Chapter 11: What is called "beast"

  At the moment, three people walked together and carefully surveyed the terrain around Xujiayuan. Xujiayuan is backed by a large mountain, with only one small path leading to the top of the mountain. In front of the wheat field outside the village, there is a river about 10 feet wide that flows all the way to the county seat. And on the river surface, there is only one wooden bridge connecting them.

  Standing on the bridge, Xu Wei Zheng held a sounding pole stretched into the river, testing the depth of the water. Seeing that the wooden handle was more than half submerged in the water but still couldn't reach the bottom, he said: "Enough."

  "This water is deep, I remember when you were five or six years old, you made a bet with someone and dove into the river. You didn't surface for half a day, and it was Old Man Ma who pulled you out. At that time, your grandfather was so scared he was crying out to heaven." Yang Yan said.

  In Xue Wei's mind, he immediately recalled the scene of the old man struggling to put on his armor for him just now...

  The sun was setting in the west, and the sky was gradually darkening. Xu Wei knew that time was running out, so he immediately returned home. As soon as he entered the village, he saw a large crowd of people gathered in front of his own gate, packed like sardines. "Mother's!", I told you to gather troops, how did you end up gathering them at my doorstep?!

  Yang Yanma led the way, pushing and shoving all the way, finally managing to squeeze Xu Wei into the house. Inside, the hall was brightly lit with lanterns, packed with people. From a distance, he saw Old Man Xu sitting in the main seat, with the village head and the leader of the local militia sitting next to him. On the other side sat several men, probably all big shots from the village. Zhang Qing stood outside the hall, and when he saw Xu Wei and the others return, he hurried over to greet them.

  As soon as his lips moved, Xu Wei again took the lead: "Brother, there's another important thing I'd like you to take care of."

  Zhang Qing didn't have time to respond, but Yang Yan jumped up: "I'm telling you, Ninth Brother, what do you mean? Am I not your brother? Why does Zhang Qing always get the credit?"

  "Alright! Give me a task too!" Ma Tai said with a loud thud of his board axe on the ground.

  "You two have more important things to attend to, don't rush." Xu Wei first calmed down Yang Ma and the others, then said to Zhang Qing, "Choose two quick-witted people, ride horses, and cross the river."

  Zhang Qing nodded and said, "This is easy!"

  "Slow down, remember, you're just scouting. Once you've figured out the number of bandits, their location and speed, come back immediately and try not to be discovered." Xu Wei instructed with unusual seriousness.

  "I'll take care of it, don't worry," Zhang Qing said with a pat on his chest. After finishing speaking, he turned to leave but suddenly came back and looked around cautiously before leaning in close to Xu Wei and whispering, "Brother, there will definitely be a bloody battle tonight. To be honest, although the Xu family's martial arts tradition is still flourishing, when it comes down to life or death, who knows how many people won't wet their pants? Should we evacuate the old, weak, women, and children in the village to the county first?"

  After these two days, he found that Xu Wei had changed beyond recognition since his serious illness. He handled things in an orderly manner and remained calm in the face of danger. However, this time it was no longer just a fight between ten or so people, but involved the lives of everyone in the village. It wasn't that he didn't trust Xu Wei, but rather that he couldn't afford to be careless.

  Xu Wei had thought of this a long time ago. But the timing was too urgent, if they were all strong and able-bodied men, it would take less than half a day to get to the county seat. However, with women and children in tow, and leading oxen and donkeys, it's likely that by the time they arrived at the county seat, night would have already fallen. Firstly, after dark, whether or not the county gate would be opened was anyone's guess, especially with scoundrels like Liang Heng around. Secondly, what if they encountered bandits halfway there? Wouldn't that be like sheep entering a tiger's lair?

  He just nodded and said, "Don't worry, I have a plan."

  Zhang Qing didn't say much more and rushed to the entrance of Xu's mansion, scanning around with his eyes, pointing at two people: "You two, follow me!"

  The two men, however, were unmoved. One of them sneered and said, "I say, Zhang Qing, you've always been quick-witted and clever, but what's wrong with you this time?" He lowered his voice and continued, "Xu Jiu has gone mad, you know? What are you doing listening to him?"

  Another interface said: "Don't you see? Is this still the old Ninth of the Xu family? He must be possessed by a demon, don't listen to his crazy talk. Let's just follow what Taigong says and discuss it with the village head. What can he say, that madman..."

  "Zheng's surname! If I hear the word 'crazy' from your mouth again, I'll damn well talk to you with a knife!" Zhang Qing's eyes turned red.

  That Zheng fellow curled his lip: "Alright, alright, good intentions are met with ingratitude, as if I hadn't said anything! If you want to offer treasures, go yourself, I won't get mixed up in your nonsense, humph!"

  Zhang Qing stared at him for a moment, spat on the ground, and Zheng could only stare back, not daring to do anything to him.

  "Zhang, we're going with you!" The two young men squeezed out of the crowd and said in unison.

  "Alright! A hero emerges in his youth! Let's go!"

  As soon as the three of them had left, a tremulous old voice came from outside the crowd, asking: "May I ask, is this the residence of Xu Taigong?"

  At this time, the sky was already dark and couldn't see who the speaker was. Just then, someone replied: "That's right, old man, where did you come from?"

  The other party hadn't even responded yet when he suddenly burst into loud wailing: "It's finally here! It's finally here!" The mournful cries sent shivers down the spines of these men.

  Xu Wei and others heard the noise, rushed out, and someone lit a torch. Under the firelight, the crowd saw an old woman of about sixty years old with disheveled hair and a dirty face sitting on the ground crying uncontrollably. Next to her was a young girl of fifteen or sixteen squatting on the ground sobbing, and upon closer inspection, there were bloodstains on the girl's skirt.

  Xu Wei stepped forward, extending his hand to assist the old woman. She looked up at him with a glance, and her dull eyes suddenly sparkled: "Jiulang? Are you Xu Wei?"

  "I am Xu Wei, old lady, you..." Xu Wei's words were cut off as the old woman suddenly sprang up, grabbed his arm and shouted loudly "Jiu Lang, you're skilled in martial arts, avenge your aunt! Slaughter those beasts! Cut them into minced meat! Kill them! Kill them..." As she spoke, she suddenly bit her teeth, threw back her head and fainted. The crowd around her panicked and rushed to hold her up, carrying her into the Xu mansion together.

  In the main hall, Xu Taigong was discussing matters with Baozheng and others when they heard a commotion outside. Xu Wei and others carried in an old woman. As soon as he saw her, Taigong's expression changed dramatically, and he struggled to get up, leaning on his cane.

  Xu Wei put the old woman on a chair, pinching her people's middle, Yang Yan snatched the tea cup from the hands of the village soldier Xiong's head and gave it to the old woman to drink a few mouthfuls, only then slowly waking up. But as soon as she saw Xu Taigong, she couldn't help but be overcome with grief and started wailing again. It turned out that this old woman was actually Taigong's ex-wife's sister, Xu Wei's own aunt, Qin Liu Shi.

  The family lived in Wucheng County, and since Xu Wei's mother passed away, they had less contact. A few days ago, bandits attacked Wucheng County, looting and plundering. More than a dozen bandits broke into their home, smashing and robbing, her husband went to reason with them but was killed by the bandits in the courtyard. The eldest son saw his father being killed, rushed over like crazy, but was subdued by the bandits, pressed to the ground, and had his throat cut like a pig. The younger son did have some skills, but after all, he couldn't fight off four hands with two fists, and after injuring two people, he was brutally hacked to pieces, even his intestines were pulled out, and his head was thrown into the well. Xu Wei's aunt and this personal maid hid in a vegetable jar and barely escaped...

  After listening to Qin Liu's heartbreaking words, the large hall fell silent, and although it was a hot day, everyone felt a chill rising from the bottom of their hearts. Death, for these ordinary people, was just stretching out one's legs, closing one's eyes, having filial sons and grandsons cry for a while, and then ascending to extreme bliss. But who could have imagined that a person would be slaughtered like a pig, with their throat cut, and after dying, their intestines would be pulled out, and their body would be dismembered?

  Those scoundrels are so cruel and unscrupulous, if they really come to Xujiacun to kill...

  Qin Liu and the little servant girl knelt on the ground, bitterly begging Lord Xu to avenge their deep-seated hatred. Lord Xu personally went to help them up, but they insisted on not getting up, repeatedly kowtowing and knocking their heads until blood flowed, a pitiful sight. In Qin Liu's eyes, her brother-in-law used to be a great general, having fought battles for a lifetime, so dealing with a group of bandits should be easy as turning his hand over. But she didn't know that Lord Xu had already retired and lost all his power, not even daring to scold a small county official who dared to mock him.

  Unable to refuse, Xu Taigong had no choice but to agree. Xu Wei was worried that his body couldn't take it and hastily called for his sister-in-law, Xu Wangshi, who finally managed to persuade her mother-in-law to get up and rest in the guest room.

  In the guest hall, an oppressive silence had been maintained for a fairly long time, with no one speaking and no one daring to speak. Because, no one knew what to do.

  "Grandfather, how should we respond? The bandits will probably arrive tonight." The village head looked pale with fear, his lips trembling as he spoke. As soon as he asked, the others also started asking questions. Although Xu's village had a military tradition, only two people, Xu Taigong and Xu Da Guanren, had actual combat experience. At this moment, in their eyes, Xu Taigong was the great savior of Xu's village.

  Facing the gaze of many expectations, Xu Taigong let out a long sigh, feeling powerless. If he were young, he could still take up his sword and charge into battle, but now that he was old and frail, with his eldest son not by his side and his second son being a useless good-for-nothing, what could he do?

  "Let's evacuate the elderly, women and children first." He said hoarsely after a long silence. There were over 300 rural soldiers in the village, and County Lieutenant Liang took away 200, leaving behind more than 100 old men and children who had never experienced battle, how could they resist thousands of brutal bandits?

  "What Old Master said is absolutely right, let's divide the work...". The village head stood up first, shaking his whole body like a sieve.

  The brave village soldier followed closely behind: "It's okay, I'll take care of the evacuation!"

  The leading figures in the village all stood up as soon as they saw this scene. Xu Wei figured it out, these guys all wanted to take advantage of the thief not having arrived yet and leave early. Xu Tai Gong was so angry at this hopeless mob that he coughed repeatedly.

  Xu Wei was originally standing in the back, but suddenly kicked a chair in front of him and stood in the middle of the hall with his knife, staring fiercely. Yang Ma and others saw this and jumped out with their weapons, standing on either side of Xu Wei with an aura of killing intent. The situation was very clear: if you want to get out of this door, check how many heads you have left. Anyway, since the enemy has arrived, everyone will die, I'll take care of you cowards first and then go kill the enemy, every extra one I kill is a bonus!