Si Cheng's idea to lead the villagers up the back mountain wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; he'd had this idea since the last time A Meng and the others came down the mountain.
There are so many animals along the distance from Xinjiu Village to Pinghe Village, and the opposite direction hasn't been crossed for a long time; it's time to go up and clear them out. This is also a good opportunity to give the other villages a wake-up call.
While they were shirking their responsibilities, the other villages, determined to prove themselves even if they weren't doing anything productive, joined forces to maintain order in a seemingly respectable manner.
Everything was fine at first, but within two days, conflicts arose. Everyone wanted to take the lead, and no one was willing to concede to anyone else. They all wanted to seize the opportunity to gain more say, and thus, open and covert struggles were put into practice.
The constant bickering and commotion led to the complete disintegration of the alliance in less than two weeks.
Each village has returned to its previous practice of each managing its own village's security, and many people have taken the opportunity to slack off.
The alliance between their villages has broken down, but the animals in the mountains have united to form a new alliance.
That night, a large herd of animals on the mountainside in the direction of Gaojia Village kept a close eye on the people's settlement, which was also the largest water source in the vicinity.
The houses they built were all round earthen buildings, but the poultry they brought over were kept in simple enclosures outside.
After a day's work, everyone was exhausted and lay there, not wanting to move. The night watchman was also yawning, leaning against the corner of the wall with his eyes half-closed, and it was hard to tell whether he had already fallen asleep.
The animals' sensitivity caused the cattle and sheep kept in the enclosure to pace restlessly in their pen, yet dared not make a sound.
The night watchman suddenly shuddered, feeling as if he were being watched by something.
He immediately opened his eyes and saw several green lights not far away, motionless.
Now he understood perfectly well that wild animals had entered the village. He anxiously tried to find the gong to warn the villagers, but he couldn't find it at all.
The more anxious a person is, the more likely they are to make mistakes. He was so focused on finding the gong that he unknowingly dropped his weapon on the ground.
The animal wouldn't waste any time with him. He felt a gust of foul wind, a sharp pain in his neck, and before he could even utter a final sound, he collapsed to the ground.
What followed was a one-sided massacre, and the animals outside began to stir and make a lot of noise.
The people sleeping inside the earthen building soon heard the commotion outside. The bolder ones wanted to grab weapons and rush out, but they were all stopped by their families.
"What are you doing going out at this time? There's such a commotion outside, can you guarantee you'll get out unscathed? What will happen to our family if something happens to you?"
Many such scenes were playing out in each household, and as the noise outside gradually subsided, in the end no one went outside to check what was wrong.
The night watchman's family kept clamoring to go out and check the situation, but the people around them wouldn't allow them to open the door and even surrounded them.
The timid ones waited until there was absolutely no sound outside before cautiously taking their weapons and opening the door to investigate.
As soon as they opened the door, a pungent smell of blood hit them. By the light of the torches, they saw that the original gate guard post was now just a pool of blood; the person who was supposed to be keeping watch there had vanished.
His family, who were keeping vigil, frantically called his name, but received no response.
At this point, the people from the several earthen buildings ahead also opened their doors and came out. With more people around, everyone became bolder, and they all walked together towards the area where the poultry were collectively kept.
They discovered that the place was in complete disarray. Apart from some sturdy wooden cages and some chickens and ducks shivering, there were only traces of blood in many places.
"How are we supposed to live from now on? These beasts dare to come down the mountain openly now, and judging from the commotion, it's not just one kind of animal." Someone started kicking the damaged wooden cage in frustration.
"Why didn't the person on night watch give any warnings? Otherwise, everyone could have been on guard earlier." Some people started looking for reasons in others.
"Still keeping watch? Didn't you see they're searching everywhere? They're probably in grave danger."
"Weren't there two people guarding this place? Did both of them get into trouble?"
This question completely baffled everyone. They could only hear one person's name being called, so where was the other person?
Someone immediately realized, "Today it's Apo and Little Li, but we're only looking for Apo. Where is Little Li?"
Those who knew the inside story said, "They've been slacking off lately, each only guarding for half the night, so only Apo got into trouble."
Little Li knew that this matter would definitely come back to haunt him, but he didn't expect everyone to react so quickly. He tried to sneak back into the house, but was immediately caught by the people around him.
"Little Li is here!" This exclamation drew everyone's attention to him.
Leonardo DiCaprio stood there with his head down, and everyone was at a loss for words when they saw him like this.
Apo's mother, however, didn't see it that way. She pounced on him and started hitting him repeatedly, saying, "Why didn't you keep watch with me? If you had been with me, maybe none of this would have happened."
At this moment, Little Li's mother rushed up and pushed her away, saying, "Do you think there won't be any problems if two people are on guard? Isn't your Apo on guard there? How come he didn't make a sound? With Little Li there, it's just one more life. Little Li escaped a disaster because he's lucky."
These words from the other party caused Apo's elderly mother to break down, and she collapsed to the ground, crying bitterly, "Does my Apo deserve this? Why did they target my Apo when there are so many people on night watch? He hasn't even found a wife yet."
At this moment, someone said, "It's all the fault of the people in Pinghe Village. If they hadn't ignored the consequences and sealed off the village and gone up the back mountain themselves, preventing us from organizing patrols, this tragedy wouldn't have happened if we had followed the previous method."
Gao Liang was the first to stand up and object, saying, "You are the ones who are being lazy, how can you blame others? If everyone continued to patrol at night as before, this tragedy would not have happened."
The person who recognized Gao Liang immediately retorted sarcastically, "You're Village Chief Si's cousin, of course you're on their side. They're taking the villagers hunting in the back mountains now, living a very carefree life. Why don't they take you with them?"
Gao Liang retorted without backing down, "If you think going hunting is cool, then why were you all hiding inside just now? Why didn't you come out and have some fun? They were leading us to maintain order in this area, but you guys have been causing trouble behind the scenes. Who's going to keep indulging you?"
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