The Missing Villagers

In this era of small-scale farming, similar to the feudal times of his previous life, the role of a strong adult laborer in a family was simply too significant.

The reason Chen Xuan's family in his previous life was in such dire straits was precisely because his father and Elder Brother had been conscripted for military service and labor.

One should know that before this, Chen Xuan's family was actually quite well-off, at least considered upper-middle class in the village, otherwise they wouldn't have had Xiao Shitou.

But even so, with his father and Elder Brother gone, the family's situation instantly deteriorated.

It was still manageable when Elder Brother left, but after his father left, the entire family almost collapsed. If it weren't for Second Uncle's care, they might not have even lasted until Chen Xuan transmigrated.

And at this moment, fourteen young and strong men.

That meant fourteen families.

These families were undoubtedly in a panic.

But clearly, even if they panicked, it was useless.

The Back Mountain remained silent, without any movement, like a terrifying beast about to devour people, making everyone's hearts tremble.

Amidst the unease and worry of these families, the night gradually passed.

As the morning sun shone down, a new day was announced to have arrived again.

But these villagers, who had not slept all night, still did not wait for their family members to return.

And the time that followed undoubtedly made them even more desperate.

Because the first day was like this.

The second day was also like this.

The third day.

For three whole days, those fourteen people seemed to have completely disappeared into the Back Mountain, leaving no trace.

Even though these villagers asked some familiar villagers to go to the Back Mountain to search, they did not find any trace.

A group of people gathered at the entrance of the village, waiting anxiously.

Uneasy thoughts spread further into the hearts of every family.

"How long have they been up there!"

Someone asked in a low voice.

"About four hours!"

Someone replied, their heart also uneasy.

And amidst their unease, figures appeared from within the forest.

This made the expressions of the families in the crowd light up with joy, but before their joy could spread, as the figures walked out one by one, the joy instantly froze.

Their family members were not among the crowd.

Those who walked out of the jungle were merely the villagers who had gone up the mountain to search.

"Brother Shan Hu, how is it? Did you find my child?"

An old woman spoke with hopeful words, her body trembling.

"That's right, Brother Shan Hu, have you found mine?"

"Brother Shan Hu!"

"Uncle Shan Hu!"

Voices rose one after another. As the old woman spoke, the families around her also spoke up.

The leading middle-aged man couldn't help but shake his head.

Looking at their hopeful gazes, he hesitated slightly before speaking softly to explain.

"We've searched two or three miles around, but we haven't seen Zhang Shan or the others. Maybe they went deeper into the deep forest, where we don't dare to go."

The middle-aged man, the one called Shan Hu, explained the situation.

"This, this!"

"What should we do!"

"Child's father!"

Listening to Shan Hu's explanation, the crowd was not comforted; instead, they became even more anxious.

They hadn't been found within two or three miles around.

Plus, it had been three days.

Everyone's last hope in their hearts was about to shatter.

But at this moment.

Shan Hu looked at the crowd's panic and hesitated before speaking.

"Everyone, we only dared to go two or three miles in, but Er Gou can hunt wild boars, so he must have entered deeper into the jungle. You can try asking him. If Er Gou agrees, there might still be a possibility of finding them."

Shan Hu spoke.

And his words instantly made everyone's eyes light up.

"Right, Er Gou!"

"Yes, there's also Er Gou!"

One by one, the family members also reacted at this moment.

They knew that Er Gou hadn't gone up the mountain this time.

Shan Hu and the others didn't dare to go deeper, but Er Gou might.

At this moment, everyone was like a drowning person grasping at a last straw.

Some even turned around directly and ran towards Chen Xuan's house.

At Chen Xuan's house.

Evening.

Chen Xuan was still teaching Chen Er Zhuang how to practice archery.

He subconsciously looked up and immediately saw a large crowd heading towards him.

This made him stop what he was doing.

"Er Zhuang Ge, let's practice later!"

Chen Xuan spoke, his expression a little puzzled.

"Oh!"

"Okay, okay!"

Chen Er Zhuang was stunned for a moment, but quickly nodded in agreement.

And just as Chen Er Zhuang stopped to put away his bow and arrows, the large crowd had already arrived at Chen Xuan's door.

Since the courtyard gate was not closed, everyone walked straight in.

"Er Gou, please save my husband!"

"That's right, Er Gou, Third Aunt used to love you the most!"

"Er Gou, can you help us out?"

Voices spoke one after another, instantly making the small courtyard exceptionally noisy.

"Everyone, quiet down, what happened?"

"Let one person speak, otherwise I can't hear clearly!"

With the chaotic voices, and even people kneeling down, Chen Xuan was a little bewildered. He couldn't help but quickly speak to stop everyone's actions, and his voice couldn't help but raise a few decibels.

"Everyone, quiet down!"

Hearing Chen Xuan's words, Shan Hu quickly spoke.

Along with his words, the crowd gradually quieted down.

"Shan Hu Shu, what happened?"

Chen Xuan looked at Shan Hu, asking with confusion.

"It's like this, Zhang Shan and the others went hunting in the mountains three days ago, and they haven't returned yet. We also went up the mountain to look, but we couldn't find any trace of them within two or three li around."

Shan Hu gave a wry smile and explained the situation.

"Three days?"

Chen Xuan's eyebrows raised, and he couldn't help but frown slightly.

This was not like ancient times in his previous life. In this era, hunting rarely involved living in the wild. Usually, they would go in the morning and return in the evening. Even if they had to spend the night in the mountains, it would only be for one night at most. But now it had been three days.

This was not good news.

"That's right, it's been three days. Er Gou, isn't your hunting skill the best in the village? Everyone was thinking if you could help go up the mountain and take a look!"

Shan Hu spoke cautiously.

"About that!"

Chen Xuan fell into thought.

Seeing Chen Xuan lost in thought, the crowd seemed about to grow noisy again, but Shan Hu suppressed them.

Amidst gazes filled with unease, tension, and anxiety.

After a moment, Chen Xuan raised his head again.

"How about this, Uncle Shan Hu, it's too late today, going up the mountain is too dangerous. I'll go take a look tomorrow. Anyway, it's already been three days, one more day won't make a difference!"

After speaking, Chen Xuan thought for a moment before agreeing. This wasn't a big deal for him.

His agreement caused some in the crowd to breathe a sigh of relief, while others subconsciously wanted to speak again.

But Shan Hu glared them down.

"Alright!"

"Then I'll thank Er Gou on their behalf!"

"We won't disturb your family any longer!"

Shan Hu said with a smile, then motioned for the crowd to leave.