Qin Sang watched them charge down, brandishing axes, knives, and spears. The villagers of Tianjia Village, having witnessed several major scenes before, remained relatively calm. However, the refugees grew somewhat panicked.
Qin Sang said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, listen to my command, get ready..."
Qin Sang raised her hand and shouted loudly just as the Rebel Soldiers charged to within thirty paces of them:
"Throw!"
The next second, stones, clods of earth, and wooden clubs all flew out. Simultaneously, Hunter Xu, who could shoot arrows, accurately hit one man's left eye.
"Ah..."
The screams of the Rebel Soldiers rang out.
Qin Sang did not hesitate in the slightest:
"Wooden Shield bearers, charge..."
Following the order, the prepared villagers of Tianjia Village immediately raised their Wooden Shields, protecting themselves, then lowered their heads and charged toward those Rebel Soldiers.
The villagers behind them, holding wooden spears and long knives, stabbed anyone who was knocked flying and slashed down at anyone lying on the ground...
"Ah..."
Screams continued incessantly. A few lucky ones managed to reach the Tianjia Village villagers and swung their knives, only to be shocked to find their blades merely tore the villagers' clothes without cutting their skin. In fact, their own knives got stuck in the villagers' bodies.
Heizi lowered his head to look at his only good piece of clothing being slashed open. Furious, he glared at his opponent, baring his teeth:
"I'm wearing armor, you got any?"
The Rebel Soldier was dumbfounded. What armor? What is armor?
Seeing him shake his head, Heizi chuckled:
"Don't have any? Then go die."
As he spoke, his blade swept across the other's neck.
Lifting his hand to pull the knife stuck in the seam of his armor free, Heizi gripped his knife with both hands and hacked toward the Rebel Soldiers.
The Wooden Shields acted like sharp arrows, instantly breaking the Rebel Soldiers' charging momentum. The Rebel Soldiers made a shocking discovery:
"Boss, knives can't hurt them."
"Boss, save me!"
"Boss, why is their equipment the same as those Government Soldiers'?"
Screams echoed. As the Tianjia Village villagers killed thirty or forty men like chopping melons and slicing vegetables, and were about to reach the Leaders themselves, the Rebel Soldier Leader panicked:
"Retreat, retreat quickly..."
Tian Yougen and the others threw their axes and long knives, impaling a few more. In the end, only about five or six Rebel Soldiers escaped pursuit.
There was no other way. Tianjia Village was positioned on a downward slope, and they were wearing Wooden Armor and carrying Wooden Shields, which were quite heavy. Chasing uphill would definitely put them at a speed disadvantage.
Qin Sang also stopped them from pursuing further, lest they give the enemy an opening and lose their lives.
The refugees who had stayed at the rear watched this life-and-death struggle end in an extremely bizarre manner, feeling even more awe and fear toward the Tianjia Village villagers.
Seeing the Tianjia Village people retreating, they all moved to the side, worried they might get in the way.
Qin Sang asked loudly:
"Is anyone injured?"
Someone replied:
"Aunt, Brother Heizi is injured."
Qin Sang walked over and saw blood seeping from a cut on Heizi's arm. Judging by the angle of the wound, Qin Sang asked coldly:
"Don't tell me you raised your arm to block the knife?"
Heizi scratched his head sheepishly:
"I... I thought the Wooden Shield was in the way, so I threw it aside.
Aunt, I'm fine. The Wooden Armor protected me anyway. It's just a minor wound, it'll heal by tomorrow."
Qin Sang shot him a glance:
"You make it sound easy. In such hot weather, who knows how filthy their knives are. If you get a tetanus infection, you can just wait to die."
Hearing this, Heizi's face paled:
"It's that serious? Aunt, save me!"
Qin Sang rummaged through the bundle on the Horse's back and pulled out Iodine and Cotton, first helping him clean the wound:
"Thankfully the Wooden Armor protected you, otherwise you could have lost this arm today."
Seeing Qin Sang treating his wound, Heizi finally relaxed and grinned:
"Exactly! Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so foolish as to throw the shield away. Besides, I feel like no matter how badly I'm injured, Aunt can save me. Aunt is the best."
Qin Sang retorted with a mix of annoyance and amusement:
"Keep boasting. I'm not a deity, Aunt can't cure every injury."
After giving Heizi a simple initial treatment for his wound, Qin Sang sprinkled some medicinal powder on it to stop the bleeding. There were a few others injured as well, and Qin Sang gave them all simple first aid. This was not a place to linger.
Seeing many refugees preparing to leave, Qin Sang said loudly:
"Everyone, don't leave yet. The food promised to you hasn't been given out!"
The refugees looked at the sacks of grain, then at the corpses of the Rebel Soldiers lying on the ground. One by one, they said:
"We didn't really help much, so it's not necessary."
"Right, we'll still exchange grass roots with you tomorrow."
"You trading grain for our grass roots is already like merciful Bodhisattvas saving us from suffering. How can we possibly take your food for free?"
Qin Sang explained:
"Who says you didn't help? Those stones, wooden clubs, and clods of earth killed quite a few. Moreover, your willingness to stand behind us gave us confidence and intimidated those Rebel Soldiers. Giving everyone some food as thanks is what I personally promised. Do you all think we are people who go back on our word?"
The refugees originally thought such good fortune wouldn't fall upon them. They believed Qin Sang had said that earlier just to rally everyone to help. The matter was resolved easily without needing them.
So, earlier, seeing the matter settled, they all intended to leave to avoid embarrassing Qin Sang. They hadn't expected the other party not to renege.
Actually, Qin Sang's thinking was simple. The situation in the mountains was severe. Rather than begrudging this food, it was better to use it to earn goodwill. In the future, if Tianjia Village ever faced danger, these refugees might not stand by and watch them perish.
Qin Sang continued:
"Now that Rebel Soldiers have entered the mountains, acting just like Bandits, we plan to stop coming to exchange daily. From now on, it will be once every ten days, at that Cave from before. This food is firstly to thank everyone, and secondly to keep everyone from starving during these ten days."
After speaking, Qin Sang turned to the villagers:
"Everyone, lend a hand. Help me distribute the food to them."
No one in the village felt displeased. Qin Sang was fair and never let them suffer losses. Every time they came to exchange food, each villager received ten catties of White Flour, ten catties of rice, and ten catties of water.
Over the past ten-plus days, not only had they not grown thinner from hunger in the mountains, they had actually become sturdier than before.
Seeing the Tianjia Village villagers truly start distributing food, the refugees happily and conscientiously formed a long line. No one actually took Qin Sang's food for nothing; instead, they all piled the grass roots from their Baskets together.
Qin Sang always brought a lot of food precisely to motivate these people to work harder and gather more Medicinal Herbs.
So this time, each person could get over ten catties. The refugees who received the food saw a few people digging pits—reportedly to bury the corpses to prevent plague—and several of them voluntarily helped out, speeding up the process considerably.
Qin Sang was busy distributing food when she suddenly heard a pleading voice from up the slope:
"Spare my life, I beg you, spare my life, I don't want to die..."
Qin Sang's heart stirred. She shouted to Heizi, who was about to deliver the final blow:
"Wait! Keep him alive for now."
Heizi turned and, seeing it was Qin Sang's order, re-sheathed his Broadsword. However, he dislocated the man's arms, tied them behind his back, completely ignoring the man's screams.
Perhaps from excessive tension, by the time Qin Sang finished, she was sweating profusely, her clothes soaked through. Strangely, though it was completely dark, there wasn't a single breeze in the mountains.
"Aunt, what are you keeping that Rebel Soldier for?" Heizi asked from behind as he led the ox, walking along.
Qin Sang answered:
"To question him."