, those won grew increasingly anxious, wanting to cry and shout, yet looking at those dozen gleaming knives, they held back their fear.
Until the sun climbed as high as a tree, Wang Yongzhu finally appeared from the wooden house with Wang Yongping and Zhang Quan.
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