Chapter 88

Chapter 88

The people of Sunset Village hid in the mountains for five days.

For the first two days, they were on tenterhooks, fearing the soldiers would enter the village to round up men. Over the next three days, they gradually relaxed. Initially, everyone had hidden in their own cellars, but after waiting and waiting with no news or movement, and with their wives and daughters bringing food and drink to the mountains, they found themselves more leisurely than during the off-season of previous years.

It wasn't until the sixth day that those who had gone out to exchange grain returned.

Zhao Sandi and the others returned to the village in the afternoon, each dog-tired, covered in grime. If not for their familiar voices, the villagers might have mistaken them for beggars who had wandered in from somewhere—a whole pack of them, so dirty they were almost unrecognizable.

Yet, the first thing they said upon entering the village was: "The conscription officers are gone. It's safe now."

A group of men sat under the big tree at the village entrance, gasping for breath. They grabbed the nearest water dipper and gulped down water. No one knew what hardships they had endured outside; they had all visibly lost weight.

Offering water and steamed buns, and fussing over them, finally allowed the group of men who had been hiding in fear for days to fully relax.

Hearing this, several Village Elders quickly asked, "Sandi, have the conscription officers really left?! How do you know? Did you see it?" They too had been anxious for days, even having the children take turns keeping watch at the village paths. But after several days, they hadn't seen any soldiers, not even a field mouse.

They didn't dare go to other villages to inquire, so they could only stay put in the village, constantly worrying about when the sword hanging over their necks would fall. They had no news about the situation outside, whether it was good or bad.

It was as if the outside world had completely forgotten them, and they dared not stick their necks out to look.

Of course, they prayed to the gods and burned incense at their family altars every night, hoping to be forgotten. Right now, they wished everyone would forget them, preferably forever.

"They're gone, left yesterday. We saw it with our own eyes, all of them are gone," Zhao Sandi said, holding a water dipper as he drank. Wu Dazhu, good-natured and simple, took over the conversation. He was the only one in his family who met the conscription criteria. His wife and daughter had stayed in the village, but for safety, "Donkey" and his cousins had all hidden in the mountains together.

Now surrounded by his wife and daughter, who were massaging his legs and wiping his face, his heart softened like fine flour dough. He said gently, "Go call the kids back from the mountains, and Uncle Zhao and Uncle Li too. Everyone can come down now; there's no need to hide anymore."

The others were too tired to speak, only nodding.

Zhao Shanao waited for a while, but seeing that Wu Dazhu had finished with just those two simple sentences, he couldn't help but glare at this simpleton. He then turned to look at the two brothers, Zhao Ertian and Zhao Sandi.

"They're really gone," Zhao Ertian nodded helplessly. Why wouldn't they believe Dazhu?

"Good! Good! Good!" Zhao Shanao's wrinkled face finally relaxed, his excitement making him unsure where to put his hands and feet. Uncontainable joy shone in everyone's eyes—it had worked! The stage play had truly succeeded!

"Quick, go notify the people in the mountains! Tell them Ertian and Sandi are back, and they can come down now!" Zhao Shanao suddenly turned to look at the girls standing not far away. "Huaihua, Chunya, you run fast. Go to the mountains now, and no matter who you see, tell them they can come down!"

"Grandpa Shanao, I'll go right away!" Huaihua immediately dashed toward the mountains, of course pulling Xiaohua along with her. Their family's cellar was near the graveyard, and she didn't dare go alone.

Many children who had stayed in the village heard this and went streaming toward the mountains.

Soon, jubilant cries of relief could be heard everywhere.

People came down from the mountains in waves. Children ran through the forest like little birds spreading their wings, relaying the heartening good news.

"Uncle Zhou, Grandpa Elder says you can come down and go home!"

"Uncle Chen Er, you can come down now."

"Third Uncle, the soldiers who were conscripting able-bodied men are gone. You can come down..."

The children went to notify their own families and those they were close with. Those they weren't close with didn't know where the others' cellars were. So, word spread from one to two, from two to three, until it reached the whole village... In just half a day, except for the Old Zhao family's cellar location which remained unknown, everyone who received the news eagerly came down from the mountains.

By evening, Zhao Xiaowu and the other children, who had been keeping an eye on the movements below, also noticed something was off and quickly went to notify their grandpa.

By the time the whole family felt their way down the dark mountain path and returned home, the moon was already hanging high in the treetops.

At this hour on any other day, every household would already be snoring. But tonight was different. The heads of each household were all crowded in the Old Zhao family's courtyard, standing or squatting, listening to those who had gone out to exchange grain tell their tale.

In short, it was all about hiding—hiding during the day, hiding at night, avoiding main roads, steering clear of villages, hiding from villagers and soldiers, and even hiding from anyone who might recognize them.

Even while in the mountains, they had sensed the air of urgency. When soldiers came to the countryside to seize able-bodied men, the first day was usually the easiest for catching people. Villages were interconnected through marriages, like Peach Blossom Village. As soon as the men there were seized, women immediately found ways to send their children to their maternal families to deliver the news. Even if soldiers blocked the back hills and guarded the village entrance, what did it matter? There was more than one way out of the village. The local guides didn't know all the paths, and the soldiers focused on catching people knew even less. Children who went to their maternal grandparents' homes in advance to deliver the news allowed those who received it to find places to hide ahead of time.

When the soldiers arrived to find no one, they would surely search everywhere. It was pure bedlam—shouting, cursing, and standoffs.

The villages in Stone Forest Town were the same. Zhao Sandi and the others hid as they traveled, crossing who knows how many mountains and passing through countless villages, witnessing countless such scenes.

Everyone was hiding, everyone was spreading the news. The mountains were no longer quiet either, with people rushing past from time to time. They actually couldn't be sure if they had been discovered, just as they didn't dare make a sound to disturb others. Perhaps others had spotted them too but pretended not to see.

For the first three days, the soldiers entered villages to seize men, engaging in a battle of wits with the villagers. For the next two days, it was mostly about escorting the conscripted men while patrolling the area. If they saw anyone, regardless of which village they were from, they seized them on the spot.

And these two days were the most terrifying. By then, they had already returned to the crossroads but dared only hide in the mountains, not venturing out, because the official roads were full of people—soldiers, officials, and groups of conscripted militiamen being marched toward the county and prefectural cities.

Just from what they saw in those few days, there were probably several thousand people.

"We hid for two days. It wasn't until yesterday afternoon, when there were hardly any people on the official road, that we dared to peek out slightly. But to be cautious, we hid for one more night. This morning, before dawn, we hurried across the crossroads and entered the mountain leading from Clearwater Town to Falling Stone Village. Worried about encountering people, we took only mountain paths. Along the way, we passed many villages and saw that each one was..." Zhao Sandi pursed his lips, rubbing his sore ankle, "...empty."

The faces of everyone present paled slightly.

How many people had been seized?

"Ertian, Sandi, how can you be sure the soldiers are all gone?" The stone that had settled in Zhao Shanao's heart was now lifted again. "They might have gone to more remote villages to seize people, like ours. Making a trip here is troublesome. The official road being empty might just mean they took a different route."

Wu Dazhu shook his head. "Uncle Shan'ao, that's not it. We heard it with our own ears. The soldiers said they needed to hurry back to the prefectural city; they couldn't afford to be short-handed there. They also said they couldn't seize everyone. If they really took everyone back, there wouldn't be enough food to eat. They needed to leave some in the countryside to have sons and farm the land." The exact words were that they needed to leave some men in both the countryside and the towns, not take them all, otherwise only women would be left at home, and one person couldn't give birth to children.

They hadn't intentionally eavesdropped. At the time, they had wished to be as far away as possible. But there were many soldiers, wave after wave. It seemed they were in a good mood after completing their task and made no effort to lower their voices in front of the conscripted militiamen, speaking openly.

Sandi also said they might have deliberately said these things in front of the seized men. Some families were unlucky enough to have both sons taken, but others had only one taken. By saying this, the soldiers were indirectly telling them they wouldn't take every last man and wouldn't double back.

It was unclear whether the seized men believed it, but Wu Dazhu believed it. He thought that if he had been the one seized this time, and the soldiers told him that seizing him meant they wouldn't take his son, he would go willingly.

As long as his son who escaped could live, he could die.

Upon hearing this, all the men in the courtyard looked up at the starless, moonless night sky and finally exhaled the foul air they'd been holding in for many days.

"So... we've escaped this calamity?"

Someone spoke up, and then everyone looked toward Old Man Zhao sitting under the eaves.

Old Man Zhao was holding his family's number one genius, coaxing her to secretly teach him how to count later. He thought his third son's brain wasn't as good as his. If not for his third son knowing how to count, the family's second greatest genius would be him, Old Man Zhao!

Seeing everyone looking at him, he waved his hand dismissively. "Why are you looking at me? How should I know?" Though he said this, he thought to himself that it seemed they had won the bet. The soldiers really hadn't discarded gold for half a copper coin.

"Go back, go back, everyone go back," he said impatiently, though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes had smoothed out. A huge weight was off his mind. "Don't you see what time it is? If you don't sleep, I still need to!"

Really, in the middle of the night, crowding into his house like this.

"Haha, alright, let's go back. Ertian and Sandi are tired too. Everyone should sleep early. We can talk more tomorrow," Li Laiyin spoke up. If before, because of the refugees entering the village and the Li family suffering the most deaths, he had it in for Old Man Zhao for only saving a widow, now he had none at all.

The dead could not be brought back to life. The dead could never compare to the living. If it weren't for Zhao Dagen not being selfish and coming up with this plan with Li Dahe this time, perhaps this "empty village" fate would have befallen them.

People must look forward, focusing on the present is what matters most.

What grudges? Hah, their Li family and Zhao Dagen had no grudge at all. He had even saved a Li family daughter-in-law!

"Let's go, let's go, everyone go back to sleep. Our wives must be getting impatient." With the crisis hanging over their heads dispersed and their hearts lightened, the men's speech began to drift off course again.

Old Man Zhao's face fell. He picked up a straw sandal nearby and threw it at the man. Damn it, didn't he see his daughter was here? Watch your mouth—you should be the one seized as an able-bodied man!

"Get out, all of you, get out. I'm closing the gate." Old Man Zhao stood up to shoo them away. The group of men jostled and shoved, laughing as they left in twos and threes.

The Village Elders were the last to go. Standing at the courtyard gate, they said that tomorrow the village would chip in food to put together a few good tables for a village feast.

"Those womenfolk came back complaining the trip had worn them out and they deserved a good meal as a reward. After discussing it among us old folks, we decided not to mention the conscription—it's nothing to celebrate. Every household has relatives, and no one can feel happy when their loved ones are taken away. But those women weren't wrong either; this grain transport was indeed hard work, done for the whole village. So each family will contribute a little, and we'll set up a few tables for a village feast."

In the past, they could have made such decisions on their own, and they still could now. But they wanted to give Zhao Dagen a heads-up in advance, just to keep him informed. It wasn't for any particular reason, nor did they expect his family to contribute food—just his presence would suffice. What they were really worried about was him not coming.

Old Man Zhao nodded upon hearing this. "You arrange it as you see fit."

"Alright then. Come early tomorrow, and we'll set aside a table just for your family." Li Laiyin patted his belly and glanced at Old Man Sun sitting at the other end. "Father-in-law Sun, you should come too. Have some wine before heading back—no rush."

Old Man Sun waved his hands dismissively. "No, no, I won't stay. I don't even know what's happening at home yet, and I'm anxious. I've already discussed it with my in-laws—I'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

His attitude was firm, and Li Laiyin, unable to persuade him, gave up. He waved at Zhao Dagen, who responded with a glare, leaving Li Laiyin to scratch his nose and slink off in disappointment.

Once the outsiders had left, Old Man Zhao, carrying his dozing daughter, closed the courtyard gate.

Zhao Sandi was still sitting on the stool when he suddenly spoke up. "Dad, if Qingzhou Prefecture goes to war, should we flee?"

Old Man Zhao paused and looked at his son. "What else did you hear?"

Zhao Sandi scratched the sole of his foot. "Just caught a bit. Those refugees don't seem simple—someone's pulling the strings behind them. The soldiers said they don't know what mischief they're brewing, and this time things might really blow up."

If massacring villages, burning, killing, and looting are considered minor disturbances, how big would "big" be?

The only thing he could think of was war.

Especially this time, with so many militiamen conscripted from just three towns—what about the places he hadn't seen? Besides the countryside, there are also the county towns. Altogether, it must be tens of thousands, right?

They say they're being drafted to guard the city gates, but who believes that? There aren't even enough gates to hold that many people!

So there's only one possibility: Qingzhou Prefecture is going to war.