Chapter 143: I know the news

One after another, people from Xinghua Village gathered under this tree.

Everyone was too tired to speak; their mouths were dry, and they hesitated to talk for fear of wasting the little saliva they had left.

Some people fell directly to the ground, motionless, resembling lifeless corpses.

If this continued, they would soon find themselves following in the footsteps of those who had perished on Shangguan Road.

Da Zhuang’s family was the last to arrive. They hoped to walk over to join the others, but were driven away in disgust.

“Go, go, there is no place for you here.”

The Dazhuang family said nothing. This time, it wasn’t that they didn’t dare to speak; they were simply too exhausted to do anything.

They moved to another spot only to be chased away again.

“We have no place for you here.”

No matter where they went, they were turned away, even by their own relatives.

Now everyone blamed their family for all the misfortunes that had befallen them.

The combination of new and old grudges naturally made them more and more unpopular.

“You bad guys,” Da Zhuang cursed weakly.

The strong woman quickly covered her son’s mouth, trying to prevent him from saying anything more.

The three members of the family staggered to a tree a few steps away. They leaned against the trunk, too tired to move.

Suddenly, a burst of rapid hoofbeats echoed from the official road, coming from the direction of Hui’an Prefecture.

The refugees still walking along the road stepped aside when they heard the sound of the horses’ hooves, standing on both sides of the path.

Horses on the official road never cared about the people in their way.

They would trample anyone they encountered, and if someone was unable to dodge, no one would be held responsible for their death.

There was once someone who used his daughter to interfere with a porcelain belt carriage team.

As a result, not only did he not get a bite to eat, but the entire family met their demise under their swords.

As the sound of horse hooves approached, a group of people dressed in black uniforms, with long knives hanging at their waists and a murderous aura surrounding them, came into view.

“Head, there are a lot of people resting in front of them. Do you want to go over and ask?” one of the men suggested.

Along the way, whenever they encountered refugees, they would interrogate them.

If they hoped to gather useful information this way, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack, but now they had no choice.

The treasure map they had found earlier turned out to be fake, and the group they had intercepted had their belongings stripped away, leaving them with nothing of value.

The ones who had taken everything from that group must be these refugees. Perhaps the treasure map would be among this group of ignorant survivors.

Of course, this was just their conjecture.

Since there was a possibility, they had to search for it and would not overlook any chance.

Along the way, they had seen the clothes of King Yun’s men among the refugees but had found nothing else useful.

The leading man glanced from both sides of the official road and nodded.

Calculating the time, the refugees who could have stripped the group of people would likely reach the edge of Nanping County on this section of the road.

Among these refugees, they were the most likely candidates.

One of the men dismounted and walked toward Xinghua Village, where the largest crowd had gathered.

The man deliberately put a smile on his face and asked everyone in Xinghua Village, “Fellow folks, on the sixth day of last month, a group of people were killed on the road from Fushun County to Yongqing County. Have you met them?”

The people of Hanacun were not fools. These individuals were clearly not easy to mess with, so naturally, no one dared to get involved in such trouble.

No one spoke up; everyone remained silent.

The man, unhurried, continued, “If you can provide information, we will give the person who provides it one hundred taels of silver, a bag of rice, and a pot of water.”

After hearing this reward, the crowd’s urgency subsided. A few people’s eyes flickered with interest, but most quickly extinguished their curiosity.

They had never witnessed any interceptions, let alone the bodies of those intercepted and killed.

While others might not have considered it, Yang Lizheng thought of the group of people, even imagining Su Yin and the three others investigating the matter.

Under no circumstances should this group of people know which group they had encountered, as the consequences were unpredictable.

Yang Lizheng stood up and addressed the man, “Sir, we have never seen the group of people you mentioned.”

“You really haven’t seen them?”

Yang Lizheng shook his head.

The man spoke again, “Don’t misunderstand. They are our companions, but they were intercepted and killed by someone. We want to avenge them.”

“As long as you provide us with useful clues, we will give you what we just said. Talk about remuneration.

If the information provided is of high value, the remuneration will be increased accordingly, and you will definitely not suffer.”

Yang Li was about to decline when a voice came from a few steps away.

“Are you telling the truth?”

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone turned to look at the strong woman.

Da Zhuang’s father was also taken aback. He hadn’t expected his mother-in-law to be so aggressive and dare to speak at such a time.

Didn’t this woman see the knives at the waists of the group? Someone might be killed.

Yang Li’s face turned pale, and he secretly feared the worst.

It’s over, it’s really over now.

They had killed four people. If they were found out, everyone would die.

The fear was palpable. Not only Yang Lizheng, but everyone else realized the danger the strong woman posed.

Their faces contorted in anger, their eyes fixed on her with a mixture of fear and resentment.

The man’s eyes lit up at the woman’s words, a sharp smile spreading across his face.

He regarded the strong woman with a playful glint in his eyes, “Of course it’s true.”

He started walking towards her.

The strong woman felt a tremor of fear as the man approached. The men on horseback, having heard the news, dismounted and followed suit, closing in on her.

Fear gnawed at her, but for her son’s sake, she summoned her courage and said, “Give me water first, otherwise I won’t believe you.”

The man stared at her, his smile unwavering, his eyes scrutinizing her every move.

Without hesitation, he untied the water bag from his waist and tossed it directly into her arms.

Da Zhuang’s mother immediately opened the bag and gave it to her son, “My son has water.”

Da Zhuang, intimidated by the stares of the crowd, was still thirsty. The thirst in his mouth quelled his fear, and he took a sip of water.

His parents couldn’t help but swallow their own saliva.

The couple took a sip of water, feeling a surge of relief.

The man did not pressure them, waiting patiently for them to finish drinking before asking further questions.

“Can we say it now?”

The strong woman nodded, “On the sixth day of last month, we happened to be on the way to Yongqing County.

We did meet a group of people, probably about 100 people. Those people were mostly young adults. Lord…”

The strong woman strained her memory, trying to recall the appearance of the only group of people she had encountered that day.

As she described them, the men’s eyes grew brighter and brighter.

The leading man had already approached the strong woman, his sharp eyes fixed on her.

It seemed they had found someone useful.