Divide and Act Separately

That night, as with countless other winter nights, Jialan Village fell into silence and darkness early on.

The biting wind howled through the bare branches and cracks in the simple thatched hut, adding to the desolate atmosphere.

For the villagers who work at sunrise and rest at sunset, nighttime is a precious time to recover their strength and escape the cold; there is no "nightlife" to speak of.

To save precious lamp oil and firewood, most families would blow out their tiny oil lamps shortly after their simple dinner, then huddle on the cold earthen beds or straw mats, struggling to fall asleep amidst hunger and cold.

The entire village, like an exhausted wild beast, lay prostrate in the wilderness, fast asleep, broken only by the occasional barking of dogs and the sound of the wind.

However, beneath this seemingly ordinary tranquility, a hidden and dangerous force is quietly gathering and flowing.

Deep within Village Chief John's imposing mansion and in Edward's equally heavily guarded courtyard, figures moved about, and the low shouts and the faint sounds of metal and wooden sticks clashing were deliberately suppressed.

John and Edward's household guards, along with ten men brought by Hugo, the village Garrison Captain, totaling thirty men, have assembled.

These people might be no match for truly fierce bandits or well-trained armies, but they are quite "professional" and efficient when dealing with unarmed or poorly equipped ordinary villagers, especially when carrying out tasks they are more familiar with, such as capturing and suppressing "rebellions".

They were used to maintaining so-called "order" with sticks and chains under the master's command, dealing with tenants who didn't pay rent and unruly "troublemakers".

At this moment, most of them wore a numb indifference as if carrying out a mission, along with a hint of excitement at the impending use of violence.

The operation began.

The thirty men were divided into three teams, led by John, Edward, and Hugo respectively, with a clear objective: to simultaneously raid the Lex, Finn, and Tommy houses, aiming to capture them in one fell swoop and prevent them from communicating with each other or resisting and escaping.

The hunter Lex family was indeed the first to be prepared.

When Lex told his bedridden father and frail mother about Carnford's situation and his decision to escape, despite initial shock and worry, the long-term poverty, illness, and despair for their son's future quickly made the two elderly people make up their minds.

Rather than slowly wasting their lives in this hopeless village, they would rather follow their son to gamble on an unknown but potentially promising future.

Their home was bare, and they owned very few things that could truly be called "possessions": a few tattered clothes, the father's old hunting bow that he no longer needed, an Iron Pot, and a few rough earthenware bowls—that was all they had. Packing them up was effortless.

As agreed, Lex, along with his parents and two young, naive brothers, quietly left the low, damp hut they never wanted to look back at under the cover of night, heading towards the abandoned threshing ground behind Old Jack's house at the west end of the village.

It was far from the village center, surrounded by only a few old trees and dilapidated mud walls, and was especially deserted on cold winter nights.

They huddled behind a broken wall sheltered from the wind, anxiously and hopefully awaiting Tommy and Finn's arrival by the faint starlight.

The night wind was biting cold, and the two younger brothers shivered, held tightly in their mother's arms.

Lex warily surveyed the surrounding darkness, his heart pounding with tension and anticipation.

However, instead of Tommy, they were met with a series of hurried footsteps and shadowy figures suddenly emerging from the darkness from all directions!

A dozen or so men, each wielding a sharp, iron-tipped club and with menacing expressions, instantly surrounded the family of five, blocking all possible escape routes.

The torches were lit, and the flickering flames illuminated the garrison captain Hugo's cold, businesslike face, as well as the menacing appearance of his servants behind him.

"Lex!" Hugo's voice was particularly loud and stern in the quiet night. He stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over Lex's family's meager belongings and their terrified faces. "In the dead of night, with your family in tow, hiding in a place like this, what are you trying to do? Are you trying to break the village rules and run away with your resident status?"

Lex's heart sank; he knew the worst had happened! The plan had been leaked!

He instinctively shielded his parents and siblings behind him, his mind a jumble of thoughts. He wanted to explain, but didn't know where to begin. "Captain... Captain Hugo... we... we just..."

He stammered, and under the other party's well-prepared accusations and encirclement, any explanation seemed pale and powerless.

"Just what? Waiting to join up with that kid Tommy and then defect together, is that it?" Hugo sneered, too lazy to listen to his nonsense any longer. He waved his hand, "Take him down! Those who resist, use clubs!"

Two ravenous servants pounced on him immediately. Lex instinctively tried to fight back, his hunter's skills allowing him to nimbly dodge the first hand that grabbed his arm, and even push one of them away.

But this immediately provoked an even more violent attack! A sharp iron-plated club whistled through the air and slammed into his back, causing him to groan in pain and stagger forward.

Another stick followed, striking the back of his knee. He screamed and fell to his knees.

Before he could make any further movement, several hands had already firmly pinned him down, and rough Hemp Rope quickly bound his wrists.

His parents cried out in terror and tried to rush forward, but were roughly pushed away by the other servants. His two younger brothers cried loudly in fright.

In just a few minutes, the entire Lex family of five was subdued, bound, and roughly dragged away from the abandoned threshing ground like a string of lambs to the slaughter.

Lex had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with despair and rage, yet he was powerless to do anything about it.

Almost simultaneously, in the cramped and dimly lit dwelling of blacksmith apprentice Finn, a brutal and direct scene was also unfolding.

Finn had just haphazardly stuffed his last few possessions—a few simple blacksmithing tools and some scrap metal he couldn't bear to throw away—into his bundle, his heart pounding with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation for the future as he plotted how to leave as quickly as possible. He had been alone since childhood, with no relatives or friends, and this humble abode was his only refuge. Now, he was about to give it all up, and his heart was pounding.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the flimsy wooden door was kicked open from the outside, and the latch snapped! A dozen dark figures surged in like a tide, instantly filling the small room. The torchlight illuminated the ferocious faces of the two leaders—his master, Barton, and the landowner Edward.

Barton's bull-like eyes widened, his fat bulging, and he pointed at the astonished Finn, cursing him so loudly that spittle almost landed on his face. "You treacherous little beast! So you were packing your things here to run away! You broke the written apprenticeship contract and deserted! How dare you!"

Edward added menacingly, "Finn, you are Master John's subject. Leaving the village without permission makes you a runaway slave! According to the law, you can be killed on the spot! If you know what's good for you, surrender obediently!"

Finn's mind went blank; he realized he'd fallen into a trap. Overwhelmed by fear and the rage of betrayal, he trembled. Instinctively, he grabbed an old hammer used for pounding small items, held it horizontally in front of him, and hissed, "You... don't come any closer! I'll fight you to the death!"

"You dare to resist?!" Barton laughed angrily, waving his hand, "Beat him! Beat him until he's on the ground!"

Several servants immediately charged forward, brandishing pointed clubs. Finn, though strong, had never experienced real combat and was no match for the servants who did all the dirty work. He swung his hammer wildly, barely managing to deflect one or two blows, but more clubs rained down on his body, arms, and legs. The excruciating pain made him scream repeatedly, and his hammer was quickly knocked away. A club pierced his abdomen, causing him to double over in pain. He then received a heavy blow to the back of his head, and his vision went black as he collapsed to the ground, powerless to resist any longer.

Barton, still not satisfied, went over and kicked Finn, who was curled up on the ground, twice, cursing, "Traitor! Scoundrel! See how I deal with you!"

Amidst cries and curses, Finn was dragged out of his only refuge by this group of people.

The final group, led by Village Chief John, headed straight for Tommy's house.

John believed Tommy was the mastermind and the most dangerous person, and that he himself had to oversee his arrest.

He led a dozen or so men, including some of Hugo's men, and silently surrounded Tommy's lonely thatched hut.

The room was pitch black and silent, as if the people inside were already fast asleep.

John gave a signal, and two strong servants stepped forward and slammed their shoulders against the flimsy wooden door.

With a loud crash, the bolt broke, the wooden door swung open, and a group of people rushed in, the torches illuminating the small main room.

Inside the living room, Tommy's mother, Anna, and sister Sarah, were packing their luggage when they were startled by the sudden intruder.

Anna, terrified, pulled Sarah, who was trembling and clinging to her tightly, into her arms. Looking at the group of armed and fierce-looking strangers in front of her, especially when she recognized the leader as the village chief John, her heart sank to the bottom, and her face turned deathly pale.

"Search! Search thoroughly! Especially the inner rooms!" John ordered sharply, his eyes scanning the room like a hawk. He wasn't in a hurry to interrogate Anna; his primary objective was to find Tommy.

The servants moved like wolves, roughly rummaging through the pitiful belongings in the main room, some already packed and some still unpacked. Pots and pans were kicked everywhere, and the simple furniture was overturned.

The two servants rushed straight to the small door leading to the inner room and slammed it open again.

However, when the torchlight illuminated the inner room, everyone was stunned; it was completely empty! There was only a simple wooden bed covered with thin straw and a tattered mattress, but no one was there!

The blankets were piled haphazardly to one side, as if someone had just left in a hurry.

"Where is he?" John's expression changed, and he rushed into the inner room to check himself.

They roughly searched under the bed, in the corners of the walls, and even the thatch on the roof, but found nothing. Tommy seemed to have evaporated into thin air, disappearing without a trace!

"Dig this shabby house up to the bone! See if there's a cellar or a secret compartment!" John was both shocked and furious; he hadn't expected to find nothing.

The servants searched even more diligently, knocking on almost every inch of the hut's floor and walls, and even poking through several suspicious corners with sticks, but still found no hiding places or trace of Tommy.

Just as John's face turned ashen and a sense of foreboding rose in his heart, Hugo, leading the dejected and bruised Lex family, and Edward and Barton, leading the equally disheveled Finn family with blood at the corners of their mouths, arrived one after the other in front of Tommy's house.

"Village chief, the entire Lex family has been captured, but Tommy was not found!" Hugo reported.

"Village chief, Finn, that little bastard, and his family have been caught, but Tommy is nowhere to be found!" Edward said, while Barton continued to curse beside him.

The three groups converged, but their primary target— Tommy— was missing!

John's face was so dark it could drip water. He whirled around, took a few strides to Anna, who was being held down by the servants and protecting her daughter, and looked down at her with a fierce gaze. His voice was forced out through clenched teeth. "Speak! Where is Tommy?! Where is he hiding?! If you don't tell me, you know the consequences!"

Although Anna was trembling with fear and her face was as pale as paper, she bit her lower lip tightly, hugged the crying Sarah even tighter, stubbornly raised her head, met John's murderous gaze, shook her head, and refused to say a word.

She knew her son might have escaped; this was her only hope and support at that moment.

"You bitch! Still dare to talk back!" John roared, raising his hand to slap Anna across the face. Anna's face swelled up instantly, but she still refused to say a word.

He turned to Sarah, who was being tightly held by her mother and crying uncontrollably, trying to pry the little girl's mouth open with intimidation. He crouched down, trying to make his voice sound as "kind" as possible, but the threat in his eyes remained undiminished:

"Little girl, tell your uncle where your brother Tommy went? Is he hiding? Tell me and I'll give you candy. If you don't tell me... you, your mother, and your Lex and Finn's families are all going to be in big trouble..."

Sarah was terrified by John's ferocious expression and the menacing crowd around her, and her cries grew louder. She buried her face in her mother's arms, her small body trembling like a leaf in the wind. But no matter how John threatened or bribed her, she just cried and called out "Mommy... Brother..." intermittently, but she never revealed Tommy's whereabouts.

John's face turned from blue to purple, veins bulged on his forehead, and his breathing became heavy, like a bellows.

He strode forward, raised his hard leather boot, and kicked Sarah, who was cowering in her mother's arms, hard, roaring, "You little bastard! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"

That kick was delivered with tremendous force, aimed straight for the child's shoulder and back.

"No!" Anna screamed, instinctively hugging her daughter tightly and shielding Sarah with her own body, taking the full force of the kick.

She groaned and swayed, but gritted her teeth and refused to back down. She held the child tightly in her arms, enduring the pain spreading from where she had been kicked, and refused to loosen her grip even slightly.

Tommy, the key figure who stirred up the stagnant waters of Jialan Village and orchestrated the escape plan, has mysteriously disappeared despite being surrounded!