Uncle Shan quickly made the arrangements.
There were only fifteen able-bodied men between the ages of fifteen and sixty left in the village.
There were another six old men over sixty who could also help search for Xiao Cong.
Meanwhile, the village's women, children, elderly, and infirm numbered more than two hundred.
Under Uncle Shan's arrangements, all the women, children, elderly, and infirm went to the village storehouse. He then assigned four young men under twenty and two old men over sixty to guard them there, in case they encountered any danger.
That left fifteen people who could take part in the search for Xiao Cong.
Uncle Shan divided them into two teams, assigning himself to one of them as well.
Naturally, the village's younger men objected.
Uncle Shan was already seventy-five. Although he had always been quite hale and hearty, the way he now trembled even while leaning on his walking stick hardly made him look fit to join the search.
But Uncle Shan insisted again and again that he had to go.
He had failed to keep an eye on Xiao Cong. No matter what, he had to bring the boy back himself.
This was unlike Uncle Shan.
He had always been steady and calm, never so reckless.
Otherwise, the village would not have weathered so many crises under his leadership over the years.
But none of them could persuade him, so they had no choice but to let him join the search party.
The reason Uncle Shan joined the search party, however, was his current condition.
His body felt unbearably hot, and he wanted to drink water almost constantly.
When no one was watching, he quietly lifted his sleeve in a corner and looked down at his arm.
The dark purple discoloration had already spread to his