The villagers were all trying to recall whether a strange woman had come to the village two years ago.

But no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn't recall any strange woman ever coming to the village.

Everyone shook their heads.

The leader of the men in black said again, "I advise you to think about this carefully."

Did any strange women stop in your village, or was it an injured woman passing through?

Just then, Granny Wang, the village's gossipy old woman, suddenly asked a question.

"Xiao Wang, isn't that newlywed wife the one who fled here two years ago when we were fleeing famine?"

Upon hearing this, the leader of the men in black quickly pulled the old woman who had spoken out out of the crowd.

"Where is that new young lady you mentioned now?"

Granny Wang quickly pointed to the woman holding a child in the crowd.

The man in black walked up and took out a portrait from his pocket.

But when he took out the portrait and looked at the woman, he found that she was not the same person at all, and they were very different.

This woman's face shape and appearance were completely unlike anyone else's; it was obvious that she was not the person they were looking for.

Enraged, the man in black killed the woman in front of him with a single sword strike.

Even the child in the woman's arms was thrown violently to the ground.

All the people were terrified, and some tried to flee in all directions.

But these men in black were no pushovers; they hacked those who tried to escape to death with their swords.

The leader of the men in black looked around at the women of the same age in the village, but none of them were the people in the portrait.

I couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

He shouted to his men, "Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. Slaughter everyone in this village!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the men in black drew their knives and slashed into the crowd as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

At this moment, Granny Wang felt everything go black before her eyes, and she fainted.

Wang the Cripple picked up a mud brick from the side and smashed it over the head of the man in black.

The man in black who was hit plunged a knife into Wang the Cripple's chest, and the others were killed in the same way.

Soon it started to rain. Seeing that everyone had been killed, the man in black turned and left.

Da Bao on the mountain was awakened by the raindrops.

He touched the back of his head, which was still a little sore from the impact, and then climbed out of the ravine.

After getting up, I felt a little dazed.

It started wobbling, looking around for the basket it had dropped.

Then I saw the bamboo basket in a ravine not far away, and the mushrooms and wild vegetables inside had fallen out.

He quickly put all the fallen mushrooms and wild vegetables into the basket before carefully carrying the basket down the mountain.

But he was thinking that his family must be quite worried, especially his lame father.

As I walked, I suddenly tumbled down the mountainside, the path slippery from the rain.

Although Da Bao was a little sore from the fall, looking at his full basket of mushrooms and wild vegetables, he thought that his grandmother would be happy.

When they arrived at the small mountain village, they realized something was wrong.

For some reason, the small mountain village seemed unusually quiet today.

It's normal; at this time, there will be some noise from elderly people or children.

When we passed by the ancestral hall's open space, we found it was packed with people.

But everyone was lying on the ground, and the ground was covered in blood.

Suddenly, the basket in Da Bao's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

He rushed forward at high speed.

All I could see were bloody corpses, and most importantly, I even saw my second uncle's children.

Da Bao frantically rummaged through the corpses, hoping that he wouldn't find anyone he recognized among them.

As he was rummaging through the clothes, he suddenly saw that familiar garment lying on top of another person.

With trembling hands, Da Bao turned the body over and then sat down on the ground with a thud.

"Father, Da Bao hasn't been able to repay your kindness yet, you can't die."

Don't be afraid, Da Bao will carry you to see the doctor right away. You'll be fine.

Just as Da Bao pulled Wang the Cripple's body aside, Old Lady Wang, who had been lying on top of Wang the Cripple, slowly woke up.

At that time, Wang the Cripple had been stabbed in the chest, but he had not yet died.

Watching the villagers around him, whom he knew so well, being hacked to death by the men in black.

He tried to get up to stop the man in black, but then he saw his mother lying unconscious on the ground, so he lay down on top of her.

Wang the Cripple couldn't protect others, but his own mother had worked hard for half her life. If he could protect his mother, that would be fine too.

Anyway, given the extent of his injuries, he knew he wouldn't live much longer.

Especially when he saw that his younger brother and nephew had all died.

He felt even more determined to protect his mother.

Thinking of Da Bao, who had disappeared without a trace early in the morning, I felt a sense of relief. At least Da Bao should be able to survive.

Grandma Wang did wake up briefly in the middle of the night; she tried to get up.

But she found herself pinned down by her eldest son.

Wang the Cripple whispered in Old Lady Wang's ear, "Mother, they're all gone. Even if you get up, you'll still die."

Da Bao is nowhere to be found now. You must live well and stay with Da Bao.

Why would Old Lady Wang want to live alone?

But Wang the Cripple knocked him unconscious with a single chop to the neck.

Wang the Cripple didn't know if he had chopped correctly, but he knew his mother was definitely not in any danger.

After doing all this, Wang the Cripple was so badly injured from excessive blood loss that he could barely breathe.

After the man in black had circled around, he discovered that Wang the Cripple was already on the verge of death, so he went forward and delivered another blow.

Seeing that everyone was dead, the men in black turned and left.

Da Bao felt like he had grasped at a straw.

"What exactly happened to Grandpa and the others?"

Grandma Wang hugged Da Bao and kept crying.

But as she cried, Old Lady Wang suddenly froze.

She recalled the time when Wang the Cripple took Da Bao to the hospital.

Then they went up the mountain again, saying they wanted to bring someone back.

In the end, however, he returned alone, and when asked, he simply shook his head and sighed without saying much.

Old Mrs. Wang seemed to have thought of something, and looked at Da Bao, asking, "Tell me, back then, were you the only one in the mass grave on the mountain, or was there another woman there?"

Da Bao didn't understand why his grandmother was suddenly asking about this, but he eventually nodded.

"Yes, I still have my mother."

Upon hearing this reply, Old Lady Wang suddenly pushed Da Bao backward.

Da Bao fell to the ground.

Grandma Wang looked at Da Bao, who had fallen to the ground, and said fiercely, "It's all your fault, you're a jinx."

Do you know why all these villagers died? It's because of you.

These villagers lost their lives because of you and your son.

Why were my poor grandsons the ones who died, and not you?