Qin Sang did not look around in a panic, calmly asking, "Are they refugees?"
Hunter Xu shook his head slightly and said:
"No, they are the Local Ruffians from the town. When I used to come here to sell my prey, they used to collect protection fees from me. Their leader is called Heizi. We've had a fight before."
"How is their combat strength?"
"Average, but there are quite a few of them."
Qin Sang was a bit surprised now; last time it was refugees following them, but this time it was locals.
This town was their territory, and local evil forces were much more dangerous than refugees.
This made Qin Sang a bit more cautious:
"Are you sure they're following us?"
Hunter Xu nodded:
"While we were waiting outside the inn earlier, they were loitering nearby. Just now, as we walked along, they've been following us from a distance."
Qin Sang thought for a moment:
"Alright, then tell You Di and the others to have everyone be careful."
Hunter Xu nodded:
"Shall we head back to the village now?"
Returning to the village now was undoubtedly the safest option, but Qin Sang had other plans:
"I'm going to buy some things; it's also a good chance to see if they really are after us."
Hunter Xu had no objections:
"Alright."
They first went to a grain and oil shop. The shop had added guards, each looking fierce and malicious; indeed, no one dared to steal grain.
Qin Sang asked for two hundred catties of flour and ten catties of salt, which were moved onto the cart and covered with an oilcloth.
While covering the flour, Qin Sang saw the Local Ruffians Hunter Xu had mentioned. They were easy to distinguish; their spirits were much better than the refugees. Their eyes were fixed on their group, and they huddled together to whisper from time to time, clearly planning something.
Qin Sang drove the Horse carriage with a grim face, and the others followed closely.
The group hadn't gone far when they reached a somewhat secluded street, and six people suddenly emerged from the end of an alley.
Footsteps also came from behind. Qin Sang looked back and saw eight people there as well.
They all held clubs and sticks of various lengths. As soon as these people appeared, the households that were originally doing business all closed their shop doors, as if afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
The mule and Horse were restlessly tossing their reins, snorting and stamping their hooves in place, seemingly wanting to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.
Qin Sang tightened the reins and jumped off the carriage with a face as calm as ice.
Da Zhuang and the others gripped their axes tightly, but their faces showed fear, and their legs seemed to be shaking; only Hunter Xu and his son remained relatively calm.
After forcing them to stop, a man picking his teeth emerged from the corner ahead and walked over with his hands on his hips:
"Hand over all your money and valuables honestly, then leave this mule cart and Horse carriage behind, and I might spare your lives."
Qin Sang looked at the leader. He wasn't very old, in his twenties, with a scar on his face and a very arrogant look. However, his clothes were patched, and the others were the same, thin as hemp stalks, quite different from the tattooed bosses Qin Sang had imagined.
Qin Sang spoke:
"You're committing robbery in broad daylight; aren't you afraid of the government?"
Someone laughed mockingly:
"Brother Heizi, it seems they don't plan on being obedient."
"The County Magistrate is busy with disaster relief and has no time at all for such trifles."
Seeing their fearless attitude, Qin Sang guessed that the government office in Songbai Town wasn't much good either.
With so many refugees and no one to settle or guide them, and with evil forces extorting and robbing, even if the magistrate wasn't corrupt, he was incompetent.
"We are just delivering goods for someone else and have no money at all. Moreover, this carriage belongs to Steward Huang's Residence. Do you dare to steal things from Steward Huang's Residence?"
Qin Sang said, using a powerful name to intimidate them.
Instead of being afraid, the man laughed:
"Heh, still trying to fool me? You live in Tianjia Village and came to town to sell mosquito coils. What Steward Huang?
Steward Huang's livestock wouldn't be this shabby. I advise you to hand over your bundles quickly, or don't blame us for being rude to you."
The others chimed in:
"Right, be rude."
"Leave now so we don't have to do it ourselves."
Qin Sang pursed her lips. Heizi's words ruled out a random robbery, and at the same time, she could see that this group didn't actually dare to provoke Steward Huang.
However, she had only been to town a few times. How could they know them so clearly?
A thought occurred to Qin Sang, and she suddenly said:
"It seems you are very familiar with Tian Yuanshan and Tian Jinshui."
Heizi was suddenly stunned. He spat out the bamboo toothpick in his mouth and got angry:
"What Tian Yuanshan, Tian Jinshui? I've never heard of them. Just give me the bundles, leave the carts and livestock, and get lost."
Qin Sang hadn't missed Heizi's slight expression just now; she was only testing him.
She didn't expect the test to be so successful. Given Heizi's blunt denial, it was obvious those two brothers were behind this.
Failing to extort money, they had recruited Local Ruffians to take revenge on her.
"And what if I'm not willing?"
Heizi laughed in anger:
"Fine, don't come kneeling and begging for mercy later. Brothers, get them..."
At Heizi's command, the dozen or so people immediately rushed forward.
Seeing them rush to within five paces, Qin Sang immediately said:
"Do it."
As Qin Sang's voice fell, Tian Youdi, Da Hua's Father, and the others all raised their hands, and the quicklime in their bundles was accurately sprinkled onto the faces, bodies, and into the eyes of those Local Ruffians.
Meanwhile, Tian Da Zhuang and the others quickly covered their noses and mouths with their sleeves and retreated together.
This quicklime was something Qin Sang had prepared at the grain and oil shop. While moving the flour, she had given everyone a bundle, and it was being put to good use now with excellent results.
"Ah..."
"What? It hurts so much... ah..."
Roars of pain echoed through the long street. The group of men dropped their clubs and clutched their eyes in agony, as if they wanted to gouge out their own eyeballs.
Only Heizi, who was at the back and shielded by his subordinates, escaped the lime. Seeing his men instantly lose their fighting capacity, Heizi grew anxious:
"Shitou? Yazi?"
The men were desperately rubbing their eyes while shouting:
"Brother Heizi, run! Brother Heizi, I'm going blind..."
Only then did Heizi think of escaping, but just as he was about to turn around—
Hunter Xu raised his hand and drew his bow, firing an arrow that hit Heizi's leg.
Heizi stumbled and fell to the ground:
"Ah..."
Qin Sang had Da Zhuang gather all their clubs before saying:
"If you don't want to really go blind, then speak honestly. Who instigated you to rob me?"
quicklime is extremely irritating to the eyes, and these people were terrified now.
Without weapons and having been blinded, if Qin Sang and the others were to strike, they would be like lambs to the slaughter.
Hearing that Qin Sang didn't seem to want their lives, they immediately started talking all at once:
"It's Tian Yuanshan and his brother."
"They found our boss and said you were very rich from doing business with the Steward in town."
"They said they'd sell the lead to the boss for ten taels of silver."
After hearing these people's words, Qin Sang and the others were filled with righteous indignation. Tian Youdi sneered:
"It really is those two brothers. We're all from the same clan, yet they would harm us like this."
Hunter Xu was calmer:
"When we get back, we can have the village chief expel those two from Tianjia Village."
The subordinates whose eyes were blinded by the quicklime all chimed in:
"We were just instigated by them. The ones who really wanted to harm you are those two brothers."
"The boss also told us not to actually kill anyone, just to scare you away. We never thought of killing you."
"Please, can you save us? For the sake of us not actually hurting you, give us a way to live."