Gu Qingshan's narration made Qin San Niang sense a conspiracy.
If that's the case, the villagers must take refuge first.
Upon hearing what Qin San Niang said, Lu Dingtian thought to himself that he was really in deep trouble! He had barely escaped from the black-clad bandits' blades, but he never expected to fall into the tiger's den again!
"Thank you, Madam Qin. I'll go tell everyone to go hide in the mountains."
"Uncle, we must be very careful with this matter. It would be troublesome if we alerted the thieves! Also, don't alert Zhao Juhua!"
Lu Dingtian looked puzzled. Qin Sanniang only said that her house was under close surveillance by thieves, and Zhao Juhua lived next door. If there was any movement, it would alert the thieves. Besides, with her there, she would definitely not let the mother and daughter get into any danger.
Lu Dingtian felt a headache coming on when he thought of Zhao Juhua's loud voice.
"Okay, then I won't go to Zhao Di's mother's place."
After saying that, he turned and left, feeling indignant. He had been looking forward to a good night's sleep on the warm kang (heated brick bed), but it seemed that was going to be ruined again! However, his life was more important. It would be exhausting for him to notify each of the dozens of households in Lujia Village! Fortunately, his eldest son could help, and his other two sons had to take care of their own children!
Just past midnight, most of the villagers of Lujia Village had been moved to the back mountain south of the village. There was a cave against the cliff there. Although it was not very big, no one had any complaints about it!
Lu Dingtian anxiously watched the commotion in the village, fearing something bad might happen. If Qin Niangzi and the others couldn't hold out, those of them hiding in the back mountains would have to retreat to the mountains as soon as possible. There were wild animals in the mountains, but that was better than squatting there waiting to be slaughtered!
Qin San Niang and Gu Qingshan lay prone on the roof, motionless, like black cats lurking in the shadows.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew by, and the branches overhead swayed in the wind, emitting a high-pitched, somewhat eerie groan.
It was indeed a dark and windy night, perfect for committing a crime!
Before long, a group of dark figures quickly came from the north, led by the old man with the white beard.
He made a gesture of waving one hand, and the people behind him automatically split into two groups, surrounding all the houses they were staying in.
The infiltrator was also very cautious, moving like a cat. After listening for a while at the window to make sure everyone inside was asleep, he carefully blew the sleeping potion through the window crack.
After about 15 minutes, listening carefully to the sounds, I figured everyone inside must be fast asleep, so I boldly pushed the door open and went in.
What they didn't expect was that those who entered the door were the prey!
It was clearly impossible for Qin Sanniang and Gu Qingshan to deal with so many thieves, and the men in Lujia Village were mostly cowardly and lacked courage. Finally, a brilliant idea struck them: why not devise a trap?
Under Qin Sanniang's guidance, Gu Qingshan quickly installed simple mechanisms inside the doors of each house. Basically, when the door was opened, the mechanism would be triggered, and arrows tied to objects on the opposite side would be released. No matter how agile the opponent was, they would generally not be able to escape. Even if they didn't hit a vital spot, it would be enough to give them a hard time.
The white-bearded old man, who was waiting anxiously, felt a sense of unease for some reason.
This village was unusually quiet. Usually, passersby would make some noise—the women's constant arguing, the children's crying—and the villagers would only have a chance to act late at night. But this time, just after midnight, before they could even lie low, every single house had turned off its lights! Could it be, as Qi Hu said, that these villagers were simply exhausted?!
Finally, when the lights came on in the houses across the way, the white-bearded old man breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that his own people had succeeded!
Before the smile had even faded from his face, a shout came from the mountain behind him. More than twenty burly men followed Boss Lu and ran over quickly. Before he could react, they were captured! Turning his head to look at his men being dragged out of the house, he realized that he was the one who had been caught!
However, he still had to make one last effort.
"You ungrateful bastards! We kindly took you in, what are you trying to do?"
The white-bearded old man's eyes widened in anger; where was the kind and benevolent face he had when he first entered the village? Only then did everyone realize that this was clearly a poisonous snake!
"Oh? Then how do you explain this?!" With that, Qin San Niang threw the sleeping potion in front of him.
The white-bearded old man's eyes darted around. "What is this thing? Who knows if it's yours or not? You're trying to frame us! Is there no law anymore? I'm going to Guocheng to sue you! You band of bandits, you want to slaughter our whole village!"
This village is under the jurisdiction of Guocheng, which is why he said he would go to Guocheng to file a complaint!
"Alright, stop being so stubborn! Who is Qi Hu?" Qi Hu is a key figure, and Qin San Niang doesn't want to leave any future troubles; she wants to get rid of him as soon as possible!
"Who knows what you're talking about? This is outrageous!"
He didn't miss the hesitation in his eyes. A constable and a village head who had nothing to do with each other seemed unrelated, but they were definitely more than that.
"Tell me quickly, where is Qi Hu? Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite! This arrow of mine is meant to drink blood."
They were in the open, while Qi Hu was in the shadows! This feeling of being constantly watched made her very uncomfortable!
The white-bearded old man shuddered, thinking of his ailing wife at home. The woman exuded a chilling aura that terrified him; he knew that if he didn't speak, he would surely die. Seeing his still somewhat alive subordinates, he steeled his resolve...
"If I tell you, you have to promise not to kill us!"
"Speak quickly! If you're too late, you'll all die!" What a joke! You're about to wipe us out, and you're still trying to negotiate with me?
"Our village is called Qiwu Village. Three years ago, there was a flood, and most of the villagers drowned. Those who survived became bandits in the mountains. I was originally the village head, so I was elected as the leader. However, there was a severe drought later, and then war. Even becoming a bandit was not an option. Somehow, Qi Hu became a government official. Every six months, he would send a group of prisoners here and we started doing business with him! We would help him drug the prisoners, and then he would choose a few to take away. As for the rest, they would be sent to the mountains to work, hunt, or clear land."
Seeing Qin Sanniang's increasingly dark face, he quickly continued, "We can't control those people who were taken away. Qi Hu is a yamen runner, and he has a knife! We're just trying to earn a living! The bandits on the mountain forty miles away are much more ruthless than you, and they do business with Qi Hu too!"
"Who were those people who were taken away?"
"They're all women or little kids..."
The white-bearded old man was definitely not innocent; Qin Sanniang kicked him, hitting him squarely in the chest. Ignoring his groans as he lay on the ground, she figured those women and children had probably been sold! It was a risk-free, highly profitable business!
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