Chapter 414: Thought It Was a Dream

Chapter 414: Thought It Was a Dream

The villagers of Small River Village who fled into the mountains and forests didn’t dare to look back, running for their lives. They were terrified that if they slowed down even for a step, they would become spirits under the blades of the Dongrong people.

However, there were some who, while fleeing, couldn’t help but want to look back to see if the Dongrong people were catching up.

But when they turned their heads, they were completely stunned.

The officials at the village entrance were not, as they had imagined, being overwhelmed and defeated by the Dongrong army. Instead…

The villagers who looked back thought they were seeing things and instinctively stopped in their tracks, stretching their necks to look again. The villagers rushing from behind bumped into them.

“Lost your soul?! Run!” The villager behind cursed anxiously and hurriedly ran past.

But soon, he realized that more and more villagers ahead were stopping and looking back. Driven by immense curiosity, he finally stopped too, looking back at Small River Village.

The officials were shouting excitedly, their voices shaking the heavens, while the invading Dongrong people lay dead all over the ground!

How could this be possible?!

The villagers were all dumbfounded, for a moment thinking they were dreaming.

But the villagers who hadn’t had time to flee the village had already run out.

“Did the officials drive the Dongrong people away?”

“This… Are we saved?”

“What do you mean the officials? It was clearly Lord Xie who fought them off!” said someone excitedly from a house near Zhang Laoer’s place.

“Lord Xie? Which Lord Xie?” The person was still confused.

“The Lord Xie who defeated the Dongrong people in Yanjing City! Move aside, don’t block me, I want to see what Lord Xie looks like!” The person pushed aside the confused individual and ran towards Zhang Laoer’s house.

The person left behind widened their eyes, then seeing more and more people running towards Zhang Laoer’s house, broke into a run themselves, afraid they would be too late to see Lord Xie.

At this moment, the Zhang family inside their yard, including Granny Zhang, were also shocked beyond words.

The honored guest who came to their house was the legendary Lord Xie Yuan!

Granny Zhang patted Xiao Hua. “Xiao Hua, pinch me, am I dreaming?”

Xiao Hua was already jumping in excitement. “Grandma, you’re not dreaming! It’s really Lord Xie! We’ve seen Lord Xie in person!”

Granny Zhang patted her on the butt. “You girl, what do you mean by seeing Lord Xie in person? Quick, help me up, let’s go see Lord Xie!”

A Dog, who was usually hesitant, had never been so quick and decisive. He scrambled to his feet and helped Granny Zhang towards Xie Yuan.

As their figures passed by County Magistrate Wang, Lu Dashan, and Zhang Shuitong, the three hadn’t reacted yet.

The first to come to her senses was Lu Dashan. “What? Lord Xie? Shuitong, did you hear that? They’re calling him Lord Xie, the Inspector…”

How could Zhang Shuitong have not heard? She was even more shocked than Lu Dashan, never having imagined that the man she had dreamed of, whom she thought she would never have the chance to meet in her life, would appear before her!

She was on the verge of tears of joy, her eyes fixed on the man in the crowd, utterly captivated.

So he was Lord Xie. Lord Xie was indeed as handsome as she had imagined!

Zhang Shuitong also wanted to run in that direction, but as soon as she moved, she realized she was still supporting County Magistrate Wang.

She looked back and saw the shocked and dazed expression on the magistrate's chubby face, making him look like a fool.

She instantly felt disgusted, but the next moment, she froze on the spot, recalling how she had shown affection to County Magistrate Wang in front of Lord Xie Yuan today. Her mood plummeted from the clouds to the depths of the sky, and her dreamy feelings shattered into pieces.

Who exactly framed Lord Xie as a bandit? They truly deserved death and had really done her in. Lord Xie would surely develop a dislike for her.

More and more people gathered around Lord Xie, and she didn’t dare to approach him anymore, only able to gaze at the man in the crowd with infatuation.

As more people surrounded Xie Yuan, his expression tightened slightly, appearing somewhat unhappy.

Those unfamiliar with him grew tense, wondering if they had said something Lord Xie disliked.

Only Su Youyue, standing in the distance, couldn’t help but quietly laugh.

It wasn’t that Xie Yuan was unhappy; he just wasn’t used to being so eagerly surrounded by so many people.

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to witness Lord Xie Yuan, the usually composed man, looking so awkward.

Just as she was secretly amused, the man suddenly looked over, his eyes carrying a hint of resentment.

Su Youyue quickly coughed lightly and stepped forward, slowly making her way to her man.

The crowd automatically made way for her.

She had always stayed by Xie Yuan’s side, and though these people weren’t entirely sure if she was Lord Xie’s wife, they knew she was Lord Xie’s woman, so they treated her with utmost respect.

When she reached Xie Yuan’s side, her expression turned serious. “Alright everyone, the priority is to clean up these traces. It’s fine for the news of these Dongrong people dying in our Great Shen to spread, but the news of them dying in Small River Village cannot leak.”

Seeing some villagers still looked confused, she continued calmly, “If they target Small River Village, there’s a high chance they’ll come for malicious retaliation.”

Her words hit like a bucket of cold water, bringing the once excited villagers back to their senses.

That’s right. Lord Xie was planning to leave soon. Once he did, if the Dongrong people discovered that their team had died in Small River Village, how could they possibly survive?

The villagers’ faces turned ashen, worse than if they were about to cry.

It wasn’t every time they could be so lucky as to have Lord Xie present in the village.

"Rest assured, the imperial court will definitely strengthen border defenses and prevent the Dongrong people from secretly entering the country again," Su Youyue could only offer this reassurance for the time being.

However, it was clear that the villagers hadn't taken these words to heart.

If the court had truly been managing things, so many villages wouldn't have disappeared over the years.

Sometimes, they couldn't help but complain that the court was a bunch of freeloaders. They collected so much in taxes, yet the army couldn't even stop the Dongrong people from secretly crossing the border. Those Dongrong raiders came and went as they pleased.

Perhaps there was collusion within the court. Maybe the Dongrong shared their loot with court officials.

The common folk didn't understand the intricacies of officialdom. To them, any official in power represented the court. If local officials didn't act for a long time, it meant the court wasn't acting.

"At first, the Dongrong only slaughtered villages near Wen City. Now, they've come all the way to our Jiuyuan Pass. How can anyone live here anymore? We might escape today, but not tomorrow. We should move away!" said one villager, unable to hold back.

"Where can we escape to? The Dongrong roam freely all over Liao Dong. Unless we can go somewhere beyond Liao Dong, but if we leave, we'll be all alone with nowhere to go. Heaven, all we want is to survive, why is it so hard?"

A mood of grief and despair spread among the crowd, and even the previously enthusiastic officials and soldiers hung their heads in shame.

"Lord Xie... can't you stay?"

A pleading voice suddenly rose from the crowd.