Chapter 36: One vs. Four

Under the repeated encouragement of Yang Dashan, Yang Tufu, and others, those who had initially hesitated to continue fighting found renewed determination and steeled themselves for the battle.

Seeing this, the two remaining attackers grew anxious, their strikes becoming increasingly ruthless.

Back to back, they positioned themselves to deny Su Yin any chance for a sneak attack.

Without the opportunity for a covert strike, Su Yin decided to confront them head-on.

She coordinated with her second uncle, younger uncle, and Butcher Yang, leading the charge to overwhelm one of the attackers.

No matter how skilled the assailants were, the sheer numbers of the farmers began to turn the tide.

The disparity in experience and training was becoming apparent, and the attackers found themselves in a precarious situation.

Su Yin’s eyes lit up as she spotted an opening. She pierced one attacker’s arm with her knife, forcing him to recoil.

“Uncle, let go!” she shouted, grabbing her second uncle and firing two slender needles close to Yang Dachuan’s ears.

Yang Dachuan looked startled, realizing the stakes involved.

The more they faced such dangers, the more cautious they had to be, lest their enemies retaliate fiercely.

“Pfft…”

The blade struck true, penetrating the man’s heart. Su Yin kicked him away, the sword sliding out smoothly and trailing droplets of blood.

The attacker fell several meters away, lifeless.

Withdrawing her knife, Su Yin noticed that the fighting on the other side had not yet ceased, so she chose to stand aside and refrain from joining in.

“Yinyin, why aren’t you helping them?” Yang Dachuan asked, confused.

“No, they can handle it,” she replied.

This was just the beginning, and she feared they would soon face even more troublesome and dangerous foes ahead.

Most of the people in Xinghua Village were law-abiding farmers. The experiences they faced now would ultimately benefit them in the future.

Dealing with an adversary personally was the first step toward their growth.

The last attacker finally fell, his body riddled with wounds large and small especially his head, which had been struck with a shovel, leaving his skull dented. This gruesome scene marked the most miserable and tragic end among the five assailants.

“He’s dead; he’s finally dead,” a voice of surprise emerged from the crowd.

After the initial shock, fear spread among them; many hands shook uncontrollably from witnessing their first kill. Su Yin pretended to tremble as well, and Su’s mother held her hand, distressed.

With a reassuring smile, Su Yin said, “Mom, I’m fine.”

Leaning her head on Mother Su’s shoulder, she whispered to herself, “I don’t want to die a second time.”

Mother Su felt an increasing sense of sorrow for her daughter. She had witnessed the changes in Su Yin over the past few days and felt deeply pained.

Having experienced death herself, she realized how much her daughter had endured, and though she had changed, it was nothing compared to what Su Yin had faced.

Touched and pained by her daughter’s efforts to shield her from harm, Mother Su wished for better days ahead.

As they were still calming down, Su Yin was the first to stand and walked over to the body of the sinister young man.

She peeled off his tattered clothes, revealing fine lining beneath. After searching his body, she found a silver bag, a dagger, and a bottle of gold sore medicine, but nothing to indicate their identity.

Next, she approached the second corpse, finding a few items but still no identification.

When she reached the fourth corpse, a strong woman rushed over. “Girl Su, it’s bad luck to touch a dead person. Let me handle it.”

Su Yin ignored her, continuing to extract the contents of the money bag. After ensuring there was nothing else useful, she stood up and walked away.

The strong woman watched her leave and pouted but didn’t dare to say anything further.

The old man, women, and children who had stood behind had clearly witnessed Su Yin take down four attackers in quick succession.

After searching the last corpse, Su Yin placed the items she had collected in front of Yang Lizheng, pouring out the contents of the money bag for everyone to see.

Among the five attackers, the richest was undoubtedly the young man who had been the most sinister, carrying a total of twelve taels along with a few copper coins.

The others had much less, only three or four taels each, bringing the total belongings of the five to twenty-seven taels.

Everyone gazed at the pile of silver with envy but remained still, waiting for Yang Lizheng to distribute it.

Yang Li stood at the back, observing the scene with clarity.

“Everyone who participated this time has a share,” he announced.

Delight spread among the attendees.

Yang Lizheng continued, “Four of the five were killed by Su Yatou, especially the first one, who was taken down solely by her. His belongings should rightfully belong to Su Yatou. Does anyone have any objections?”

The crowd fell silent. It was evident that the young man with twelve taels had the most valuable possessions, but everyone knew that Su Yin had been the one to defeat him, and no one dared to contest her claim.

“No problem.”

“I have no objections. If it weren’t for Su Yatou, I might have died here today,” Butcher Yang added, glancing at Su Yin with gratitude.

Yang Lizheng understood in his heart that it was Su Yin who had ensured their survival that day.

Her contributions extended beyond merely killing four attackers; her keen insight had helped them evade danger before it struck.

“Since there are no objections, let’s proceed. The total amount of the other attackers’ coins is fifteen taels. With forty-three people participating this time, each person will receive three coins and thirty-eight copper coins.”

The prospect of receiving three coins and thirty-eight copper coins brought joy to many faces.

For some families, if three or four members had participated, the entire household would receive one tael of silvera sum they would typically have to labor for weeks to earn.

“The remaining knives can be purchased by those who need them. If no one buys them, we can wait until we reach Yongqing County to exchange the money, and then we can divide them up. As for the golden sore medicine, it will be given to the injured.”

“Does anyone have any objections to this arrangement?” Yang Lizheng asked. No one raised any objections, and the matter was settled.

The recent battle had left a trail of blood on the ground, which could easily attract wild animals. They didn’t linger long and moved to another spot to rest.

Yang Lizheng approached Su Yin. “Girl Su, if that group of people survives and these five don’t return to their team, I’m afraid they won’t let it go.”

“Third Grandma, my uncle and I will go out and investigate. It’s clear. Others, just rest here. If we don’t return before dark, we’ll find a way to locate you,” Su Yin said.

“Okay, you guys go together,” Butcher Yang agreed.

Yang Lizheng glanced at him, pondering for a moment. “You can go, but you have to obey Su Yatou.”

“Yes, definitely,” Butcher Yang replied.

Su Baozhu looked worried. “Yinyin, pay attention to safety. We’ll wait for you here.”

Mother Su wanted to scold her but couldn’t bear to. “You girl…”

“Mom, sister, don’t worry; nothing will happen. We’ll just take a look from a distance and won’t get close to that group of people,” Su Yin reassured them.

“It’s still daylight, so hurry up and come back soon,” Mother Su urged.

Su Yin, Yang Dahe, and Yang Tufu retraced their steps to the road.

The three of them were unburdened and moved quickly, covering the distance through the woods and reaching the official road in less than half a stick of incense.

They walked for a while but saw no sign of people or horses.

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past, carrying with it a faint scent of blood.

Su Yin and Butcher Yang were the first to detect the scent. “It smells like blood,” they both said.

“It should be right in front,” Su Yin said.

The three of them prepared to enter the forest, ready to confront anyone they might encounter.

After walking for about a cup of tea, the strong scent of blood hit them, and a hundred meters ahead, they saw a dense cluster of corpses lying on the ground.