Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 216 Resistance
Escaping is naturally faster than traveling.

The children knew what had happened, but none of them dared to speak. The older ones followed the adults silently, while the younger ones clung to the adults' backs, heads down, burying their faces in their bodies.

The mountain wind was blowing hard, and only the sound of footsteps could be heard, mixed with heavy breathing.

“We’ll split up,” Grandma Chen said after coughing a few times. “You young people go ahead and don’t wait for us. After you get out of this mountain, continue north. There are many mountains over there, and they won’t be able to find you.”

The women naturally understood Grandma Chen's plan; she wanted to distract those people for them.

"No, we'll go together."

Grandma Chen frowned: "If you don't think about you, what about these children?"

“We’ve thought about it,” the woman said. “Our Chenyao Village used to be a big village, but how many are left now? If we divide it up again now, even if we manage to escape, where will we go to live?”

"Before we came, we discussed it. The reason we wanted to help Madam Xie was because... without Madam Xie, we wouldn't be able to survive for long. It's for Madam Xie's sake and also for our own."

Another woman said, "Those corrupt officials wish we were dead. They make things difficult for us every day when they come to collect taxes. Life like this... let alone us women, even the strongest men couldn't endure it."

"Running into the mountains, without everyone around... you'll either freeze or starve to death, or be devoured by wild animals. How can you possibly survive?"

"So, Grandma, don't worry about it anymore. This time, we'll stay together through life and death."

"In my opinion, there's nothing wrong with running now. After a few good days, everyone will be much stronger. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to run in the future."

After the women spoke, the other villagers nodded in agreement.

Chen Ping grabbed Grandma Chen's arm: "Grandma, let me help you walk."

Grandma Chen's nose stung with tears. She wiped her eyes, as if she had made a huge decision, and finally nodded: "Then let's go together."

They walked forward in the dark, not daring to use fire for light, and almost fell down the mountain several times. The women simply tied themselves together with ropes, which was safer but also more dangerous. If someone accidentally stepped into a hole, many others might fall down the mountain with them.

It was as if God had taken pity on us; the journey was fraught with difficulties, but thankfully everyone was safe and sound.

After daybreak, a group of people gathered together to rest, while two younger women took a boy to check on the situation.

Everyone hoped that those people hadn't chased after them.

Perhaps after a night, they had shaken off those people.

However, expectations are not reality.

In a short while, the person who had been gathering information returned.

"Those people are still looking for us."

In winter, without the shade of leaves, you can see very far from a high vantage point.

"It must be officers and soldiers; they moved quickly."

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

If things continue like this, they'll be caught up with sooner or later.

Grandma Chen stood up: "Let's go... As long as we can still walk, we'll keep running forward. Even if we get caught up... we can't let them succeed so easily."

Only when resentment reaches its extreme will one have such thoughts.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

So he got up and continued on his way.

Despite their inferior physical strength compared to the soldiers, and with the distance getting closer and closer, the people of Chenyao Village remained calm and never considered begging for mercy. The young women and teenagers even had handy wooden sticks in their hands.

When the soldiers come up in a while, they will not let them bully them.

"Let's do it here!" Grandma Chen said, pointing to a spot not far away, seeing that some villagers were indeed unable to walk any further. "Find as many stones as possible." That way, when the villagers catch up, they can throw stones down.

If we hit one, we'll take it.

If someone is killed, it would at least be revenge for the villagers.

The villagers who still had the strength began collecting stones, while older villagers like Grandma Chen took the opportunity to rest.

When the pursuers got very close to the villagers, someone started shouting: "Halt, you in front! The magistrate is here! Come over here immediately and give us your report!"

There was no fear.

The village had discussed this matter countless times, and everyone shared the same thought: they wouldn't lose their composure because of a single shout. Even the young children, seeing their elders act this way, kept their mouths shut.

Chen Ping picked up the youngest child in the village and whispered to him, "It's okay, it's okay, we'll be leaving soon." Then he handed him a piece of bread.

The little child instinctively stuffed the biscuit into his mouth and bit into it, his big eyes showing a hint of confusion and fear.

The villagers did not reply. The men brought by the observer were clearly losing patience and continued to surround them. As the soldiers drew closer, the villagers, especially the men at the front, gave the order: "Smash!"

Everyone threw the stones they were holding downwards.

The soldiers never expected the people of Chenyao Village to have such audacity, actually taking out stones to resist. They were immediately struck squarely. Cries of pain filled the air, and the vanguard of the troops immediately retreated.

The woman from Chenyao Village immediately smiled. She had always remembered that her husband had been killed by these people, and she felt much better now that they had managed to hurt them.

The soldiers, of course, would not give up easily. After resting for a while, they started climbing the mountain again. The villagers threw stones at them again, and the soldiers had no choice but to retreat once more.

This happened repeatedly, and the villagers threw more and more stones, but they failed to notice that the soldiers' casualties were decreasing. After all, they were just ordinary people; how could they know how to fight back?

The officers and soldiers suffered a loss, so they naturally had to exhaust the soldiers' strength and the stones. Once those two things were gone, the soldiers would be fish on a chopping board.

"Hurry up, smash them to death, so they won't dare to..."

The woman was calling out to the villagers, but before she could finish speaking, an arrow came flying through the air and struck her directly in the shoulder.

Before she could dodge, more arrows came flying from behind. In the blink of an eye, five or six arrows were stuck in the woman's body. She didn't utter another word before falling backward to the ground.

"Smash it."

"Smash it."

Soldiers braved a hail of arrows to advance, but the villagers, undeterred by the danger, continued to hurl stones at them.

Even so, they knew they couldn't stop the soldiers this time. The soldiers were like ferocious beasts, ready to pounce on their prey.

But not a single person backed down, and not a single person ran away.

Three or four more people were hit by arrows. Some people didn't even bother to look at their wounds and continued throwing stones with the arrows still in their hands.

They were prepared to die.

Grandma Chen and the other elderly women got up and picked up stones. They were no longer going to dodge; they were willing to die as long as they could throw the stones.

One stone was thrown, then a second stone, and finally there was nothing left.

The group hid in one place, waiting for the final moment.

They knew that once the soldiers arrived, they would surely carry out a massacre.

The footsteps grew closer, and as the first group of people were about to arrive, everyone gripped their wooden sticks tightly.

Just then, another whooshing sound rang out, followed by screams of agony. Then, soldiers shouted, "Someone is attacking from behind...someone is attacking from behind!"