Wang Zili and his group carried the bodies of A Qin and the others back to Xin San Village, and the whole village began to stir.
"You people are too audacious. You think you can just barge into the back mountains with only a few of you? Don't you know that tigers have been found in this back mountain? You're really overestimating yourselves." Village Chief Shi rushed over as soon as he heard the news, and he also heard that someone had died, but he didn't know exactly who it was.
"Who is lying in here?" Before the village chief even got close, he smelled a pungent odor, but because the body was wrapped in vines, he really didn't know who was inside.
"This is Xiao Qin, and also A Shan and A Liang." Seeing that everyone was silent, Wang Zili had to answer himself.
As soon as he finished speaking, before Village Chief Shi could react, the villagers of Xin San Village all rushed over, especially the family members who had gone up the mountain.
They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw their family members standing alive and well in front of them.
But the other three families weren't so lucky. They rushed over and grabbed at the vines on the stretcher, calling out the names of their loved ones.
"Is this Ah Shan?" The first thing to be pulled away was Ah Shan's body. Upon hearing this, his family members immediately dropped the vines they were holding and rushed over. Seeing the gruesome sight, they began to prostrate themselves on the ground and weep bitterly.
The families of the other two men also witnessed their tragic condition, and cries of grief erupted from all sides.
But their tragic state was revealed as the vines were lifted. The villagers of Xin San Village were terrified, and many couldn't bear it and ran to the side to vomit.
Shi Jingchong pointed at Wang Zili and the others, not knowing what to say. Everyone was in grief right now, and the thought of the troubles that would follow after the grief was already giving them a headache.
Captain Liu and his team rushed over upon hearing the news. Before they could even inquire about the details of the trip up the mountain, the families of the victims pounced on Wang Zili and his group, demanding to know why only they had been involved in the accident while the others were still standing there unharmed.
Wang Zili's family members also stood in front of them, and soon the families began to fight amongst themselves.
When everyone worked together to pull them apart, they were all covered in bruises, and some of their clothes, which were already oxidized, were now torn to shreds.
"Does fighting solve anything? You don't even know the whole story, and you're already tearing each other apart. Look at the state you're in now, what kind of behavior is this?" Seeing that both sides had calmed down a bit, Village Chief Shi walked between them and began to ask them the truth that everyone wanted to know.
After Wang Zidao and his group recounted the entire incident, Qin's family members tried to rush towards them again, but this time they were stopped by Captain Liu and his team, who were prepared.
"You keep saying there's no problem going into the mountains, there won't be any danger. Is this what you mean by 'no danger'?"
"Since you were together, why couldn't you stop and save them? Didn't you know what would happen if you left them to face those angry wild boars?"
"How are we supposed to live now? Maybe I should just go with the kids."
"Can't you guys help each other out? Look at you, you're both unharmed, why should they just lie here like this?"
The barrage of questions left Wang Zili and his companions speechless, even causing them to question themselves for a moment: why couldn't they have helped others back then? If they had lent a hand, would the outcome have been different?
However, they quickly came to their senses. If they had the chance to do it all over again, they would do the same thing, otherwise they might be the ones lying here.
"Do you think we came back by luck? If we hadn't run into Village Chief Si and his group this time, we might not have even made it back." Someone couldn't bear their insults any longer and began to express their grievances.
"If you help them for a while longer, or if we face it together, we won't say much even if they come back seriously injured."
"That's because you weren't there. Think about it, if more than twenty wild boars were charging at you, I don't believe you could have stood there and not run away. Besides, we were only focused on escaping and didn't even notice what was happening to them."
"So you mean they deserved it? They didn't outrun you."
Seeing that the two sides were about to start arguing again, Village Chief Shi was also a little angry and didn't want to get involved in these trivial matters that he found ridiculous.
"When these people went up the mountain, did any of you family members know about it?"
Village Chief Shi's question stumped everyone, precisely because they had all agreed and even helped them keep it a secret from the village.
"Since everyone understands this, why are you blaming others now? We repeatedly emphasized that you couldn't go up the back mountain on your own, but you've really grown up and even managed to create a new path. What's the point of blaming others now? You should blame yourselves the most. If it weren't for your greed, none of this would have happened today."
When Village Chief Shi asked this question, everyone fell silent. At this moment, everyone began to blame themselves. Surprisingly, the first to break down was Xiao Qin's mother.
“We didn’t want this either, but we came here empty-handed, and all the burdens of the family fell on Xiao Qin’s shoulders. He wanted us to have a better life, and since we didn’t encounter any danger last time we went up the mountain, he thought of going up the mountain again. If I had known it would be like this, I would rather starve to death than be a burden to him.”
As soon as she finished speaking, her two children beside her also burst into tears. She held her two underage sons and daughters, crying hysterically, her eyes filled with despair.
The villagers standing next to her also wiped away tears. Of the three, Xiao Qin's family had the heaviest burden. He not only had to take care of his ailing mother but also raise his underage younger siblings. Now that he had an accident, no one knew how the three of them would survive.
"Sigh, everyone, let's help settle these three people first. We need to let them rest in peace as soon as possible." Village Chief Shi said, glancing at the villagers present. "We'll see how to handle things later. Everyone, please help as much as you can."
However, his words did not resonate with the villagers; they simply exchanged glances and fell silent.
Village Chief Shi understood their thoughts. Everyone's life was not easy, and they could only maintain a state of not starving. Even if they wanted to help, they were powerless to do so.
"Sigh, let's talk about these things later. Let's see if we can cremate them first or find a place to bury them." Village Chief Shi said these words to the families of the three families. After all, they needed their approval before everyone could lend a hand.
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