"Hey? I'm going to hit her today, so what? Is this your wife? Go back and teach her a lesson, show her how to talk properly!"
These words completely enraged Wang San, who swung his fist and punched the man.
Upon seeing this, the thieves behind immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed over.
"stop!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than the sounds of children crying came from the crowd.
Song He'er carried the two children to the front, saying, "The children are in my hands. If you don't let us go, be careful with their lives!"
The scarred man at the head of the group immediately stopped the people behind him when he saw that it was his own child.
"Stop! Stop!"
Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks.
"If you let us pass, your children will naturally return safely once we leave Tuanjie Village. If you insist on this, then let us live and die together!"
As she spoke, Song He'er held a knife to the child's neck.
The scarred man turned pale with fright, which showed that he still cared a lot about his child.
Zhang Xiu'e turned around and saw that Song He'er had something on her hands. She was overjoyed and even spoke more arrogantly.
"Humans have no intention of harming tigers, and tigers have no intention of harming humans. I advise you to find another way to make a living and stop being bandits. Do you really want your children to grow up to be like you, becoming mountain bandits?"
The scarred man snorted coldly, "You bunch of outsiders, what do you know? The Western Continent has been in war for years, and more than half of the people have died. Who cares about making a living? Just being alive is good enough. Why should we care about anything else!"
War?!
Song He'er found it hard to believe that in this peaceful world, there was war and constant smoke in the Western Continent. Wouldn't they also suffer if they passed through here?
Before Song He'er could speak, Zhang Xiu'e interrupted, "Doesn't your king care? Are the common people supposed to survive by stealing from others? That's absurd!"
"What do you care? We don't even know where the king has fled to. Sigh, I'm telling you, don't worry about so much. Meeting you today is just my bad luck. Alright, go back the way you came and give us the child!"
Zhang Xiu'e sneered, "We just want to head south and leave this Tuanjie Village, and you want us to turn back?"
The scarred man was speechless and replied irritably, "Even if you get past me, there are still a bunch of people like this ahead, and you still won't be able to get through Tuanjie Village! Even if you're lucky enough to get through, there's war going on all over Xizhou. Do you want to be captured by those soldiers?"
Song He'er carried the child and walked a little closer, which frightened the children so much that they cried loudly.
"Everyone, we are determined to take this path. How we survive is none of your concern. Solve your own problems first. Also, please inform those bandits ahead that the children will be returned once we leave Tuanjie Village safely! That's all we can discuss!"
Seeing their persistence, the scarred man had no choice but to accept it. After all, life and death were not matters for him to decide; he only cared about the safety of his own child.
"Alright, I'll send you out. But if you die on the way, don't blame me for not warning you!"
Zhang Xiue retorted, "Hurry up and lead the way, stop talking nonsense!"
After saying that, the scarred man reluctantly turned his head and led his brothers to guide the way.
Tuanjie Village is not as poor as I imagined. As you walk in, you see that every household has a wooden house with smoke rising from the chimneys, as if they are cooking.
"You people can all eat and drink your fill, so why do you have to steal other people's things?" Qin Xiaoniang suddenly asked.
The scarred man was clearly very impatient; if it weren't for the fact that the child was still in their hands, he would never have wanted to talk to them again.
"What you see is just the surface. You put your feet on this land, it's so hard that even an axe can't chop it. You want to grow vegetables? Think about it yourself!"
Zhang Xiu'e tugged at Qin Xiaoniang, signaling her not to talk to these people anymore and just to obediently follow behind.
After walking for a long time, we finally saw the end of the village.
The scarred man was right. Along the way, it wasn't just their group that was robbing things. There were dozens of burly men lying in ambush in the small forest. Even if they had given them money earlier, they still wouldn't have been able to get through here.
"Wait a moment!"
A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind.
Everyone turned around and saw a thin, middle-aged man with a long beard, looking just like a swordsman from the martial arts world.
The scarred man asked politely, "Brother Tiger, is there something you need?"
"Such a fat sheep, you dare to slaughter it and eat it yourself?"
The scarred man looked grim and went over to the thin man, muttering a few words to him.
"The child is in their hands? If they can't take him away, they can just leave it at that!"
The scarred man shook his head repeatedly, "No, they have knives and they're fast! Brother Tiger, please let them go today for my sake. If I ever get a big deal in the future, I'll definitely think of you."
"Hmph! What big deal! I bet you just want to embezzle it all, kid. If you don't give us some benefits today, don't even think about leaving!"
As soon as Zhang Xiue saw trouble coming, she immediately shielded the two children and moved them to the innermost part of the room, preventing them from moving.
The scarred man was in a dilemma, fearing the thin man's power while worrying about his child's safety.
Wang San walked to the front of the group, prepared to fight to the death.
“We’ve endured wind and rain, sleeping in the open, and barely made it to this day. We certainly don’t have any money, but we do have our lives. However, we’ve already registered with the government before coming here. You should know that we are from the Central Plains. If we die here, how will you explain it to the government?”
The thin man chuckled involuntarily. "Do you think I'm afraid of the officials of the Central Plains? Xizhou has been fighting for years already, why would I be afraid of this one?"
Seeing that he was fearless, Wang San had no choice but to use his best skill. With a casual wave of his hand, three nails flew ten meters away and hit a jujube tree, causing exactly three jujubes to fall.
The scarred man and the thin man exchanged a glance, neither daring to make a move.
"The nails in my hand are sharper than your rakes. If anyone is accidentally hit by one of these nails, they might lose an eye, or even half an arm..."
Upon hearing this, the scarred man turned even paler. He glanced furtively at the children in the group and hurriedly bowed and scraped, urging, "Hero, this way!"
The thin man didn't say anything, standing there stunned as if he had been rebuffed, watching them leave Tuanjie Village.
Just before leaving the village, there was a large, swift river ahead. Without a boat, it was impossible to cross.
Zhang Xiue called out to the scarred man, "Where's the dock? Take us there!"
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