Night fell, and the night wind was dark and high.
At a small intersection in Tianxin Village, the fence guarded by soldiers was opened.
"Go in!"
"If they dare to escape again, they will be killed without mercy!"
A man dressed in black night clothes and wearing a black mask drew a sharp long knife.
A group of dusty, dirty-looking men, their hands bound behind their backs, had a wad of cloth stuffed in their mouths, unable to speak, only able to nod frantically and make muffled noises.
They were terrified that if they responded even a fraction of a second too late, blood would spill on the spot!
A dozen or so people entered the village with their heads down.
After the man in black clothes walked away, the fence was immediately closed, and the soldiers who had disappeared earlier reappeared.
It was as if nothing had ever happened.
...
Inside the ancestral hall.
Lu Da had already been cleaned up, but the chill he had caught from going into the deep pool hadn't been cured, and now he was covered in dog blood.
No matter how strong and healthy a person is, they cannot withstand repeated torment, let alone Lu Da who was also suffering from the plague.
It has now started to develop a high fever.
Following Lu Qiqi's instructions, Zhao Xiaodong placed a cold towel on Lu Da's forehead to cool him down.
Lu Qiqi performed acupuncture on Lu Da, then retrieved the silver needles and carefully placed them back into the silk cloth.
Upon arriving at Tianxin Village, this set of silver needles was used many times, but it's unclear when this epidemic will end.
Not only was Lu Qiqi anxious day and night, but the villagers' health was also suffering.
In addition, some villagers have been uncooperative and planning to escape in the past two days, which makes things even more troublesome.
"Xiao Dong, your older brother should be alright now. You've been so busy these past few days, so you should get some rest."
“I understand,” Zhao Xiaodong said. “Miss Lu, this is your dagger. I have cleaned it and now it is returned to its rightful owner.”
As he spoke, Zhao Xiaodong took out a finely crafted dagger from his pocket and handed it to Lu Qiqi.
Lu Qiqi took the dagger and looked at the emerald on it. She hadn't expected that Lu Da would still be able to bring her dagger back under the circumstances last night.
She couldn't help but look at Lu Da again, but unfortunately, Lu Da's eyes were closed, and he had fallen into a deep sleep.
"You're back! You're back!"
Suddenly, a villager inside the ancestral hall exclaimed in surprise, and Lu Qiqi and Zhao Xiaodong both looked over at the sound.
A dozen or so villagers, their mouths gagged with cloth strips and bound tightly with ropes, were strung together and lined up in a procession as they entered the ancestral hall.
The villagers, who were initially overjoyed, stopped walking towards them when they saw their current situation and all looked outside the ancestral hall.
Outside the ancestral hall, there was nothing but darkness and no sound whatsoever.
Brother Lian was the first to break the silence, shouting, "Quick, untie them!"
The villagers then stepped forward and untied the villagers one by one.
When the kidnapped villagers entered the ancestral hall, Lu Qiqi counted the number of people. There were seventeen villagers, exactly the same as Zhao Xiaodong's count. Now they have all returned safely.
As for why these villagers were tied up, Lu Qiqi knew perfectly well, and felt very grateful to the person who received the letter.
"Big brother!"
"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"
Many villagers hugged each other and wept bitterly, some overjoyed at their return, others saddened by their inability to escape.
After everyone had cried for a while, Brother Lian wanted to understand what had happened, so he said, "Everyone, stop for a moment and let them tell us what happened and why they were brought back tied up."
Zhao Liuzhi got angry when he heard Lian Ge's question and cursed, "It's all that female doctor's fault. If she hadn't informed the soldiers, we would have escaped long ago."
"Where is that bitch? I'm going to teach her a lesson today!"
Zhao Wujiu echoed, "That's right!"
Zhao Wuba also said, "If we don't teach her a good lesson, we'll be letting down all the suffering we've endured!"
After Zhao Liuzhi finished cursing at the sky, the ancestral hall was as quiet as a chicken's nest. Apart from Zhao Wujiu and Zhao Wuba, the two troublemakers, no other villagers showed any intention of speaking.
Lu Qiqi heard the three people's conversation clearly and said with an imposing air, "Your great-aunt is here! What do you want to say?"
Zhao Liuzhi was merely trying to stir up trouble, incite the villagers' anger, and get them to join in the attack on Lu Qiqi.
The three of them alone were no match for Lu Qiqi, but they didn't expect Lu Qiqi to be in the ancestral hall, which meant they had kicked a hornet's nest.
Zhao Liuzhi's face turned ashen, as if he had been choked, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Zhao Wuba, unable to contain his anger, said, "It was she who informed on us to the authorities, which led to our arrest. She wanted our entire village to die of illness here. She's a vicious woman!"
"Ha," Lu Qiqi sneered, "If it weren't for this venomous woman, you would have been dead long ago! The government has ordered that anyone who tries to escape be killed on the spot. Do you think this is child's play? Are you kidding me?"
"You're only standing here safely because I wrote a letter and sent it out; otherwise, you would have been beheaded long ago!"
Brother Lian also said, "You guys are lucky you didn't take the waterway. None of the nine villagers who did take the waterway have come back."
"Didn't they come back?" Zhao Liuzhi asked.
Brother Lian fell silent; his silence spoke louder than words.
When Lu Qiqi saw that Zhao Liuzhi and the other two had not only escaped from Tianxin Village, but also led the way in causing trouble, she questioned, "Weren't you three locked in a small house and guarded? Who let you out of the small house and escape from the village?"
Upon hearing this, the villagers all turned their heads to look at each other.
Previously, they were only thinking about how to escape, and never imagined that Zhao Liuzhi and his group had made a big mistake and were locked in a small house by the villagers, who planned to hand them over to the authorities once they recovered.
As for when Zhao Liuzhi said there was a little-known road out of the village and that he would take them out of the village, he couldn't remember at all.
“Since no one has said anything, let’s investigate!” Zhao Xiaodong suddenly said.
At that moment, Brother Lian, who had been looking down, slapped his thigh and said, "Oh, it's me!"
Lu Qiqi stood aside, calmly watching their every move.
Brother Lian looked up and carefully examined Lu Qiqi and Zhao Xiaodong, then said, "Everyone in the village is trying to escape."
I think we're all from the same family, and as long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback. I believe Six Fingers and the others will change their ways in the future.
"If we could get as many people out as possible, we released them. They even knew the way out of the village, so I didn't think much of it."
Even simple words, when spoken in a jumbled and incoherent manner by Brother Lian, made him realize that his own words were not credible, and his voice grew softer and softer.
Lu Qiqi said, "You didn't know you would cause such a disaster, but you let them go because of family ties, right?"
“Yes, yes, yes!” Brother Lian said, “That’s exactly what you’re saying.”
When Lian Ge heard Lu Qiqi's words defending him, he nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Unexpectedly, Lu Qiqi changed the subject, saying, "You're not unaware, you're all too aware, and you want to take advantage of the chaos to release them so they won't be sent to the authorities."
"Whether they can escape or not depends on their fate!"
When his secret was exposed, Lian Ge's expression changed drastically.
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