Listening to the villagers speak one after another, hearing their various plans, Qin Sang felt both surprise and relief.
Her painstaking efforts to help them survive had not been in vain.
Her kindness had not been wasted.
Zhou Lin's wife walked up to Qin Sang and comforted her:
"Da Zhuang's Mother, don't be afraid. That Butcher Hu knows how formidable you are. He doesn't dare come up the mountain himself, which is why he's forcing us to be his executioners. We aren't that kind of people. If he dares enter the mountains, we'll make sure he never leaves."
"That's right. He doesn't even dare enter the mountains. Butcher Hu's courage is about the size of a mung bean. We aren't even afraid of giant snakes, why should we be scared of him?"
"As long as we aren't afraid of him burning the village, he can't do anything to us. When the court sends troops to suppress the rebellion, he'll be the first to die."
The villagers all thought of ways to reassure Qin Sang. None of their faces showed fear; instead, each one of them harbored a deep-seated hatred for Butcher Hu.
Qin Sang nodded:
"Thank you, everyone. With everyone united like this, I even have the urge to kill that bastard."
These words won agreement from many:
"Exactly! If I catch him, I'll definitely teach him how to be a proper person all over again."
"A quick death by knife is too cheap for him. Chop off his hands and feet, then see if he dares hit people again."
"The problem is that damned coward won't enter the mountains!"
Seeing everyone's high morale, the village chief swept away his previous heaviness and seriousness, placed his long-stemmed pipe at the corner of his mouth, and waited for the discussion to die down before speaking:
"Evil men have their own judgment day. Everyone, don't be too anxious. Since our goals are aligned, things are easier. We must strengthen our external vigilance. In my opinion, the Patrol Team's patrol range can be expanded a bit more to prevent other refugees from finding our location."
Hunter Xu nodded and said:
"I can lead some men to set up traps. Villagers looking for fruit should stick to this side of the mountain. Don't set foot in the outer area to avoid accidentally triggering them."
Qin Sang knew that everyone just wanted to find a quiet corner to wait out the military chaos. Such a defensive approach was understandable, but...
She wanted Butcher Hu dead.
After the meeting ended, Qin Sang returned home.
She was lost in thought the entire way, so much so that she didn't even notice Da Zhuang and San Gui coming up to her with worried expressions.
"Mother? What's wrong? Did something happen? Why didn't they let us attend the village meeting?"
Only then did Qin Sang snap back to reality. She looked up at her two grown sons in front of her, thought for a moment, and decided not to hide the truth:
"Let's go home first. Mother will tell you all about it once we're home."
Tian Dazhuang and Tian Sangui both grunted in agreement, then turned and accompanied Qin Sang into the wooden house.
The whole family was there. The flickering light of a candle illuminated the worried expressions on everyone's faces.
Qin Sang explained the whole story from beginning to end. The reason she didn't hide it was also to make everyone more vigilant:
"...We must always be wary of others' intentions. Today, no one intended to push our family out to protect their houses, but who's to say someone won't change their mind tomorrow?"
After Qin Sang finished speaking, the wooden house fell so silent you could hear a pin drop. For a moment, no one felt like talking.
Until Er Fu abruptly knelt on the ground, her voice choked with sobs:
"Mother, it's my fault for bringing this disaster upon our family..."
These words weighed on Qin Sang's heart like a heavy stone:
"Si Jin, quickly help your sister up.
If we really want to assign blame, this disaster isn't your fault. If I hadn't sold you off for money, we wouldn't have provoked Butcher Hu."
Tian Sijin and Eldest Brother's Wife hurriedly helped the kneeling Tian Erfu to her feet. Eldest Girl thoughtfully offered her own little handkerchief:
"Aunt, here, wipe your tears."
Tian Sangui, standing to the side, said with deep sorrow:
"It's not Mother's fault. If I hadn't wanted to marry..."
Qin Sang, sharp-eyed, saw that Third Brother seemed about to kneel as well, and quickly interjected:
"It's useless to talk about whose fault it is now. What we need to think about now is how to solve the problem."
Third Brother's Wife quickly nodded in agreement:
"Mother is right. Solving the problem is the most important thing now."
Tian Wenmo, despite his young age, had his brows tightly furrowed:
"Mother, what if... we leave? Find another place to settle?"
For a moment, everyone turned to look at him. Tian Wenmo, his brow still furrowed, continued:
"If we leave, even if the villagers change their minds, they won't be able to find us. Our family will naturally be safe."
Clearly, this idea gained everyone's approval, and they all turned their gazes toward Qin Sang.
Qin Sang nodded:
"Actually, when I first heard about this matter, I also thought about taking all of you and fleeing. But the villagers haven't betrayed us, and we can't betray their goodwill either.
Mother certainly believes that you could hold up this family even if we went elsewhere, but Mother doesn't want to take that risk.
That giant snake isn't the only dangerous beast in these mountains. There are also tigers and Wolf Packs. If we were alone and isolated, we would all die.
So, unless absolutely necessary, Mother won't do that.
The biggest problem now is that Butcher Hu is threatening the villagers by saying he'll burn the village. What could make the villagers change their minds is the fear of their homes being destroyed.
So Mother thinks that as long as we solve the problem of the village being burned, then the villagers will be even less likely to change their minds."
Everyone pondered the deeper meaning of Qin Sang's words seriously.
Si Jin's eyes suddenly went blank for a moment, then she looked up and said:
"Mother, do you... want to kill Butcher Hu?"
The other family members looked on in shock.
Qin Sang nodded:
"If we can't solve the problem, then we solve the person causing the problem.
He wants to burn the village? Kill them, and who will burn it then?"
Tian Dazhuang was a bit confused:
"But Mother, how do we kill him?"
Tian Sangui was also worried:
"They're in the village, and there are quite a few of them..."
Qin Sang said calmly:
"A dark and windy night is the perfect time for murder and arson."
Looking at his mother's expression, an unbelievable thought occurred to Tian Wenmo:
"Mother, do you want to go down the mountain alone?"
This statement was immediately refuted by Tian Dazhuang and Tian Sangui:
"No, I'll go with Mother."
"I'm going too."
The other girls all anxiously clutched at the corners of their clothes:
"Mother, it's too dangerous."
"Can't you not go?"
"Can't more people go?"
Qin Sang shook her head and said calmly:
"The more people, the greater the risk of exposure. There are many Rebel Soldiers. If any villager died at the hands of the Rebel Soldiers, how could we compensate them?"
It wasn't that Qin Sang didn't want as many people as possible, but more people would also be a restriction for her. It would be difficult to take out many weapons from the Mall. She'd have to think twice about everything she did to avoid exposure. Without using the Mall's items, killing those Rebel Soldiers would require real blades and spears in direct combat, which would be even worse.
"Then I and San Gui will accompany you," Tian Dazhuang insisted.
"Mother, I want to go too," said Tian Erfu.
"Mother..."
Seeing them all stepping forward one by one, Qin Sang immediately spoke up to stop them:
"Alright, alright, Mother knows your intentions.
Me, the Eldest, and the Third—the three of us will go. Er Fu, Si Jin, Wen Mo, you're too young, so don't get involved. You'd just cause trouble for Mother. Wait obediently at home.
Now, everyone go rest. Get plenty of sleep to build up your energy. We'll make preparations tomorrow and then set out."
Qin Sang ushered them all off to sleep. In the middle of the night, Qin Sang habitually opened her eyes during the Chou hour...