Suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed, and Lin Ya stood up, cautiously looking around. In the distance, clouds of dust rose as the sound of hooves approached, gradually slowing down.
“Big brother, today we had a good haul, but there’s something I don’t understand. Why don’t we take over this county town and become the local officials? After all, that cowardly county magistrate has already fled!” said a fierce-looking man with a bushy beard, riding a horse and clutching a pale woman he had abducted, laughing boisterously.
“The magistrate’s flight is true, and we have looted the wealthy families in the county. What remains are just ordinary people without money or food. If they run out of food, wouldn’t they come to us to demand it?”
The man at the front didn’t turn his head, snorting, “Besides, do you think the imperial soldiers are all useless? The reason our Tiger Head Village hasn’t been wiped out is that Tiger Head Mountain is easy to defend but hard to attack. If we take the county town, our men wouldn’t stand a chance against the provincial soldiers.”
“Right now, the court is occupied with the war and can’t spare manpower for us. Occasionally, we can descend the mountain for plundering, but judging from the weather, a drought is likely coming. It would be better for us to stock up on food to survive this harsh year.”
“If the court sends soldiers in the future, we can hide in the mountains. No one will be able to catch us.”
“Indeed, big brother has foresight! Following you, we will enjoy prosperity!” Whether flattering or sincere, the leaders laughed heartily and then looked at the cart filled with grain and women behind them, shouting with satisfaction.
“Brothers! Let’s speed up! Let’s head back to the village and celebrate!”
Lin Ya crouched low in the riverbank, watching them drag their spoils of grain and young women fade into the distance, feeling a heaviness in his heart.
The men had a bandit’s demeanor, fierce and arrogant, wielding weapons that originally belonged to the officials and soldiers. Most of them were stained with large patches of blood; they were undoubtedly bandits.
But the road they took led straight to the county town.
The bandits had raided the county town, seizing so much food and women; that could only mean the town had fallen. Logically, there should have been guards at the county gate, and the gates themselves would normally prevent bandits from entering.
Unless…
Lin Ya frowned deeply. If his suspicions were correct, the county town was likely in a dire situation.
With this thought, Lin Ya hastily sped up his journey, reaching the county gate in less than half an hour.
The once clean county gate now lay scattered with recognizable corpses of soldiers. Inside the town, it was a scene of chaos, with dark blood splattered everywhere—blood belonging to both soldiers and civilians.
Most shops and homes had their doors tightly shut, and the streets were desolate and disordered. Lin Ya walked to the magistrate’s office and found it completely empty.
“Uh…”
“What happened here?” In a secluded corner of a warehouse, Lin Ya finally spotted a surviving guard. His injuries weren’t severe; apart from a few non-lethal knife wounds, he had a large bump on his head, likely from hitting something that caused him to faint.
Fortunately, he was hidden from the bandits’ sight.
“What on earth happened here?”
The guard’s face was pale, panic evident in his eyes as he spoke hoarsely with a tinge of despair, “The granary… the granary was looted!”
“The granary?” Lin Ya turned to look behind him, “Is this the government’s granary?”
“It’s all over… all gone…”
Lin Ya helped him return home, where he learned the whole story.
It turned out that early this morning, someone in the city guards opened the gates, allowing the long-waiting bandits to rush in, targeting the government’s granary for a massacre and plunder, and with inside help, they even forced their way into the magistrate’s residence.
But he had fled too quickly, even neglecting the treasures in the residence, hastily escaping with his family amidst the guard’s resistance, and missed the darkness that followed.
Additionally, several wealthy families in the town had also been looted, suffering heavy casualties, and the prettier maidens and concubines were all taken away.
After understanding what happened in the county town, Lin Ya didn’t linger long but made his way back to the town. It was a good distance away, and fortunately, the bandits did not pass through it.
Otherwise…
Lin Ya wasn’t planning to stay any longer. With such chaos in the county town, there were bound to be refugee movements. He intended to pack up his belongings in the next couple of days and head south to seek a place with plenty of rainwater. At that time, he could either find a secluded place by the mountains and rivers or reside in the town to do small business.
The only concern was that the south had its own issues—floods and plague—but that could be avoided if one prepared in advance.
The town was safe, although many people appeared hurried, dragging their burdens in big and small packages, and several pushed carts piled high with goods, sighing as they left.
Lin Ya was somewhat surprised; it seemed the news from the county town had already reached the town. The city gate had been left open, likely allowing those who escaped before the bandits returned to out.
When he arrived at the Xu family’s house, Lin Ya’s cheeks had turned red from the sun, and his long robe had darkened from sweat. After wiping his brow, he knocked on the door, and it opened quickly.
It was Ren Lin and Ren Zhao, who had gained a bit of weight. They joyfully rushed toward Lin Ya upon seeing him.
“Daddy, you finally came! We haven’t seen you for several days!”
“Daddy, my sister and I missed you so much!”
Lin Ya, feeling somewhat awkward, pushed the two little ones away, succinctly saying, “Daddy is dirty; don’t come near.”
“Oh, it’s brother-in-law who is here.” Behind the little ones was Xu Jin, the original owner’s younger brother.
Xu Jin should have been studying at the county school, but he had been home since the school took a break last month. Originally, he disliked the original owner and had doubts about whether he had truly turned over a new leaf, but lately, his attitude had improved.
“Ah Jin, where are father and mother?”
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