Chapter 145: Leave no one Behind

“Tell me honestly, and maybe we can save your lives. If you don’t, everyone will die.”

Yang Lizheng felt the cold blade against his neck, the weight of death hanging over him.

Surprisingly, he remained calm. He understood that even if they revealed everything, these people would not let them go.

The moment the strong woman spoke, their fates had been sealed.

Tears of regret streamed down Yang Lizheng’s face.

He realized he should have been more ruthless from the beginning and driven this threat away, regardless of the objections from others.

Su Yatou had been right; this family would eventually kill them.

Her words had turned into a prophecy.

This was their fate, a result of their choices, and they could not blame anyone else.

“Dad,” Yang Fu said, fear evident in his voice as he looked at the strangers.

Yang Lu trembled, glancing at the leading man in terror, “If we tell you, can you let us go?”

The leading man replied casually, “I will consider it.”

The gleaming knife was pointed at everyone, making it clear they were in no position to negotiate.

At that moment, Yang Lizheng spoke up, “Since you never intended to let us go, then just kill us.”

Some other villagers, still panicked, reacted loudly, “It doesn’t matter whether we say anything or not. If death is our fate, then we have nothing left to lose.”

However, they underestimated the ruthlessness of these men.

The leading man shot a glance at his subordinate, who stepped forward and grabbed Da Zhuang.

“What are you doing?”

“Let go of my son!”

Da Zhuang’s father and mother rushed forward, desperately trying to snatch their child back, but they were quickly pushed down by the men.

Da Zhuang struggled, but his small frame was no match for the strength of adults.

“Father, mother, save me!” he cried out in terror.

He was bound tightly and dragged behind a horse. The man on horseback cracked his whip, causing the horse to surge forward in pain.

Da Zhuang was dragged along the rough, stony road, and in just a few meters, his back was torn and bloody, leaving a trail of bright red blood on the ground.

His pitiful screams echoed along the official road. Refugees in the distance watched in horror and hurried away, fearing for their own safety.

“Ah!”

The strong woman rushed forward, desperate to stop them, but she couldn’t break through the barrier of men.

All she could do was watch in anguish as her son was dragged and bloodied.

“Let my son go! Please, let him go. I’ll tell you everything!” she cried, throwing herself in front of the leading man and begging for mercy, tears streaming down her face.

The leading man disdainfully moved his legs aside and replied coldly, “If you don’t say anything, your son will die.”

Seeing the strong woman about to speak, Yang Lizheng shouted sternly, “Big strong lady!”

The leading man narrowed his eyes, murderous intent flashing in them. He pressed the knife against Yang Lizheng’s neck, ready to strike.

“Dad!”

Yang Lizheng’s sons rushed forward, catching his body as he fell, their hearts breaking at the sight.

Yang Lizheng collapsed into the arms of his eldest son, Yang Fu. His hands gripped his son’s tightly, his eyes fixed on him.

He didn’t need to say anything; Yang Fu understood.

“Dad.”

Seeing his son’s understanding, Yang Lizheng slowly closed his eyes.

The Yang family was in despair.

To save her son, the strong woman, Da Zhuang’s mother, decided to reveal everything.

“After we changed the trail, five people came to steal the money, but we killed them all together.”

The leading man realized that he had been wrong to suspect them of hiding something.

However, this was indeed something they needed to conceal.

After thinking about it, the leading man felt a pang of disappointment.

“Are there any clues?” he asked.

Da Zhuang’s mother shook her head. “No, no, please let my son go.”

“Think about it again.”

Da Zhuang’s father was about to speak when Yang Lu, in a fit of rage, yelled, “Yang Liu, you deserve to die. It’s all because of you!”

Yang Lu, acting like a madman, charged towards Da Zhuang’s parents.

Da Zhuang’s father was cut short by Yang Lu’s roar and forgot what he was going to say.

Yang Lu threw Da Zhuang’s father to the ground and plunged the dagger in his hand into his chest.

The others watched silently, as if observing a monkey show.

Yang Fu seized the opportunity, scooped up his son, and dashed into the forest. At the same time, he yelled to the others, “Run! They won’t let us live!”

The people of Xinghua Village, jolted awake from their nightmare, scrambled to their feet.

They wanted nothing more than to escape, fleeing into the mountains and forests as fast as their legs could carry them.

The leading man watched these fleeing ants with a sneer on his lips. He had considered sparing them, but now it seemed they were too foolish.

There was no point in keeping them alive.

“Kill them all.”

The refugees who weren’t from Xinghua Village didn’t realize that this order included them.

What had happened here today had to remain a secret.

These ants had to die.

The slaughter continued on the official road. The man dragged by the horse was long dead.

When the horse returned, the strong woman, Da Zhuang’s mother, rushed towards it.

Seeing her son, his back exposed and broken, she was overcome with grief and cried out, “My son! My son!”

The leading man glanced at the woman making the noise, surprised and bored.

“Quiet.”

Without him needing to give further orders, a man below pierced her body with a knife, creating a bloody hole in her chest.

He raised the knife again and stabbed her repeatedly, turning her into a bloody mess.

The strong woman held her child tightly until her death.

“Don’t kill us! We don’t know anything!”

“Help!”

The refugees, who had been resting or watching the spectacle, begged for mercy, but their pleas were ignored.

“Ah ah ah.”

The screams continued, a chilling symphony of terror.

The refugees finally understood that these people wouldn’t let them go.

They stopped begging for mercy and fled desperately into the mountains, scattering in all directions.

The leading man watched the fleeing refugees, a headache forming behind his eyes.

His men were elite, killing these people was as easy as slaughtering chickens and ducks.

But these people were remarkably good at escaping, and their sheer number posed a considerable challenge.

Even if they fled into the mountains and forests, their weak bodies couldn’t match the speed of the pursuers.

One after another fell, their necks slashed or their bodies pierced by knives. The fallen were old and young, men and women, all dead.

The stench of blood slowly permeated the mountain forest, as if the air itself was saturated with the scent of death.

Half an hour later, everyone returned to the group.

“Have they all been dealt with?”

“No one escaped.” The subordinate leader replied.

“Very good.”

“Go to the place they said.” The leading man instructed.

Though he knew their claims were true, he still insisted on checking again. He might find something unexpected.