They had been on high alert for so long, yet they still didn't know when the bandits would arrive.
"They're not going to wait until we're all exhausted before they come, are they? Oh dear! That wouldn't be good. Didn't the village chief think of that?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" someone exclaimed, throwing down the firewood in their hands. "We need to tell the village chief about this. We can't just keep guarding everything. We need to arrange for people to take turns resting, so that when the bandits come, everyone won't be too exhausted!"
The speaker was a plump middle-aged woman who hurriedly took off her apron and ran down into the yard.
Although the atmosphere of the conversation was no different from usual, Su Wanyan could still see the worry and tension on their faces.
Su Wanyan couldn't help but ask Huang Ye, "What time is it now?"
"Your Majesty, it is already 3:45 PM."
Yu Nanqing has been gone for two hours.
As Su Wanyan drank the mutton soup, a sense of worry rose in her heart.
The village chief followed the old woman's advice and let some people go back to rest, while leaving the rest to keep watch at the village entrance.
"Village chief, you should go and rest too. We'll take care of things here," a burly man covered in black bear fur said in a strong voice, holding a hoe.
The village chief waved his hand: "I'll keep an eye on it."
The village chief was over sixty years old, wearing a blue cap with velvet trim, and puffing on his pipe. He smoked several bags of tobacco in one night.
A middle-aged man carrying a bowl of mutton soup said, "Village chief, you should go back. The village can't do without you. We'll be fine here."
"That's right, if something happens to us, our wife, children, and elderly parents will all need your help to take care of them!"
The old village chief lowered his head, exhaling two puffs of white smoke from his nose, and said in a stifled voice, "Don't try to persuade me, I also want to see what kind of thief came from these mountains who dares to run wild in my territory."
He's old and can't work anymore. If he can take someone down with him in his old age, then he'll have died a worthy death.
After saying that, he tapped his pipe against the sole of his shoe, took a pinch of tobacco from his pipe and put it in, then lit it with a tinderbox.
It was about a quarter past midnight.
A few scattered sparks of fire suddenly appeared halfway up the mountain in the distance.
The fire shone brightly in the dark night, and someone immediately shouted, "It's here! Someone's here! Look!"
Upon hearing this, everyone picked up their weapons and looked up.
The words had barely left his lips when the tiny flame, which had been just a tiny spark, quickly multiplied—one, two, three…
As more and more fires appeared on the mountainside, their sheer number horrified the villagers!
"Quickly! Sound the alarm! Bandits have entered the village!"
As soon as the order was given, the sound of gongs rang out.
The quiet night suddenly became noisy. All the men who had already gone to bed got up, picked up their weapons, and gathered at the village entrance.
The village chief looked at the mountain path that was almost illuminated, and his grip on his pipe tightened. He had thought there would be many bandits, but he hadn't expected that their numbers would be several times greater than the villagers'.
In this way, they have absolutely no chance of winning against the bandits.
Enraged, he flung his pipe to the ground and grabbed his long-unused crossbow: "Get all the women and children in the village up the mountain! Don't leave the village! No one else is allowed to leave here!"
After saying that, he walked to the barricade and prepared to fight.
"Yes!" Everyone followed the village chief, preparing for battle!
Su Wanyan hadn't slept at all. Hearing the noise outside, she quickly put down her book and glanced out the window.
In the distance, on the mountainside, torches were seen trailing down the mountain.
"Those are bandits?" Impossible.
The thought had barely formed in her mind when Su Wanyan immediately rejected it.
According to Xiao Bu's information, there weren't many bandits, and she didn't think Yu Nanqing would be unable to handle even a small band of bandits.
Those are...
Su Wanyan hurriedly lifted her skirt: "Quick, the villagers have mistaken the Dragon Flag Army for bandits, let's hurry down too."
We need to explain this promptly!
"Your Majesty! The cloak!" Huang Ye hurriedly took the cloak from the clothes rack and followed Su Wanyan to put it on her.
At the village entrance, Su Wanyan was stopped as soon as she arrived: "Dr. Su! What are you doing here? Quickly follow them up the mountain! It's dangerous here!"
"I have something to say to the village chief, could you let me through?"
"This...this won't do!"
"Okay, go and report to the village chief and ask for his opinion."
The man was immediately put in a difficult position. What time is it now? Why do you have to say it now?
But considering that Su Wanyan had been providing them with free medical care for the past two weeks, after hesitating for a while, his emotions finally prevailed over his reason: "Then you wait here, I'll go ask her!"
Su Wanyan nodded repeatedly.
He hurriedly ran off and then hurriedly ran back, saying, "The village chief wants you to come over."
Thank you.
When Su Wanyan arrived, she saw the village head standing at the very front.
The hastily erected barricades heavily blocked the entire village entrance.
The villagers brought out hoes, rakes, and shovels to use as weapons, and the hunters brought out their bows and arrows, waiting for the bandits to arrive.
"Village Chief!" Su Wanyan looked at the crossbow the village chief was holding up: "Those people aren't bandits. Put down your weapons and listen to me!"
"Dr. Su! What's wrong with you!" Su Wanyan's words were met with a fierce rebuke: "The bandits are already at your doorstep, what nonsense are you spouting? And didn't you say the bandits would attack tonight? How come you're saying they're not bandits now!"
The village chief also frowned, looking puzzled. The arrow was already on the bowstring, and he had seen the men coming down from the mountainside. If they weren't bandits, where did so many people come from?
He waved his hand: "Take her to a safe place!"
We'll find out whether they're bandits or not when they arrive!
Su Wanyan was anxious, but there was no use in being anxious.
After calming down and thinking about it, Yu Nanqing knew that these villagers were prepared, and under these circumstances, they should not be able to hurt Yu Nanqing.
"Dr. Su, come with me quickly, it's dangerous here!" someone urged.
After Su Wanyan figured it out, she was thinking of leaving as the villagers suggested.
Just then, someone shouted, "They're here!"
The torches at the bend in the road at the village entrance had barely begun to appear when the village chief shot out an arrow with a "whoosh" without the slightest hesitation!
Su Wanyan's heart skipped a beat, and just then, her eyes were drawn to that snow-white hem of clothing!
"Yu Nanqing! Watch out!" Su Wanyan shouted instinctively.
In an instant, the arrow, which was about to pierce flesh, was firmly grasped by a large hand with a "snap".
Yu Nanqing's tall and slender figure appeared faintly in front of everyone under the torchlight.
"Huh?" Everyone was stunned. "It's Young Master Yu! Village Chief! It's Young Master Yu! Not a bandit!"
The village chief was also stunned: "What's going on?"
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