Chapter 13: The Cannibal Village
That night, at the Prince Xiaoyao’s residence.
A black-clad guard entered the study with a letter. Jiang Lin, dressed in a dark-colored robe, sat at the desk. He glanced up at the noise, took the letter, glanced at it, and smiled with interest. "Oh? You didn't go hungry or cold all the way to the General's Mansion. Instead, you had enough food and clothes to wear?"
"Our people say that the Third Miss always finds ways to bring some good things to the General's Mansion."
The secret guard standing beside Jiang Lin added, "The Seventh Prince sent two or three groups of assassins in succession, but they were all mediocre and not to be feared. We dispatched them without letting the General's Mansion know. But in this case, the Seventh Prince will probably not sit still and wait for death."
"That's just fine. I'm just waiting for him to do something else so I can see..."
Jiang Lin placed the letter on the candle flame and lit the embers. Qin Xiangnuan's appearance seemed to appear in front of him, with her eyes lowered and a faint smile.
At the riverside residence, Qin Xiangnuan was still unable to sleep. She scratched the wet soil in front of her with a wooden stick, feeling that something was wrong with the peaceful road. Remembering what the official had told her, she took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and went to the space, found the warehouse where weapons were displayed, selected two small, exquisite but handy slingshots, modified them into the shape of crossbows, and put them in her arms for emergency use.
As the sky gradually brightened, the official came over and said, "It's time to hurry on."
After resting, the people in the general's mansion looked much better than before, so they naturally did not delay and crossed the small bridge to the other side of the river.
A few miles further on the other side of the river, you will arrive at a village.
Qin Yi and Qin Xiangnuan walked in front, looking at the desolate and cracked land. They could vaguely see that crops were once planted here. Unfortunately, droughts and floods occurred frequently, causing the land to be ruined. Not a single grain of food grew, and the people were starving and unable to survive.
"Look, little cousin, what's that? It looks like an animal skeleton."
Qin Feng had excellent eyesight. Pointing at the white bones ahead, he said, "I think we can hunt here too. This time, let me show you my skills. If we're lucky, we might even catch a few wild boars! That way, we won't have to worry about food for the next two weeks."
wrong.
Qin Xiangnuan looked in the direction he pointed, her expression changed, and she stopped.
She bent down, picked up two bones, and examined them carefully. She frowned and said to Qin Feng in a low voice, "Calm down. From now on, you must pay attention to your surroundings. If there is any movement, be prepared to defend yourself."
Qin Feng and Qin Yi looked at each other, both puzzled, but nodded obediently.
Qin Xiangnuan put the bones aside and said in a heavy tone, "Because these bones are not from wild animals, but human bones..."
As soon as the words fell, even the brave Qin Feng jumped up in fright.
He immediately ran away from the bones. His violent movement aroused the curiosity of the people behind him. Qin Xiangnuan said hurriedly, "We can't let them know about this. We have to hide it from them..." There are many female relatives in the general's mansion, and most of them are timid. If they knew that there was an accidental death here, most likely a murder, they would probably be frightened to death.
Qin Feng heard it and knew the importance of the matter. He quickly squeezed out an awkward smile and said, "There was a mouse. I was scared. It's nothing serious."
"You mean, the people here...eat people?"
Qin Yi, after all, was somewhat older and more experienced. He carefully examined the bones and agreed with Qin Xiangnuan's assessment. "I've heard before that some people will eat human flesh if they're extremely hungry, but I've never seen it before. Could he have died of illness?"
"No, Uncle, did you see those bones? There are scratches on them. They were caused by the knife."
"If they hadn't carefully shaved the flesh off the bones, they wouldn't have been so clean..." Qin Xiangnuan narrowed her eyes and analyzed confidently, "And judging by the weight and size of these bones, they most likely belonged to thin women or men. One is like this, two are like this, so the most likely scenario is that the villagers carefully selected them before doing this."
There are at least three or four people's remains here.
It seems that those who remain in the village are all extremely vicious and cruel people.
Qin Xiangnuan touched the crossbow in her arms and couldn't help but feel nervous.
Following her instructions, her second uncle had already gone to the rear of the general's team to hold them accountable in case of any problems. Qin Xiangnuan also quietly informed the chief officer of the situation and asked him to pay attention. Qin Feng followed her in front, admiring his younger sister, who was a head shorter than him, as she handled the situation so calmly and methodically. He couldn't help but give her a thumbs-up and approached, "Little sister, tell me the truth, where did you know all this?"
"Even I can't see it, but you can."
"Could it be that your uncle secretly hired a teacher for you?"
Qin Feng felt a little jealous. He had always admired Qin Guang. After thinking about it, the only explanation that could make sense was that he was partial to Qin Guang.
Qin Xiangnuan looked at him and relaxed a little after his annoyance. She said jokingly, "I always like to read some strange books, so I know more. It's a pity that my cousin hates books the most. He falls asleep when he sees words. So how can I know anything? My cousin really wants to learn. When we get to the border one day, I'll ask my father to find you a few books."
"No, please forgive me."
When Qin Feng heard about reading, he immediately raised his hands and begged for mercy.
The two chatted and laughed as they were about to reach the entrance of the village. There was a plaque hanging at the dilapidated entrance with three large characters written in cursive script, "Cangliang Village".
There were some ragged men squatting on both sides of the village entrance. They had fierce looks on their faces and stared at the people in the general's mansion as if they were staring at fat sheep. In the iron pot in front of them was boiling white soup that smelled fishy.
The women in the general's mansion were all frightened and huddled together, supporting each other.
The guarding officer held the sword at his waist and looked around vigilantly, but no one dared to step forward and cause trouble.
However, their eyes were fixed on the rations on the escort cart. A few of the braver ones were ready to make a move, but were frightened off by the officers' swords and spears, and no longer dared to make any rash moves. After walking a few steps into the village, a white-haired old man hurried over. He looked rather kind and bowed to the head officer, "Gentlemen, I am the mayor of this village. My surname is Ge."
"Are you escorting prisoners? Please follow me to the place ahead."
After Old Man Ge appeared, the men became much more obedient.
Qin Xiangnuan stared at Old Man Ge's back and whispered to the officer beside him, "Do you often encounter this kind of situation when you're escorting people?"
"Sometimes, they do. They just offer accommodations as a favor in exchange for food, or they don't want to offend the government."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
