The pale light of dawn struggled to tear through the thick curtain of night, dispelling the deep darkness.

The chaotic outline of the courtyard gradually became clear—congealed, blackened bloodstains, scattered rubble, and a corpse in a strange death pose…

The people of Liushutun were gradually awakened by the light, rubbing their sore eyes and staring blankly at everything in front of them.

The memories of last night surged back into their minds like a cold tide, carrying the stench of blood, causing many to turn pale and tremble involuntarily.

Fear, exhaustion, and a complex mix of emotions—the feeling of surviving a disaster—weighed heavily on my heart.

Just then! The deathly silence of the village was broken! Not from that locked prison cell.

Instead, it came from deep within the village, from the rooms where the undisturbed children of Wengjia Village were sleeping peacefully!

"Wow—! Mother! Mother, where are you?"

"Dad?! Dad?! Open the door!"

"Waaaaah... I'm so scared! Where did you all go?"

One, two... more and more children's cries rang out from different courtyards!

The crying quickly transformed from initial confusion and fear into overwhelming panic and piercing screams as the child could not find their parents!

Several small figures stumbled out of their respective doors! Some were barefoot, some wore only a thin shirt, shivering in the cool morning air, their faces streaked with snot and tears, standing blankly and fearfully at their doorsteps, looking at the unfamiliar, lifeless village, at the Willow Village people gathered in the courtyard…

"Father! Mother! Where are you?!"

"Waaaah... I want my parents!"

The sudden, incessant wailing of children was like a series of cold needles, piercing the ears of everyone in Liushutun who had just regained consciousness!

Jiang Chan sat against the wall, while Xiao Tao in her arms was also awakened by the crying and squirmed restlessly.

Jiang Chan opened her eyes, her cold gaze sweeping over the children crying and running in the morning light like lost lambs, her face expressionless.

The adrenaline rush from last night's brief but efficient killing spree has long since subsided, leaving only physical soreness and mental exhaustion.

The child's wailing made her frown slightly, but that was all.

The others in Liushutun were different.

Looking at those children crying their hearts out, the blankness on many people's faces turned into complex reluctance and a sense of helplessness.

"What a tragedy..." Aunt Zhao looked at a little girl, about four or five years old, standing at the door crying so hard she could hardly breathe. She sighed softly and instinctively wanted to go over, but then she remembered that the child's parents were human traffickers with blood on their hands, and she immediately stopped in her tracks.

"What...what should I do?" Old Wang looked at his bandaged arm, then at the crying children, his eyes filled with even more confusion.

"Don't just stand there!" The village chief's tired, hoarse voice rang out again, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart. "First, clean up the... things in the yard." He pointed to the corpse, his tone heavy.

Several brave men found tattered straw mats and old door panels, and, enduring nausea and fear, carried the stiff corpses to a corner of the yard, piled them up, and hastily covered them with more tattered mats.

The strong stench of blood filled the morning air, making people nauseous.

“...Those little brats...they're crying and screaming nonstop! What do we do…”

"What's there to feel sorry for? Who are their parents? Human traffickers! They're bastards! These kids grew up eating human flesh and drinking human blood! Who can guarantee they won't become a menace in the future?! Don't worry about them! Let them cry, let them cry themselves to death!"

“But…they are still children after all…” A young man who had recently become a father looked at the few little children who were crying so hard they were about to faint, and his face showed pity.

"Kids?" someone sneered. "Have you forgotten that 'sheep-catching' game they played yesterday? They imitated it so well! These are ordinary kids?!"

Everyone fell silent.

The skillful yet cruelly excited look in the eyes of those children playing "sheep-catching" yesterday was truly chilling.

Jiang Chan held Xiao Tao, who was also crying from fright, and watched the argument with a cold eye.

A chilling irony settled in my heart.

A child? Just a little wolf cub carefully raised by human traffickers!

Their veins are filled with filthy blood, and their bones are etched with plunder and deception.

Those "sheep-catching" games are the blueprint for their future!

To be kind to them would be to sow the seeds of future disaster for travelers! But she could not utter these chilling words.

In a world that values ​​the innocence of children, it sounds too jarring.

She could only stand silently at the edge of the crowd, watching the village chief's furrowed brow and listening to the endless wailing of children from the village, which sounded like background noise...

Everyone deliberately avoided looking at the children, pretending not to see them.

The children's cries still echoed through the village, but the people of Liushutun forced themselves not to listen...

The village chief stood in the center of the courtyard, his voice weary yet exceptionally resolute: "What happened last night was the fault of those beasts! Let the mountain god be angry, let us fight to the death! Now, do as Jiang girl says!"

His gaze swept over the crowd:

"First! Find all those harmful drugs! Don't leave a single dreg! Burn them on the spot!"

"Second! Search for food! Search for water! Search for everything usable! Clothes, bedding, pots and pans, firewood, rice, oil, and salt! Bring out everything we can use on the road! Leave them nothing!"

"Three! Finish and leave! Don't linger in this godforsaken place for even a second longer! Hurry up!"

The order was given, and the pent-up will to survive and resentment towards these human traffickers, which had been suppressed all night, ignited instantly!

"Let's go! Search for the medicine!" Liu Dazhuang grabbed a stick and rushed towards the room where the prisoners were being held.

"Come with me to find grain!" Butcher Zhang shouted, leading a few men toward the small warehouse behind the ancestral hall.

"Come on! Let's go to the side room! Let's find clothes and bedding!" Aunt Zhao called out to the women.

The men and women of Liushutun seemed to have forgotten their fatigue and pain, and like whirlwinds, they quickly dispersed and rushed towards the houses in every corner of Wengjia Village!

Everyone was determined to clear out this den of iniquity!

Chaotic footsteps echoed through the alleys.

"Bang!" The door was kicked open.

"Quick! Check inside the cupboard!"

"Where's the rice container?!"

"There's nothing in this room?!"

Wu Lao Er rushed into a seemingly decent side room, rummaging through drawers and cabinets, only to find a few rags and empty jars. "Damn it! They look respectable, but their family is dirt poor?!"

"Me too!" came another man's complaint from the next room. "The boxes are all empty! There aren't many decent clothes left! Where did these bastards hide their stuff?"

"That's impossible! They looked so well-off before, they must have had plenty of food!"

A brief sense of disappointment and doubt spread through the crowd.

Many of the people who rushed into the room came out empty-handed, their faces filled with confusion and anxiety.

Why does this Wengjia Village look like an empty shell that has been looted?