Chapter 167, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: Let him taste what it's like to be burned first...
The women, who were just about to grab their weapons, were greatly disappointed when they saw Zhang Chengming, Li Jing, Li Tuo, and other young men rushing back.
How did they arrive so quickly?
The few who sent the messages regretted contacting them too early; they should have at least let them show off a bit.
They weren't confident in dealing with wild beasts, but they were quite confident in dealing with these useless cowards who only bullied their own kind.
Zhang Chengming and the others were unaware that they had arrived too quickly and were being looked down upon. They glared unfriendly at the Wei family members who were surrounding the village women.
Behind them were the Huo family's army, who had been deliberately led away by the Wei family. They also looked displeased at Wei San and the others.
The lieutenant left behind by Huo Tiankuo shouted, "Wei San! What are you doing! The people of Yunlu Village have helped us a lot and saved the lives of many disaster victims and soldiers. How dare you touch them!"
When Wei San saw the deputy general and the other indignant Huo family soldiers, his heart tightened, but thinking of the benefits he could gain after the mission was accomplished, he still did not back down.
"I had forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it. Those medicines are really strange. I've lived for over twenty years and I've never heard of any medicine that can cure an illness in less than an hour. Even the imperial physicians in the palace probably don't have that ability."
Claims that the medicine will cure all diseases and save lives might just be a smokescreen; in reality, it's poison that will absorb a person's lifespan!
Chen Rong laughed angrily: "You think you can just absorb lifespan? Who do you think you are, to say whatever you want?"
The deputy general also clearly disagreed with Wei San's unfounded speculation.
Deputy General Liu looked at the other disaster victims and frowned, saying, "Did you all believe what they said and want to target your savior?"
Did I drink ginger soup and bone broth for nothing?
I caught a cold and got better after taking the medicine provided by Yunlu Village. I've forgotten how my life was saved in the first place.
The disaster victims, who had been wavering due to Wei San's repeated revelations, lowered their heads in shame and quickly distanced themselves from the Wei family.
"Lieutenant, don't misunderstand, we didn't!"
"We are not the kind of heartless people."
"Yes! We were just fooled by Wei San. Who would have thought he would burn a living person?"
Thinking about it carefully, just like the guy from Yunlu Village said, how can Wei San's words be taken at face value? He's not a god.
Enraged by their defection, Wei San cursed them under his breath as 'useless,' then, looking at Deputy General Liu, he steeled himself and said, 'I think Deputy General Liu has probably been bewitched by these monsters too!'
Deputy General Liu's already somber expression turned even uglier. "Absurd!"
Zhang Chengming and the others impatiently rolled up their sleeves and said, "Deputy General Liu, stop wasting your breath on these people. I think they deserve a beating. Don't worry about them, let us teach them a lesson ourselves!"
They didn't know whether Deputy General Liu and these people were in cahoots, and they couldn't let the other side have a chance to smooth things over.
Seeing their menacing demeanor, Wei San panicked and quickly pulled out a dagger from his body, pointing it at the women they had surrounded and threatening, "Don't come any closer! If you dare to approach, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
Zhang Chengming and the others indeed stopped what they were doing.
Wei San thought they were indeed hesitant to act rashly, and he couldn't help but feel smug. However, he didn't notice that the young men were looking at him as if he were a fool.
Thinking he had the perfect hostage, Wei San became increasingly arrogant, saying to himself, "If you want them to live, obediently hand over all the supplies you have, and tell me where your hideout is!"
These people can easily pull out tents that provide excellent insulation, so their own living conditions must be even better.
If they could seize the area, why would they need to build a makeshift camp on the mountain and continue suffering?
Su Ying, who had been silent until now, scoffed and mocked, "Didn't you say there was something wrong with our food? Now you want our supplies. In the end, you're just greedy and want to plunder us."
The other victims' eyes also turned strange when they heard Wei San's threat.
Wu Yinyin spat at Wei San and the others, "You're not worthy to use us as hostages!"
Miao Jinfeng, as the village chief's wife, gave the order: "Let's do it! Let them see that we women are not to be trifled with!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the women, who had been waiting impatiently, took out their weapons from their spatial storage.
The women were all members of the gathering team, and they didn't have many opportunities to practice their aim. Fearing that they might accidentally injure the people around them, they mostly took out entrenching tools or baseball bats that were used as laundry mallets.
Wei San was startled by their ability to conjure objects out of thin air, then exclaimed excitedly, "See! I told you so! They do know magic! You didn't believe me? Quickly, capture them—"
"Grab your head, my foot!"
Before Wei San could finish speaking, Wei Xiang punched him in the face, making his face look crooked.
The others also swung baseball bats or entrenching tools with the backs of their shovels and beat the rest of the Wei family.
The Wei family members were swaggering and arrogant just a moment ago, but the next moment they were beaten so badly by a rain of fists, kicks and sticks that they cried out for their parents.
"ah--!"
Ouch!
"You bitch, how dare you hit me—ahhh, stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!"
The disaster victims stared wide-eyed at the women beating people with ferocity, their eyes filled with terror.
These women are so fierce!
Many people instinctively stepped back, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.
Huo Jiajun was determined to prevent the situation from escalating further, but he was stopped by Zhang Chengming and others before he could get close.
Why stop them? Let their women vent their anger first.
In the end, Deputy General Liu and the others could only watch as the Wei family, led by Wei San, were beaten half to death, their previous arrogance completely gone.
Huo Tiankuo returned at this time.
He didn't have time to see the situation clearly; he was only thinking about stopping the fight, so he shouted, "Stop!"
The women, having vented their anger, cooperated by ceasing their attacks and stepping back.
Zhang Chengming and the others quickly went to meet them. As they passed by, they couldn't help but kick the Wei family members who were lying on the ground groaning twice.
Huo Tiankuo paused slightly upon seeing this scene, frowned, and glanced at the disaster victims who were huddled together despite the snow still falling outside. He then turned to Deputy General Liu and asked, "What exactly happened?"
Deputy General Liu opened his mouth, "General, it's Wei—"
"General!" Uncle Wei, who had been hiding in the shadows, quickly stepped forward and said preemptively, "These people are going too far! Even if they did help us, they can't beat people like this. Could it be that Xiao San was right and they're trying to kill us to cover their tracks because they feel guilty?!"
"We must get an explanation for this! I believe the general wouldn't let these unidentified outsiders cause trouble for those of us who have rendered meritorious service, would he?"
The people of Yunlu Village were furious when they heard this.
You're just making a fool of yourselves by crying "stop thief!" and turning the tables on others!
Wei San and the others stood up, clutching their bruised and swollen areas, cursing, "That's right! We need an explanation!"
"Even if we don't burn them to death, we should at least give them a beating!"
Huo Tiankuo did not listen to the Wei family's side of the story. Instead, he looked at Miao Jinfeng and the others, as well as Deputy General Liu, and frowned, saying, "What do you mean by feeling guilty? What exactly happened?"
Before Deputy General Liu could speak, Miao Jinfeng and the others immediately recounted the whole story, one after another.
"We offered our help with good intentions, but we were treated like monsters and threatened with being beaten and killed, and even burned alive. General Huo, if anyone is heartbroken, it is us!"
Huo Tiankuo glanced at Deputy General Liu, who nodded.
Huo Tiankuo's face immediately darkened.
He knew, of course, that Yunlu Village had many untold secrets, but that was their business and it was none of their concern.
Sleeping in someone else's tent, eating their medicine and food, and then targeting them is truly repaying kindness with enmity, an act that deserves everyone's contempt!
Huo Tiankuo began, "You—"
"General Huo," Lu Xuan interrupted Huo Tiankuo's rebuke, "let us handle our own affairs."
Lu Xuan slowly walked forward from behind, his eyes filled with coldness as he looked at Uncle Wei.
The chat room was already filled with insults.
Who are they calling a monster?! I think these idiots are the real freaks, all ugly and troublesome!
[He picks up the bowl to eat, then puts it down and curses; he hasn't even put the bowl down yet and he's already trying to kill someone—what a scoundrel!]
[I was wondering why the streamer didn't use a more convenient medical device to save them, and didn't even bring out the air conditioner to warm them up. Now it seems it's a good thing they didn't, otherwise it would have become evidence that they were monsters.]
I truly admire the ignorance of the ancients; they considered anything they had never seen before to be witchcraft or sorcery.
I doubt they truly believe it's sorcery; frankly, they just want to take advantage.
[Host, since they say you know magic, let's show them the power of 'magic'!]
Lu Xuan had this intention.
Lu Xuan waved to the others.
All the able-bodied men with supernatural abilities, including the women, quickly stepped forward, and wind blades, fireballs, water arrows, earth spikes, and golden knives appeared in their palms and beside them.
Because Lei Yan went back to take care of Lu Qing, leaving one less lightning element, Lu Xuan also personally took to the field, his body crackling with lightning, and thunderous roars echoing in the air, as if the Thunder God had descended.
Having already mentally prepared how to refute Lu Xuan's sophistry and nail these people to the identity of 'monster', Uncle Wei Er looked at the scene before him that was completely beyond his comprehension, and his face instantly turned pale.
The other disaster victims around them were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they screamed and scrambled to escape.
Huo Tiankuo and Huo Jiajun were also stunned by the sight of wind, fire, thunder, and ice appearing simultaneously. Their pupils contracted continuously, and they were speechless with their mouths agape.
Lu Xuan looked at the terrified Wei family members and said calmly, "Make your move."
At his command, the strong young men standing on either side of him immediately and without hesitation hurled the wind blades and fireballs they had conjured at the Wei family members.
The Wei family members were terrified by the overwhelming sorcery. "Don't come any closer! Help!"
They turned to run, but were tripped by vines that appeared out of nowhere, causing the supernatural attack to land squarely on their bodies.
Wind blades, earth spikes, and golden knives slashed across my cheeks, thighs, and arms, leaving a burning pain.
Water balloons drenched people, while ice-type ability users froze their feet, rendering them unable to move.
The fireballs and lightning instantly ignited their clothes and scorched their skin, the smell of burning flesh quickly spreading around them.
Didn't you want to burn them to death?
You should experience what it's like to be burned first.
After setting the fire, Li Tuo said in a particularly infuriating way, "It's just the right time to warm you up since it's cold. You're welcome."
The other victims were terrified, and those whose legs were too weak to run had faces full of sorrow, thinking they were going to die.
But after waiting for a while, they found that the sorcery did not attack them at all, but was only aimed at the Wei family who were targeting the women of Yunlu Village.
Some of the women noticed that several men from the Wei family had their chests and buttocks exposed from the burns. They didn't care about being scared and quickly looked away because it was too gruesome to look at.
But the lessons learned did not stop there.
The vines that tripped the Wei family members wrapped around the neck of Wei San, who had been shouting the loudest, and lifted him up.
At the same time, the remaining bloodsucking vines also rose from the ground and swung around the villagers of Yunlu Village.
The villagers had long been accustomed to the presence of the blood-sucking vines and were no longer afraid, but the disaster victims were once again terrified and cried out in alarm when they saw the vines moving on their own.
"Oh my god! The vines, the vines are moving by themselves!!!"
The timid disaster victims were repeatedly agitated, and one by one, they rolled their eyes and finally fainted.
Huo Jiajun was also startled and instinctively gripped the hilt of his knife at his waist. However, after noticing that the strange vines were not randomly harming people, he managed to maintain his last shred of rationality and did not draw his knife against Yunlu Village. Instead, he cautiously stood in front of the other innocent disaster victims as a precaution.
All eyes were focused on Wei San, who was being lifted more than three meters into the air.
The thorny tendrils of the vampire pierced Wei San's neck, and the latter flailed his legs wildly while whimpering in pain.
He had initially tried to tear the vines away with his hands, but his palms were pierced, and he could feel his blood being drawn away. Terrified, he dared not act rashly any further and could only hold his breath and desperately plead for help: "Second...Second Uncle, save...General..."
"Did I tell you to speak?" Lu Xuan flicked his finger, and another vine lashed out at Wei San.
"Ah—!" Wei San couldn't help but scream.
Uncle Wei's eyes reddened with shock and anger. He shouted, "Let him go! I won't let you get away with touching him!"
There are not many members left in the Wei family. Wei San is the only direct descendant of them and is the closest to him. He cannot just stand by and watch something happen to Wei San.
Uncle Wei turned to Huo Tiankuo and said, "General Huo! Why aren't you telling him to put Wei San down? Without us, how could you have held on until now? Are you going to be ungrateful?"
Huo Tiankuo, still amazed by the series of miraculous methods employed by Yunlu Village, frowned deeply.
Lu Xuan scoffed, "General Huo has taken so many supplies from us these past two days that he already owes us a huge sum. What use is it for you to call him?"
At this moment, his attitude was not polite to Huo Tiankuo at all, but instead mocked: "If I said that taking your lives could settle these debts, and we could also give all the disaster victims a batch of supplies, do you think General Huo would save you, or hand you over to us for the sake of the overall situation?"
Uncle Wei's expression changed on the spot.
If Uncle Wei knew Huo Tiankuo's character well enough, he would know that Huo Tiankuo would not choose any of them.
However, judging others by his own standards, he was convinced that Huo Tiankuo would not dare to oppose them after witnessing the terror of Yunlu Village. He believed that his side would definitely be abandoned, and his confidence quickly faded, his face turning ashen.
Lu Xuan waved his hand again and said to the hunting team, "Tie them all up."
Zhang Chengming and his men immediately rushed over and tied up the entire Wei family.
During the process, Lu Xuan paid special attention to the reactions of the other disaster victims. He found that apart from those who had been swayed and were somewhat panicked, most of the others breathed a sigh of relief and even secretly showed a look of satisfaction.
After everyone else was tied up, Lu Xuan casually threw Wei San down as well.
Everyone heard the cracking sound of Wei San's bones breaking as he landed on the ground, followed by his painful screams.
Huo Tiankuo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Wei San hadn't actually been killed.
Then, turning to look at the terrified disaster victims and the half-dead Wei family members tied together, he was at a loss for what to do next.
Lu Xuan gestured with his chin toward their tent and said, "General Huo, shall we go inside and talk?"
·
Inside the tent.
Huo Tiankuo watched as Lu Xuan and the other villagers tried several times to ask about their abilities, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
Finally, the village chief, who was getting impatient, asked, "General Huo, who exactly are those troublemakers?"
"Judging from their clothes and appearance, they don't seem to be from ordinary backgrounds. They even claimed to have made meritorious contributions. What's going on?"
People whose minds are filled with nothing but robbing others to obtain supplies can't possibly be on the same level as the world-renowned General Huo.
Huo Tiankuo paused, temporarily suppressing his curiosity about the 'demon magic', and sighed: "They are the Wei family, a local prominent family in the southwestern border city. After the earthquake, many prominent families suffered heavy losses in the epicenter, but they were the only ones who survived relatively intact."
The Wei family runs a grain shop in the border town; without their supplies, Huo's army and other disaster victims might not have survived until today.
Viewers who had initially doubted whether he was in cahoots with the Wei family finally understood.
[I knew these people dared to cause trouble behind Huo's back.]
[Do they think that even if they commit a crime, the Huo family army won't do anything to them because of the supplies? But they didn't mess with the Huo family army, they messed with the streamer!]
Perhaps they're even thinking of having Huo's army fight the streamer?
[I want to eat it!]
[Just because he's been fed, does Huo Tiankuo think he can just stand by and do nothing while these people are taking advantage of him? What if one day these people commit murder and arson, and Huo Tiankuo pretends he didn't see it?]
[I still don't understand. Even if they wanted to cause trouble, why were they in such a hurry? They haven't even arrived at the new camp yet, and they're already rushing to take action? There wasn't even any preparation?]
[They probably wanted to prevent the disaster victims and villagers from developing a bond if things dragged on too long, making them less easily swayed.]
While everyone is still relatively unfamiliar with each other, even if they are killed or burned, as long as enough supplies are obtained and the disaster victims receive enough benefits, the matter will be settled, and it is unlikely that they will cause trouble for the Wei family for the sake of unrelated people.
Thinking about it this way, their decision to act quickly and decisively turned out to be a wise one.
Unfortunately, they underestimated the strength of the people of Yunlu Village.
[By the way, did the streamer already know about the Wei family's existence? Didn't she previously send Su Ying to gather information? Was she specifically looking for information about the Wei family?]
Lu Xuan said, "I suppose so."
On the first day when he distributed meat soup to the disaster victims, he noticed that a small group of people were dressed much better than the other disaster victims.
While everyone else cherished the meat broth, these people showed disgust, and some even bossed Huo Jiajun around, demanding that Huo Jiajun prepare a special meal for them.
Even a general like Huo Tiankuo doesn't get special meals, yet someone brazenly asks to eat alone. How can this not arouse people's curiosity?
Since Su Ying's special ability was convenient for gathering information and her appearance was not likely to arouse suspicion, Lu Xuan asked her to do some work.
But what he asked Su Ying to find out was not just the origins of these people.
Lu Xuan asked, "General Huo, do you know what the Wei family has been doing behind your back?"
When Huo Tiankuo looked puzzled, Lu Xuan nodded to Su Ying, who was standing to the side. The latter then recounted the information she had gleaned from other disaster victims and some of Huo's soldiers.
Huo Tiankuo's face grew increasingly grim as he listened, and his fists, hanging at his sides, clenched involuntarily.
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Author's Note: Special thanks to "小琳儿cy" for watering with nutrient solution +50
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