Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 104 Extra Ayu (3)

In desperation, Ayu had no choice but to hide in a crevice in the rocks. However, the crevice was too shallow, and if they walked forward, they would see her. Moreover, the baby in her arms could wake up at any moment, and how could a two-year-old child not make a sound?

They returned one after another, the cave filled with the stench of blood. Something was thrown over, and Ayu stared intently, almost screaming – it was Aunt Liu! She was covered in wounds and already lifeless. Her hand fell, striking Ayu's instep, startling Ayu so much she nearly jumped up. Blood slowly seeped into Ayu's shoe. Aunt Liu was missing a finger from her right hand.

Judging from the injuries on Aunt Liu's body, she was likely slashed with a sharp blade.

The aunt's leg was broken. The soldier was waving his knife. She must have raised her hand to protect herself, but her arm was cut off. She rolled over and used her other arm to protect herself, but it was cut off as well. Then these demons stabbed her in the stomach several times.

Corpses were thrown in one after another, even infants a few months old were not spared, and people of all ages, from babies to adults, were not spared.

Ayu covered her mouth tightly with her hand, afraid that she would cry out. She involuntarily leaned back, and the wooden hairpin in her hair hit the rock and fell off.

"What's that sound?" A voice rang out alertly; it was the middle-aged leader!

"Go and take a look," the middle-aged leader said again.

The footsteps drew closer, and Ayu trembled with fear.

The two looked at each other; it was A-Wu!
Ayu's eyes were full of pleading.

The rocks concealed A-Wu's figure, and the others couldn't see his movements. A-Wu spotted the simple-minded child in A-Yu's arms at a glance, hesitated for a moment, then snatched the child away and carried him out. A-Yu tried to cover her mouth, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

The little boy, who had been woken up, didn't react for a moment and just quietly curled up in A-Wu's arms.

"Boss, it's this child! He's actually nestled in that woman's arms, he's not dead!" Awu said in Khitan.

Ayu looked at the child with concern, hoping that these beasts still had some humanity and would spare the two-year-old child.

"Hey, wanna make a bet?" The voice belonged to the same person who had joked with A-Wu at the cave entrance that day.

Everyone responded enthusiastically, and the man laughed, "Let's see who can hit the target accurately; the winner gets the prize!"

The man held up a ring—it was Aunt Liu's right middle finger! No wonder her finger was cut off; it was to remove the ring! What a bunch of beasts!

The two-year-old boy was put down, and the man picked up a small stone and threw it at him. The boy, who had just learned to walk, was toddling around trying to find his aunt. He was hit by the stone and cried out in pain, trying to run away.

The soldiers started throwing stones at Hanwa, seeing who could hit him accurately. Hanwa fell down, beaten to death by the stones! Ayu felt her blood boiling, wanting to rush out and fight these people, but she knew that even if she went out, it would be in vain.

Everyone burst into laughter. Then, another person was brought in and thrown to the ground—it was the village chief of Niujia Village! Lying on the ground, the village chief looked at the mangled corpse and wept bitterly, "We were so good to you... why did you do this?"

The chieftain crouched down, brandishing a dagger at the village chief, and said coldly, "The only good people I've ever met are the dead. If you die and hand over this land, that's truly doing us a favor. Go all the way and see this through to the end. Now, tell me where the village's grain is hidden, and maybe I'll give you a quick death!"

The village chief spat in the chief's face, then slammed his own neck against the dagger, blood splattering all over the chief's face. The chief, enraged, wiped his face, kicked the village chief's corpse aside, and cursed, "He got off too easily!"

Ah Wu reminded everyone, "Everyone, peel off the skin, starting from the thigh. Don't waste it, we can make a pair of boots!"

"Let's go, there's still so much work to do. A-Wu, you stay here and check the numbers, make sure no one is missing!" The leader spoke, and the group filed out again.

After everyone left, the cave returned to silence. A-Wu walked up to A-Yu, who immediately collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.

"If you want to live, listen to me!" Without further ado, A-Wu picked up A-Yu and carried her towards the village.

Ayu was like a walking corpse, completely at everyone's mercy.

A-Wu took A-Yu to the basement of A-Yu's house, hid her carefully, sealed the entrance to the basement, and thoughtfully prepared water and dry food. A-Wu then returned to the cave alone.

Ayu sat there, emaciated and withered, for an unknown amount of time, until she felt an unbearable thirst. Ayu knew that birds of a feather flock together, and this Awu was certainly not a good person either, but Ayu seemed to have lost all her strength and could not move.

Suddenly the basement entrance opened, and A-Wu was back!

Ayu felt utterly hopeless and closed her eyes in despair.

"Ayu, look what I brought you!" Awu said with a fawning smile. "It's a hot flatbread! Eat it while it's hot!"

"I asked the chief for this room, and he agreed! From now on, you can hide here; they won't find you. I'll treat you well!"

"When spring comes, I'll plant an extra acre of melons; I know you love them."

……

No matter what A-Wu said, A-Yu did not react at all, and for several days she did not eat or drink anything.

A-Wu gradually became irritable. After failing to coax A-Yu to eat again, he went completely mad. He frantically stuffed pancakes into A-Yu's mouth, completely ignoring the fact that A-Yu's mouth was bleeding: "Don't force me, you have to eat whether you want to or not!"

Ayu started gagging, and Awu shook her shoulders, saying, "I love you so much, why don't you talk to me? You look down on me, don't you? Why don't you love me?"

Ayu sneered, uttering her first words in days: "Just because you love me doesn't mean I have to love you back! And this isn't love, it's possession, it's control. You don't understand love at all. You inhuman beasts don't deserve to be loved! I was blind; I shouldn't have saved you back then! I should have let you rot in the ground!"

Enraged, A-Wu shoved A-Yu to the ground. A-Yu, who had not eaten for several days and was weak, was shoved and hit her head hard against the soy sauce vat, causing her forehead to bleed profusely.

Wu was terrified and covered his wound with his hand, but Yu's face grew paler and paler. She slowly closed her eyes, a mocking smile on her lips.

A-Wu was nearly insane. He pulled out a sharp knife and, almost obsessively, slashed open A-Yu's abdomen, muttering to himself, "Don't think you can escape like this... I'll leave you here! That way we'll never be apart again... Aren't you happy?..."