Lin Weiming's lips twitched slightly.

However, he quickly composed himself and asked calmly, "Then what can I do?"

It's impossible to just stand by and watch my three-year-old daughter fight battles from miles away while I can't do anything and am even looked down upon, potentially holding her back.

"Father, why don't you go and get the hemp rope?" Lin Wanyue thought for a moment and said.

Lin Weiming glanced at his arm; it was strong and powerful, with clearly defined muscle lines, but in his daughter's eyes, it was indeed something that could be used to make hemp rope.

He's not going to say anything more; he's going to go cry in a corner for a while now.

But since it was his own daughter who said it, and he didn't hear any sounds of burning, killing, or looting even when he strained his ears, he felt a little relieved.

Because the rice harvest was just completed recently, rice straw, as a byproduct of rice production, is actually quite useful. It can be used not only for firewood and tinder, but also for feeding cattle, horses, and sheep. It can also be used to build thatched roofs, and if you're really poor, you can even use straw to make your bed.

Of course, it's also a good material for making rope.

Lin Weiming's family now keeps the cow that was stolen from the bandits, and they have also moved a lot of straw to the backyard to make it easier to feed the cow.

Before long, Lin Weiming had already braided several ropes in the yard.

Several small white paper figures floated over and, with some difficulty, carried the ropes and flew outside.

The little paper doll is so small that a single one cannot hold a rope. Several of them need to work together to fly crookedly out of the Lin family's courtyard.

Lin Weiming: "..."

It's really heartbreaking to see!

…

Finally, dawn broke, and the white mist that had enveloped the autumn day was blown away by the autumn wind.

The hardworking villagers have already gotten up and are busy with their work.

Some people were doing laundry, cooking, and tidying up the house, while others had already picked up their hoes and were preparing to go to the fields to take a look.

A few days ago, Lin Weiming got some yellow seeds called corn from somewhere and had them plant them, saying that they could harvest them next year and have something to eat in the spring.

They were skeptical, but they picked up a handful without much trouble.

And these seeds are free!

Everyone is willing to throw a few grains in the fields. If they actually grow into crops, that would be a great thing. But if they don't grow... well, they haven't put in much effort.

And just as Lin Weiming said, it didn't take long for the corn to sprout, and it was growing well, which was pleasing to the eye.

Lin Weiming called over a few familiar men and headed towards the east end of the village, as Lin Wanyue had indicated.

"Brother Lin, are bandits really coming? Why don't we call a few more people over... those bandits are fierce!" The man following behind Lin Weiming held a kitchen knife in his hand and nervously looked around.

"No need." Lin Weiming was noticeably calmer than the others, mainly due to the confidence he gained from his little daughter. "No need. There don't seem to be many people this time. Just a few of us will be enough. Let's not scare the others."

The others weren't scared, but they were very panicked inside!

"Brother Lin, is that it? I think there's someone there!" Du Fan's leg is still a little limping, but it doesn't affect his walking.

With his sharp eyes, he quickly noticed what appeared to be several shadowy figures on the willow trees beside the river.

The men immediately became alert, gripping their weapons tightly, lowering their bodies, and walking towards the riverbank.

"Help! Help!"

The people there noticed them and immediately shouted for help.

This, in turn, confused the people of Ning'an Village.

The villagers remained vigilant and slowly approached.

There were seventeen people tied to the trees. Some of these men had been beaten until their heads were bleeding, and there were several severed fingers on the ground. Some of them were not injured, but were just dazed. There were also many knives piled up not far away.

However, these people were all tightly bound by straw ropes and could not break free at all, so they naturally had no way to reach the knife not far away.

"Big Brother!" Seeing them was like seeing a lifeline; they cried out desperately, "Big Brothers, please save us! This place is haunted!"

Lin Weiming walked over, his brows furrowing slightly. "Who are you people? What are you doing here, and why are you tied up like this?"

"Brother! Please untie me! We...we were just passing through on our way to go hunting in the mountains. We heard that Ning'an Village was incredibly wealthy, so we wanted to go and take a look, but we never expected...that place is a ghost village!" The man tied to the tree seemed to recall some extremely terrifying experience, and even though he was tightly bound by ropes, he still trembled uncontrollably.

When the other villagers heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

How come they didn't know their village was a ghost village?

Moreover, who goes hunting in the mountains without a bow and arrows, carrying only knives?

Just now, one of the bolder ones got close to the knives, took a look, and found that some of the knives were chipped, obviously they had been used.

I just don't know what it was that was being cut down.

Lin Weiming's lips twitched. "Do you even know? We're from Ning'an Village."

"Ghost, ghost!" The man who had just wanted to ask them for help was so frightened by Lin Weiming's words that his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

Everyone: "..."

The other bandits tied to the trees, though not as cowardly as him, all looked at these men with fear in their eyes.

They cautiously looked down at the ground.

"Big brother, are you... really ghosts? Are you trying to eat us...? Our flesh isn't tasty! Please spare us! We'll give you all the money we stole, we'll burn it all for you... Please let us go!"

"Please, ghost sir, spare my life! I promise I'll never kill anyone again, please, please..."

"We know we were wrong, we really know, and we promise we'll never do it again. Please, please let us go, you ghost masters. If you let us go, we promise to burn paper money for you every day and let you enjoy endless wealth and luxury."

Several bandits wept bitterly and begged for mercy.

Lin Weiming: "Hehehe..."

The villagers said, "You're dreaming."

After killing so many people, how dare they expect to be let go?

Why should I?

Looking at the bandits who were desperately begging for mercy, Lin Weiming thought of the ghost of Wu Yong he had seen that day. He remained silent for a long time before saying, "You don't know you're wrong, you're just afraid of dying."

“I can’t let you go, nor do I deserve to let you go on behalf of those you killed.”

All seventeen bandits have been captured, and the village can be said to be safe for the time being.

But then a problem arises.

How could so many bandits be kept locked up in the Lin family's old home and supported by Ning'an Village?

The village doesn't have enough food for them to waste!