Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Of course there was a problem, a huge one!

Regardless of who did the picking, the corpse was still in his family's latrine. In the future, whenever he squatted over it, the thought of that thing lying below would worry him that his own intestines might rebel, making it impossible to ever take a normal crap again.

Moreover, Quan Zi's family now only had three members left, while his own family had more people. Well, although it sounded a bit inappropriate to say, his family's night soil was much greater, far more than Quan Zi's. Swapping latrines like this would really put him at a disadvantage.

No matter how much he resisted internally, there was no other option at the moment. The two brothers dragged the corpse to the latrine. To prevent mischievous children from falling into the cesspit, the opening was tightly covered with a sturdy bamboo-weave barrier, weighed down by large stones on all four sides. Even if someone accidentally stumbled, it would ensure they wouldn't fall in immediately.

Falling into latrines and drowning wasn't unheard of in the countryside, especially with children. Zhu Shi's maternal family had experienced such an incident once. Back then, an adult went to fetch night soil for the vegetable patch but carelessly left the latrine opening unblocked. Their child, a mischievous little rascal, somehow rolled into the latrine. That night, the whole family searched frantically for the child, even raising hell in the village, accusing someone of secretly kidnapping and selling their child. It eventually escalated to the village head.

As for why they didn't report it to the county authorities, such a notion simply didn't exist in the minds of these country peasants. Minor disputes were settled within the village by the village chief; major incidents were brought before the village head to make a scene, letting everyone in the surrounding villages know, and then letting the village head handle it. Reporting to the authorities? They never even considered it. The county seat was too far, and they were also afraid of officials. They never thought of involving "outsiders" to resolve their problems.

Half a month later, the child's body floated up, discovered by his own father. From then on, the couple went a little mad. The incident caused quite a stir at the time, prompting even previously careless families to weave bamboo barriers that very night to seal their latrine openings.

Er Lai was the lifeblood of their family. Their latrine was always sealed and weighted down except when fetching night soil, ensuring that even if a child accidentally fell, they could bounce on the barrier a couple of times without falling in. The axe-wielding man was tall and heavy, sinking to the bottom the moment he was thrown in.

Er Lai's father re-secured the barrier, making sure it was properly covered and weighted. Returning home after several days, he felt no joy at all. Ah, thinking that from now on, there would be an extra "person" in the house, and he dared not tell his old mother or his wife. Womenfolk were timid; if they knew there was a corpse in the latrine, they'd probably be unable to sleep for nights on end.

After getting rid of the body, the two men were tiptoeing away when suddenly they heard sounds coming from the front yard.

They jumped out of their skins, pressing their bodies tightly against the wall, not daring to move.

The footsteps were light and hurried, heading straight in their direction.

"This is the steamed buns Mother stole. There are only five. Use them sparingly; they can last you two days. Take your brother and hide in the mountains. There are still two bags of grain in our cellar. Wait for this turmoil to pass in a few days, then secretly find a safe spot to set up a pot and cook. Remember to do it far from the cellar. Once the food is ready, quickly take it and hide back in the cellar. Don't come out! Don't let them find you!"

"Mother, I won't go! I want to stay with you!"

A crisp slap rang out. Zhao Quan and Er Lai's father instinctively sucked in their cheeks, as if they themselves had been struck.

"You won't even listen to your mother now? What good is staying with me? Waiting to die?!"

A suppressed sob followed. It wasn't the beaten child crying, but the adult who had struck him.

Widow Li stuffed the cloth bag containing the steamed buns into her eldest son's arms. Looking at her two sons who had been sleeping in the pigsty these past few days, smelling as foul as Er Lai's family's latrine, their faces, already thin from hunger, were now sunken. Their clothes hung on their bamboo-pole-like bodies, loose and empty, just like her dead husband before he passed.

She knew if she didn't think of a way to get her two children to run soon, they would eventually be worn down and killed. Those refugees were beasts born of mothers but raised by none! They wouldn't spare the children just because they were young!

Fortunately, she had some looks. That Scarface had actually taken a fancy to her. Thinking of this, Widow Li felt even more sorrow welling up. A widow's life was hard enough. Usually, any man in the village dared to leer at her, and the village women disliked her, accusing her of seducing their husbands. Even her two sons were looked down upon.

This ordeal... she didn't know how to describe it. Being forced was humiliating, yet her situation was slightly better than others. Any refugee dared to violate the women in the pigsty. Because of her fair skin, she had caught the eye of their leader. Lately, because she served him diligently and never resisted, she had managed to keep her two sons alive.

Perhaps seeing her struggle, she had played a little clever, making him feel a cat-and-mouse game of amusement. Earlier, after he had vented his desires on her, she begged him again to spare her two children. Surprisingly, the bandit nodded in agreement.

Widow Li didn't care if he was toying with her or why he agreed. She couldn't escape. But as long as her two sons could break free from the refugees' watch and get into the mountains, they could survive.

He underestimated her Da Luo Bo. He was an extremely clever child.

"Da Luo Bo, don't be stubborn now!" Widow Li slapped her son, then burst into tears herself. The mother and her two sons were saying their goodbyes beside Zhao Yong's family's latrine. "Listen to your mother. Take the food and your brother into the mountains quickly. Once in the mountains, remember to stay far away from the villagers. They are not to be trusted, especially our own clan members. From now on, keep your distance from them. Those relatives are no different from the refugees in the village—a pack of wolves and tigers. Don't get close to them, and don't trust them."

Da Luo Bo's dirty little face was streaked with tears. He hugged the steamed buns, one hand gripping his brother tightly, wanting to pull his mother close, but she kept avoiding him.

"Alright, no more talk. Mother should go back now." Widow Li pushed him, repeatedly warning him to trust no one. Except for the old Zhao family at the foot of the mountain, everyone else was bad.

Seeing her son not moving, Widow Li raised her hand, pretending to hit him again. But this slap never landed. She forced a slight smile and said to her son, "Hurry and go. Mother will wait at the foot of the mountain for you to come take me home."

Hearing this, Da Luo Bo could no longer control himself. Tears streamed down his face, and he opened his mouth to wail.

He wasn't a child who understood nothing. Even if he didn't, the villagers locked in the pigsty with him understood. Everyone suffered the same misery, yet his mother somehow still had the strength to protect him and his brother, occasionally bringing them half a steamed bun to eat. Those people didn't dare resist the refugees, so in private they looked at her with contempt and spoke with disgust, calling his mother a slut, saying she willingly sold her body to please the bandits, that she was also a bandit, and that he and his brother were little bandits too. Wanxia Village couldn't tolerate the three of them. Once the bandits left, they would drown his mother in a pig cage. Especially their own clan uncles and aunts even said they would divorce his mother, so she couldn't even remain a widow.

Mother must know she couldn't survive. She said she'd wait for him to take her home. What he would take home wouldn't be a living mother.

Da Luo Bo wanted to cry, to throw a tantrum and roll on the ground. He didn't want to go into the mountains, didn't want to leave his mother. Even if he died, he wanted to be with her. But he didn't dare cry or make a scene. He knew his mother must have paid a great price to get them out. He could only hate his own uselessness, hate that he was too small. If only he had run faster that day, if only he and his brother hadn't been caught, how good that would have been. Then Mother wouldn't have been bullied by the bandits, and she wouldn't have been slandered and humiliated by the villagers and the clan for the sake of him and his brother.

The mother and her two sons were separated by a pile of manure, yet it felt like the distance between life and death.

Zhao Quan and Er Lai's father felt a pang in their hearts. Both were fathers themselves; how could they bear to witness such a scene? It further solidified their resolve not to die. The life of orphans and widows was hard. If anything happened to them, the fate of Widow Li and her sons today would be the future of their own wives and children.

When life and death were at stake, human nature couldn't withstand the test. Relatives and neighbors who were usually perfectly fine might be the very ones to stab you in the back.

After waiting a while, confirming it wasn't a trap set by the refugees, Zhao Quan couldn't help but cough lightly, interrupting the sorrowful atmosphere surrounding the mother and her sons.

Widow Li and Da Luo Bo were having a final, silent farewell with their eyes, both carefully memorizing each other's faces. This sudden cough nearly scared their souls out of their bodies.

"Who's there?!" Widow Li rushed forward in one swift motion, shielding her two sons behind her.

"Don't be afraid, it's us." Zhao Quan and Er Lai's father peeked their heads out from behind the wall, quickly scanning the yard behind her, then gestured with a hooked finger. "Come over here to talk. We can't let anyone see us."

Widow Li knew very well who had been captured in the village. Zhao Quan and Zhao Yong's entire families had escaped. Why were these two here now?

Widow Li was full of suspicion. Considering they had heard everything she said earlier, and things couldn't get much worse anyway... Zhao Quan was one thing, but Zhao Yong's son Er Lai and Da Xiao Luo Bo were the best of friends. His family could be trusted. She thought for a moment, then cautiously glanced back toward the village. Because Duan Zhi had taken men into the mountains to capture people, the refugees were waiting for their "triumphant return." When she came out, Hei Ban and his underlings were all sating themselves in the pigsty, which had given her this chance to slip away.

Since Scarface had given his word, she wasn't afraid of the refugees stopping her. What she worried about were the villagers. The captured villagers were locked up like animals in the pigsty. The refugees didn't want the women to die, so they gave them a few mouthfuls of food daily to keep them alive, including herself. Without food, her limbs were weak all day, utterly strengthless.

The men didn't even get those few mouthfuls. Those who disobeyed were killed early on. The obedient ones were locked up. If the refugees were in a good mood, they might get some leftovers; if in a bad mood, they took their anger out on them, even assaulting their wives and daughters right in front of them. As for resisting? After starving for days, they didn't even have the strength to lift a hand. There were even beasts who couldn't withstand the hunger and actively "sold" their wives and daughters.

But it was useless. They were now just a bunch of animals living in a pigsty, not even qualified to sell people. And the refugees didn't just violate women; a few specifically targeted men. Widow Li had never experienced such scenes. Every time she saw a man being violated, for some reason, an absurd sense of secret glee arose in her heart, followed by long silence afterward. Did misery distinguish between men and women? Everyone was in the same predicament, only varying degrees of bad and worse.

Those who had fled into the mountains didn't know how terrible the situation was for those captured. These past few days had been a living nightmare for the villagers still locked in the pigsty.

Because of this, Widow Li couldn't understand Zhao Youcai's wife, who had been captured and brought down the mountain. Their family had clearly escaped. How dare they light a fire and eat dog meat right under the refugees' noses? She heard the husband and son were dead. What was once a lively household now only had her left.

"What are you doing down the mountain? What about your uncle and aunt? Your wife? And Er Lai? Zhao Youcai's wife sold your family's location to those refugees! That group that went into the mountains earlier was going to capture you!" Widow Li was frantic with worry. She had imagined Er Lai's family's fate might be like Zhao Youcai's—the men killed, the women captured and brought down the mountain. But she never expected Er Lai's father, who should have been in the mountains, to be here at his own home at the foot of the mountain!

"They're all struggling to save themselves right now," Er Lai's father said with a smile. The axe-wielding man had fled down the mountain as if running for his life, which showed something had happened in the mountains.

"What do you mean?" Widow Li's heart skipped a beat.

"Well, it's like this... we're capturing them too." Er Lai's father stammered, a bit regretting his loose tongue. Why did he have to tell the truth?

Zhao Quan had more cunning than Er Lai's father. He originally didn't want to reveal matters in the mountains, afraid this woman, who would do anything for her sons, might betray them if she knew too much. But on second thought, this woman was clever. She tried every means to send her two sons into the mountains, showing she had a clear mind. She knew that to survive, they either had to kill the refugees or stay far away from them.

Clearly, she couldn't kill the refugees, so she could only try to send her sons away.

"We deliberately lit that fire to lure them up," Zhao Quan explained everything in detail: how the old Zhao family took the lead, how they dug traps, how they plotted against the refugees, and how not long ago, the two of them had caught a straggler, killed him, and thrown him into the latrine.

After finishing, seeing Widow Li stunned and unable to recover for a long time, Zhao Quan continued, "If the refugees don't die, then we die. Even if you send Da Xiao Luo Bo into the mountains, once their rations run out and the refugees haven't left, they'll still die. Don't think there's food in the mountains, that people won't starve. Yes, there is now. You can dig up roots and eat your fill. But don't forget, after the autumn harvest comes winter. How cold was last winter? Forget children, even adults might not survive."

Why were they in such a hurry to drive out and kill the refugees? The grain in the fields was one reason, but the approaching winter was even more important.

Who didn't know you could rely on the mountains for food? But what about winter? Counting on the cellar for warmth? Think again. One heavy snowfall could freeze you to death. Even if the refugees might not stay until winter, how would they survive the winter without grain?

Even if they could return home, with houses and clothes for warmth, what about food? Finding food in the mountains in winter wasn't easy.

Widow Li's face turned pale.

How could she not have thought of that? But she had no other choice. She could only think about dealing with it later, hoping at least to get her sons into the mountains first, to survive one day at a time.

"They... they're keeping the people in the pigsty alive, just to keep a breath in them, so they can send them to the fields to harvest the grain later," she said dazedly.

Duan Zhi's exact words were: "Later, we'll trick them. We'll say we only want half the grain, leaving the rest for them. Those peasants who keep whining about starving will probably find the strength to work again. Once they finish harvesting the rice, we'll kill them all. Then we'll take the grain and leave. I bet the expressions on their faces will be quite a sight!"

When she heard that, her hands and feet turned cold. Even when those people in the pigsty gossiped about her right in front of her, she didn't even want to glance their way.

Drown her in a pig cage? They probably wouldn't get the chance.