Xiaoman also wanted to test her new weapon.

Aunt Jiang said that if someone is not strong enough to use a knife, the blade can easily get stuck in the bone, making it ineffective.

Well!

When Xiaoman slashed a wild boar's neck with her knife, she did indeed have to stop the knife, and blood splattered all over her face.

The spiked club is specially made, with sharp stone pieces embedded in the oak club, making it heavy and angular.

Xiaoman liked it after just one try. It was easy to swing, and each swing left a trail of bloody holes...

Just like now, after being hit once, the bearded man, clutching his bleeding head, was swaying unsteadily, completely disoriented.

The disheveled man next to him collapsed to the ground and couldn't get up.

Seeing two people collapse after letting out two "ah ah" sounds, Li Laoshi, who had been hiding in the back, panicked.

He finally realized that the rumors about the smoke bridge were true, and now it was his side that was in trouble.

Li Laoshi ignored his companions, some hanging and some lying down, and ran wildly down the mountain, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Their speed was so fast that Xu Errui, who was chasing closely, almost lost them...

It's not that Li Laoshi knows any earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of martial art) and can suddenly disappear from the spot.

The reason was simple: it was already dark, and Li Laoshi, who was blindfolded, couldn't see the ground beneath his feet. As soon as he took a step, he lost his footing and tumbled down the slope. Fortunately, a tree blocked his way, otherwise he would have had to pick him up from the bottom of the cliff.

Xu Errui grabbed him by the hair and dragged him back into the woods. Terrified, Li Laoshi knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Grandpas, spare my life! I'm an honest man, I really just came to gather herbs!"

Xu Errui tied up the two people who had been knocked down by Xiaoman, then untied the one from the tree and tied him up as well, before starting to interrogate Li Laoshi.

Li Laoshi kept calling himself an honest man, and recounted how he had been persecuted by the medical shed and coerced into this place by these vagrants.

He was extremely aggrieved and cried with snot and tears streaming down his face: "Grandpa, Grandpa, I am an honest man. I don't steal or rob. I even walk around other people's vegetable gardens, for fear that people will say I've stolen a scallion."

I was forced to go up the mountain this time. My poor wife is still waiting anxiously at the door down there. If I don't return, she'll run off to someone else's shack to be with me!

He even started singing as he was talking.

Xu Errui and Xiaoman were so engrossed in his howling that their heads were spinning. Xiaoman roared, "Shut up! Who told you to watch the path and sneak into the woods with bad intentions?"

Because both families had to work on the hillside every day, they had already made a path through the area. Since these people were already in the fields, they could find their way over.

But they wanted to come out of the forest, which wasn't a good purpose; they just wanted to launch a sneak attack.

Li Laoshi had no way to explain his predicament. They had the idea of ​​stealing, and if the owner's family was small and tried to stop them, they would just rob them by force.

He couldn't admit to that, so he rolled his eyes and pointed at the three dazed bearded men beside him: "It's them, they said they were going to rob you."

Nearby, the bearded man and others, who had already regained consciousness, shouted: "You led this way, Li Laoshi! You keep saying you're an honest man, but you never sincerely wanted to collect herbs in the village."

The four of them began to blame the other for their mistakes.

After they finished arguing, Grandpa Xiaoman, who had been hiding in the shadows, finally understood what had happened. He came over, leaning on his cane, and said, "Kids, don't worry about it. They're not good people anyway. We won't hit them. Let's just leave them like this!"

Turning to the four refugees, he said, "I'm sorry, my fellow brothers, the grass roots and tree bark we eat on the mountain are not fit for our tastes or to entertain guests. Please bear with us!"

After saying that, without considering whether his words were credible or the pleas of the four refugees, he slowly walked back, leaning on his cane.

Xiaoman greeted Xu Errui and immediately stepped forward to help him up, saying, "Grandpa, be careful!"

After walking some distance, Xiaoman whispered, "Master, why didn't you just..."

Xiaoman said in a deep voice, "Shut up, I have something to tell you when we get back."

Jiang Zhi and the others listened to the commotion in the forest, starting from the conversation before Xiao Man took action. Although they didn't go in, they overheard most of what was happening inside.

As soon as Xiaoman came out, she saw her older brother looking nervous and Aunt Jiang with her brows slightly furrowed.

Thinking her family was worried about the four refugees, Xiaoman quickly said, "Big brother, Aunt Jiang, Errui and I are tied up tightly and are still hanging on the tree. They definitely can't escape."

Jiang Zhi nodded: "Everyone has had a long day, let's eat first!"

Since it was just four herb-gathering refugees who had come, and Chunfeng and I had already checked the surrounding area and found no one else, we were safe for the time being.

Everyone has been repairing the house all day and is tired, so we need to eat first.

Only when they are well-fed and watered will they have the strength to fight when bandits come.

The food was already on the table, some stewed, some stir-fried, and some steamed. The staple food was still a thin porridge, but instead of kudzu root powder, it was replaced with cornmeal.

Grandma Xiaoman specially steamed big-foot buns for everyone to share today.

If it weren't for the unpleasant sight of refugees coming up the mountain, Jiang Zhi would have felt this was a gourmet food tasting event.

"Big Foot Bun" is a local dish.

The filling is made of stir-fried pumpkin and sweet potato strips, which are salty, sweet, fragrant and spicy. The cornmeal coating is soft, chewy and slightly sweet, and the mulberry leaves wrapped around it have a light fragrance. The flavors are distinct and layered.

Next to it were stir-fried sweet potato tips and stewed pig's head meat. With both meat and vegetables, it was hard to imagine that this was a famine relief operation.

Of course, we also need to deliberately ignore the shouts coming from the woods; those are the real refugees.

The meal was unpleasant for everyone. They hurriedly filled their stomachs, and only after Chunfeng and Qiaoyun had taken the children to the side did Xu Dazhu ask Xiaoman, "Why did you hit someone just now? Why didn't you listen to Errui finish speaking?"

Aunt Jiang said that we should lure people to the trap and not rashly fight them.

Xiaoman escaped death today because those four people underestimated her at first, or perhaps they only wanted to steal her things and didn't intend to kill her.

If it had been real bandits, Xiaoman would have died on the spot. Even if the others had tried to save the children, the elderly, and the sick, casualties would have been inevitable.

Xiaoman scratched his head and forced a smile, saying, "I... I heard Errui say 'stop talking nonsense,' and I... I thought he was going to start a fight."

Xu Dazhu scolded, "You're almost sixteen! When are you going to change this impetuous nature!"

Xiaoman was somewhat unconvinced: "Brother, you're only acting so timid because you're sick."

"See, I took care of those guys with ease, I didn't even have to lift a finger for Second Brother Rui."

Xu Dazhu angrily slapped the wooden block beneath him: "You disobey and still think you're right? You should know you have a whole family behind you. What will we do if something happens to you! If I'm still alive, you can go to heaven and no one will stop you."

Seeing her older brother angry, and remembering that the family still depended on her, Xiaoman finally lowered her head: "I was wrong, I will definitely be more mature in the future!"

Grandpa Xiaoman said, "Xiaoman, you're a good child. You even knew to try and get information out of her today. That's more sensible than before. You should think more carefully before you do things in the future."

Xiaoman was happy to be praised by his grandfather, but he had to suppress his pride because his older brother was watching him.