Chapter 123 Bandits Scouting the Location

Zhang Wulai was slapped to the ground.

He landed face down, his mouth full of dirt, and the back of his head felt like it had been scratched, causing a sharp pain.

No one dared to step forward and help him up.

“As you can all see, these wolves won’t hurt anyone as long as you don’t provoke them,” Cheng Wanwan said. “Please make way and let the wolves go back up the mountain.”

The people standing at the door immediately made way for them.

Under Xiao Hei's watchful gaze, the four female wolves swaggered away from the Zhang family's courtyard and headed up the mountain.

Only after the wolf pack disappeared from sight did the group dare to speak.

"These wolves are too obedient to the mountain woman."

“It’s not that we’re listening to the mountain mother, it’s that we’re listening to the wolf cub. The wolf cub was rescued by the mountain mother, and these wild wolves know how to repay kindness.”

"With the protection of the mountain god, and now with the wild wolf repaying their kindness, who would dare to mess with this family again?"

"Why did you provoke Aunt Dashan? Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

"..."

Granny Zhang was heartbroken at losing sixty coins. She got up from the ground and roared angrily, "Big Mountain Mother, I think you deliberately colluded with beasts to bully us ordinary people. Today my family was threatened by wild wolves to hand over sixty coins, tomorrow it will be your family, and your family too. These wild wolves must be dealt with, otherwise Dahe Village will be in endless trouble!"

Zhang Wulai rubbed the back of his head and chimed in, "They raise wolves to deal with the people in our village, right? Village head, the wolf cubs at Dashan's house absolutely cannot be kept!"

Cheng Wanwan scooped up Xiao Hei from the ground and held it in her arms. She sneered, "Whether Xiao Hei stays or not is not up to you."

"Then let everyone speak!" Zhang Wulai looked at the onlookers around him. "Guys, are you sure you don't mind that there's a wolf cub living in our village? When the wolf cub is young, it's fine, but when it grows up, it's a heartless monster. Today it bites people, tomorrow it eats chickens, and we can't even fight back, otherwise the mother wolf from the mountain will come down and eat people..."

Cheng Wanwan calmly observed the reactions of the other villagers.

If the villagers and Zhang Wulai are on the same side, then she might as well be a little selfish in the future. With these wolves around, she won't be afraid of being bothered.

“Zhang Wulai, you’re wrong about that,” Old Lady Zhu interrupted Zhang Wulai. “It was your wife who stole things, that’s why the wolves came knocking. You did something wrong, how can you blame the beast?”

"That's right, the wolf caught its prey and your wife took it away. How could you not be anxious and angry? If you hadn't resisted, the wolf wouldn't have hurt you. It's all your own fault."

"And another thing, Da Gang's mother, stop doing those petty thefts all the time. Even animals look down on you. How will you ever face anyone again?"

As everyone chimed in with their comments, Zhang Dagang and his wife felt incredibly embarrassed. Zhang Dagang, feeling too ashamed to face anyone, ran inside.

Cheng Wanwan patted Xiao Hei's head, preparing to go home and continue sleeping.

Just then, Mudfish Father Wang Yongcheng rushed over. It was his patrol night, and he had been wandering around the mountain the whole time.

He was panting heavily as he bent over and said, "Uncle Village Head, I saw three or four suspicious people on the mountain. I followed them for a while, and then I heard them mention something about a rich man named Wang. Wasn't the grain of the rich man Wang's family in town stolen by bandits more than a month ago? The county magistrate even posted a wanted poster. I took a closer look, and the portrait on the wanted poster looks very much like the suspicious people on the mountain!"

Upon hearing this, the faces of those who had not yet dispersed all showed expressions of horror.

A decade or so ago, when times were tough, people would often encounter bandits on their way from one village to another.

Later, the imperial court sent people to suppress the bandits, and the world gradually became peaceful.

However, after the locust plague caused a complete crop failure last year, some areas saw a large number of displaced people wandering around, and homeless displaced people gathered on the mountains and became bandits.

If they come to Dahe Village, all the village's grain will probably be stolen.

The village head took a deep breath and asked, "Loach Father, are you sure you saw it clearly? Are you sure there were only three or four bandits?"

Wang Yongcheng nodded: "There are four people, one of whom is the person on the wanted list, he should be the bandit leader."

"If we let them go, they will definitely bring more bandits to rob our grain!" Li Zheng made a quick decision. "Wake up the young and strong men, hurry up and chase after them, and capture the four bandits."

The surrounding villagers looked fearful. Those bandits must have killed people, and they dared not confront those who had lived on the edge of a knife.

Cheng Wanwan spoke calmly: "After the rice is harvested in a few days, that's when the bandits will raid Dahe Village. All the grain in every household's granary will be looted by the bandits. We've gone through so much, digging ditches from the mountains to bring water to save the rice, and trying every means to deal with locusts to protect the crops in the fields. Are we just going to let those bandits get away with it?"

"With four or five hundred able-bodied men in the whole village, how can we not deal with a mere four bandits?" She said each word clearly and forcefully. "They are just scouting the area now. If we let them go, it will be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. When they come back, there may be forty or four hundred bandits. At that time, we will be fish on the chopping block, at their mercy."

"Uncle Village Head, I'm sending Dashan, Ergou, and Sanniu with you to chase after the bandits!"

After he finished speaking, there was silence. The villagers looked at each other, and they all saw the determination and courage to go all out in each other's eyes.

Wang Yongcheng swallowed hard and said, "The four bandits are carrying large knives."

The village head said coldly, "They have broadswords, we have hoes and shovels. Bring them all and kill those bastards."

The men from each household went back to grab their weapons and followed Wang Yongcheng up the mountain.

Fearing to alert the bandits, they did not take the main road, but instead traversed the jungle. They were all native to this area and ran up the mountain every day, so they knew the trails very well.

Wang Yongcheng led the way, and the large group of people walked along the mountain path to the top, but they did not see any bandits.

"It's all over! It's all over!" The village head was deathly pale. "The bandits have definitely gone back after scouting the area. They've figured out everything about Dahe Village. Our village is really doomed..."

Just then.

The howling of wolves echoed across the desolate mountain.

Immediately following was a person's agonizing scream, piercingly loud.

The village head was startled: "Who is it?"

"The sound is coming from over there. Let's go check it out!"

A large group of people walked toward the direction where the screams of the crowd were coming from.

The moon was very round tonight. Under the cold moonlight, in a treeless open space, four people were bitten on the thighs by four wolves. Their thighs were covered in blood, which was particularly gruesome.

"Quickly, save us!"

Seeing that someone was coming up the mountain, the four people grasped at straws and immediately cried for help.

Wang Yongcheng gave the village head a look, and the village head understood that these four were the bandits on the wanted list drawn by the county magistrate. These four were unlucky enough to encounter wild wolves and were even bitten by them. Bad guys really do get their comeuppance.

Seeing that the large group of villagers had no intention of coming to help, one of them reached out and grabbed the fallen broadsword, then slashed at the wolf.

Zhao San Niu's eyes sharpened. This mother wolf was Xiao Hei's mother, so she could be considered half a family member.

He shouldered his hoe, rushed over, and struck the man on the head with the hoe. The man passed out before he could even scream.

As if waking from a dream, Li hurriedly said, "Quick, go up and tie up those four, don't let the bandits escape!"