Chapter 148

Chapter 148

At the foot of Chicken Head Mountain, chaos erupted early in the morning.

The village elders announced a rearrangement of positions: the old men would surround the women and children, the younger men would encircle the elders, and the outermost ring would consist of the village’s strongest and bravest young men—those capable of wielding a blade to kill, unflinching at the sight of blood, and able to protect everyone in a desperate escape.

This arrangement was meant to safeguard the women and children. Li Laiyin said flat-out, “Our ancestors fled famine here. As time went on, with scarce food and clothing, even the most honest man could shed his humanity and turn into a beast. You’ve all heard the elders tell stories of what happened on the road to escape—how, in the blink of an eye, a son sleeping in his mom’s arms would disappear, and after a day of wailing and searching, they’d only find a pile of bones by someone else’s campfire…”

“That’s stealing someone else’s child when they’re off guard. And those who couldn’t reach others’ families would eye their own—ever heard of swapping kids to eat? If you can’t bear to eat your own kid, you swap them for someone else’s. I ain't trying to scare you; this stuff really happened. If you kids haven’t heard, go ask your grandparents or great-grandparents if they’ve ever talked about it.”

“Xinping County's got few folks, but we’re many. Outsiders wouldn’t dare steal from us, and even if someone falls behind on the road, there’s always someone at the back to cover us. But now we’re about to enter Wuling—mountain after mountain, hiding nests of bandits. We know better than anyone what bandits are like: a bunch of murderous bastards. If we can’t bear to part with our belongings, we’ll have to fight with blades. If we keep walking as loosely as before, and the bandits charge right at where your family is huddled, I ask you: you gonna run or stand there and get chopped?”

The families that had been reluctant fell silent.

“Am I stupid enough to stand and get chopped? Of course I’d run!” Old Lady Wu hollered, then glanced around. Their village had dozens of families—surely she wouldn't be that unlucky for the bandits to target her?

Many shared her thoughts. They couldn't be that unlucky, right?

Everyone was just hoping for the best. How could you hit the road without running into trouble? They’d all grown up on their grandpas’ knees. In the countryside, unlike towns with opera and entertainment, busy farm work left only time for old tales passed down through generations. The moment they stepped out of the village, they’d braced themselves to risk their necks. But when trouble actually came, they still thought, “It can’t be me, right? With so many people, bad stuff won't land on me!”

Even if it did target them, wouldn’t they still run?

With so many people, Old Lady Wu figured, why else would they all run together? It wasn't about shoving others in front as shields—it was about numbers. Like picking a chicken to kill at New Year’s from a coop of dozens: how unlucky would you gotta be for them to pick you?

Safety in numbers—that was Old Lady Wu’s logic, and she’d acted on it. Before meeting up with Da Gen and the others, hadn't they run into officials grabbing folks? Back then, because there were so many, the officials went after the ones up front and ignored their village, giving them time to escape.

When they were running for their lives, she looked around. Everyone cared only for their own families. Her old man, someone else’s son—they pushed carts, legs pumping fast. Even if they reached out to pull up somebody who'd tripped, it was always someone they knew.

Strangers? They acted like they didn't see 'em. Not because they were heartless—in a life-or-death escape, one step behind and you're caught. Lending a hand was already a big deal.

Take Zhou Datou: she saw it plain as day. Two people fell in front of him—one was his sister Zhou Chunya, the other an unfamiliar child from behind them, separated from his parents in the panic. The boy fell right at Zhou Datou’s feet, within arm’s reach. But he pretended not to see, ran back seven or eight paces, and pulled up Zhou Chunya, who’d also fallen, without giving a damn about the outsider.

Before leaving the village, Da Gen had said, “From now on, we’re one body. If any family falls, we all lend a hand. Treat others’ children as your own…” They heard it, but doing it was a whole other story. Folks are biased. In a crisis, if you can only save your own kid or somebody else's, anyone would save their own.

If Zhou Datou understood that, how could others not?

Old Lady Zhou was known for playing favorites in the village. Zhou Datou and Zhou Santou weren’t close to their sisters, but when trouble came, why did Zhou Datou risk going back to pull his sister? Because they were family. No matter how they bickered daily, in critical moments, they had each other's backs.

Now, the village elders wanted to rearrange positions. The able-bodied men who'd been looking out for their own families would have to guard the entire village from the outer ring.

When trouble struck, they’d be at the front, not pushing their own carts or carrying their own wives, or shouldering their own children, caring only for their own survival.

Honestly, it rubbed them the wrong way. There was pushback, doubt, and a little panic. The effort that used to go to their own families would now be redirected to the village.

The “pulling together” they’d talked about would become a real, tangible thing.

If something happened, their sons might not be able to look after their families. The men didn’t react much, but the women were the first to get antsy, panicked, and resistant. They whispered back and forth, wondering if this arrangement truly benefited them.

After Li Laiyin finished speaking, he exchanged glances with the other elders and called over their own clansmen. Unlike in the village, where only men were summoned for big matters, this time even the women were called. They explained the reasons for the arrangement, urging them not to panic or fail to appreciate the benefits.

“The ones who lose the most are Da Gen's family. Da Shan and his two brothers, plus Da Gen—that's four men all on the outer ring. Even Xiao Wu and Gu Zi are being treated as young men, walking in the second ring. If something happens, they’ll risk their lives. If luck's bad, the women in his family might end up in mourning clothes.”

“Don't be selfish or small-minded. Let me be clear: families with many children, many elderly, and few able-bodied men should be the least dissatisfied. You’re the ones truly benefiting. You send one person, and you get every man in the village protecting you. There ain't a better deal anywhere. It’s only because Da Gen cares about the village that he’s doing this. If he didn't give a damn about you, he'd stick to the old way. If trouble came, his family has many men and a donkey cart—bandits couldn’t catch them. Even if they did, they might not target his family. Bandits ain't stupid: would you pick a tough nut or a soft one?”

“I know what you’re thinking. You want to roll the dice on luck. But that depends on whether the heavens smile on you. If they don't, and bandits come for you, or outsiders reach for your child while you’re dozing, you’ll just stick your neck out and let them chop. They'll chew up your bones and swallow the scraps, and your wailing won’t do a thing!”

“In this world, you gotta rely on your own muscle!”

“Don't hang around capable folks without knowing how to butter 'em up. I know 'buttering up' sounds bad, but that’s the reality. Even the Zhao family wouldn’t dare ask Da Gen to help their clan like this. We’re only tagging along because of our ancestors' good graces. Da Gen remembers old ties and values them, and he also needs us… When I say ‘needs us,’ don’t puff up your chests and think you’re something special. This ‘need’ is right now. Even if we’re not much use, we’re still men with a backbone, with strength to intimidate and hold the line. This new way of walking means you’ll hold up the outer wall, giving the women and children inside a safe space.”

“And you women, don’t scheme or grumble. Don’t worry about your men not being by your side when trouble comes. I’ll say it once: small troubles won’t need your concern—the men on the outside will handle them. Big troubles, if even all of us can’t handle them, don’t bother thinking about living or dying—you won’t survive.”

“If that day comes, even if your old man and sons pave a path with their lives, you still won’t make it.”

“Stop thinking trouble won’t fall on you. When it does, you’ll regret it too late.”

The elders’ words echoed through the forest’s edges. A few families without elders crouched by trees, listening in.

“What about families with no able-bodied men? Don’t they send anyone?” a woman from the Li family asked, her gaze drifting toward Lv Xiuhong.

No one remembered Lv Xiuhong being called Widow Li anymore. After her ordeal, she’d changed—more silent, but also more chilling.

The woman speaking had often gossiped about her in the village. Before, she’d dared to point fingers up close; now, she only muttered behind her back. She’d been convinced by the elders and had let go of her discomfort, but thinking of Lv Xiuhong with her two sons—Da Luo Bo and Xiao Luo Bo, just little kids—what could they do? Would they get village benefits for free?

Her nephew had died in the pigpen. He’d been close to her while alive. Though many things stayed buried, she had eyes. She’d pretended not to see, but now her son had to protect that mother and her boys? It rankled.

Lv Xiuhong felt the stares, glanced at them coldly, then lowered her head to continue tying straw.

“Right, her family doesn’t have to do anything, while our men risk their lives to protect her and her kids?”

“That’s not fair! We’re losing out too much!”

“She hasn’t contributed to the village. She didn’t send anyone to fight for water, and now she won’t send anyone to guard the village. Are we supposed to raise her two sons for her? That’s not how it works. We’ve got enough trouble with our own kids.”

Da Luo Bo tightened his grip on his brother’s hand. His straight back bent under the complaints. Lips pressed tight, he looked up cautiously at his mother.

Lv Xiuhong patted his hand and whispered, “I taught you: cover your ears. Let them talk. We don’t listen.”

“Mom, we…” Da Luo Bo was scared. He almost felt those people were right. His family hadn’t sent anyone to fight for water. All the men who could lift a hoe had gone, and some had died. He’d seen the blood on that man clearly. That family had been looked after by the village ever since, and everyone was generous and tolerant toward them.

His family…

When the bandits had raided the village, his mother had sent him and his brother up the mountain. He didn’t know what happened below, only that many died—everyone in the pigpen, and all the bandits. But his mother survived.

The villagers whispered it was eerie: all the men dead, only a widow alive. Though the aunties didn’t say anything to him and his brother, the glances that fell on them felt like invisible ants crawling and biting, making him uncomfortable.

He didn’t want to hide behind the villagers. Whether fighting for water or protecting women and children, he wanted to help. But he was too young. Uncle Da Shan wouldn’t take him. Someone who couldn’t lift a hoe or an axe would just be a burden.

He’d kept his head down and stayed quiet, but he’d still drawn attention. Da Luo Bo was scared, clutching his brother’s hand tightly. The three of them stood with their backs to everyone, silent like they were in the wrong.

The woman who’d spoken grew bolder: “We need to talk to Da Gen. If a family really can’t send anyone, fine. But as they say, even brothers drift apart if only one side gives. If you can’t send people, at least give some grain, right? No ties, no favors—you can’t just freeload.”

Some nodded, others pretended not to hear.

Da Luo Bo clenched his fists, trying to speak, but his mother held him back. Lv Xiuhong finished tying the straw and stood up to speak, but then saw Old Man Zhao and Li Dahe arriving after hearing the news. She opened her mouth, glanced at the furious Old Uncle Zhao, and lowered her head.

“No ties? How dare you say that!” Old Man Zhao was furious. The sky was already bright, and they still hadn’t moved. Such a small thing had them debating forever, as if they were three-year-olds needing to be spoon-fed. In his view, those who listened should follow his rules; those who didn’t could walk on their own. He wasn’t going to bother!

Already fuming from waiting, he heard that the Li family was causing trouble over Widow Lü and her sons. He figured it out quickly and came with Li Dahe: “You’ve called them ‘Da Luo Bo’ and ‘Xiao Luo Bo’ so often you’ve forgotten their surname! Since you’ve forgotten, let me tell you: they’re Lis! Your own Li family!”

“Look at yourselves. Look down at yourselves, especially those who spoke. Are you even human anymore? How can you say things more beastly than beasts? They’re just kids a few years old! Do you want them to carry a hoe and fight, or do you expect a child no taller than your thigh to risk his life protecting you? You say his family doesn’t send anyone—can they? I ask you, during the water fight, would you have dared to bring a child?!”

He slapped hard on a nearby cart, denting the grain sack, showing how angry he was: “You say Lv Xiuhong hasn’t contributed to the village? Fine, if that’s how you want it, I won’t hide it anymore. I’ll lay it out to wake you up: if she hadn’t poisoned the bandits’ food back then, our families—mine, Da He’s, Da Zhu’s, Er Zhu’s, San Wang’s, Yong Zi’s, Quan Zi’s—we might not be standing here safe. Our graves would be overgrown with weeds!”

They’d wiped out the bandits because Lv Xiuhong coordinated with them from the mountain, risked herself, told them the bandits’ numbers, and struck the fatal blow. That’s how they all survived intact!

Do you really think a widow’s honor means nothing?

Do you really think those bloodthirsty bandits were easy to mess with??

A single swing of their blade could slice your bones clean off! If the bandits hadn’t been poisoned and their hands too weak to hold their swords, could we have settled things that night without losing half our lives??

Without Lv Xiuhong, could we have skipped out on the draft later, fool the Village Head, and even that soldier sent to round folks up??

When you string everything together and think it through, the whole village owes Lv Xiuhong a debt of gratitude!

And now you still have the nerve to jabber on—oh, no ties, no kinship, oh, she didn’t send anyone, didn’t contribute—goddammit, Old Man Zhao’s face was red with rage. He waved his hand and bellowed, “Anyone who talks nonsense again, pack your stuff and get the hell out! You clueless idiots who can’t even count to two or three—if you want to talk about contributing grain, first haul half a sack over to my house! Do you think you can freeload off my three sons and two grandsons?”

“Your eyes are all crooked, able to see others taking advantage of you, but can’t see you taking advantage of me?”

He got angrier as he spoke. He looked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and watched the rising sun. He was like a riled-up old ox, lashing out indiscriminately: “Within half an hour, everyone gather on the main road. All the men step forward, and I’ll arrange how we move.”

“Anyone who doesn’t want to follow orders can go off on their own! There are plenty of mountains in Wuling—when the rain comes, it’ll be a damn fine burial spot with good feng shui!”

He spat as he spoke: “A fine graveyard!”