CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The extremely loud sound of a copper gong echoed throughout the village.
Accompanying the gong was the hysterical, urgent, and terrified cry of a Long-term Worker from Village Chief Chen's household, spreading throughout the entire village!
"Bandits are coming!!"
"Nobody sleep!"
"Bandits are coming, everyone get up and go to the village entrance to fend them off! The bandits are coming to rob us of our grain!"
It was not just the Long-term Worker from Village Chief Chen's household; the servants from Guo Xiangshen's house also began running all over the village.
The entire village was awakened just as the moon had risen.
All four members of Chen Ku's family pushed open the door of their house and came out. Terror was etched on the faces of Xu Lan and Mother Chen; the child Hu Zi, held in their arms, had his clothes buttoned incorrectly.
"Brother, the bandits have come! What should we do?" Xu Lan asked, frightened and anxious as she held her son, listening to the urgent sound of the gong in the village.
Although Mother Chen was usually composed, she could no longer contain herself at this moment. Her expression was identical to her daughter-in-law's, and she could only look to the family's sole pillar of support for help. "My son, think of something quickly!"
Chen Ku, her son, frowned as he listened to the sound of the gong.
He initiated the Skinny Dog Transformation.
Instantly, he could smell the filthy, chaotic, and foul stench of no fewer than several hundred desperate refugees converging towards the stockade wall at the entrance of Dachen Village, carrying torches...
Two to three hundred people!
He exhaled and looked at his panic-stricken old mother and sister-in-law, and his nephew, who was equally terrified despite not knowing what was happening. "I'm here," he said. "Now listen to me and follow me."
He had known all along that the refugees would come raiding. That was why Chen Ku had decided to stay in the village a while longer—to ensure his family would not be harmed when the refugees plundered the village before he left. Whether it was his sister-in-law, his old mother, or his nephew, he couldn't bring himself to heartlessly abandon any of them. They were his family in this world.
Mother Chen saw that her son was about to lead them away from their home.
"We'll go hide in the dilapidated kiln on the back mountain," Chen Ku said.
Mother Chen looked at their house. "But our home... what about our belongings? If those bandits break in, they'll..."
Chen Ku looked at his old mother and said, "You've kept the land and house deeds safely on your person. We haven't stored any grain this past year. Even if those people enter our house, so what? They won't find anything valuable and will naturally leave."
As for his precious Herbal Medicines and Silver Taels, he had already hidden them well in advance, in places only his Dog Nose could find.
This was the advantage of their family having been poor before—being unencumbered by possessions, they only needed to hide themselves well.
"...Wait! There are still five catties of flour and about ten steamed buns in the jar! We have to bring them, or we'll be letting those thieves have them for free!" his sister-in-law, Xu Lan, exclaimed. She hurriedly ran to the kitchen, hoisted the small half-bag of flour onto her back, and said, "Alright, we can go now."
After Chen Ku moved his family to the dilapidated kiln on the back mountain, he instructed them, "Sleep here tonight. Wait for the refugees to pass."
"What about you, my son?" Mother Chen seemed to sense that her son was not going to stay with them tonight and planned to go out.
Chen Ku looked toward the village.
His nose had already detected them. Five to six Li beyond the main group of two to three hundred refugees, in a cave at Rest Spring—a location near the village—two people were positioned on high ground. They were issuing commands from this vantage point, hidden and observing the situation.
Rest Spring was a place in Dachen Village. It was named so because there was a large spring well halfway up the mountain from which the villagers usually fetched their water. Carrying water up and down the mountain, they would often rest at this spot, hence its name.
The round trip to fetch water covered Ten Li—a hard trek for the rural folk.
From Rest Spring, one could stand halfway up the mountain and look down over the entirety of Dachen Village.
Back in Snake Fish Town, the common folk were well aware that the so-called 'refugee assault on the town' was merely a fabricated illusion. Without organizers, the refugees were like a plate of loose sand; how could two to three hundred of them possibly gather, much less dare to attack a landlord's home?
Chen Ku detected two individuals at Rest Spring whose scent was very similar to that of the refugees. Clearly, they were the behind-the-scenes organizers, mingling with the group.
After all, he planned to leave the village soon. If he didn't eliminate these behind-the-scenes organizers, heaven knew how long this horde of refugees would continue to wreak havoc in Dachen Village. They might even end up taking over homes and settling down.
So... he wanted to try. Provided, of course, he could actually eliminate them.
However, he naturally couldn't tell his old mother and sister-in-law the truth. He simply said, "Big Brother Zhao and Jiyang are still in the village. After all, I'm one of the strongest men in the village. Even if I can't save many people, I should at least protect their two families. Don't worry; with my current abilities, even if a dozen refugees were to rush me at once, they couldn't lay a scratch on me."
With that, he gave his family a reassuring look, exited the kiln alone, and quietly made his way towards Rest Spring.
「...」
「At the village entrance, atop the wooden stockade wall.」
Village Chief Chen and Guo Xiangshen stood together. About thirty or forty of the village's able-bodied young men had also gathered. Village Chief Chen observed that all who had come were landowners. They had harvested their grain in the autumn and now had it stored in their homes, making them the most fearful of refugees storming the village.
At that moment, Village Chief Chen watched as a vast, dark mass of refugees, too numerous to count easily, emerged from the fields holding torches high. His scalp tingled.
The total population of Dachen Village was barely over a hundred people. Yet, looking at these refugees, there were at least two to three hundred of them, all men. Even though they were sallow and emaciated, they were still men. This further convinced him of the rumors that someone was organizing them.
Looking down at the wooden stockade wall beneath him, his heart filled with dread.
Before long, all two to three hundred refugees had surged to the base of the stockade wall.
Village Chief Chen forced a laugh and tentatively called down towards the torchlights below, "Greetings! Who among you is the leader? How should I address you?"
From among the refugees, a short, swarthy man with a black cloth tied around his head lifted his torch and replied, "That'd be me. You can call me Grey Snake, sir. I just wanna ask, sir, in this village of yours... is there someone called Guo Xiangshen?"
Hearing his name, Guo Xiangshen instinctively tried to shrink back, but the voice from below called out again, "Master Guo, show your face, won't you?"
Steeling himself, Guo Xiangshen poked his head out from the watchtower, forcing a smile as he looked down. "Judging by your accent, Brother Grey, you must be from the Qiu Bei Region. This Guo has never been there, so I couldn't have possibly offended you. Why do you ask for this Guo by name?"
"Master Guo! That's right, I've never even laid eyes on you, sir, so you've definitely never wronged me!" Grey Snake shouted at the top of his lungs. "We miserable folk have come to your village with no other intention—we're just hungry! And we've heard, Master Guo, that you're the wealthiest household in this village. Is that true?"
Guo Xiangshen's heart shuddered.
This is bad! They're targeting me!
As soon as these words were spoken, Guo Xiangshen felt the gazes of the village's able-bodied men on him turn strange. If they're only after Guo Xiangshen, then perhaps...
Feeling flustered and guilty, Guo Xiangshen quickly shouted down, "This Guo's household doesn't have enough to feed such a large group of brothers! How about this, Brother Grey: I'll toss down two bags of millet flour for you. You take your men and try your luck elsewhere, alright?"
"Two bags of millet flour? We have over two hundred brothers here! That's not even enough for a mouthful each!" Grey Snake yelled back, then shouted up, "Masters above, enough talk! The brothers just came from Xiaowang Village yesterday. Today, we're eating in your village! Everyone, charge!"
At his command, hundreds of men surged towards the wooden stockade tower and fences. The wooden fences collapsed instantly under their assault.
Guo Xiangshen's face turned as white as a sheet, his heart filled with despair.
At that moment, he realized he couldn't avoid a severe loss today. But the crucial thing was his family—the old and young—at home. He was willing to give up food, but if his family members were harmed and their valuables stolen...
Suddenly, as if grasping at a lifeline, he whispered urgently to a Long-term Worker beside him, "Quick! Go find the Chen Brothers! Tell them if they can protect my family tonight, I'll give them another ten mu of land!"
「...」
「Meanwhile, Chen Ku had arrived at Rest Spring.」
Two men were there, drinking. Each held a large piece of soy-sauce-braised beef, sipping their alcohol and gnawing on the meat as they talked. Their voices carried to his ears from over a dozen zhang away.
"We only just converted the valuables from those wealthy households in Xiaowang Village into silver notes yesterday, and already someone from above is asking about them today. They're in such a rush..."
"These silver notes are worth more than one hundred taels. How much do you think we should hand over this time?"
"We have to keep at least half for ourselves, right?"
Listening to their chatter, Chen Ku waited for an opportunity. Sure enough, it wasn't long before one of the drinking men couldn't hold his bladder any longer.
Chen Ku kept his eyes fixed on the man as he walked into a small grove of trees, then glanced down at the pickaxe in his hand.
Without a word, he silently followed.
RUSTLE...
The man was still comfortably relieving himself with narrowed eyes, whistling softly.
CRACK!
Chen Ku brought the pickaxe down on the back of the man's head from behind. With over a thousand catties of force and the element of surprise, his victim had no time to react.
A single blow from the pickaxe split his skull open. The man crumpled, falling with a splash into his own urine.
Chen Ku smashed the pickaxe onto the corpse's head several more times.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
He made sure the man was completely and utterly dead.
Then, he crept out of the small grove, his gaze fixed on the other man who was still drinking. He concealed himself behind a tree, preparing to wait for another opportunity to ambush...
He was discovering that these dishonorable sneak attacks were incredibly effective. They saved both trouble and effort.