The sounds of restless pacing, heavy breathing, and the crackling of the oil lamp intertwined to create a suffocating atmosphere.

"Ninth Brother, how about... we go for it?" a young, hot-headed man asked, gripping the handle of a machete.

"Fuck your mother!" Old Man Weng's eyes bulged as if he wanted to devour someone. "Look carefully! More than twenty awake ones! Li Laosan, Liu Dazhuang, Zhang the Butcher, which one of them is easy to deal with? Charge head-on?" He gestured with a chopping motion. "With our dozen or so men, can we take them all down? How many will die? How many will be injured?" He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood the consequences, and fear appeared on their faces.

"What about...the women who drank the water?" the short, plump woman timidly suggested. "Should we take them hostage?"

"Idiot!" Old Man Weng interrupted sharply, his eyes fierce. "Using women to force us? Do you want us to die even faster? If you push us too far, those men will come at us with bloodshot eyes. Will we, with hostages tied up, get stabbed faster, or will they chop us up faster? What if they're willing to abandon their wives and fight us to the death? We'll die even more miserably! We'll lose our pants!"

The ancestral hall fell into a deathly silence.

Old Man Weng pulled at his hair in frustration, while the others looked ashen-faced.

At this moment, the skinny monkey who had been silent in the corner suddenly spoke up in a sinister tone, his eyes darting around: "Ninth Brother... if force doesn't work and you won't listen to persuasion... then... could you... separate them? Deal with them one by one?"

"Separate?" Old Man Weng stared at him suddenly.

The skinny monkey licked his chapped lips, took a step closer, and lowered his voice, saying, "Isn't there a 'mountain god rule'? We'll use that rule! Send someone... say that so-and-so's wife is suddenly writhing in pain from her stomach! Or that someone's child is crying incessantly, as if possessed! Tell the head of the household to go and check on them immediately! Remember, only one person can go! Sending too many might offend the mountain god!" A cunning glint flashed in his eyes, "Once they come out alone... and fall into our hands... hehe... isn't it just a lame sheep? We can chop it up however we want!"

The eyes in the ancestral hall lit up instantly!

"Brilliant! Skinny Monkey! You always have the best ideas!" Old Man Weng slapped his thigh, a sinister grin returning to his face. "That's what we'll do!"

...

Sister Zhang hurried to the courtyard where the men were guarding.

Aunt Zhang's face instantly contorted with overwhelming anxiety. She threw herself onto the tightly closed door, pounding on it and wailing in a tearful voice, "Open the door! Open the door! Something terrible has happened! Li Laosan! Li Laosan! Your wife! Your wife is dying!"

The door creaked open a crack, revealing Village Chief Chen's wrinkled, hawk-like face.

Li Laosan squeezed behind him, his face suddenly changing, "My wife? What happened to her?!"

"Oh my God!" Sister Zhang slapped her thigh. "Your husband, for some reason, suddenly started rolling around on the ground clutching his stomach! He was screaming in pain! His face was as white as paper! He was even foaming at the mouth! Hurry and go see Brother Li! If you're too late, someone might die!" She cried and wailed, putting on a very convincing performance.

Li Laosan was so anxious that the veins on his forehead bulged. "I..."

"Wait!" The village chief grabbed his arm, his cloudy eyes sharp as knives, staring intently at Zhang's wife. "Why did this happen all of a sudden? Did you see it clearly?" His voice was low and full of distrust.

"Village Chief Chen!" Sister Zhang cried out, "This is a matter of life and death! How can I just spout nonsense like this?"

Li Laosan was extremely anxious. He looked at the village chief and whispered, "Village chief! Let me go! Her health has really deteriorated along the way... I'm afraid..." His worry was evident in his words.

The village chief stared intently at Zhang's "heartbroken" face.

He tightened his grip on Li Laosan's arm, his nails digging almost into his flesh. His voice was extremely low, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "...Be careful! Be very careful! Remember what I said! Don't eat or drink!"

Li Laosan nodded vigorously, "I understand!"

"Hurry up and go!" Sister Zhang urged immediately, tears still on her face. "By the Mountain God, only one person can go! Go quickly and come back quickly, you must not offend the Mountain God!"

Li Laosan took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and followed Zhang Saozi.

The two quickly turned into a dark and secluded alley.

Sister Zhang pointed to a dark, gaping room ahead, resembling the gaping maw of a monster. "Quick! It's inside! He's in so much pain he's almost silent!" Old Li was frantic. He rushed to the dilapidated wooden door, pushed it open, and cried out urgently, "Are you alright..."

Before the words were even finished!

"Ugh—!"

A strong, iron-like arm suddenly tightened around his neck from behind!

The knee slammed into his lower back, rib area!

Li Laosan only had time to let out a short groan before everything went black, and he was slammed to the ground by a tremendous force!

A cold, earthy-smelling rag was roughly stuffed into his mouth!

The rough hemp rope quickly wrapped around his wrists and ankles!

He thrashed and struggled like a fish out of water, but the disparity in strength was too great, and all his resistance was suppressed. He could only let out desperate and indistinct "woo-woo" sounds.

Soon, he was dragged silently into the deeper darkness of the room by two dark figures, like a dead dog being pulled along.

"Done!" The skinny monkey's face was full of smugness. "Go! Next one!"

...

In the shadows at the other end of the village, Jiang Chan clung to the cold earthen wall like a gecko.

Under her mental control, the probe hovering in the air acted like her third eye, silently circling.

The holographic view covers the entire Wengjia Village, and the lurking guards are transformed into flashing red heat sources.

Sudden!

The detector's viewpoint has locked onto an abnormal dynamic!

Zoom in and night vision is enhanced:

Li Laosan was pinned to the ground, gagged, and tied up by two burly men! The movements were ruthless and swift!

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