Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 611 Can’t Leave

“There must have been quite a few who escaped.” Tang Xing said, frowning, a hint of doubt creeping into his mind.

Since there are still so many people, why leave? Take advantage of their fatigue, regroup your forces, and launch an attack; they will definitely suffer losses.

Tang Xing mentioned this to Chen Rong.

Chen Rong said, "They might be afraid that more villagers will come to help."

That's one reason.

Tang Xing nodded: "I hope so." He was worried that those people had other plans.

He wasn't afraid of face-to-face confrontations, but he feared being attacked from behind. Those people were despicable and would use anything to their advantage, making them truly impossible to guard against.

When the two returned, the old soldier led his men to meet them. Seeing that the two were safe and sound, the old soldier breathed a sigh of relief.

The villagers lit torches and began to clean up the mess.

Twelve bandits died, seven were seriously injured, and three others were captured alive by Tang Xing, bringing the total to exactly twenty.

“It’s not just these people,” one villager said. “I saw at least thirty or forty people.”

"Yes, I saw it too."

When the "bandits" attacked the village, the villagers were terrified, thinking that a large group of people had surrounded the village, but in reality, there might not have been that many people.

But Tang Xing also knew that someone must have been secretly watching all along.

The person who hasn't shown himself is far more dangerous than these "bandits" in front of us.

Just as Tang Xinggang was thinking this, he heard crying. It was clear that some villagers had found their murdered relatives.

"mother……"

In front of the woods, the old woman's son found his mother's body. In the chaos, his mother was killed while trying to save him.

Some people even found their sons and daughters-in-law...

That night, many villagers lost their homes and lives.

Tang Xing found the village head, whose face was covered in blood and whose ear had been cut off. He was helped over to see what had happened, and knelt down to thank Tang Xing and the others.

When the village head knelt down, the surrounding villagers followed suit.

“Benefactors, if it weren’t for you, we would all have died at their hands.”

A pang of guilt welled up in Tang Xing's heart, and he told the truth: "Actually... we've dragged the village down with us. Those people arrested you... to force us out."

“You can’t say that,” the village head said. “The ‘bandits’ would have done the same thing to any other caravan.”

It was precisely because the caravan members fought desperately against the "bandits" that the "bandits" guarding them came to their aid, giving them the opportunity to resist.

Tang Xing helped the village head up: "We need to discuss what to do next."

The village head said, "Someone has already gone to the county government to report to the authorities. Once the officials arrive, we will hand these 'mountain bandits' over to the government and ask them to arrest the escaped villains."

Tang Xing nodded: "That's how it should be."

The village head sighed, "Such a big thing has happened, it may take a few days to get you out of here."

“That’s alright,” Tang Xing said. “Let’s wait together for the officials from the yamen to arrive.”

As he spoke, Tang Xing looked at the burning village.

The village is gone, and life will be even harder for the villagers. However, the survivors are lucky, as their houses can be repaired. But those who died will never have the chance to reunite with their families again...

“There are still some bodies in the woods,” Tang Xing said to the village head. “Let’s go and carry them out.” Hearing this, the village head’s face showed even more grief, and he nodded repeatedly: “Then I’ll have to trouble you all, my heroes.”

The village was burned down, and the dead villagers had nowhere to be buried. In the end, they could only find some straw mats and rags to wrap the bodies haphazardly.

Tang Xing, Chen Rong, and the others couldn't help but sigh upon seeing this.

Just then, a scream was heard, and some villagers attacked the "bandits" to vent their hatred.

Tang Xing did not try to persuade them. In his view, those "bandits" deserved to die. If it weren't for the need to hand them over to the yamen for interrogation, he would not have left a single one alive.

Tang Xing took one of the "bandits" back to the camp for interrogation. Although the "bandit" refused to confess the truth, Tang Xing could see some clues from him. The man had calluses on his legs and palms, indicating that he rode horses all year round, and there were also some knife wounds on his body, indicating that he was often involved in fights.

The fierce look in his eyes made Tang Xing feel that the man looked somewhat familiar.

Chen Rong asked in a low voice, "What did you see?"

Tang Xing shook his head: "But they are definitely not members of the Demon Cult." When he left Daming Prefecture, his wife helped the yamen arrest members of the Demon Cult, and those people did not look like this.

Of course, this is just a feeling.

"If Madam were here, she would definitely know." Tang Xing could only blame himself for not being smart enough.

Chen Rong said, "With Madam here, those people won't be able to escape."

Faced with the same situation, the eldest daughter-in-law would arrange everything better, but they would never let her personally take the risk.

After a moment of silence, Chen Rong patted Tang Xing on the shoulder: "No matter what, we won. We took down at least twenty people. If they want to make a move again next time, they'll have to think twice before they actually have the ability."

“Yes,” the men responded in unison.

Tang Xing didn't speak. He kept staring at the "bandit," and whether it was his imagination or not, he saw a hint of contempt on the "bandit's" face.

Tang Xing kicked him, and the "bandit" looked pained, but didn't cry out.

Fearing that the "bandit" would commit suicide, they had pulled out all his teeth. At first glance, the man looked eerie, especially when his face was contorted with pain, like a demon crawling out of the ground.

Tang Xing's eyelids twitched twice. He was not a cowardly person, otherwise he would not have followed Wang Yan for so many years, but today he had a strange feeling several times.

I felt a mix of worry and apprehension, as if I had overlooked something.

"Everyone, take a rest," Chen Rong instructed everyone. "Make the most of this time and recover your strength."

After fighting all night, they need at least a few hours of rest to be mentally prepared in case those people come back.

Tang Xing personally counted the people and found that one person was missing.

“Yao Daning is over in the village,” Tang Xing said. “He will help the villagers bury the child.”

Yao Daning was a retired soldier who had a son and a daughter, but they died during a plague. When he saw the child's body, he was perhaps reminded of his own flesh and blood...

“Let him be. I told him to come back to us when he’s done,” Chen Rong said, then added, “You should go and rest too.”

Tang Xing nodded, quickly walked to the side, lay down on the haystack, and closed his eyes. Just as Chen Rong had said, they needed to recover their strength as soon as possible in order to deal with what was to come.

In a daze, Tang Xing dreamed of Wang Langjun. When Wang Langjun kept him by his side to work, he said, "People who have been on the battlefield still have some lingering ferocity in their eyes. If you want to be an informant in the city, you have to restrain yourself."

Tang Xing dreamt of this place and suddenly woke up. He immediately got up, walked quickly to the "bandit," and examined the "bandit" again. After looking him up and down a few times, Tang Xing's expression became increasingly grim.

Chen Rong heard the commotion and walked over. Before he could speak, Tang Xing said, "Hold the car up right now. We need to leave here."

Chen Rong was taken aback: "Aren't we supposed to wait for someone from the government office to come?"

Tang Xing took a deep breath: "Once they arrive, we might not be able to leave."

(End of this chapter)