“That’s right, Old Man Sun is right. Those people are probably exhausted before they even get up the mountain. They won’t have the strength to fight us. Let’s not scare ourselves.”
"That's right. Those people were able to let Gousheng and Yimian go, so they probably aren't any bad guys. If we beg for mercy a bit, we'll definitely be able to escape."
Seeing everyone's worries disappear, Jiang Yimian hesitated to speak.
Those people are unpredictable and can kill whenever they want. If you run into them, you won't be able to escape so easily. The fact that she and Gousheng were able to leave safely today can only be attributed to good luck. Those people's attention was all on Zhang Shi, and they didn't have time to pay attention to the two children.
Seeing that Jiang Yimian still had something to say, Old Liu quickly told everyone to quiet down, "Stop talking nonsense. Today, only Yimian and her group encountered those people head-on. Let's hear what Yimian has to say."
He didn't think those people were any good. The fact that the two children were able to come back was just a whim of theirs. He didn't dare to gamble; he wasn't willing to risk the lives of his own family.
After hearing Old Liu's words, everyone quieted down and looked at Jiang Yimian.
Jiang Yimian was somewhat surprised. She nodded to Old Man Liu before saying coldly, "I suspect those people down the mountain are bandits. We should avoid confronting them directly. Everyone should be careful these next few days. It would be best to arrange for some people to patrol the area, while the rest of us should move away as soon as possible and find a new place to stay."
This is the best method available now.
The hills of Xinghua Village are connected to several other mountains, forming a continuous stretch, and are surrounded by dense forests. As long as they hide in the mountains, it would be quite difficult for the villagers to find them.
Everyone disagreed with this statement.
“There are many wild animals and beasts in the deep mountains. Even if we can avoid the people down the mountain, we can’t avoid these things. What if we get eaten by tigers and wolves before the people down the mountain even come up to fight us?”
"Yeah, and those people haven't even come up yet, have they? They might not even know we're in the mountains, so why should we move?"
“That’s right. Since those people don’t know there are people on the mountain, we just need to be careful not to get discovered. Besides, this place is remote. They might just be staying for a few days and then leaving. There’s no need for us to risk going deep into the mountains.”
Upon hearing this, several people echoed his sentiments.
Old Man Sun looked at Jiang Yimian and Gou Sheng and teased them, "You two must have been scared by the people down the mountain, which is why you said you wanted to go deep into the mountains. If you're scared, just hide in your shack and don't come out, so you don't get scared out of your wits."
Hearing this, everyone realized that the two people in front of them were just children, probably scared by the people down the mountain and were just frightening themselves.
Immediately someone said, "Alright, it's my fault for panicking just now and being scared by you two little devils. It's getting late, everyone should finish eating and go to sleep."
After saying that, he left with his family. Seeing this, Old Man Sun also pulled his son and wife away.
Seeing that no one believed him, Gou Sheng panicked and hurriedly said to Old Man Liu, "Grandpa Liu, Yi Mian and I are not lying. Those people down the mountain are really not to be trifled with. If they come up the mountain, we will really be doomed."
The thought of those menacing, vicious eyes and those gleaming, sharpened machetes made him tremble with fear.
Seeing the anxiety on Gou Sheng's face, Old Liu couldn't make up his mind. What those people said was true; the danger in the deep mountains was much greater than that of the six people down the mountain.
If they rashly go into the mountains, they will be the ones who suffer losses. It's better for them to stay here and guard the area. They are quite familiar with the mountains, and if they find anything amiss, they can drive people down as soon as possible.
After thinking for a while, he said to his son beside him, "You come with me to block the road up the mountain. In the next few days, keep an eye on the foot of the mountain and let everyone know if anything happens."
Liu Dayong nodded hurriedly, went into the shack to get a shovel, and was about to leave.
Seeing this, Gou Sheng quickly volunteered, "Grandpa Liu, I'll go too. I can help you dig the soil."
As he spoke, he quickly put down his basket and was about to follow, but was glared at by Old Liu and turned back.
"What are you doing going along, you little boy? It's not like it's anything fun. It's getting late, go back and eat and sleep. I don't have time to take care of you."
After saying that, he left with Liu Dayong.
Gou Sheng was somewhat disappointed. Seeing the two figures disappear into the darkness, he could only follow Liu Xiaoyun home.
After dinner, Jiang Yimian lay in bed, but she still felt uneasy.
She could understand why the villagers didn't want to go deep into the mountains. After all, if they encountered a herd of wild boars or other large creatures, even a dozen of their lives wouldn't be enough to satisfy their hunger.
She patted her chest and guaranteed that she would definitely protect the safety of the villagers, but not only did those people not believe her, she herself was not entirely confident that she could protect so many people.
If she encounters someone who doesn't listen to her again, she wouldn't be able to protect them even if she had three heads and six arms.
But she was still a little worried. Although the mountain road she usually took was blocked, there were many secluded paths in the forest, and if she wanted to go up the mountain, she could find quite a few ways.
Especially with that slippery Wang Ergou down the mountain, who doesn't know if he's dead or alive, if he brings people up the mountain to save their lives, no matter how much they guard against him, they won't be able to stop him.
After all, they were from the village and knew the mountains much better than the outsiders, unlike the outsiders who couldn't find their way and had to go back.
If the original owner of this body could find a path up the mountain, this guy must know plenty of such paths.
She had to put farming aside for now; finding a secluded and safe place to hide was the right thing to do.
After thinking everything through, Jiang Yimian was exhausted. Today she had been going up and down the mountain, encountered bandits, and hadn't eaten well. She was also carrying a lot of seeds up the mountain. If she hadn't eaten some meat these past few days to replenish her strength, she would have collapsed halfway up.
Once she relaxed, she couldn't stay awake any longer, her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep in no time.
On the contrary, Wang Fengqin held her husband's and son's clothes and cried for a long time before falling asleep.
The next morning, after eating, Jiang Yimian used the excuse of digging for wild vegetables to leave with her basket on her back.
She first went around the woods to the vicinity of the Liu family's shack and observed the others for a while.
Seeing that everyone's expressions were normal and they were busy with their own things, but their eyes were constantly paying attention to the surrounding movements and occasionally glancing towards the path down the mountain, it was clear that these people were bold in words but actually just as scared and terrified in their hearts.
Yesterday's events were indeed significant. If those two cunning fellows, Wang Ergou, could be caught and unable to escape, then it goes without saying that honest farmers like them would be in even worse shape. If they were to encounter people from the foot of the mountain, they would only face certain death.
Seeing that everyone was on guard and Liu Dayong was still patrolling the vicinity from time to time, Jiang Yimian breathed a sigh of relief and went to check on the mountain path blocked by the old man Liu and his son halfway up the mountain.
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