Chapter 238: Yanlin Village

Chapter 238: Yanlin Village

After bidding farewell to Lei Bao and the others, Meng Wan watched as those Yao people returned to their own village. Meng Wan and Na Tuo, along with others, began heading toward Pingpo Village under Lan Duo's guidance.

Pingpo Village was located in a low-lying valley, with many steep cliffs along the way, making it impossible for horse-drawn carriages to enter.

They stopped to rest in the forest and decided to leave a few people to watch over the carriages while the rest proceeded on foot into the valley.

Xue Sheng had been here before and had some memory of the place, but he definitely couldn't pinpoint Pingpo Village's exact location again. Fortunately, Lan Duo, a local, was with them.

Lan Duo carried her son, growing increasingly anxious and uneasy as they drew closer to Pingpo Village. She seemed somewhat afraid of Na Tuo, and despite being fellow Yao, she didn't dare to exchange a single word with Na Tuo and his men.

The mountain path was difficult to traverse. A Yan was carried by Xue Sheng the entire way. As a martial artist trained from childhood, Xue Sheng had no shortage of stamina, but Lan Duo, carrying Lan Shan, found it quite strenuous.

"I can carry the child for you," Na Tuo said, extending his hands toward Lan Duo and speaking in the Yao language.

Lan Duo was clearly taken aback. "No, it's fine."

Meng Wan walked over and said to her, "Lan Duo, it's okay with us watching over him. It's not convenient for you to lead the way while carrying the child."

Pingpo Village was a peaceful small village, adjacent to Yanlin Village. Facing the headman of Fengtong Village, which was hostile to Yanlin Village, she naturally felt apprehensive. This was only human nature, and Na Tuo also understood why Lan Duo feared him.

Lan Duo trusted Meng Wan deeply. Because her father had saved Song Tingzhou years ago, Meng Wan had agreed to come to the Yao village without hesitation. He was a trustworthy person, and Lan Duo was willing to listen to him.

She handed the child to Na Tuo, rubbed her sore arms, and her steps became more determined.

I'm bringing good people back to save you, Father, Shan Hu! You must wait for me!

However, before they even entered Pingpo Village, they noticed something was wrong. The village gate was wide open, and it seemed there was no one inside.

Meng Wan ordered everyone to hide behind a dense thicket of grass and sent Na Tuo and Tong Shan to check the village.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the two returned. "It seems there's no one in the village at all."

"What? How is that possible!" Lan Duo asked urgently. "Did you go look inside the bamboo houses?"

Na Tuo nodded. "We checked a few houses roughly. None of them have anyone inside."

Meng Wan made a quick decision. "Let's go in and take another look."

They headed straight to Lan Duo's house. The bamboo fence was open, and the doors upstairs and downstairs were wide open.

Meng Wan ran his hand along the railing on the second floor. There was a thin layer of dust, and the furniture inside was similarly dusty.

He walked around the bamboo house twice, then concluded, "Your family left in a hurry, but they took the pots, pans, and even the bedding. They should be safe."

Lan Duo wiped her tears with her sleeve. "Really? Then where could they have gone?"

Meng Wan looked at the empty little village and pondered. "Based on what you said earlier, your village's Yao chief is somewhat stubborn. It's unlikely he would have taken the villagers to hide on his own. It's very possible they left with the people from Yanlin Village."

Lan Duo broke down emotionally. Her eyes were red, and she slammed her hand hard on the railing. "Then that means they've gone to attack Fengtong Village! Yanlin Village loves using small villages as scouts. My father is old; if he goes, he'll definitely die!"

Meng Wan tried to comfort her. "Don't worry. We warned Lei Bao and the others when we parted, right? The two sides won't start fighting."

Tears streamed down Lan Duo's face, and she wiped them away with her reddened palm. "So should we go look for them near Fengtong Village?"

Meng Wan was also thinking about this. He leaned on the railing and thought for a while before saying, "Right now, there must be many people from Yanlin Village near Fengtong Village. Going straight there won't work. The best way is to make them voluntarily withdraw from the Fengtong Village area..."

He wanted to avoid a bloody clash between the two major villages. Whatever Yanlin Village was planning, that wouldn't fly with him. The village had to connect with the outside world.

"Lan Duo, could you please find us two sets of Yao clothing each?"

---

Dozens of miles away, outside Yanlin Village, the village had gathered almost all the surrounding small villages, staking out a large area. As soon as they approached, a patrol team spotted them.

"Who are you people?"

After these days of one-on-one lessons from Lan Duo and constant Yao language practice with the Yao people around him, Meng Wan's spoken Yao had improved significantly. Though not exactly like a native, he could hold conversations fluently.

"Brother, we're from Shijian Village, far away. We originally came to seek refuge with relatives in Pingpo Village, but the village was empty. We asked around and heard that everyone was in the biggest Yao village—Yanlin Village—so we came to find out more."

Meng Wan had his hair tied in a bun at the back of his head and wrapped a foot-wide blue cloth around his forehead, adorned with colorful tassels. He wore a slanted-button indigo-blue short jacket with green mountain fern embroidery on the collar and cuffs, and a multicolored cloth belt around his waist.

His pants were blue-black and only reached mid-calf, revealing his fair ankles. A bright red string was tied around his left ankle, signifying that he was unmarried. On his feet were a pair of new black embroidered cloth shoes that Lan Duo had made but never worn.

A Xun, Xue Sheng, and the others were all dressed the same way, and even A Yan had been changed into Yao children's clothing. At first glance, it was hard to tell they weren't locals.

Seeing their tired expressions and that they had families with them, including two small children, the patrol instantly let their guard down. "The people from Pingpo Village are indeed in our village. Actually, they are now part of Yanlin Village. If you have nowhere to go, you can also join Yanlin Village."

They enthusiastically led Meng Wan and his group into the village. The deeper they went, the more people they saw working, mostly elderly and children, with hardly any able-bodied adults.

"What are they doing?" Meng Wan asked curiously.

Perhaps because he was good-looking and unmarried, he easily gained others' favor. The patrol members competed to show off in front of him.

"They are all people who have joined our Yanlin Village. They're building their own bamboo houses. The outer area is for small villages. Our main village is at the very center."

The speaker was a native of Yanlin Village, his words full of contempt for people from small villages. The patrol team consisted of people from various villages, including some who had "joined" Yanlin Village from smaller villages. Their expressions weren't pleasant.

"So my uncle is here? His village, Pingpo, is also a small village."

Meng Wan said seriously, "I think the outer area isn't so bad. It's close to the nearest town, and you can grow fruit on the mountain to sell in town."

"It's better to be inside the village. I can ask if the Pingpo people have started building houses. If not, they can move inward." The Yanlin Village native, who had spoken first, looked a bit embarrassed; he had forgotten that Meng Wan's relatives were also from a small village.

The other patrol members felt touched by Meng Wan's defense of small villagers, but they also thought his words were somewhat naive and amusing.

"Selling fruit? That stuff that women and young men in the village like to eat. Selling it for two or three copper coins in town is kind of embarrassing."

Meng Wan rolled his eyes inwardly but explained with a smile, "How is selling fruit embarrassing? The people in our hometown village often go down the mountain to trade. They even hunt game and sell it to the town's restaurants."

The patrol members humored him a bit, but on the surface it was clear they didn't believe him.

The second half of the walk was somewhat awkward with little conversation. The patrol was tasked with first bringing outsiders to the Yao chief of Yanlin Village.

Meng Wan and the others walked a long way before being brought to the center of Yanlin Village.

On a flat piece of open ground in Yanlin Village, they saw the swamped Yao chief. He was a middle-aged man who looked quite wise, dressed in ordinary Yao clothing without many ornaments.

The patrol recounted Meng Wan and his group's story before reluctantly leaving. The Yanlin Village native even told Meng Wan that if he encountered any trouble in the village, he could go to his house for help.

Na Tuo, whose face Meng Wan had lightly disguised, gave a weird look at the backs of the young men.

"Children, rest assured and stay here. Yanlin Village welcomes every Yao person," the Yao chief, Gu Yao, said with a benevolent smile.

Small villages only had a Yao chief; only large villages had both a Yao chief and a headman. The headman was responsible for leading the young adults in hunting, while the Yao chief mediated disputes and handled rituals.

If Meng Wan guessed correctly, the headman of Yanlin Village was probably not in the village at the moment, similar to Na Tuo, but had instead led people to Fengtong Village.

"Thank you, Chief Yao. We'd like to visit our relatives first, if that's possible?" Meng Wan asked, meeting Lan Duo's expectant gaze.

Gu Yao looked easygoing. "Of course, I can have someone take you to the Pingtian Stockade's current camp."

"But for now, I'd like to ask this handsome young man a question: Are you really Yao people?"

Na Tuo's heart skipped a beat. The Headman of Yanlin Stockade had seen him before, but the Yao Chief definitely didn't know what he looked like. To be safe, he had let Meng Wan do all the talking. Had Meng Wan given them away?

Meng Wan didn't show any sign of guilt. He seemed genuinely surprised by Gu Yao's question, his lips slightly parted. "Why would you ask that? Of course we're all Yao people!"

Gu Yao was clearly not as easy to fool as Na Tuo and Lei Bao. "I noticed you hesitate a little when you speak, and... look, even now, when you listen to others, you're very focused, watching my mouth the whole time."

He was right—after all, Meng Wan wasn't a native speaker of Yao, so he wasn't fluent in Yao. Sometimes he had to think as he spoke, and his tones weren't perfect. He watched people's lips because he was afraid of missing a word.

He hadn't expected Gu Yao to notice so much in such a short meeting.

This man would be hard to deal with.

Rapidly running through his thoughts, Meng Wan lowered his head to hide his expression. After a moment, he spoke with a choked voice, "Actually, I lied to you."

Xue Sheng secretly tensed up, figuring out which direction would be fastest to escape if things went wrong—carrying A Yan and pulling Meng Wan.

Gu Yao's expression changed. "Oh? So you're really not Yao people? Then who are you?"

Meng Wan still looked directly at him while he spoke, even making his gaze at Gu Yao's mouth more obvious, as if lost in his own world. He only responded after Gu Yao finished. "No, don't misunderstand. My brothers and I are indeed Yao people, but I actually have trouble hearing clearly."

This answer caught Gu Yao off guard. He studied Meng Wan's delicate face and asked incredulously, "You're deaf?"

Meng Wan gave a bitter smile. "Kind of. I can still hear a little, but it's very difficult." That would explain why his Yao speech sounded odd.

"I thought I could hide it, but you saw through me. Actually, it's not just my ears. All my brothers have various disabilities." Meng Wan's eyes started to glisten. He pointed at Xue Sheng. "My eldest brother is mute."

Xue Sheng silently pressed his lips together, remembering his role.

Meng Wan then pulled A Xun and Huang Ye over. "Both of my younger brothers suddenly lost their voices when they turned six."

"And my youngest brother, Shijian, was born unable to speak." A Yan, once again playing the youngest brother, cooperatively covered his little mouth.

Even Gu Yao, the wisest Yao Chief in Yanlin Stockade, was left speechless. Five brothers, four mute? And the only one who could speak was partially deaf?

Meng Wan rubbed his eyes to make them look redder. "My brothers and I were always ostracized in our original village, which is why we came to take refuge with our aunt and uncle in Pingtian Stockade."

For emotional effect, he pulled the others into a hug, but they couldn't make a sound to maintain their mute personas. Only Meng Wan's wailing could be heard. He even rubbed his tears onto A Yan's face for show.

Na Tuo and Lan Duo watched in shock. Having traveled with the group, they knew Xue Sheng and the others could speak. Had Meng Wan just casually turned them into mutes with his lies?

Gu Yao felt embarrassed. He recalled that Xue Sheng and the others had indeed been quiet the whole time. Was it because they couldn't speak?

Meng Wan's made-up story did have some logic to it, and he successfully fooled Gu Yao. But maybe it was just Meng Wan's imagination—after learning about their disabilities, Gu Yao's attitude seemed less warm than before.

In contrast, the family of three that Na Tuo and Lan Duo were pretending to be was more warmly received by Gu Yao. Upon hearing that they had gone down the mountain and returned to find their family gone, Gu Yao didn't interrogate them like he did Meng Wan. Instead, he directly had someone lead them to the Pingtian Stockade's camp.

Unsurprisingly, the Pingtian Stockade was extremely far away. They walked until dark before seeing a few simple thatched huts.

Lan Duo's father and a few clansmen were cutting bamboo by the light of a fire. The people of Pingtian were all crowded into those huts. To build their own bamboo houses quickly, they had to work as fast as they could.

Lan Duo, carrying Lan Shan, ran over. "Dad!"

Lan Duo's father stood frozen in shock, his mouth open. It was a long moment before he spoke, holding his daughter steady. "Lan Duo, why did you come looking?"

Deep down, he hadn't wanted his daughter to return. Staying down the mountain would have been fine. But now, seeing his daughter and grandson, he realized he couldn't bear to be away from them.

Meng Wan let out a breath of relief. Having brought Lan Duo to her family, his promise was fulfilled.

Now—it was time to get to the real business.