Miracle

The morning sunlight was pale and weak, barely piercing through the thin winter mist to shine on the barren land of Jialan Village.

However, there was no warmth in the village; instead, a heavy and oppressive atmosphere permeated the air.

The sudden arrests and searches last night kept many villagers awake all night, their hearts filled with fear and unease.

At this moment, more people were being "notified" by the village chief's servants, who went door-to-door, asking everyone to gather in the square in the center of the village.

The atmosphere was equally somber in the study of Chief John's imposing bluestone mansion.

Hugo, the Garrison Captain, stood respectfully before the desk, reporting the situation to John, whose face was grim.

"Village chief, all three families have been locked up in the dungeon and are under strict guard." Hugo's voice carried a hint of relief after completing his mission, but more so a sense of obedience to his superior.

"Tommy... he really has disappeared. Our men have turned the village upside down, searching every nook and cranny where someone could hide. We even sent people to check for traces near the edge of the woods outside the village. In my opinion, he most likely escaped last night during the chaos by climbing over the wall."

"He escaped?" John tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his eyes sharp as knives. "That kid is clever, but also ruthless, abandoning even his mother and sister."

He hesitated for a moment, then his tone turned cold and resolute. "However, while he may escape, his mother, his sister, and the Lex and Finn families will not."

Hugo tentatively asked, "Then... Village Chief, what should we do with these people? Should we just keep them locked up?"

"Locked up?" John sneered, stood up, and paced to the window, watching the fearful and bewildered villagers gathering in the square. "What's the use of just locking them up? It won't intimidate them."

"This incident is extremely serious! Tommy has openly incited the people to defect; Lex and Finn, as tenant farmers and Contracted Apprentice, have not only failed to behave themselves but have dared to collude in secret, intending to betray their master and flee! This is a blatant provocation against the rules and laws of our Jialan Village!"

"If we just throw them in jail for a few days and call it a day, what will those other restless poor bastards think? They'll think, 'Oh, so getting caught running away is just a few days in jail, no big deal!'"

"Who will be willing to pay rent and perform corvée labor obediently after that? What will become of the village's order? What authority will I, as the village chief, have left?"

He turned around, his gaze piercing as he stared at Hugo, and issued a cold order, "They must be severely punished! Especially Lex and Finn, those two ringleaders. Let them, and everyone else, know what happens when they try to betray the village and challenge authority! Hugo, go to the dungeon and bring Lex and Finn out! Take them to the village square!"

Hugo's heart skipped a beat, knowing that the village chief was about to get serious. He quickly replied, "Yes, village chief! Then... what kind of torture will you use?"

A cruel glint flashed in John's eyes. "Whipping! Right here in the middle of the village square, in front of the entire village, young and old! Let everyone see clearly, hear clearly! This is what happens to those who are restless and try to escape!"

"How many lashes to give them... you decide. Beat them until their skin is torn and bleeding, beat them until they cry for their fathers and mothers, beat them until they never dare to have such a thought again! But remember, don't beat them to death. If they die, it'll be too easy for them. We still need to keep them to work and pay off their debts."

"Understood! I'll take care of it right away!" Hugo accepted the order, a hint of excitement from exercising power flashing in his eyes. He turned and strode out of the study, heading straight for the cold, damp dungeon.

The dungeon in Jialan Village is located beneath the village chief's residence. Originally a cellar for storing potatoes and pickles, it was later converted by John into a place to imprison "disobedient" villagers.

It was dark, damp, and cold, with the air thick with the smells of mold, excrement, and despair.

The five members of the Lex family, the four members of the Finn family, and Tommy's mother Anna and sister Sarah, who were arrested last night, were crammed into several adjacent, cramped, and filthy dungeons.

The iron gate was locked, with only a small sliver of sunlight filtering through a high window.

Inside the prison cell, the women's soft sobs and the children's terrified whimpers echoed intermittently.

Anna held Sarah tightly, who was trembling, had cried herself to sleep, and then woke up again. Her face was ashen, but there was still a hint of stubbornness in her eyes.

Lex's father, the lame Old Hansen, leaned against the cold mud wall, coughing incessantly, his eyes filled with regret and self-blame, feeling that he had dragged his son down. His mother and two young sons hugged each other, silently shedding tears. They never imagined that what they thought would be an escape from misery would lead them into an even more terrible situation.

Lex and Finn were locked in adjacent cells, both bearing bruises and pain from the previous night's resistance and beatings, but the physical pain paled in comparison to the torment in their hearts and their worry for their families.

They stared at each other silently through the fence, each seeing deep despair and a tiny, unquenchable flame in the other's eyes.

"... Tommy... he escaped, didn't he?" Lex's hoarse, dry voice broke the silence.

Finn nodded vigorously, his eyes gleaming despite the pain all over his body. "He must have escaped! I know Tommy, he's clever, and he fought in Carnford, he's seen the world... He won't be caught so easily."

"Will he... go get reinforcements?" Lex's mother asked, her voice choked with sobs, a faint hope in her voice.

"He will! He definitely will!" Finn gritted his teeth, even though he himself wasn't sure, but he had to give his family and his comrades hope. "He will definitely go to Lord Karl! That Lord ... Tommy said he's especially good to his soldiers and families, he definitely won't abandon us!"

"Lord Karl... would he really come all the way to this remote Jialan Village for a few poor, unrelated people like us?" Lex's father, Old Hansen, coughed a few times and muttered pessimistically.

"Father! Tommy is his soldier!" Lex turned and growled towards his father's cell. "Tommy said that in Carnford, the Lord treats every soldier as a brother! His family is the Lord's family! Now that John has arrested us, it's a slap in Carnford's face! That heroic Lord will definitely not let this go!"

These words seemed to be persuading his father, but even more so, they were a way of convincing himself, bringing a ray of imagined light into the dark dungeon.

The crowd fell silent, but a shared hope quietly took root in the soil of despair.

They strained their ears, listening to the sounds from the ground, hoping for a miracle.