Chapter 24

Very soon, more and more people heard the sound of hooves. After a brief moment of confusion, everyone was so frightened that they hurried into action—those with doors shut them tight, and those with windows closed them at once.

Horses? In times like these?

Could it be that the nomadic tribes from Mo City had chased them down?

No one dared to take such a life-threatening risk, so they rushed to hide with their entire families in the corners of their homes, not daring to make a single sound.

Some still snuck a peek through cracks in the doors—Zhang Xiu was one of them.

The father and daughter had gone up the mountain, and she stayed home to keep Wang Dafeng company. When the sound of hooves came, Wang Dafeng immediately crawled under the bed and dragged her along, claiming that the Mo City soldiers had come to kill them.

Zhang Xiu was confused. If it was a pursuer, why did it sound like only one horse?

At that moment, the horse stopped in the center of the street. The rider wore short, practical clothes—not much different in style from the village men, though of finer fabric. But if he were a soldier from Mo City, shouldn’t his clothing be more culturally distinctive?

“Mom, I don’t think he’s a pursuer. He doesn’t have a sword at his waist,” Zhang Xiu whispered her observation.

Wang Dafeng, scared out of her wits, anxiously scolded her in a hushed voice, “Stop looking! Get under the bed now!”

Meanwhile, Ding De and Ding Rong were both pale with fear.

Ding Rong was lucky—his family was with him, all huddled silently in a corner.

Ding De, on the other hand, was having a terrible time. He had just come to his elder brother’s house to discuss whether to stay or leave when this happened. Now his family was on the opposite side of the street, and he couldn’t get to them. He was anxious to the point of despair but had no solution.

Just then, the silent street was interrupted.

The man on horseback suddenly shouted loudly, “Excuse me, who is the person in charge here? Please come out and answer me.”

“…”

The shout scared everyone into shrinking back, and those who had been peeking quickly sat down on the floor in fear.

What does he want?

Looking for the one in charge… could it be that he plans to kill the leader first?

Every villager in Aozi Gou felt a chill run down their spine.

Village chief Laifu knew he couldn’t avoid this. If he didn’t step up, other villagers might suffer, and that went against his original intention of leading everyone in fleeing hardship.

“Take care of Mom and Grandma.”

Without another word, he gave a simple instruction and got ready to go out.

“No, don’t!” his wife Yangshi quickly grabbed him, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls. Life was already hard—she couldn’t lose the pillar of the family now. If he were gone, the family would fall apart.

His mother and grandmother were also crying silently, unwilling to let him go, but at a loss for any other solution.

Grandmother even said, “Let me go. At my age, I’ve lived long enough. If they want to kill, let them kill me!”

Laifu couldn’t bear to let the elderly take such a risk. He gave everyone a small smile. “Good thing Dabao and Erbao aren’t home. They avoided this trouble.”

With that, he stood up, opened the door, and walked out with his head held high.

Yangshi covered her mouth to suppress her sobs, afraid they’d be heard.

“I’m the one in charge here. May I ask, brother, what is it you need?”

Standing at the edge of the street, Laifu acted completely unbothered, even taking a puff from his pipe as if all was calm.

This moved the villagers watching secretly—turns out the village chief truly was a good man.

They realized that… just now.

The man on the horse turned to Laifu with a blank expression and said, “Please come with me.”

He then turned and slowly rode forward. Laifu, puzzled, followed him. The only sound on the whole street was the steady beat of hooves. The man said nothing more.

Laifu could only follow, confused, until they turned a corner and both disappeared.

The villagers barely dared breathe throughout. Only now did they let out sobs and laments—It’s over, it’s over. The village chief’s been taken… maybe killed!

“Big brother, let’s go. We can’t stay here anymore!”

Seeing an opportunity, Ding De shouted this as he opened the door and rushed out.

He just wanted to reunite with his family.

And the moment he left, Ding Shan chimed in support, “Dad, Second Uncle is right. We should leave now!”

Ding Rong scolded him immediately, “Bullshit! Going out now is just asking to be killed! And you believe your second uncle? Don’t be stupid.”

Sure enough, after Ding De’s family dragged him into the house, there was no further movement.

Wasn’t he just urging people to flee?

What about him? Now he’s hiding like a turtle?

“See that? Remember what I said. Never trust your second uncle. He’s a bastard, never means well.” Ding Rong used the moment as a life lesson for his kids.

All three children nodded.

Second Uncle really wasn’t a good person.

Besides Ding Rong’s house, no other doors opened. Everyone else had the same idea—if they could stay inside, they would. No one dared go out.

Now they didn’t even know if the village chief was dead or alive. But staying indoors was definitely safer than walking out into the street. They just had to hold on as long as they could.

All across the street, the only sound was Yangshi’s grief-stricken weeping.

She had just seen her husband taken away—how could she not be devastated?

Even now, she was trying to suppress her crying.

“Mom, he’s gone already. Come out, or you’ll get heatstroke hiding under the bed in this weather.” Zhang Xiu squatted beside the bed, trying to reason with her. She didn’t believe that was a soldier.

But the old woman refused to come out, insisting she be given a pillow—she was sleeping under the bed tonight.

So ridiculous!

Zhang Xiu reluctantly handed her the pillow. Listening to Yangshi’s crying, her heart felt heavy.

“The people of Aozigou are all heartless. The chief’s wife is crying so sadly, and no one even tries to comfort her,” she muttered angrily.

Wang Dafeng immediately told her to shut up: “Everyone just wants to survive. Let her cry—what good does comforting do? Laifu’s not coming back anyway.”

What kind of attitude is that?

Zhang Xiu’s stubbornness flared, and she stood up at once. “If no one will go, I will.”

“Get back here, do you hear me?”

Wang Dafeng was stunned. If she left, who would protect her?

But her usually timid and obedient daughter-in-law didn’t listen this time. She went downstairs and opened the door with a loud creak.

The quiet street stirred again—villagers rushed to their peepholes, eager to see who was brave (or foolish) enough to step outside.

They saw the frail, skinny Zhang Xiu walking boldly toward Laifu’s home.

When she pushed open the door and entered, Yangshi and her family jumped in fright. Yangshi herself forgot to cry.

They stared at Zhang Xiu in shock, not knowing why she had come.

Zhang Xiu didn’t rush. She greeted the grandmother first, then the elder lady, and finally took Yangshi’s hand.

“Sister, don’t be afraid. Big Brother will be fine. Believe me.”