Most people knew that over ninety-five percent of Dawang Village’s residents shared the surname Wang, but few who knew this fact could quickly capitalize on it.
Wang Shi raised an eyebrow at Xu Da’s slick maneuvering, then quietly turned and entered the mountain crevice to wake the already stirring children.
Although the immediate threat of robbery had passed, interactions with Dawang Village’s residents were inevitable, and certain precautions still needed attention.
For instance, Xu Erniang’s glowing little stick. Wang Shi sternly instructed her to keep it well hidden, warning that if the villagers mistook it for demonic magic, their entire family would be doomed.
Xu Erniang nodded and quietly tucked the magic wand into the bedding.
After organizing their belongings into piles against the innermost wall of the crevice, Wang Shi turned to Xu Dalan—aware he could understand human speech—and instructed:
“Guard your sisters! If anyone tries to enter, kick them out immediately!”
Xu Dalan promptly pulled Xu Yue behind him, spreading his arms in a protective stance, a flash of red glinting in his eyes.
Xu Yue grasped her brother with one hand and Xu Erniang with the other, reminding Xu Dalan, “Sister is your sister too.”
“Mei… mei?” Xu Dalan slurred the words, glancing between Xu Yue and Xu Erniang with a furrowed brow before shaking his head vigorously like a rattle-drum.
Finally, his gaze settled back on Xu Yue, and he grinned goofily at her. “Mei… mei!”
Meaning only Xu Yue counted as his sister—not Xu Erniang.
Xu Erniang rolled her eyes in exasperation and moved to step aside.
But Xu Yue held her back, and the two girls huddled together behind Xu Dalan. He immediately bared his teeth and growled threateningly at Xu Erniang, growing agitated.
Xu Yue glared. “Sister is your sister too!”
Xu Dalan recoiled in disbelief, his wide eyes wounded as they fixed on Xu Yue. Her heart softened, and she reached out to gently pat his arm in a soothing rhythm.
After a long moment, Xu Dalan snorted through his nose, reluctantly agreeing to protect Xu Erniang as well.
“Such a good brother~” Xu Yue beamed, her eyes sparkling.
Xu Dalan immediately brightened, pacified.
Wang Shi watched Xu Yue deftly resolve the sibling conflict and gave her a subtle thumbs-up before stooping to exit the crevice.
In her brief absence, Xu Da had already infiltrated Dawang Village’s inner circle. Spotting her emergence, he barked orders:
“Go fetch firewood for everyone!”
His master-of-the-household act was thoroughly convincing. Wang Shi paused in clear surprise, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Woman, why are you gaping? Hurry up!”
Xu Da roared before turning to help Wang Dayou unload luggage.
Wang Dayou shot Xu Da a disapproving glance at his imperious behavior but held his tongue.
Wang Shi stared at Xu Da’s back for two full seconds before turning to gather firewood.
Hearing movement behind him, Xu Da’s tense shoulders relaxed, and he secretly reveled in his triumph before continuing to pry information from Wang Dayou and the others—soon learning all about their circumstances.
It turned out that after the self-proclaimed Red Turban Army of vagrant troops slaughtered the city, they found that the local elites had already received wind of it and fled in advance. Having gathered nothing valuable, the vagrant army turned their spears toward the surrounding villages.
However, the drought was severe, and only one in ten villages remained. Enraged and humiliated, the vagrant army set the villages ablaze, venting their fury wildly. The common folk nearby, hearing the news, fled in panic.
Wang Dayou and the others had originally escaped as an entire village, but halfway through their flight, they encountered the vagrant army. In the end, only about a dozen of them managed to escape.
The other dozen or so people were those they met along the way, and together they fled into the mountains.
A bonfire was lit, and the people of Dawang Village gathered around in small groups, totaling nineteen individuals, including children.
Among them were four children under ten years old, ten adult men, and five adult women.
Wang Dayou’s family alone accounted for four of them—his wife and children were all with him, making them stand out starkly among the crowd of separated families.
The other group had built a separate fire and consisted of twelve people: nine men and three women. They were barely clothed, with only tattered hemp cloth hastily covering their private parts, regardless of gender.
Strangely, they appeared more spirited than the Dawang Village group. One of them even had a slightly protruding belly, showing signs of being somewhat well-fed.
At a glance, it was clear they could eat their fill—if not every meal, at least once a day—enough to put on such flesh.
Xu Yue sat on a pile of straw by the mountain wall, quietly observing everyone. When her eyes fell upon this group, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a thought abruptly sprang to her mind:
Could these people be cannibals?
The idea startled her, and she cautiously glanced at the group, only to unexpectedly meet a pair of bulging eyes.
The firelight danced in those eyes, and Xu Yue instantly felt as if she were being targeted by a hunter, her heart trembling.
“Roar!” Xu Dalan seemed to sense something and let out a low growl before suddenly charging out. Straw scraps flew as he pounced fiercely toward the gaunt man with bulging eyes.
In an instant, the youth reached the bonfire. The flames illuminated his sharp features, startling the twelve people terribly.
Screams and angry shouts erupted. The man with bulging eyes was knocked to the ground by Xu Dalan’s two punches, and in the chaos, someone nearby stumbled into the fire. Sparks flew, igniting the surrounding dry grass with a “whoosh.”
Flames leaped everywhere, mingled with cries of agony. It was as if everyone had just snapped back to reality, rushing over frantically—some to put out the fire, others to pull people apart.
Watching the panicked crowd, Xu Yue’s small face froze for a moment. Then, she pinched her thigh hard and, taking advantage of being a child, burst into loud, wailing sobs.
Xu Erniang’s mouth twitched slightly, but she quickly caught on and pointed accusingly at the bulging-eyed man, who was being helped up, shouting in cooperation:
“He frightened You Niang! His eyes were staring at You Niang like a hungry wolf—he scared her into crying!”
Her childish voice was clear and articulate, without a hint of hesitation. Though heavily accented with the dialect of Yangjiao Village, everyone present understood her words clearly.
Upon hearing this, Wang Shi and Xu Da, who were restraining Xu Dalan, cast a cold, penetrating glance at the bulging-eyed man, now bloodied from their son’s blows.
The man, as if wronged, retorted agitatedly, “Whose child is spouting nonsense? I was sitting here minding my own business—who was staring at you?”
He was so agitated he almost stood up to continue arguing, but his eyes guiltily avoided meeting the gazes of Xu Da and his wife. He cursed under his breath:
“What rotten luck to run into this unreasonable ruffian! May the King of Hell chop you into pieces and fry you in oil so you’ll never dare hit people randomly again!”
The villagers of Dawang Village clicked their tongues disapprovingly, feeling such curses were improper. They intervened and pulled the Xu family members apart.
Xu Yue cried even louder, seemingly frightened by the bulging-eyed man’s words, wailing: “Father, mother, the King of Hell eats people, wuwuwu…”
The Dawang villagers who hadn’t thought much of it before suddenly paled upon hearing the words “eats people.”
When they looked up at the twelve strangers, the group flinched as if pricked, frantically waving their hands trying to explain they didn’t eat people.
Yet no one had actually accused them of cannibalism. This unsolicited confession sent chills down the spines of the Dawang villagers.
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