Chapter 70 Piglets

When the dog woke up, it found itself lying in Zhao Xuan's bathroom.

He lay back on the thin woman's lap, who was asleep against the wall. He tried to move, and then he heard a voice whisper, "Don't move, keep pretending to be asleep."

He didn't move, but simply turned his eyes slightly. In the cramped bathroom lay three people, tightly bound: himself, the thin woman, and Zhao Xuan.

Zhao Xuan leaned against another corner of the wall. She didn't move, but slightly opened her eyes and looked at the dog. She glanced outside, and the dog followed her gaze and saw that the center of the living room was piled with various supplies: clothes, bedding, and even more food.

One person was carrying goods up and down the stairs, while another person was blocking the bathroom doorway with a long bench, watching the three of them.

The man carrying the goods was tall and thin, while the man watching people was narrow-eyed. From their conversation, we can tell that the tall and thin man was called Skinny Ghost, and the narrow-eyed man was called Slit Eyes. There were five of them in total. The leader was called Third Brother, and everyone called him Third Brother. Third Brother and a man called Dwarf were doing something, and the remaining three were waiting for them in the dilapidated pavilion.

From a distance, the three spotted Zhao Xuan and the dog approaching, talking as they walked, completely unaware of their surroundings. The three in the dilapidated pavilion then extinguished their campfire and hid in the tall, wild grass nearby.

The three men easily caught Zhao Xuan and the dog. Zhao Xuan had already woken up when the skinny guy was tearing off her clothes, but she didn't open her eyes until the dog was almost beaten to death while protecting her, at which point she spoke up to stop him.

She said, "Don't touch my brother. I'll tell you where my home is—you've been looking for us for a long time, so don't waste your time..."

So the skinny guy and the slit-eyed guy brought three people and a flock of sheep to the place, while the black pig waited for the third brother and the short guy.

The wealth hidden in Zhao Xuan's home greatly shocked Skinny Ghost and Slit-Eye. It was clear that they hadn't seen such a wealthy family in a long time. They had their own ulterior motives for coming here first. First come, first served. If there were any good things here, they could keep a share for themselves.

Their conversation wasn't kept in the dark about Zhao Xuan and the dog. In their eyes, Zhao Xuan and the dog were already dead, and it didn't matter what the dead knew.

These are a pack of hyenas who survived the apocalypse by robbing and killing. In their eyes, everyone else is no longer human, but rather piglets used to provide sustenance. The piglets' food is their food, and if the piglets run out of food, they will eat the piglets themselves.

Having survived the apocalypse for several years, Zhao Xuan and Lu An were well aware of such things. However, their lives had been too comfortable over the past year, and she naturally assumed that the mountainous terrain was rugged enough that very few people would venture into this area.

She lost her guard.

Zhao Xuan glanced sideways at the thin woman who was sleeping while cuddling her dog, his expression complicated.

—She knew this person.

This person is the madman from Taiping Town.

She didn't know whether she should blame this woman for the man-made disaster.

Taiping Town is a large town, and with a clear objective, these five hyenas broke in and captured the madwoman. The madwoman thought that the people she met this time were good people, just like the people she had met Zhao Xuan and his group before, so she showed herself and took them to her "home" as guests.

She was mentally unstable and suffered inhuman torture at the hands of five hyenas. From her incoherent ramblings and the few empty fruit cans she had eaten, the third brother deduced that this madwoman might know the whereabouts of the other survivors.

The apocalypse has been going on for many years, and the survivors are no pushovers. Most have joined camps and organizations, places heavily guarded. Even when leaving camps to exchange goods, they travel in groups, making robbery impossible. The remaining lone wolves are indeed their main targets, but these people have hidden themselves deep in the mountains, self-sufficient, and rarely appear on the roads. They can't find them, and even if they try to ambush them, they'll only be waiting in vain.

The hyenas couldn't raid the large camp, nor could they find any lone survivors—they had been starving for a very long time.

Based on information gleaned from the madman, it was discovered that there might be one or two survivors in the mountains surrounding Taiping Town. Without hesitation, Third Brother led the madman to find them.

Killing the survivors hiding deep in the mountains and plundering their supplies would provide them with enough food and clothing for several months.

The madman only knew a general direction, but fortunately there weren't many forks in the road. They followed the road and searched all the way until they arrived here.

In fact, when the hyenas stepped into this place and saw the vast fields of crops on the dry land, they knew they hadn't gone in the wrong direction; they were just still looking for the village where the piglets lived.

They temporarily stayed in the dilapidated pavilion located between the two villages.

Early in the morning, Third Brother took Dwarf out, while the remaining three set up a pot to cook—they didn't carry much luggage, and if they couldn't find the survivor hidden deep in the mountains, they would have to eat this crazy woman.

Until they heard Zhao Xuan and his dog making noises from afar.

Although they made noise, Zhao Xuan and the dog's voices weren't loud, and they couldn't hear their conversation clearly, otherwise they would definitely know that there was more than one survivor in this area.

The way Zhao Xuan and the dog addressed each other led the three to mistakenly believe they were siblings. It just so happened that Zhao Xuan had two sets of personal belongings, and in the post-apocalyptic world, it wasn't uncommon for siblings to sleep together for safety. The sheer abundance of supplies in Zhao Xuan's home greatly surprised Xi Gui and Feng Er Yan. Overwhelmed by joy, they seemed to overlook the fact that the men's clothing in the house was far too large for the dog.

Little Ghost and Slit Eyes searched the entire village and found only this one household. They also discovered four fat pigs and a flock of chickens next door.

The two carried supplies from the house while discussing how to use them.

The shelves in the living room, filled with various foods, had undoubtedly become the raiders' search list. Little Ghost and Slit Eye took turns carrying supplies, but now it was Slit Eye's turn to carry them while Little Ghost rested and kept an eye on people.

The bathroom was small and had only one exit, so it was unlikely that a child and two women could cause any trouble.

While glancing at them sideways every now and then, Xi Gui ate a large bowl of fried taro chips, the very bowl that Zhao Xuan had left for 460.

Zhao Xuan's cooking skills were quite good. He held the bowl and ate with relish, legs crossed, leisurely and quite content.

The bathroom was very quiet.

The madwoman was indeed asleep. Zhao Xuan saw that her mouth was full of blood and that her bare, bruised legs were exposed. He could imagine how much torture she had suffered. She must have not eaten for a long time and was too weak to stay awake, which was why she could fall asleep under these circumstances.

Zhao Xuan sighed.

Suddenly, she stopped blaming anyone.

Everything she did to the madman, as well as all the actions of Lu An and even the Yao family when they first met him, all point to the "cause" of this incident, but the occurrence of this incident cannot be blamed on them, the Yao family, and the madman.

No one is at fault.

The fault lies with these despicable robbers.

Zhao Xuan gently shifted her gaze, and the dog followed her line of sight. He was lying on the madman's lap, with a very low field of vision. Following Zhao Xuan's gaze, he turned his head slightly and could see the bottom of the old-fashioned washing machine placed in the bathroom.

The dog's heart pounded.

He saw two sharp daggers stuck to the bottom of the washing machine.

Turning their gaze back, the dog saw the fierce glint in Zhao Xuan's eyes.

After Lu An and Zhao Xuan discovered traces of other people at the reservoir, they reinforced the house. In addition to strengthening the doors and windows, they also hid some weapons in various concealed places inside the house: under the bed, under the chairs, and under the washing machine in the bathroom.

In their daily lives, they can't carry weapons all the time. If they encounter danger, they can temporarily remove and use the weapons hidden here.

Zhao Xuan's glue wasn't very strong; the two daggers could be easily removed with a gentle touch.

The dog tried to move.

This tiny movement suddenly startled the madman, who shuddered violently, frightening the other two. The madman opened his eyes, looked around, and then looked down at the dog on his lap whose eyes were already open.

She suddenly gave a nervous laugh.

Then he reached out and hugged the dog with great affection!

She hugged the dog tightly in her smelly arms, patting his back intermittently while murmuring something softly.

The dog almost thought it was its own brain malfunctioning; its cheeks were swollen so badly that Zhao Xuan could still see the surprise and terror in its face.

The dog instinctively tried to break free from the madman, but the madman held it even tighter!

The commotion startled the gatekeeper, who turned around, glanced at the strangely behaving madman with interest, and cursed, "Damn, you're planning to acknowledge him as your son, huh?"

None of the three of them were tied up with ropes now—there were too many supplies, and sheep bleating in the yard, so the two of them untied the ropes that were binding the three of them, firstly to tie up the sheep running around in the yard, and secondly to use them to tie up the supplies.

The little devil was holding a watermelon knife in his arms, and the slit-eyed man had a dagger stuck in his back pocket. They felt that their strength was more than enough to subdue these three half-dead piglets.

Xi Gui glanced at them and then looked away. He was sitting diagonally by the door, where he could see the supplies piled up in the living room, and out of the corner of his eye, he could also see the three people in the bathroom.

He has a strong ability to detect moving objects in his peripheral vision; he can detect even the slightest movement of the three people in the bathroom.

The dog gave up trying to break free from the madman. He quietly pulled out one hand, pretending to wave it to break free from the madman's grip, but actually reached it under the washing machine.

With a "click," he took off one dagger, then another.

...

Zhao Xuan suddenly cried out, saying that his heart hurt.

It looks like she has broken a bone, and the heart pain she mentioned is likely just pain coming from the vicinity of her heart.

Zhao Xuan lay on the ground, curled up like a shrimp.

The little devil stared coldly for a while, then stood up cursing, muttering, "Is he really going to die? Third Brother hasn't even slept with this woman yet. It's rare to find such a top-quality woman..."

He held a knife in one hand and tried to pull Zhao Xuan up with the other.

The next second, Zhao Xuan suddenly raised her head and opened her eyes. She was holding a dagger in her arms and stabbed it into Xi Gui's thigh.

Many people don't pay attention to the thigh area, but the thigh contains a major artery, and if the wound is stabbed accurately, it can be fatal.

After stabbing him, Zhao Xuan quickly retreated.

Having been a thief for so many years, Xi Gui was already on guard the moment he saw Zhao Xuan draw his dagger. But he never expected that Zhao Xuan would not attack his neck or chest at all, but would instead stab his thigh precisely.

The moment the dagger was drawn, blood splattered high. The attack method Old Dao taught her was indeed simple and effective.

Xi Gui's face immediately turned pale. He gripped the watermelon knife tightly, trying to resist. At this moment, Gougou stood up and grabbed his hand. Xi Gui was powerless at this point, and Gougou plunged the dagger into his neck again.

The little ghost swayed, unable to speak, blood gushing from his neck and thighs like a fountain. Within seconds, he collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

Zhao Xuan and the dog exchanged a glance, quickly got up, and walked towards the stairwell.

At that moment, Feng'eryan was carrying a large jar downstairs. The commotion on the first floor made him uneasy. He called out Xigui's name a few times but received no response. Just as he was about to drop the jar to check the situation, he felt a chill on his thighs. He hurriedly dropped the jar, and with a "bang," the pickled radishes inside spilled all over the floor. At the same time, Feng'eryan also fell down the steps.

Without hesitation, Zhao Xuan and the dog stabbed Feng'eryan more than a dozen times. Feng'eryan died before he could even touch the knife in his buttocks.

All of this happened to be seen by Zhang Xiaohe, who was standing at the door.

Zhang Xiaohe knew that something had happened to the dog.

Because the dog didn't return from herding sheep at the agreed time, she didn't go out to look for the dog alone. Instead, she planned to go find Zhao Xuan first. Perhaps the dog was with Zhao Xuan. Even if it wasn't, it would be safer for her to go out to look for the dog with Zhao Xuan.

She was lucky; if she had followed the route the dog usually took when herding sheep, she might have run into the group.

As she approached Zhao Xuan's house, she heard the sheep bleating anxiously. Her heart clenched. Seeing that the iron gate to the yard was wide open, she didn't dare to go in directly. Instead, she found a high spot and observed for a long time. After confirming that no one would come out for the time being, she quietly approached the iron gate. She cautiously peeked out and saw Zhao Xuan and his dog stabbing a stranger like madmen.

In an instant, she realized that robbers had broken in.

"Doggy! Xuanxuan!" Zhang Xiaohe ran up and called their names in a low voice.

The two stopped fighting as if waking from a dream. The dog's expression changed from fierce to fear in an instant. He suddenly dropped the dagger and lunged at his mother.

"Mom! Mom! Someone is trying to kill us!" He trembled all over. At his age before the apocalypse, he hadn't even graduated from elementary school; he was indeed a child.

Zhao Xuan briefly explained the situation to Zhang Xiaohe. They glanced at the trembling madman in the corner, their expressions complicated.

Zhang Xiaohe wanted to leave this troublesome place with the dog and Zhao Xuan, but Zhao Xuan thought for a while and said, "Sister Xiaohe, I can't leave now."

Zhang Xiaohe glanced at Zhao Xuan, who was covered in injuries and had blood on his lips, and then at her son, whose face was swollen and whose eyes were bloodshot. She quickly made a decision: "Yes, we can't leave."

From the conversation between Slit Eyes and Skinny Ghost, we know that there are five people in their group, and three of them are still missing. They cannot let these three disappear in the vast wilderness, otherwise the two families will never have peace.

The remaining three people will appear at any time and in any place, just like ghosts, and the lives of both families will be completely consumed in this guerrilla warfare.

Therefore, we must take advantage of their lowest level of vigilance and eliminate them completely.

Even though Yao Yuan and Lu An are no longer here, these two women and one child are determined to leave the lives of the remaining three people here.