The villagers' shouts became louder and louder, and the air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.
Each of them was holding a farming tool in his hand and looked very aggressive.
Lord Li looked at the restless troops around him, and then at the villagers who were pressing forward with farm tools, and he had already made up his mind about how to solve the problem.
"We don't have time to continue entangled with these unreasonable people."
Lord Li gave a firm order, "Everyone, pack up and prepare to depart. Don't waste any more time."
As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers' attitude immediately deteriorated. Not only did they protest loudly, but several people even approached them waving shovels and hoes, intending to block their way.
The situation suddenly became tense, and several villagers who were close to each other started pushing each other.
Wei Yunrou stood aside, holding Su Huaiyue's hand tightly, her fingertips slightly white but not trembling.
Su Huaiyue didn't have time to think about it, and she protected Wei Zhi and Wei Li, who were closest to her. She gently comforted the two children: "Don't be afraid, my uncle and I will not let anything happen to you."
But the children were surrounded and unable to move, and later the villagers pushed them, causing the two children to fall heavily to the ground.
"Wow! Mother..." Wei Li fell in the crowd, at a loss.
Wei Zhi's hand was also stepped on and he grimaced in pain.
Seeing this, Su Huaiyue felt anxious.
Without caring about anything else, he ran forward and pushed the villager who was about to step on Wei Zhi to the ground.
He quickly picked up the two children, held them in his arms, and hurriedly checked their injuries.
Wei Li seemed frightened and hid in Su Huaiyue's arms, crying non-stop.
The villager fell to the ground, and the hoe in his hand drew an arc in the air. He was knocked down by his companion in a careless manner, and screamed.
Because they were close to each other, the villager who fell accidentally injured one of his own people, and they all thought it was the other party who did it.
"Look at this! This woman actually hurt someone!"
Some villagers started to make a loud noise, which seemed to ignite the anger of the crowd in an instant, and they approached Su Huaiyue aggressively.
Wei Che was quick-witted and took a step forward to block Su Huaiyue. He was tall and his voice was like a bell: "Who dares to take another step forward!"
For a moment, the villagers were shocked by this momentum and paused slightly.
Su Huaiyue took the opportunity to escort the two children to the back. He knew that these villagers were coming for her.
But an atmosphere of resentment still lingered in the air, and the two sides remained in a stalemate.
When they took a quick look, they saw that there was only one leg blocking the way ahead, and they were no longer afraid.
"Your people hurt our people, how can this be tolerated? Brothers, go ahead!"
For a moment, all the villagers raised their weapons and shouted that they would rush forward and capture Su Huaiyue.
The villager who was pushed down by Su Huaiyue took advantage of the chaos to arrest her.
The other side was too powerful and outnumbered to allow her to resist.
She tried to struggle but to no avail.
At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the chaotic crowd, "Stop——!"
The voice was majestic and powerful, shocking everyone.
The person who came was none other than the village chief of Li Zheng's village. His brows were determined, and he obviously did not want to be questioned.
"Do you know that blocking an official's path without authorization is a serious crime?"
Li Zheng looked coldly at the villagers who were blocking his way and said, "If you don't want to face justice, get out of the way immediately!"
The villagers looked at each other, seemed a little hesitant, but did not retreat at all.
Lord Li swept his eyes over the people present, secretly relieved. He walked to Li Zheng and whispered, "Thank you for arriving on time."
Although the villagers were unwilling, they could do nothing. Due to the authority of the village chief, they could not take any more action.
Li Zheng was secretly worried when he saw that the villagers were still emotional.
The saying that poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people is not without basis.
He slowly looked around and said in a stern voice, "Everyone calm down, we can talk."
One of the villagers wiped the sweat from his forehead and muttered softly, "What's there to talk about? We're almost dead. The virus they brought has killed everyone in our village."
"Calm down, violence can't solve the problem." Li Zheng's gaze shot coldly at the villager who spoke, and he frightened him fiercely with his eyes.
Lord Li bowed and smiled humbly, "We were just stopping by the village entrance for a short while. Who knew this..."
However, before Lord Li could finish his words, someone not far away suddenly groaned in pain and then collapsed to the ground.
Chills and high fever alternated violently in his body and spread rapidly.
The people around him hurriedly retreated, and someone took out a portable medicine bottle and fed him some medicine, but after a few minutes, the man twitched a few times and died.
“Dead…dead!”
"From onset to death, it only took a few minutes. This is clearly a plague!"
"This disease is contagious. I'm afraid that soon our entire village will be wiped out."
This sudden change instantly made the atmosphere at the scene tense. The villagers looked at each other, and panic mixed with anger and anxiety spread among the crowd.
Li Zheng was startled, worried that this was a terrible infectious disease.
The sky was as gloomy as a lead curtain, shrouding the village in a depressing atmosphere.
The villagers whispered to each other, panic and anxiety rising in their hearts like a tide.
Adjutant Cheng stood not far away, his eyes flickering and a vague sense of uneasiness in his heart.
From the moment the dead man fell, he felt that something was wrong.
She knew that if they didn't handle the situation properly today, they would have a hard time escaping.
"Master Li,"
He walked quickly towards Li Zheng and lowered his voice, "This disease is coming with great force. If it is allowed to spread in the village, the consequences will be disastrous. Moreover, if it infects the prisoners, it will only make things more troublesome.
We might even lose our official hats if things go wrong, so I hope you will think twice and make a decision soon."
Lord Li frowned and remained silent.
Just as Adjutant Cheng said, it doesn't look like a simple illness, nor is it something they can handle.
He was shocked and worried, but more of a helpless person. The best solution now was to leave as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and then exhaled forcefully, as if trying to dispel the uneasiness in his heart.
Just then, several villagers came forward, led by the villager who had taken the lead, a sly smile on his mean face.
"Master Li,"
He dragged out his words, "Our village is small, and we don't have much savings. Now that the epidemic has broken out, the losses are huge. If Lord Li can be generous, fifty taels of silver would be considered compensation for us."
Lord Li had a sharp eye and knew that these unruly people were so poor that they actually wanted to blackmail him.
He said coldly, "If the disease breaks out, not only will your village be affected, but the surrounding areas will also be affected. Asking for compensation is understandable, but fifty taels of silver is too much."
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