Famine and Chaos: Weaving Cloth in Exile to Escape the War

"Brothers of Black Wind Stronghold," Yang Xiaoniu's heart sank, but he tried his best to remain calm. "What does this mean?"

The fact that these people deliberately blocked their way at this moment was definitely not a good thing.

Suddenly, Yang Xiaoniu felt nervous. Could it be that these people were going to attack them at this moment?

But then he thought, "Could that be?"

This is just the beginning...

"Nothing much," the tall, thin man chuckled. "We just wanted to see how your search for the tiger was going. We're a bit slow on our feet, so we wanted to learn from your experience."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoniu immediately gripped his axe tighter: "Brother, we..."

Before Yang Xiaoniu could finish speaking, the tall, thin man suddenly moved!

His movements were incredibly fast, like a gust of wind, and he arrived in front of Yang Xiaoniu in the blink of an eye!

Before Yang Xiaoniu could even fully raise the machete, his wrist went numb, and the axe clattered to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, he was kicked hard in the chest, and his whole body flew backward, crashing into the rock wall with a muffled groan, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Big brother!"

"Big brother!"

"Brother Yang!"

Jing Zhichun and the others were genuinely surprised by this person's sudden attack, and immediately gripped their machetes and axes, ready to rush forward.

Before they could even make a move, two men from Black Wind Stronghold quickly stepped forward, cracked their whips, and in the blink of an eye, the weapons in the hands of Jing Zhichun and his two companions fell to the ground.

Immediately, the three of them were whipped hard and then thrown to the ground.

The whole process took only a breath!

Before the four could even truly retaliate, they were all subdued and rendered incapable of resistance.

"Hahahaha!" The tall, thin man sheathed his sword, stood still, threw his head back, and laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the narrow valley.

Then, he said disdainfully, "I thought he was some kind of powerful figure who could have been invited by the Liu family alone, but this is all? He couldn't even last a decent round! I was so worried about him last night that I didn't sleep well."

A henchman from Black Wind Stronghold chimed in with a fawning laugh, "Brother, it seems we were overthinking it. These four are just a bunch of peasants; they pose no threat to us whatsoever!"

The tall, thin man referred to as "Big Brother" was named Liu San, and he was the leader of Black Wind Stronghold who had come this time.

He suppressed his laughter, his cold gaze sweeping over the four disheveled men. He said indifferently, "Hmm, at least you know what's good for you, you didn't draw blood. Fifth brother..."

As he spoke, he pointed to one of the henchmen, "You stay here and follow them. Wherever they go, you go, and watch them find the tiger. When they find it... you know what to do."

"Understood, brother!" The man called Lao Wu grinned and stepped out.

He was more robust than Liu San, had a scar on his face, and a fierce look in his eyes; he also looked like a trained fighter.

Liu San then looked at Yang Xiaoniu, pointing the tip of his short dagger at him from afar: "You two, listen up. Find your tiger properly. Once you find it, catch it, be smart and hand it over to Black Wind Stronghold. If you obey, we'll let you get out of this mountain alive. If you don't..."

He paused, a sinister smile creeping onto his lips. "In this deep forest, no one will care about a few more wolf-feeding corpses."

Having said that, Kyoto Haru and the other three understood.

It seems that this person tried to test them yesterday by pretending to ask for a light, but failed. So, he's waiting for them here today.

Sending this fifth brother along was actually a way to monitor them.

Once they actually find the tiger, all their efforts and adventures will be for the benefit of Black Wind Stronghold.

And if they want to live, they have no choice but to submit.

Yang Xiaoniu clutched his aching chest, his face deathly pale. He looked at his younger brother and sister-in-law, who had been knocked to the ground, their faces filled with resentment and anger, and then at Jing Zhichun, who was leaning against the rock wall with a somber expression.

His clenched fist tightened and loosened repeatedly, and finally, he could only squeeze out two words through gritted teeth: "...Understood."

"You guys know what's good for you." Liu San nodded in satisfaction, then waved to his two other men, "Let's go find our friends in the other teams and see if they need any help."

Immediately, the others who were following Liu San disappeared at the other end of the valley, leaving only the scarred man called Lao Wu.

"Get up, all of you, stop pretending to be dead." The fifth brother pulled out his whip and lashed it at Yang Erniu, who was lying on the ground. "Keep going. Aren't you going to find the tiger? It's getting dark, hurry up. I don't have the patience to sit here in the wind with you guys."

Yang Xiaoniu gasped again after being slapped, clutching the spot where he had been hit, and struggled to get up, helping Yang Erniu and Yang Ersao to their feet.

Kyoto Haru silently picked up the fallen axe and patted the snow off her body.

The four exchanged a glance, each seeing the anger and a hint of despair in the other's eyes.

The current situation is pressing.

So, they had no choice but to back down for the time being.

The four members of Kyoto Spring remained silent and continued walking along the valley.

The fifth brother sauntered a few steps behind, humming an off-key tune and staring at them with disdain.

After walking for about an hour, the sky quickly darkened, and the mountains and forests were instantly swallowed by twilight.

With Lao Wu following him around, Yang Xiaoniu couldn't discuss anything with Jing Zhichun and the others at all, and even eye contact had to be done with extreme caution.

Yang Erniu was young and hot-blooded. He had been beaten and coerced in this way, and he was filled with a huge anger and resentment.

Taking advantage of a brief moment when his vision was obstructed by a patch of rocks, Lao Wu suddenly turned around and quickly made a throat-slitting gesture at Yang Xiaoniu.

He felt that now that he was the only one left, he might as well fight and find an opportunity to kill him!

Why should the tiger they went through so much trouble to find be given to these bandits?

He had barely finished making the gesture when Yang Xiaoniu responded.

Then there was a cry of "Ouch!"

Yang Erniu suddenly screamed, clutched his head and staggered a few steps. A fist-sized rock flew from nowhere and hit him accurately and viciously, causing blood to flow freely from his forehead instantly!

"Hahahahaha!"

The fifth brother's laughter came from a higher rock behind them.

"Kid, you've got some nerve! You dare to try and kill me?"

The fifth brother leaped off the rock with incredible agility, landing almost silently.

Immediately, he leaped to Yang Erniu, who was clutching his head and feeling dizzy, drew his leather whip from his waist, and lashed Yang Erniu three times. Then, he kicked Yang Erniu, sending him flying far away.

For a moment, Yang Erniu screamed in pain, and his cries echoed throughout the empty mountain forest.

Yang Xiaoniu was about to step forward with his knife in hand, but before he could take two steps, Lao Wu appeared in front of him like a ghost. Immediately, a dagger was pressed against Yang Xiaoniu's neck, and blood flowed down where the knife was pressed.

The people present were quite frightened. Was this person even human?

The speed is simply astonishing...

Yang Ersao was terrified and immediately knelt down, begging for mercy: "Hero! Hero, please calm down! My brother was young and ignorant, blinded by greed! Please be magnanimous and forgive them this time! We will definitely find the tiger obediently and never dare to have any other thoughts again!"

"Please, my lord!"

The fifth brother squinted at Yang Ersao, who was pleading desperately, and then glanced at Jing Zhichun, who was standing a little further away with a pale face. Finally, he sneered. He really didn't know what the Liu family was thinking, but they had invited a bunch of useless people.

However, the more useless he is, the better.

The fifth brother kicked Yang Xiaoniu away, then didn't make another move. He simply said coldly, "If I see you making any more moves, I'll chop you into mincemeat and feed you to the wolves. Understand?"

"Understood! Understood!" Yang Ersao replied repeatedly.

Yang Xiaoniu, who had been kicked away, clutched his bleeding neck, trembling with fear. He thought he was about to lose his life there.

That was close, that was close.

That's good, he's still alive.

However, at this moment, the last glimmer of hope in his heart was completely extinguished.

He could see that not only was the fifth brother ruthless, but his skills far surpassed theirs. All of them combined probably wouldn't be a match for him alone!

tiger?

silver?

At this moment, Yang Xiaoniu dared not think any further. He only hoped that he could leave this mountain alive with his younger brother, Shen's wife, and Shen's wife.

As Jing Zhichun watched the fifth brother effortlessly display his skills, her heart sank to the bottom.

This person's martial arts skills are too amazing; his speed is truly like a ghost, astonishingly fast...

Moreover, he possesses superb agility, is highly alert, and ruthless in his attacks...

Such people are too difficult to deal with.

But are these women really just left to be slaughtered and made into wedding dresses for others?

No, Kyoto Spring is not resigned to this.

Five hundred taels of silver was a crucial part of her plan, and more importantly, it represented her and her child's future hope.

Moreover, being held hostage by such a person is extremely dangerous in itself. Who knows if he will kill them after he has finished using them?

No, she had to find a way to get rid of this man.

At this moment, the sky was completely dark, and the cold wind was howling.

The fifth brother glanced at the sky and said impatiently, "Alright, stop dawdling. We'll rest here tonight. You, and you too..."

He pointed at Yang Xiaoniu and Yang Ersao, "Go gather firewood and start a fire. You,

He pointed to Jingzhichun, "Go prepare some food. Kid," he kicked the still dazed Yang Erniu, "stay put and don't try anything funny."