Chapter 31 Collusion
Because of the bandits, many of the refugees who used to guard the village entrance left. The village headman led people up the mountain to cut down some wood to make roadblocks. He sent people to guard the village entrance day and night in shifts, and would ring a gong to alert the villagers if there was any movement.
"I don't know if the government has sent people to suppress the bandits. If they are allowed to roam freely, our village will probably suffer as well." It's normal for Wei's mother to have this worry, as this place is not far from Zhoujia Village, only half a day's journey away.
"Don't be afraid, we have a secret passage. If all else fails, we can hide inside. There's enough stuff inside to last us for a while," Song Yushu comforted him.
The Wei family is now having the brothers take turns patrolling, and there have been no unusual occurrences in the village for several days.
"Perhaps the county magistrate sent men to suppress the bandits, otherwise why is there no movement at all?"
"I don't think the bandits will come to our village. There are so many villages around, we can't be that unlucky."
The people on night patrol found the argument increasingly convincing.
Three days later, the patrolmen in the village became increasingly lazy, with many of them making a token round and then going back to sleep.
When the villagers gathered again, the village head brought good news: "The county has sent troops to suppress the bandits. Everyone, just hold on for a while longer."
However, after many people breathed a sigh of relief, they demanded that the village head disband the patrol team.
On the other side, after arriving at Zhoujia Village, the bandits drove all the villagers to an open space and sent men to plunder their grain.
Zhou Lao Er and Zhou Chengli's family were also squeezed into the crowd.
When he inadvertently caught sight of two familiar faces among the bandits, he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Father, are you alright?" Although Zhou Chengli was in a sorry state, he was not injured. Seeing that Zhou Lao Er's face had suddenly turned pale, he quickly asked softly.
Zhou Lao Er didn't say anything, but gripped his hand tightly and stared intently at the familiar-looking bandit. It turned out to be the two brothers that Zhao the Cripple had brought back.
He was quite patient, forcing himself to look away and not daring to make a fuss. Otherwise, if others found out that they had dealings with bandits, not only would Zhou Chengli's academic achievements be revoked, but his entire family would also suffer.
He could endure it, but Zhao the Cripple had just recognized the two bandits, and his body was trembling so badly that he could hardly pretend not to see them.
"Hey! Isn't this Zhao the Cripple? It's like the flood washed away the Dragon King's temple, we're all family and we don't even recognize each other. How did you get captured too? Release my brother right now, we were able to get through this smoothly thanks to him."
The bandit wasn't blind, of course. After recognizing Zhao the Cripple, he deliberately came over with a smile to greet him.
Upon hearing this, the villagers of Zhoujia Village, who had been terrified by the bandits, immediately glared at Zhao the Cripple, wishing they could tear him to pieces.
Zhao the Cripple was helped up by the bandits amidst the villagers' murderous gazes. He initially felt guilty, but after seeing the villagers' eyes, he knew that if he didn't join the bandits, he would probably die. So he decided to throw caution to the wind and join the bandits.
This scene reminded Zhou Chengli that the bandit was the same person whom Zhao the Cripple had brought to the Zhou family to be treated to good food and drink. He finally understood why his father had suddenly turned pale. It was all over.
Many people saw Zhao the Cripple swaggering into the village with those two bandits earlier, and now he's calling the bandits brothers in front of the villagers of Zhoujia Village. What else could the people of Zhoujia Village not understand?
The villagers who were close to Zhou Lao Er and Zhou Chengli’s family immediately moved away. Zhou Chengli felt ashamed when he saw that the villagers treated them like monsters. Zhou Lao Er felt that he couldn’t even lift his head.
Zhao the Cripple didn't care about any of that. He ate heartily the food the bandits had taken from the villagers, ignoring their hateful stares. He had always been a selfish person, and now that he was living a good life, he didn't care about saving face anymore.
"You have food, why don't you remember your scholar son-in-law?" Jin Biao deliberately brought up Zhou Chengli.
"My son-in-law is a scholar, and he's very sensitive. I'm really afraid he'll be inflexible and upset you!" Zhao the Cripple said with a fawning smile to Jin Biao.
“We’re brothers, family, how could we blame him? Let them all come over for dinner, as a way of repaying you for your hospitality earlier!” Jin Biao’s voice was so loud that everyone around could hear him clearly.
Zhou Lao Er's face was ashen, and he had long since given up any hope of escaping the situation. He even hoped that the soldiers sent to suppress the bandits would arrive later, otherwise, even if his family wasn't torn apart by the people of Zhoujia Village, they might be arrested and imprisoned.
"Pah! Who said we're family with you bandits? We were clearly fooled by you!" Zhou Chengli refused to admit any connection with these bandits, otherwise his life would be ruined.
"bump!"
"ah!"
Zhou Chengli was kicked to the ground by the bandits next to him and was in so much pain that he couldn't get up.
"Hahahaha! A scholar, huh? You're so shameless! Look at you now, you don't even look human anymore!" A group of bandits burst into laughter at his disheveled appearance.
"Your son-in-law has really ruined his brain from studying too much. He insists on refusing to listen to reason and then having to drink the penalty cup. You're the smart one," Jin Biao said, turning his head and praising Zhao the Cripple with a forced smile.
Zhao the Cripple could only stiffly force a smile at Jin Biao.
“Boss! Since he’s Zhao the Cripple’s son-in-law, let’s just grant him his wish and let him be a cripple. Birds of a feather flock together.”
Other bandits were enjoying the spectacle and thought it was getting out of hand.
"What do you think? Your son-in-law has offended us; he can't just get away with it, can he?"
Zhao the Cripple was so frightened that his legs trembled, but he dared not plead for mercy. Jin Biao looked at his cowardly appearance with disdain.
"ah!"
Zhou Lao Er could only watch helplessly as the bandits dragged his son out and broke his legs. The Zhao siblings, who were standing nearby, were so frightened that tears streamed down their faces, while Zhou Chengli had already fainted from the pain.
"Boss! Soldiers are coming!"
Just as the bandits were lecherously dragging the village girls out, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.
"Boss! Let's run!"
"What's there to be afraid of? With this whole village as hostages, do you think they'd dare to force their way in?" Jin Biao was not afraid at all.
The villagers, who had been filled with hope upon hearing the news, were immediately plunged into despair.
When the county magistrate received the news that Zhoujia Village had been robbed by bandits, he immediately brought his troops over. Unfortunately, the bandits were not afraid at all and used the villagers as shields, making it impossible for him to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
"Junior Brother Xue, do you have a way to rescue the villagers?" County Magistrate Gu Cheng and Xue Huai'an were from the same school. Knowing that his junior brother was always cautious and thorough in his actions, he wanted to hear his opinion.
"Ask someone familiar with the village if there are any other shortcuts into the village..." Xue Huai'an had been working as a think tank with his senior brother since the beginning of the drought, and after a moment's thought, he offered his idea.
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