Chapter 83 A fight broke out. Chen Gengnian was chopping wood when...
Chen Gengnian was chopping wood when he heard this, so he quickly threw down his axe and carried A Meng to a secluded place.
"What happened?"
A Meng handed the letter to Chen Gengnian and anxiously told him everything he had seen.
"As soon as I came down from the mountain, I smelled an extremely strong stench of decay. I quietly circled the village, and guess what?"
Chen Gengnian, growing impatient, said helplessly, "Can't you just say it all at once?!"
Ah Meng coughed twice and said, "I was just trying to avoid awkwardness by interacting with you a bit."
Chen Gengnian didn't respond, signaling it to speak quickly.
Ah Meng then recounted everything he had seen and learned in one breath.
“A man moved into the village. I didn’t see him. The guards were very tight, so I didn’t dare get too close. This man killed almost everyone in the village, including the deserters. The stench was coming from the burial pit on the back mountain. I took a look. The bottom part was almost completely rotten, while the corpses on top were all missing limbs and their heads were separated. The scene was simply too gruesome to bear.”
As Chen Gengnian listened, his expression grew increasingly serious, a mixture of grief and complex emotions swirling within him.
After staring at him for a few moments, A Meng continued, "Rebel troops suddenly set up camp in the town. The villagers who didn't have time to escape kept their doors tightly shut and dared not go out. These medicines were obtained from a clinic by the village head; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have been able to get them."
Chen Gengnian filtered through what it said and suddenly asked, "Why would rebels flood into our small place?"
Ah Meng shook his head, but pointed to the letter in Chen Gengnian's hand, and only then did Chen Gengnian remember to open it and read it.
"It's too late for the rebels to escape once they enter the city. I hope you will take good care of your family. I heard that General Lin Mo, who has been guarding the front line, has been defeated. The rebels have successively occupied several cities of our dynasty. The situation is in chaos now. I hope you will not go out easily. Stay in the mountains for a while and wait until the situation stabilizes before going down the mountain."
The letter was written by the village head, and its few words were filled with a heavy heart.
Chen Gengnian's doubts were finally resolved.
The rebels in the town did not occupy it without cause; it was mostly due to the county magistrate's collusion with other officials. Since the emperor was far away, no one would know about it unless someone reported it.
After Lin Qing'an woke up, Chen Gengnian told him everything A Meng had said. He was also very shocked, especially when he heard that Linjia Village had become a living hell. He felt a complex mix of emotions.
They didn't tell everyone all these things, only saying that the situation outside was unstable and they might have to stay a while longer. Everyone listened to Chen Gengnian very much now; if he said one thing, the whole family would never say another.
The medicine that Ah Meng brought back did have some effect. After drinking it for two days, Lin Qing'an was able to eat some food, but he was still a bit listless and drowsy every day.
——
For more than ten days in a row, people were being killed in the village. The back mountain of Linjia Village was piled with corpses, and almost all the villagers, including the soldiers, were killed.
Zhou Caixia trembled as she tightly shielded her son in her arms, hiding him in the filthy, smelly pigsty. Lin Tianci was completely numb and dazed, offering no resistance no matter how Zhou Caixia moved him; he no longer seemed like a normal child.
As the screams outside faded into the distance, Zhou Caixia poked her head out and saw that there was indeed no one outside.
Taking advantage of the absence of others, she carried Lin Tianci and sneaked out to the back mountain.
Her husband is dead, and she can't let her son die too. She has to escape; she has to live!
Thinking back to when she overheard someone whispering about Lin Qing'an and his family, she realized that none of them had been arrested.
It's very strange; their house has been occupied, but they've disappeared.
Zhou Caixia was completely baffled until several days later when she finally remembered that Chen Gengnian was a hunter.
Hunters are familiar with the mountains, so their escape route can only be through the mountains!
Therefore, Zhou Caixia's only escape route is into the mountains, as only there is a glimmer of hope for her survival.
She thought that as long as she could find a few people, they would definitely not leave her to die.
The man, who had been insane for over ten days, received a secret letter just as he was about to kill almost everyone in the village.
The secret letter bore the bold words: Protect the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan's son back to the capital at all costs.
The man was shocked as he looked at the words on the letter.
Crown Prince? His elder brother's children have all been poisoned long ago, so where would he get a Crown Prince?
The man suddenly paused, muttering, "The son of the King of Yan... the son of the King of Yan..."
Could it be...
That person from over twenty years ago, his good brother, actually survived that battle.
There was no time to think further, because the most unacceptable thing was right in front of him: he had slaughtered everyone in the entire village, so among those people...
The man, his face contorted with rage, shouted, whether with excitement or resentment, "Seventh Brother, bring me everyone alive in the village."
As he spoke, his hands tightened, and the muscles on his face twitched incessantly.
The man called Lao Qi hesitated for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to step forward and kneel on one knee, reporting, "Your Highness, there is no one left in the village..."
"Keep searching!" The man paced back and forth, his voice filled with malice. "Even if they're still clinging to life, heal them. I must see what my two good brothers' children look like!"
"yes!"
The group of people were ordered to leave. The man looked into the misty distance. Although more than 20 years had passed, he still felt a burning hatred when he thought about that incident.
Twenty years ago, the late emperor had three sons and three daughters. The eldest prince was intelligent and wise, the second prince was a silly glutton, and the third prince was competitive.
The eldest prince was born to the empress and was favored from birth. However, he was a man who did not compete for anything. The late emperor loved the empress, so the eldest prince became the rightful crown prince. However, the third prince, the Wise Prince, was always ruthless and vicious. In order to seize power, he plotted to kill the crown prince's mother. After being caught by the crown prince, he cut off his left arm in a fit of anger. After his mother died, the eldest prince was determined to leave the palace. He threatened to kill himself, and the late emperor finally agreed to his request and demoted him to a commoner. The third prince was then exiled to the border to guard the frontier.
Thus, the foolish and clueless second prince became the sole heir to the throne.
Not long after becoming a commoner, news of his unexpected death arrived. Upon hearing this, the late emperor was so distressed that he fell seriously ill. After searching for several years without finding his beloved child, he passed away, beyond the reach of any medicine.
The wise king withdrew his gaze, recalling the past without feeling any emotion, only a surging and overwhelming hatred.
He never felt he had done anything wrong. Being born into an imperial family, it was a matter of life or death, which was perfectly understandable.
The guards searched the village thoroughly, and when they found that all the villagers had been killed, the leader of the men was furious. However, soon, someone found Zhou Caixia and her son fleeing behind a rock on the back mountain.
When Zhou Caixia thought she and her daughter were going to die, the guard who grabbed her asked, "Do you know Chen Gengnian?"
Zhou Caixia was stunned for a couple of seconds before she snapped out of her fear and nodded repeatedly, "I know, I know..."
Upon hearing this, the guard was overjoyed and, holding Zhou Caixia in his arms, asked, "Where is he?"
Zhou Caixia stretched out her hand, her fingers trembling, and pointed towards the direction of the wind behind the mountain. She said in a shaky voice, "It's...it's in the mountains."
The moment she lowered her hand, she suddenly touched Lin Tianci's head, instantly snapping her back to reality. Suppressing her fear, she hurriedly added, "I...I know where they are. I can take you to them."
She clenched her teeth and looked hopefully at the tall guard, hoping he would agree and spare her and her child's lives.
The guards said nothing, grabbed her, and ran towards the village. Lin Tianci watched his mother being taken away, neither crying nor shouting, just standing there in a daze. Zhou Caixia cried out in anguish, "My son! My son is still behind us! Officer, I beg you, please let my son come with me... please..."
She was being held by the collar by the guard, so her shouts were muffled, and her voice was already hoarse from crying so much these past few days.
The guard seemed annoyed by her voice and gave a wink to his companion. The companion understood, stepped forward, picked up Lin Tianci with one hand, and followed him away.
The group quickly arrived at the village chief's house. The guard threw the man to the ground, knelt on one knee, and reported, "Your Highness, she said the man is still alive and has escaped into the mountains. She can also lead the way."
The man glanced at the woman who was tightly holding the child. His powerful aura made Zhou Caixia's legs go weak with fear just from his gaze. She quickly nodded and said, "Yes, sir, I know where they are. I can lead the way."
"Hahahaha..." The man's laughter was ghostly, and it didn't stop for a long time before he said in a sinister tone, "Everyone, listen to my order, go into the mountains and capture people. Remember, I only want them alive!"
At the man's command, everyone got ready and headed towards the mountains.
However, as soon as the group approached the foot of the mountain, they were blocked by countless men in black.
Seeing the crowd gathering around him, the man showed no sign of panic; instead, his smile became even more sinister and malicious.
"I never imagined that even after so many years since my brother's death, there would still be so many loyal lackeys. It's truly touching!"
As the man spoke, he flicked a silver soft sword from his wrist. The moment the sword was flung out, it created a strong gust of wind and a loud sound. The enemy remained silent, and the man gave the order with a sinister smile.
"Kill without mercy!"
At a single command, the two sides engaged in fierce combat.
The scene terrified Zhou Caixia so much that she almost collapsed to the ground, but she still managed to pull her son up and try to escape into the depths of the forest. She thought no one would care about their movements, but she didn't expect that after running a few steps, she felt a gust of wind attack her neck. Before she could react, she felt an excruciating pain in her neck and instantly lost consciousness.
"ah--"
Lin Tianci watched helplessly as his mother's head rolled to the ground at his feet, blood splattering all over him. He screamed in terror, but before he could finish his cry, the soft sword struck again, the tip slicing across his tender back. His trembling body fell straight down, never to make another sound.
The man sheathed his soft sword, his face full of disgust as he spat and cursed, "Shut up!"
They then joined the battle.
Although there were more men on the men's side, most of them were no match for the other side in terms of strength. However, although the men only had one right hand, they were extremely strong in combat, and they moved with ease among their opponents with every step.
While the people down the mountain were fighting fiercely, Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan were having a pleasant lunch together.
The first to notice the anomaly was A Meng, followed by Yang Ruo and Mo Xing, who were often on patrol.
Yang Ruo and Mo Xing were wary of their surroundings. Chen Gengnian walked over and asked, "What happened?"
Both of them shook their heads.
Ameng said, "Two groups of people are fighting down the mountain. Both sides are dressed in black, while the other side is all masked. However, I can confirm that the unmasked side is the group that has been stationed in the village for some time."
As soon as A Meng finished speaking, the sounds of fighting grew closer and closer. Chen Gengnian looked at the mountains behind him and said to A Meng without hesitation, "Senior brother, you should quickly tell everyone to hide in a safe place first. Let's go down and see what's going on."
After Chen Gengnian finished speaking, he picked up his homemade bow and arrows and ran down the mountain, followed by Mo Xing and Yang Ruo.
Ah Meng had no chance to refuse, so he had to hurry back to his residence to inform everyone.
Although the sounds of fighting were loud, they had not yet reached the thatched hut he had built earlier. Chen Gengnian opened all the hunting traps near the hut before going down the mountain to see what was going on.
During the fight, the veil of the middle-aged man who was leading the fight was lifted by the wise king's soft sword, and he recognized the person in front of him almost immediately.
This man was Jiang Qu, a personal guard of his elder brother.
"Guard Jiang? It's you!"
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