Chapter 3411 Extra Zhou Yin 26
He tied up the bag, put it in a small stone cave, and pressed it down with a small stone. Then he wiped away the traces and pulled Xia Xin away.
As they walked, Zhou Yin hugged Xia Xin in his arms, his voice trembling slightly, "Xin Niang, I'm sorry..."
The voice was almost inaudible, but Xin Niang heard it clearly. Her eyes turned slightly red. She pushed him away and saw two men in black holding swords standing behind them, looking them up and down with two pairs of fierce eyes.
The uneasiness that had been lingering in my heart suddenly became a reality.
The man in black looked at them coldly and asked, "Did you meet two people at the foot of the mountain before? Did they ride in a donkey cart that belonged to you and your wife?"
Zhou Yin pulled Xia Xin behind him to protect her, and nodded, "Yes, we'll hand over all our money. We really have nothing left. Good man, will you please let us go?"
Xia Xin hid behind Zhou Yin and nodded repeatedly.
The man in black scoffed and approached them with his sword in hand. "Do you take me for a fool? Bai Qi would steal people's property? Tell me, where is the thing he gave you?"
"I don't know who you're talking about, but we did run into two men at the foot of the mountain. They were very aggressive and wanted to borrow our car. I didn't want to, but they were covered in blood and looked so ferocious. We were scared, so we left the car to them and ran for our lives."
The man in black looked past him at Xia Xin and said with a sinister grin, "If you don't tell me, I have my own way to make you tell me. If the thing isn't with Bai Qi and his servant, it must be with you."
After saying that, he leaped deep into the air and landed behind Zhou Yin, reaching out to grab Xia Xin...
But Zhou Yin was not slow either. As he leaped into the air, he quickly turned around and stood in front of Xia Xin. He stretched out his hand and pushed her to the other side, shouting, "Run, run in the direction I just told you—"
Xia Xin fell to the ground. Seeing Zhou Yin fighting with the man in black, she wiped the tears from her face, got up and ran away.
Seeing this, the other man in black turned and tried to chase him, but Zhou Yin ignored the sword that was about to fall on him and turned around to stop him...
He pounced on him, hugged him and rolled down the hillside. The man in black stabbed him twice but couldn't stop him.
Zhou Yin's fighting style was completely reckless. Even though the men in black were good at martial arts, they were still thrown into chaos by his fighting style.
He grabbed the throat of the man in black under him tightly, picked up a stone on the ground and smashed it hard on his forehead.
The man in black who was chasing him stabbed him with a sword, piercing his wrist and cutting his face, but he didn't dare to kill him. He still had to find out where the thing was.
Zhou Yin strangled one of the men in black to death, then picked up his sword with his left hand and faced the other man in black.
He knew some kung fu, but not much. What he knew was just reckless bravery without regard for his life. Unlike the man in black, who wanted to get something from him, even if he could hurt him, he didn't dare to kill him.
The man in black soon realized that this was not in his favor, because he was tied up and the other party was too desperate, so he also suffered some injuries.
So we have to catch Xia Xin.
The man in black left Zhou Yin behind and turned to chase after Xia Xin.
Zhou Yin's expression changed, and he followed with his sword in hand...
Xia Xin ran with her head down, feeling like she had been running for a long time. But the moment she looked up, Zhou Yin was kicked in front of her. Xia Xin screamed and rushed over to support him. She saw that his face was slashed with a sword, the wound exposed to the bone, and there was a bloody hole on his waist and abdomen that was bleeding continuously...
She was terrified and quickly reached out to cover his wound, "Zhou Yin, Zhou Yin..."
Zhou Yin struggled to sit up, pulling Xia Xin behind him. He raised his eyes and looked at the man in black who was approaching him. His sword was knocked down. A fierce look flashed in his eyes, but the next moment his expression changed, and he pleaded, "Good man, we really don't have what you said. If you don't believe me, I'll take off my clothes and show you. Please let me go. I have a sixty-year-old mother at home and children crying for food. I really can't die..."
"If you're afraid of death, hand over the things." The man in black said expressionlessly, "I can forget about you killing my companion."
Zhou Yin nearly gritted his teeth as he stood in front of Xia Xin, feeling conflicted. He couldn't bear to see Xia Xin die here, but...
He raised his eyes and looked at the men in black. These people were willing to kill him for some speculation without any evidence. Who knows how many people died for that evidence...
At this moment, many things flashed through Zhou Yin's mind, including his brother and sister-in-law, his daughter, and Bai Qi and his servant. Finally, he turned his head slightly to look at his wife.
Xia Xin burst into tears, hugged him from behind, and said with a sob: "He won't let me go..."
Yes, if they don't hand over the things, they can't escape. If they hand them over, they will die. Moreover, the bag also contains the household registration and travel permits they brought with them when they went to collect the things. If they are discovered, they might even find Qili Village to wipe out the roots...
Zhou Yin suppressed the bitterness in his heart, tightly grasped Xia Xin's hand, and whispered, "I'm sorry for you. I was too confident..."
I thought no one would come after me.
Xia Xin shook her head, "No, you didn't do anything wrong to me."
Although the sword was right in front of him, Zhou Yin was not willing to give up. He grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it away when the man in black approached him, then stood up, grabbed Xia Xin and ran away.
He said to Xia Xin, "Even if you can't run, you have to run. You must run forward and don't look back. Nannan is still waiting for you at home. Maybe God will take pity on us and let us live."
Because of Zhou Yin's words, Xia Xin supported him and kept running.
The man in black, blinded by the dirt, was furious. Seeing how much they wanted to live, he simply chased after them with a sword and teased them, "Two ants, you still want to survive?"
Zhou Yin had more and more wounds on his body. The other party seemed to enjoy slashing his face and legs with the sword. He was happy to see his face covered in blood, his wife screaming in shock, and him crawling forward with his injured leg.
The man in black teased them for a long time, but seemed to be getting tired of it. He landed directly in front of them, blocking their way. He pointed his sword at Xia Xin and asked Zhou Yin, "I'll ask you one last time. Will you tell me or not?"
Zhou Yin was covered in blood. He got up from the ground and wanted to hide Xia Xin behind him, but Xia Xin held his hand. Tears fell drop by drop onto the back of his hand, and she whispered, "Don't be afraid..."
After saying that, he turned around and pounced on the sword. The sharp sword entered his body and Xia Xin fell to the ground.
Zhou Yin's pupils shrank, "Xin Niang——"
He climbed forward to catch her, and reached out to cover her wound. Xia Xin held his hand tightly and said, "I know you are afraid of leaving me alone. Now you don't have to be afraid."
She whispered, "I don't regret it, and you shouldn't regret it either, okay?"
Zhou Yin hugged her and smiled, but couldn't help but let tears fall on her face. He nodded and said, "Okay, I don't regret it, I don't regret it."
Zhou Yin said that he didn't regret it, but he still felt a little regretful in his heart. He shouldn't have taken Xia Xin out today. He should have left her at home. The girl was still so young and needed her mother's company. Why did he suddenly have the idea to bring her out?
The light in Xia Xin's eyes gradually faded. With Zhou Yin holding her, there was no longer any reason for her to escape. She looked up at the man in black, reached out and grabbed his sword, her eyes filled with madness. "What are you waiting for? What else do you think you can get from me?"
"you!"
Zhou Yin grasped the sword blade and pulled it towards him. The man in black immediately pulled the sword back, his face filled with provoked anger. "Do you really think I won't kill you?"
He stabbed at his arm, but Zhou Yin moved his body and the sword went straight into his chest.
The man in black was furious and drew out his sword. Seeing the two men falling together with their hands clasped tightly, their eyes closed, their breath getting weaker and weaker, and finally no sound at all, he was so angry that he slashed a few times on their bodies to vent his anger.
When he calmed down, he saw only two bodies bleeding quietly on the ground. He walked forward and looked around. There was indeed no evidence on them, not even anything to prove their identities.
The man in black frowned and was thinking about whether to take the body back for a thorough investigation when a firework exploded in the dim sky, which was an emergency call signal.
He looked down at the two bodies on the ground, kicked them, and then turned and left.
The thing might not be on them, but where the fireworks exploded.
Zhou Yin and Xia Xin did not return home all night. Although the Zhou family was puzzled, they were not too worried. They thought they did not receive the items, so they stayed in the county town for one more night.
It drizzled that night and the weather remained cloudy the next day. It didn't look like the weather would clear up, so Zhou Jin took only Zhou Dalang and Zhou Sanlang to the fields, leaving Zhou Erlang and his younger brothers to clean up the house.
Zhou Silang felt that no matter how much he cleaned up the thatched hut, it would still be low and dim, and it would not be very clean. So he fumbled around here and there. Seeing his friends peeking outside, he immediately ran out and said, "Second brother, I'm going into the mountains to look for mushrooms."
Zhou Erlang chased after him with a broom, but only caught sight of his back. "You're being lazy again—"
Zhou Silang shouted without even turning his head, "I'm going to find some mushrooms for my uncle. Mushroom stewed with meat is delicious."
A group of little friends ran up the mountain with bare hands, laughing and giggling, and I didn’t know if they were really going to look for mushrooms.
When they got to the mountain, everyone scattered to look for mushrooms on their own. Zhou Silang not only wanted to look for mushrooms, but also wanted to look for pheasants, rabbits and the like, so he walked further away. He hummed a song as he walked around two trees, and the two people on the ground suddenly came into his sight.
Zhou Silang was startled, his hands and feet felt cold, and it took him a while to find his voice, "Uncle?"
He crawled over and knelt down to look. The ground was covered with blood. The person lying on the ground was pale and his face was covered with scars. He almost looked unrecognizable as a human.
But no matter how hard he tried, Zhou Silang still recognized this uncle whom he had met yesterday morning.
He stretched out his hand to push the person, but he was afraid to touch him.
"Shou Si, where have you been? Come and see, I found two mushroom clumps. I'll give you one..." As the friend came over, he saw the person on the ground and screamed. He fell backwards and rolled twice before stopping. "Hey, this, this... why is there a dead person here?"
Zhou Silang then dared to reach out and touch Zhou Yin and Xia Xin, but they were ice cold and without any breath.
Zhou Silang couldn't help crying out loud, "Uncle, aunt, uncle..."
He turned around and cried to his friends, "Go back and call for help, this is my uncle—"
Someone turned around and ran towards the village. Zhou Silang reached out to hug Zhou Yin, trying to pick him up, but he was too small and fell down after just a moment.
When Zhou Erlang ran up with the villagers, he saw Zhou Silang sitting next to Zhou Yin crying bitterly. When he saw Zhou Yin, he burst into tears, "Second brother, my uncle is dead——"
Zhou Erlang looked incredulous, and the villagers were also confused. How could someone who was fine yesterday morning become like this in just one day?
Zhou Hu, who followed, said with shaking hands, "Erlang and the others are useless. Let's carry Uncle Xiaoyin and Aunt Xiao back first."
The villagers finally came to their senses and rushed forward to carry the people. Zhou Erlang and Zhou Silang followed behind silently and carried the two people back to the village.
As soon as we entered the village, heavy rain began to fall.
When Qian saw Zhou Yin and Xia Xin being carried into the house, she was shocked and fainted.
When she woke up, she still thought she was dreaming, but when she heard crying coming from the main room, she realized it was not a dream.
She propped herself up and walked out. Xiao Qian and others were kneeling on the ground crying. Zhou Yin and Xia Xin were lying on the mat, their bodies still covered in blood. It was obvious that no one had reacted.
Qian asked with trembling lips, "Where is Zhou Jin?"
Zhou Sanlang wiped his tears and said, "Dad and the village chief went to ask Master Bai. There must be bandits in our county. Dad went to ask Master Bai to go to the county government office with him and ask the county magistrate to send people to eliminate the bandits and avenge my uncle."
Zhou Yin went to the county town to pick up the consigned property, but now the couple has died, and the property and the donkey cart they brought with them are nowhere to be found. They must have been robbed.
The villagers of Qili Village all believed that Zhou Yin was killed by bandits. They just didn't know when such a vicious person appeared in their area. If they had known earlier...
Zhou Sanlang wiped his tears and said, "If we had known yesterday morning, we should have gone with my uncle. If there were more people, those bandits wouldn't dare to rob my uncle."
Mr. Bai had never expected such a terrible thing to happen in Luojiang County. He personally came to Old Zhou's house to take a look at Zhou Yin and Xia Xin, and immediately agreed, "I will go into the city with you after the rain stops."
Now that bandits have appeared in Luojiang County, can they still go out safely in the future?
But before the rain stopped, officials came into the village on horseback, holding portraits in their hands, looking for someone.
Because Mr. Bai's house is the largest, he is obviously the leader, so the officials always look for people like him first when they are looking for someone to do something.
So they went directly to Bai Mansion first.
Mr. Bai's brows jumped when he saw Zhou Yin in the portrait. He calmly took the portrait and asked, "Who is the person in this portrait?"
"He's a wanted criminal by the imperial court. Has Master Bai ever seen him?"
Mr. Bai's mind raced, but he finally shook his head. He glanced at the butler beside him calmly and said, "I've never seen him."
He smiled and said, "I've been living in seclusion in Qili Village and rarely go out. This person doesn't look like someone from Qili Village. I don't know many people from outside. Why don't we ask the head of the village and the head of the village to come and question them? They are in charge of this area and they must know more details."
The officer agreed.
Mr. Bai nodded slightly to the butler.
The housekeeper hurried to look for someone.
The village chief and Zhou Jin were preparing to go to the county government office to file a complaint. Zhou Jin had taken out all the money in his family, not only to pay the officials but also to buy them two good coffins...
Butler Bai trotted over, pulled them aside, and whispered, "Where are the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Zhou Yin?"
He said, "The police came and said Zhou Yin was a wanted criminal and seemed to be a bandit. Our master and the police said they had never seen him, but they will definitely come to the village to investigate soon."
Zhou Jin was shocked and cried out, "Impossible! How could my second son be a bandit?"
Zhou Jin grabbed the village chief and was about to go and file a complaint to seek justice.
The housekeeper stopped them and said, "My master also thinks it's impossible, so he concealed it for you. But the officials are very sure, and my master thinks there's something wrong with them. You should hide the people first, and then investigate the truth after you've dealt with them."
The village chief also felt something was wrong. He grabbed Zhou Jin and said, "Uncle Jin, Uncle Yin has been in Shangzhou all along. Not to mention that he couldn't have been a bandit, even if he was, the officials from Shangzhou should have arrested him. Why did the officials here arrest him as soon as he returned? Uncle Yin must have been wronged. Can he seek redress for his wrongdoings?"
"Then, then..."
The village chief said, "First, get the villagers here and get rid of the officials."
The village chief and Zhou Jin called all the sons and the young men who were staying in the yard of Old Zhou's house, and after giving them some instructions, asked them to notify everyone in the village.
The village chief took Zhou Jin to the Bai residence to meet the official. Seeing the portrait that looked about 70% like Zhou Yin, he lowered his eyes and said, "I've never seen him before. He's not from our village."
The officer squinted his eyes and looked at them. "Really, you've never seen this before?"
They went down the cliff yesterday to look for Erji's body, but couldn't find it, which delayed them for the whole night. Today they went up the mountain to look for the body, but couldn't find it anymore.
It rained heavily today and all traces on the mountain were washed away. It is unknown whether the body was dragged away by a wild beast or taken away by someone.
"No," the village chief said timidly but firmly, "It's obvious that this person is not from our Qili Village. Our Qili Village is remote and no outsiders come in."
The officer pondered, "We need to search the village."
The village chief immediately said, "We have a roster in our village. If you don't believe me, I can ask all the men in the village to come and check. As for the houses, it just rained. Rural areas like ours are very dirty and messy. I'm afraid it will dirty your feet."
The village head also rushed over, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the portrait. He had never seen the young Zhou Yin today, but he was familiar with the teenage Zhou Yin.
Moreover, he heard people say the day before yesterday that Zhou Yin, who sold himself into slavery in Qili Village, seemed to have returned to his hometown to visit his relatives.
He is the head of the village and the most well-informed person within the village.
The village head swallowed hard. Even though he had only heard the second half, he knew what had happened. He glanced at Mr. Bai's expression and could only continue, "What are you standing there for? Why don't you go and call all the men in the village to the village entrance?"
He said, "Don't bring the little ones to pollute the adults' eyes. Call in those who are sixteen and above."
The officer added coldly, "Twelve years old."
"Yes, yes, yes," the village head turned and scolded the village chief and Zhou Jin, who were looking down. "Did you hear that? He's twelve years old. Why don't you go find someone?"
The officer held out his hand, "Where's the roster?"
The village head had packed his things before arriving. He quickly took out the booklet from his arms, turned to the page about Qili Village, and said, "Look, their dates of birth are at the back."
The villagers gathered silently at the entrance of the village. At this time, the rain began to fall again. Men over the age of twelve stood in a row at the entrance of the village.
After they stood still in front, the women who stayed at home quietly gathered at Lao Zhou's house.
An old woman reached out to support Qian, who was about to faint again, and said, "You can't stay at home. If the officials can't find you up there and start searching, it will be all over."
"Bury it."
Qian was bewildered. "Where can I find a coffin at this moment?"
"Even if we find it, it's too late to prepare the body for burial. Let's keep it simple."
Qian suppressed her grief and asked her daughters-in-law to bring the quilt that Zhou Yin had brought back. She lifted Zhou Yin and Xia Xin, who were holding hands tightly, into the quilt and wrapped them up, then wrapped the quilt with oilcloth...
The women silently carried the oilcloth wrapped around the two people out to the wild, and chose a piece of land next to Zhou Jin's parents to dig.
The two were buried silently in the rain.
Nannan woke up, opened her eyes and looked around, but still didn't see anyone familiar. She couldn't help but pout and cry.
Xiao Qian hurriedly held her in her arms and tried to comfort her, suppressing her grief and saying, "Good child, don't cry. Sister-in-law will change your clothes."
Xiao Qian took off her soft clothes and put on Erya's old clothes, and hid all the things they brought back in the kitchen.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the faces of the villagers standing in the rain turned pale, but the officials did not suspect anything.
It was indeed a bit cold in the rain at this moment, and they pointed at the names on the list one by one...
Zhou Silang's face was the palest, and his hands and feet were shaking. He had just changed his bloody clothes. Nannan had just been hidden in the bed and was sleeping soundly. He didn't know if she would cry when she woke up and couldn't see anyone...
The officer frowned and asked, "Has anyone from outside come into the village recently?"
The village chief replied firmly: "No."
The officer glanced at his colleagues and decided to go into the village to check.
After a quick look, he saw that only women and children were at home, and indeed no outsiders. The official left with a frown, saying to the village head, "If you find the person in the portrait, report it to the authorities immediately."
The village head nodded repeatedly.
After the official left, the village head finally realized what he had done. He turned around and secretly glared at the village chief and Zhou Jin, then looked at Mr. Bai in a flattering manner, "Mr. Bai, this matter..."
Mr. Bai turned and left. "This matter has nothing to do with me. I will just pretend I know nothing. But if something happens one day, you should be prepared to be implicated."
The head of the village and the village chief, Zhou Jin, bowed and nodded as they sent Mr. Bai away. Zhou Jin turned back to meet the head of the village and then glanced at the young men still watching him in the rain. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and knelt before the entire village. "Fellow villagers, this time it's our Zhou family who has implicated everyone. I beg you all to consider that Zhou Yin saved everyone's lives and save his daughter in return. Everyone knows the character of our Xiaoyin. He will never become a bandit."
Zhou Dalang and his brothers knelt down and kowtowed silently.
The village chief sighed and said, "I've already said that to the official. It's impossible to go back on my word. Let's just pretend this person doesn't exist in the village. What do you say, Lizheng?"
The village head snorted coldly, swung his sleeves and walked away: "What did I say? I know nothing."
Once he left, the rest was up to Qili Village itself.
The villagers were also panicked, but it was impossible to ask them to give up Zhou Yin. It was not just a matter of death, they also had a child left.
Once Zhou Yin is betrayed, not to mention the fate of Zhou Jin's family, their daughter will definitely be in trouble.
"What about the child?" someone asked. "What if someone knows about the child's existence..."
Zhou Jin hurriedly said, "The child is born to Qian and me. They, they..."
He gritted his teeth and said, "Just pretend they never came back, and no one will know about this. My Zhou Yin sold himself away, and after so many years, everyone has forgotten what he looks like..."
The villagers looked at each other and finally agreed.
At Lao Zhou's house, the little girl, who had changed her clothes, was crying sadly, and Xiao Qian couldn't help crying with her. When she started crying, the little girl stopped crying instead. With tears still on her face, she looked at Xiao Qian with curiosity, not understanding why she was crying.
Zhou Jin returned to Old Zhou's house soaked in water. Qian's face was pale, but she endured the pain and asked Feng to boil water for everyone to drink.
The couple's faces were horrible. The village chief grabbed Zhou Dalang and said, "I see your parents are not in good spirits. You brothers, be careful and don't let anything happen at this critical moment."
Zhou Dalang agreed.
The village chief sighed and said, "Your uncle was raised by them as their son. They are the ones who are most saddened by this incident. But you should also tell them that there is another child in the family."
Zhou Dalang perked up, nodded, and hurried to find his parents, whispering, "Dad, Mom, our daughter is still home."
Zhou Jin and Qian's expressions changed and they forced themselves to go look for the child.
The girl, who was only half a year old, knew nothing. She was eating the egg custard made for her by Xiao Qianshi in the house. She had cried too much today and was a little hungry.
Seeing so many people rushing into the room, she felt a little timid for the first time and turned around and hid in Xiao Qian's arms.
Zhou Jin looked at her for a long moment before saying, "From now on, she's your sister, your biological sister. She's ranked with you, eighth in the family. Let's call her... Zhou Man."
good evening
(End of this chapter)
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