"Brother, I'm scared."
In the village of Chen Household, inside a fairly large house with bluestone tiles, a little girl who looked four or five parts like Chen Qing hid behind a big man, her eyes seemingly swollen from crying, looking helplessly out the window.
The burly man protecting him was rather square and robust. Compared to the girl's delicate features, the man looked much more honest and simple. However, his honest face now carried a hint of ruthlessness. He held a sickle in his hand, protecting the little girl while staring outside with bloodshot eyes!
" Yewazi, what are you doing?"
A group of villagers in plain clothes were gathered in the courtyard. There were young and old people, most of whom were young and middle-aged. The leaders were a few elderly people whose clothes were obviously better than those of ordinary villagers.
"Hey Yewazi, what are you doing making that face?" A thin, bony man next to him chuckled, "Don't ruin the happy occasion."
"Screw your happy occasion!" the burly man roared. "Get out of here, all of you! If you dare to spout any more nonsense, don't blame me for being impolite!"
" Chen Ye, who are you trying to fool?" another short man sneered. "You're always getting beaten and scolded by your own wife, and you can't even utter a fart. What? You want to pull a knife? Go ahead and try touching me!"
"Oh dear, we're all family, why make such a fuss?" The old man in the lead quickly said with a smile, "I know that it's a shame for that boy from Pan Household Stronghold to marry the current Yuan Yatou, but what can we do? Yuan Yatou owes him her life, and he's seen her body. If she doesn't marry him, people will gossip about her, and besides, the girl's reputation isn't good."
"I didn't!" the little girl shouted angrily, "He's lying!"
"Everyone's talking about it, everyone's saying it, how can it be just rumors?" A woman quickly spoke up, "Now everyone in Pan Household Stronghold knows that my two nephews jumped into the Yuxi River to save you. My poor little nephew was bitten to death by those damned monsters, and my eldest nephew escorted you all the way back. What? Is the prefect's sister trying to deny it?"
"My poor two nephews, what a heartless ingrate they saved! I'm making this clear today: even if it's the daughter of the prime minister, this marriage must be accepted!"
"No, no, that's not how it is." The little girl cried incoherently, shaking her head with a pale face. Chen Ye, however, remained unmoved, standing in front of her like a door god with his sickle in hand.
He wasn't really clear on the specifics, only that his younger sister had gone down the mountain yesterday because she was going to Liuzhou to find Chen Qing the next day. She had specifically gone to Yuxi Mountain to pick some fresh mushrooms to bring to her second brother. Chen Qing had loved his mother's mushroom soup since he was a Lao'er. He had also thought that the whole family would probably have to stay in Liuzhou City with his Lao'er in the future, and that his second Lao'er probably wouldn't be able to eat Yuxi Mountain mushrooms for a long time after this, so he didn't stop his younger sister.
Xiao Yuan resembled her second brother; she was beautiful and dressed like a lady from a wealthy family, but she had the personality of a country bumpkin. She loved running around in the mountains since she was a child and knew the deep mountains on the north slope better than he did. He didn't pay attention to it at the time, but he never expected something like this to happen.
When he returned, he saw the man from Pan Household Stronghold dragging his younger sister into the village. He grabbed his sickle and snatched Xiao Yuan back. The Chen Household brothers helped him, since he was now the prefect's older brother, and many of the Chen Household's sons wanted to curry favor with him after his return.
The group of people opposite knew that Xiao Yuan was the prefect's younger sister, and they were stunned. They didn't dare to kidnap her, and they managed to bring their sister back to Chen Household Village without any real danger.
But unexpectedly, something strange happened at night!
A bunch of monsters suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the river, biting anyone they saw. They would pounce on people like wild beasts, tearing them apart and biting them alive. It was truly terrifying. Chen Household Village was located downstream, in an open area, occupying the best farmland on the north slope. It was originally the most enviable village in the surrounding area.
But yesterday, when facing those man-eating monsters, this location was not so ideal. It was almost instantly overrun, and most of the Chen Household were bitten to death. I was lucky enough to take Xiao Yuan and some other Chen Household to hide on the upper reaches of the north slope, which is the location of Pan Household Stronghold!
Pan Household Stronghold is located on high ground with steep terrain and is in the style of a Miao village. Both entrances to the village are on cliffs. Several men guarded the key positions with heavy wooden shields. When monsters jumped over, they were pushed off the cliffs, thus protecting the village.
The next day, as the sun rose, the monsters, seemingly afraid of the sunlight, hid in caves halfway up the mountain.
A group of people wanted to escape down the mountain during the day, but they couldn't. Although the monsters feared the sun, the caves were extremely dark, and many of the locations were on the only way down the mountain. If people went through those locations, they would immediately provoke the monsters to come out of the caves and grab them. Those locations were steep and narrow, and if they were not careful, they would fall off the cliff. If they dared to go through those places, they would either be grabbed by the zombies and taken into the cave or forced to fall off the cliff. In this way, the group of people were trapped in Pan Household Stronghold.
They were temporarily safe, but unexpectedly, the people from Pan Household Stronghold suddenly set their sights on their younger sister. They insisted that the two children from the clan chief's family had died and been injured while trying to save their younger sister, and that the older one had even seen their younger sister naked. They said that the younger sister had to enter their Pan Household family.
The Chen Household family now needs the Pan Household's protection, so they almost immediately sided with them, helping outsiders force their younger sister to marry, which led to the current standoff in the courtyard.
" Yewazi, let's be reasonable," the old man at the head of the family said earnestly. " Yuan Yatou's reputation is already ruined. If she doesn't marry into the Pan Household, who will dare to take her in the future? As her brother, you should also think about your sister's future."
"Bullshit!" Chen Ye cursed angrily, "My little sister has a great reputation. Whatever that Pan guy says goes! Your granddaughter was rumored to have had an affair two years ago, why didn't you marry her off to that Huang Ergou?"
"You"
The old man's face turned red with anger. Huang Ergou from the next village was a notorious rogue who was trying to take advantage of his granddaughter, and of course he wouldn't allow it. However, he also knew that the Pan Household's son wasn't much better, but now the lives of the entire village were in their hands. What could they do?
The little girl, nicknamed "Brother," clung tightly to Chen Ye's back, looking utterly helpless.
When I came down the mountain, the two Pan Household brothers were lustful and chased me all the way down to the Yuxi River. Who knew there would be monsters in the river? The second Pan Household Lao'er was bitten to death. I escaped in the chaos, but was caught by the Laoda Pan Household who was also fleeing. If my brother hadn't run into me, I would have been forcibly taken to Pan Household Stronghold, and who knows what would have happened to me.
She had heard before that the Pan Household family patriarch's children were addicted to gambling, and that several girls who married into the family had mysteriously disappeared. How could she dare to go to such a den of iniquity?
"It's getting dark."
The voices of the Pan Household came from outside. "Have you made up your minds?"
Outside the house, the people of Pan Household Stronghold were gathered, with the old patriarch of the Pan Household at the head.
His own son was a scoundrel who ruined his brothers for a woman, which almost drove him crazy, but now things have taken a turn for the better.
The Nüwa turned out to be the prefect's sister, and now she's fallen on hard times and ended up in Pan Household Stronghold —what a perfect opportunity!
As long as the matter is settled today, and the couple is married and shares a room, what's wrong with the prefect? He'll still have to grit his teeth and accept this relationship, won't he?
At worst, I can discipline him more strictly and make my good son treat his daughter-in-law better. Otherwise, she'll end up like those two before, ruined to death. With the prefect as a relative, if she can have a few more grandchildren, we'll be an inseparable family in the future.
That was the prefect of Liuzhou! Even if they found a little bit of dirt under his toenails, it would be enough for the Pan Household to enjoy a life of luxury.
Seeing the urging from outside, several young Chen Household exchanged glances inside the courtyard and suddenly attacked. One of them abruptly stepped forward from the side and grabbed Chen Ye, while the rest rushed forward.
Chen Ye was tall and strong; even four or five strong young men couldn't hold him down during his struggle, and he looked like he was about to break free.
Especially the short guy, who had several teeth knocked out by Chen Ye's punch during the struggle, was so angry that his face contorted with rage. He picked up a rock and smashed it down on the other guy's head!
"Elder brother!!!"
--
Chen Qing, who was down the mountain, suddenly looked up. Although it was very faint, he seemed to hear his own Xiao Yuan's voice.
"Sir, judging from the footprints, quite a few survivors must have run up the mountain."
Chen Qing nodded upon hearing this, glanced at the sky, and saw that it was already dusk. If he remembered correctly, the top of the mountain should be Pan Household Stronghold, a precipitous location. There weren't many zombies in the mountains, and if things were arranged properly, he and his soldiers should be able to hold it without much trouble. It would also be a good time to rest.
Now, all I can do is pray that my younger sister and older brother are safe and sound, and that they have escaped to Pan Household Stronghold.
Without further ado, he led the people up the mountain.
Along the way, they naturally encountered zombies that suddenly attacked from the caves, but with Chen Ying, a Fourth Rank sorcerer, there was no problem in clearing out the remaining zombies in the caves. The group quickly arrived at the position guarded by the Pan Household.
Seeing that there were living people guarding the key positions, Chen Qing felt relieved. The presence of living people meant that Pan Household Stronghold had not fallen. Her elder brother, who seemed dull but was actually very clever, would surely be able to protect his younger sister and get her safely to the mountain.
"Who goes there?" The person opposite was also bewildered by the large crowd and quickly asked.
"Prefect Chen Qing of Liuzhou has come specifically to help the newlyweds settle in Liuzhou. Are the brothers from Pan Household Stronghold on the other side?"
" Chen Qing?"
The guards opposite immediately turned strange, whispering among themselves, "Is that the Chen Qing the clan leader was talking about?"
"Oh my god, this is really happening, what should we do?"
"What are you panicking for? The clan leader has given orders not to speak carelessly!"
The people opposite him were whispering, but Chen Qing, who now possessed Spirit Energy, heard everything clearly. His heart skipped a beat, and a sense of unease welled up inside him!
--
"What should we do?"
At the mountaintop, the Pan Household family patriarch, looking at the horrific scene in the courtyard, angrily exclaimed, "How could you kill someone?"
At this moment, Chen Yuan lay on Chen Ye's body, crying until she was almost exhausted. Chen Ye's head was smashed and was covered in blood and flesh. It was clear that he could not survive. A group of Chen Household were also terrified and hid to the side.
The Pan Household family members were terrified when they saw this; they had no intention of causing any deaths.
Besides, this is the prefect's eldest brother!
The clan chief was so angry that his face turned ashen. He wanted to arrange a marriage, not to make an enemy. In the current situation, even if he married the Nüwa, it would still be a huge enmity that could not be resolved by a marriage.
"You make it sound so easy!" The Chen Household man who had just made the move said with a fierce look on his face, "How else could I have taken him down? How was I supposed to know that someone that big would die from a head injury?"
"You think you can just smash it open like that?" Pan Household's eldest son retorted, laughing angrily.
"That's just how it is!" the short man said sternly. "If you hadn't forced this marriage, would things have turned out like this? None of you can escape responsibility. If Chen Qing comes, none of you will get away!"
As he spoke, he looked at the weeping Chen Yuan, his face revealing a vicious expression. "Now, there's no other way but to go all the way!"