Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 224 Rescue
Wang Yan led everyone to retreat to a mountain hollow.

Villagers who could walk gradually came over, while those who couldn't walk were carried on their backs by Sang Dian and others. Even Wang Yan was carrying a three- or four-year-old child in his arms.

Once they were sure there was no one behind them, they took a breather and rested for a moment before starting to count the people.

Four more people are missing.

Since last night, six villagers and two guards have died.

People no longer cared about their grief, because if things continued this way, everyone would have to go there to reunite with their families. At this moment, they felt more regret and guilt than anything else.

If it weren't for them, Wang Tianshi would have already escaped.

The oldest woman, Grandma Chen, wanted to persuade Wang Yan to leave again, but ultimately remained silent, because they had already tried too many times, and Wang Yan still refused to agree.

She could also see that Wang Tianshi had missed the best opportunity to leave. Many of the guards and soldiers with Wang Tianshi had been killed protecting them, and many were no longer able to fight.

Like Grandma Chen, many villagers had the same thought in their minds: if all else failed, they would take the knife for Wang Tianshi, because they couldn't just stand by and watch him get arrested.

Chen Rong was panting heavily. He drank some water from his water pouch and finally felt a little better. He wiped the sweat from his face, and there was still a trace of fear in his eyes. Then he stared blankly at Wang Yan.

He thought Wang Shitian was just a civil official, but he didn't expect him to be so powerful when fighting against military generals.

Before sunset, Wang Tianshi lured a group of soldiers into the mountainside and then began to kill them.

Forty or fifty soldiers were all killed.

The methods and ruthlessness with which they killed were unlike anything Chen Rong had ever seen before.

In the blink of an eye, the air was thick with the stench of blood, staining even his vision. Wang Tianshi's robes were stained beyond recognition; he had watched helplessly as a civil official had been transformed into a killing machine.

Those people clearly hadn't expected Wang Tianshi to be so powerful, which is why they fell into the trap. They were almost able to kill the observer who led the troops.

Ultimately, we were dragged down by the villagers.

Without the people from Chenyao Village, Wang Tianshi wouldn't have been so restrained. Even if he couldn't fight back, he could at least have escaped in the chaos.

"My lord, are you injured?"

Sang Dian exclaimed in surprise when he saw the wound on Wang Yan's shoulder.

“It’s nothing,” Wang Yan said calmly. “Just tear off a strip of cloth and wrap it up.”

In the chaos just now, Sang Dian was unable to protect his master. The long wound stretched from his shoulder to his armpit. If the force had been too deep, the young master's arm would have been lost.

"They did all this to save me. The adults shouldn't have cared about me. They might as well have killed me..."

Chen Ping's voice choked with emotion. If Wang Tianshi hadn't pulled him over, he wouldn't have been slashed.

Wang Yan reached out and wiped away Chen Ping's tears: "No one will die, we will all be fine." That was all he could say to comfort her.

Growing up, he rarely received comfort from those around him, so he naturally didn't know how to get along with children. Xie Yuyan was better at this than him.

After she arrived at the Yang family home, Yang Qin's eyes gradually brightened.

Sang Dianzai carefully treated Wang Yan's wound before taking a closer look at the surroundings.

"They have deployed more troops tonight than last night."

Last night they took the initiative and even had a slight advantage. Now that their movements have been figured out, the observer naturally ordered his soldiers to press forward with all their might.

There will be no reinforcements today; they'll have to rely on themselves. Even if Madam Xie reaches Mingzhou, the Mingzhou troops won't arrive until at least tomorrow. Then there's Lord He… the young master has made arrangements that Lord He cannot appear in Daming Prefecture; otherwise, Prefect Liu will use the He family's smuggling activities to cast doubt on their investigation.

Furthermore, Lord He's whereabouts were arranged by the young master long ago. The events in Chenyao Village were unpredictable, and no one could have foreseen that they would end up in such a dangerous situation. Lord He acted according to the agreement and was unaware that something had gone wrong in Daming Prefecture, so naturally he could not possibly come back to rescue him.

"Take a break," Wang Yan said. "If we can get through tonight, things will turn around."

This is to reassure everyone and give them hope.

The people of Chenyao Village responded enthusiastically.

"Once we've rested for a while, go move some stones and build a trench behind the earthwork in front of us," Wang Yan instructed. "We're not leaving tonight."

Unable to leave, they had no choice but to hold their ground. Their numbers were too few; the elderly and children of Chenyao Village were too exhausted to move. If they forced their way out, they would be overtaken when they were exhausted. At that point, these defenseless villagers would be at the mercy of the soldiers.

The makeshift trenches had just been completed when the first wave of pursuers caught up.

The villagers of Chenyao hid in the trenches, listening to the sounds of fighting outside. Chen Ping, with his big eyes wide open, nestled in his grandmother's arms, could see nothing.

Once the noise outside subsided, they eagerly went out to see what was happening.

After a day, the villagers of Chenyao Village were able to cooperate well with Wang Yan and his group. They crawled out, some picking up stones, and others helping to treat wounds.

However, despite their best efforts, they suffered casualties in the second round.

An arrow struck a guard, and the people of Chenyao Village who went to rescue him were hit in the chest by an arrow that followed.

After a moment of silence, everyone went about their own business. They all knew that they couldn't keep going like this for long, but they had to do something.

When the third round of attacks came.

With a loud "boom," like a sudden clap of thunder in the sky, a cluster of flames ignited in the darkness.

Before anyone could figure out what was going on, the crowd had already started to understand.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" Several more sounds came from the foot of the mountain.

After a moment of silence, flames rose with the wind, quickly turning the area below the mountain into a sea of ​​fire. The soldiers who had attacked the area all turned to look.

From the light came wails and screams.

Under the command of the observer, the encircling army immediately fell into chaos.

Wang Yan seized the opportunity and immediately ordered his men to throw stones. After a wave of stones, Sang Dian and his men rushed forward to fight. With swift strokes of their knives, they reaped more than a dozen heads. The remaining soldiers immediately fled.

Sang Dian spat. These soldiers were actually quite cowardly. They only dared to come up because of their numbers. He could easily take on four or five of them, and he could handle more than that. But the soldiers all had sharp weapons, so there would inevitably be casualties. His men were all killed by being surrounded and attacked.

Looking at the fleeing group, Sang Dian frowned. If he hadn't been so exhausted, he would have killed them all here.

When he straightened up to see what was going on around him, he froze.

Not only was the fire getting bigger, but it also seemed like chaos had broken out below.

What happened in the end?

Are reinforcements arriving?
Sang Dian looked at her husband.

"It's her, she's back." After eliminating the least likely possibilities, only one answer remains.