141 Confrontation
The women and old people left in the forest looked at the children sleeping soundly in the cave. They did not feel sleepy at all and waited anxiously for news from Brother Yang and the others.
Madam Ma, Yang Chun’s wife, said to Old Turtle Yang’s wife, “Sister-in-law, why do I feel so flustered? Did something happen to them?”
Old Turtle Yang’s wife spat a few times. “Can’t you think of something better? I’m still counting on them to avenge me!”
“Yes! Perhaps I was too worried,” Madam Ma said as she walked out of the cave. “It’s almost ten in the morning. Snow is starting to fall again today. I want to go to the village entrance to take a look.”
Yang Yong’s mother stood up. “It’s almost dawn. Logically speaking, it should already be done. Leave a few people to watch the children. Let’s go take a look.”
When Old Turtle Yang’s wife heard this, she sat back down and said, “You guys go ahead! Third Sister-in-law and I will stay here to watch the children.”
Old Madam Yang nodded and led the group towards Phoenix Village with a torch.
Butcher He and Ruyi sat in front of the fire with their men and guarded the gap in the collapsed earth wall. Suddenly, he saw a faint flame approaching the village entrance from afar.
Butcher He picked up the butcher knife and shouted, “Everyone, be careful. Someone is coming from ahead.”
Ruyi opened his eyes and looked around. He stood up and jumped onto the broken wall. She saw that someone was indeed coming with a torch in the distance.
Ruyi looked at Butcher He and said, “Uncle He, judging from their speed, they shouldn’t be bandits. Could they be the people who came to collect the corpses last time?”
Butcher He sat back when he heard this. “Then don’t worry about them. Just let them move the bodies.”
Madam Ma and her group led the way with torches. As soon as they reached the clearing outside the village, they saw the bodies piled there.
The torch in Madam Ma’s hand fell to the ground and she stood there in a daze. There was only one thought in her mind. She was begging the gods to let the head of her family be fine.
Old Madam Yang and the others had also arrived. Looking at the corpses piled there, Old Madam Yang pounced on them and cried, “Aren’t you here for revenge? Why are you all dead? Who will avenge me if you die?”
Madam Ma came back to her senses and started searching. She pulled Yang Chun in her arms and cried.
The other women also cried and searched the corpses. Suddenly, a woman shouted, “Brother Yang, this is Brother Yang. They’re all dead. Ah…”
The group of women guarded the corpses and cried out in pain.
Li Yu brought Zhao Cai and more than ten villagers to the mud wall to change shifts with Butcher He and the others. They heard cries outside the village.
Zhao Cai asked Ruyi with a heavy heart, “Those people are here to collect the corpses?”
Ruyi nodded. “I think so. We’ll leave later.”
Granny Yang cried and stood up. She looked around with tears in her eyes and saw the fire behind the broken wall. She shouted to the women, “Madam Ma, let’s go. We’ll fight them.”
Madam Ma raised her head and set Yang Chun down. She picked up a rock and rushed toward the fire with Granny Yang.
Ruyi saw the two of them rushing over and asked Li Yu, “Miss, what do you think we should do? Two women are coming.”
Li Yu waved her hand and stood there calmly as she watched the two women rush over.
Madam Ma threw the stone at Ruyi and shouted through gritted teeth, “Goddamn dog trash, I’ll kill you. I’ll beat you to death.”
Ruyi ducked to the side and dodged the stone. In the blink of an eye, Old Madam Yang was crying and pouncing at Li Yu. “Damn it, return my son’s life.”
Ruyi rushed over and stood in front of Li Yu. Li Yu pulled Ruyi away and looked at Old Madam Yang coldly. “We’re in our own house. Your son brought people to kill our villagers. We just protected ourselves and resisted. If you want to blame someone, blame your son and the others for being inferior.
Your son and the rest were killed by us, and you came to us to exact vengeance for your son’s life. Then if we were the ones killed today, would you let your son return our lives?’
The knife is in your heart. You know the pain, don’t you? What about those innocent people your son killed? Their families would come for you too. How many lives do you have with which to pay them back?”
Old Madam Yang and Madam Ma looked at Li Yu and the others and cursed bitterly, “You evil ghosts will go to the 18 levels of hell even if you die. God will not let you off.”
Butcher He was so angry that he rushed in front of the two of them. He stood there and pointed at Old Madam Yang’s nose as he scolded, “Old woman, only those who have died outside will go to hell. The heavens have opened their eyes and guided you to our village. If it were any other village, they would have long been slaughtered by you. The heavens are fair and retribution is not good. You’ve killed too many people. Even the heavens can’t stand it. They were killed by us today. It’s payback.”
Chen Gui walked over with his machete and pointed at the two of them. He shouted, “Get lost. I don’t think the two of you are good people either. If you don’t get lost, I’ll kill the two of you.”
Seeing Chen Gui raise his machete, Old Madam Yang and Madam Ma were so frightened that they turned around and ran. Seeing that no one was chasing after them, they stood there and cursed again.
Li Yu couldn’t be bothered with them. She said to Ruyi and Butcher He, “Uncle He, go back and have a good sleep. We still have a funeral in the village. Later, Zhao Cai will bring people to town to buy coffins and incense paper money.”
Butcher He sighed and said gratefully to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, thank goodness Uncle’s family met you, Mr. Zhou, Ruyi, and the others. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened!”
Li Yu looked at Butcher He and smiled. “Uncle He, it’s not up to us. We’re all helping one another. If you think Ruyi is good, recruit him as your son-in-law!”
Butcher He agreed readily. “Alright, after the matter in the village is over, let him hire someone to propose marriage!”
Zhao Cai patted Ruyi and said with a smile, “Kid, hurry up and kowtow to your father-in-law.”
Everyone started to jeer. “That’s right! Hurry up and bow. Secure your wife.”
Ruyi blushed and bowed to Butcher He. “Thank you, Uncle He. When the matter in the village is over, I’ll hire someone to propose marriage.”
“Good, good.” Butcher He patted Ruyi and smiled happily.
Li Yu waited for Carpenter Chen and the others to pull over the wood and repair the collapsed earth wall before returning home.
Zhao Cai and Chen Yaohui brought their people to the coffin shop in town to buy coffins. The boss said to Zhao Cai, “Shopkeeper Zhou, it’s fine if you don’t live in town. A few days ago, Zhu Zhencheng’s family, High Scholar Ye’s family, and the rich Hu family were all robbed by refugees. A few of Zhu Zhencheng’s old family members were killed without anyone knowing for several days. Also, the entire Hu family was killed. These damn bandits, it’s fine if they snatched things, but why did they kill their entire family?”
Zhao Cai was about to tell the owner of the coffin shop about the bandits when a gong suddenly sounded. The official rode his horse and shouted, “People in town, listen up. The emperor has died. From today onwards, we can’t hold weddings, drink, or invite guests.”
The officer shouted a round and galloped off.
Zhao Cai looked at the boss. “Boss Liu, I have to go back and prepare something. Let’s talk later.”
Boss Liu sent Zhao Cai away and muttered to himself, “No wonder the world is not peaceful. So the old emperor was about to die. When the new emperor takes over, the Heavenly Tao will change!”
141 Confrontation
The women and old people left in the forest looked at the children sleeping soundly in the cave. They did not feel sleepy at all and waited anxiously for news from Brother Yang and the others.
Madam Ma, Yang Chun’s wife, said to Old Turtle Yang’s wife, “Sister-in-law, why do I feel so flustered? Did something happen to them?”
Old Turtle Yang’s wife spat a few times. “Can’t you think of something better? I’m still counting on them to avenge me!”
“Yes! Perhaps I was too worried,” Madam Ma said as she walked out of the cave. “It’s almost ten in the morning. Snow is starting to fall again today. I want to go to the village entrance to take a look.”
Yang Yong’s mother stood up. “It’s almost dawn. Logically speaking, it should already be done. Leave a few people to watch the children. Let’s go take a look.”
When Old Turtle Yang’s wife heard this, she sat back down and said, “You guys go ahead! Third Sister-in-law and I will stay here to watch the children.”
Old Madam Yang nodded and led the group towards Phoenix Village with a torch.
Butcher He and Ruyi sat in front of the fire with their men and guarded the gap in the collapsed earth wall. Suddenly, he saw a faint flame approaching the village entrance from afar.
Butcher He picked up the butcher knife and shouted, “Everyone, be careful. Someone is coming from ahead.”
Ruyi opened his eyes and looked around. He stood up and jumped onto the broken wall. She saw that someone was indeed coming with a torch in the distance.
Ruyi looked at Butcher He and said, “Uncle He, judging from their speed, they shouldn’t be bandits. Could they be the people who came to collect the corpses last time?”
Butcher He sat back when he heard this. “Then don’t worry about them. Just let them move the bodies.”
Madam Ma and her group led the way with torches. As soon as they reached the clearing outside the village, they saw the bodies piled there.
The torch in Madam Ma’s hand fell to the ground and she stood there in a daze. There was only one thought in her mind. She was begging the gods to let the head of her family be fine.
Old Madam Yang and the others had also arrived. Looking at the corpses piled there, Old Madam Yang pounced on them and cried, “Aren’t you here for revenge? Why are you all dead? Who will avenge me if you die?”
Madam Ma came back to her senses and started searching. She pulled Yang Chun in her arms and cried.
The other women also cried and searched the corpses. Suddenly, a woman shouted, “Brother Yang, this is Brother Yang. They’re all dead. Ah…”
The group of women guarded the corpses and cried out in pain.
Li Yu brought Zhao Cai and more than ten villagers to the mud wall to change shifts with Butcher He and the others. They heard cries outside the village.
Zhao Cai asked Ruyi with a heavy heart, “Those people are here to collect the corpses?”
Ruyi nodded. “I think so. We’ll leave later.”
Granny Yang cried and stood up. She looked around with tears in her eyes and saw the fire behind the broken wall. She shouted to the women, “Madam Ma, let’s go. We’ll fight them.”
Madam Ma raised her head and set Yang Chun down. She picked up a rock and rushed toward the fire with Granny Yang.
Ruyi saw the two of them rushing over and asked Li Yu, “Miss, what do you think we should do? Two women are coming.”
Li Yu waved her hand and stood there calmly as she watched the two women rush over.
Madam Ma threw the stone at Ruyi and shouted through gritted teeth, “Goddamn dog trash, I’ll kill you. I’ll beat you to death.”
Ruyi ducked to the side and dodged the stone. In the blink of an eye, Old Madam Yang was crying and pouncing at Li Yu. “Damn it, return my son’s life.”
Ruyi rushed over and stood in front of Li Yu. Li Yu pulled Ruyi away and looked at Old Madam Yang coldly. “We’re in our own house. Your son brought people to kill our villagers. We just protected ourselves and resisted. If you want to blame someone, blame your son and the others for being inferior.
Your son and the rest were killed by us, and you came to us to exact vengeance for your son’s life. Then if we were the ones killed today, would you let your son return our lives?’
The knife is in your heart. You know the pain, don’t you? What about those innocent people your son killed? Their families would come for you too. How many lives do you have with which to pay them back?”
Old Madam Yang and Madam Ma looked at Li Yu and the others and cursed bitterly, “You evil ghosts will go to the 18 levels of hell even if you die. God will not let you off.”
Butcher He was so angry that he rushed in front of the two of them. He stood there and pointed at Old Madam Yang’s nose as he scolded, “Old woman, only those who have died outside will go to hell. The heavens have opened their eyes and guided you to our village. If it were any other village, they would have long been slaughtered by you. The heavens are fair and retribution is not good. You’ve killed too many people. Even the heavens can’t stand it. They were killed by us today. It’s payback.”
Chen Gui walked over with his machete and pointed at the two of them. He shouted, “Get lost. I don’t think the two of you are good people either. If you don’t get lost, I’ll kill the two of you.”
Seeing Chen Gui raise his machete, Old Madam Yang and Madam Ma were so frightened that they turned around and ran. Seeing that no one was chasing after them, they stood there and cursed again.
Li Yu couldn’t be bothered with them. She said to Ruyi and Butcher He, “Uncle He, go back and have a good sleep. We still have a funeral in the village. Later, Zhao Cai will bring people to town to buy coffins and incense paper money.”
Butcher He sighed and said gratefully to Li Yu, “Xiaoyu, thank goodness Uncle’s family met you, Mr. Zhou, Ruyi, and the others. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened!”
Li Yu looked at Butcher He and smiled. “Uncle He, it’s not up to us. We’re all helping one another. If you think Ruyi is good, recruit him as your son-in-law!”
Butcher He agreed readily. “Alright, after the matter in the village is over, let him hire someone to propose marriage!”
Zhao Cai patted Ruyi and said with a smile, “Kid, hurry up and kowtow to your father-in-law.”
Everyone started to jeer. “That’s right! Hurry up and bow. Secure your wife.”
Ruyi blushed and bowed to Butcher He. “Thank you, Uncle He. When the matter in the village is over, I’ll hire someone to propose marriage.”
“Good, good.” Butcher He patted Ruyi and smiled happily.
Li Yu waited for Carpenter Chen and the others to pull over the wood and repair the collapsed earth wall before returning home.
Zhao Cai and Chen Yaohui brought their people to the coffin shop in town to buy coffins. The boss said to Zhao Cai, “Shopkeeper Zhou, it’s fine if you don’t live in town. A few days ago, Zhu Zhencheng’s family, High Scholar Ye’s family, and the rich Hu family were all robbed by refugees. A few of Zhu Zhencheng’s old family members were killed without anyone knowing for several days. Also, the entire Hu family was killed. These damn bandits, it’s fine if they snatched things, but why did they kill their entire family?”
Zhao Cai was about to tell the owner of the coffin shop about the bandits when a gong suddenly sounded. The official rode his horse and shouted, “People in town, listen up. The emperor has died. From today onwards, we can’t hold weddings, drink, or invite guests.”
The officer shouted a round and galloped off.
Zhao Cai looked at the boss. “Boss Liu, I have to go back and prepare something. Let’s talk later.”
Boss Liu sent Zhao Cai away and muttered to himself, “No wonder the world is not peaceful. So the old emperor was about to die. When the new emperor takes over, the Heavenly Tao will change!”
