Lu An was truly curious how these two managed to kill so many people, especially this man, who was as brave as a thousand soldiers. Unfortunately, neither of them seemed inclined to explain.
"Lord Lu, we do this not for fame or fortune, but to bring justice to the local populace. You should interrogate these prisoners as soon as possible."
"Alright, alright."
Lu An had originally planned to set up camp and wait for these people to confess before taking them back. His prefectural yamen was not in Changping County, so a round trip would be troublesome. Moreover, there were ready-made houses here, perfect for a thorough investigation of evidence and convenient for treating the patients. However, after his subordinates investigated, he discovered the place was uninhabitable because the mountain spring water had been contaminated with blood.
That's right, it was the blood from the people Xia Yunting had killed. The blood had flowed into a river, mixing with the spring water, turning it a deep red.
Water is a basic necessity for survival, so the plan to stay put had to be abandoned.
"Lord, why don't we borrow the county magistrate Zhang's yamen and temporarily imprison these people?" Rong Zhi proposed.
This was also a good opportunity to settle the score with Zhang Chu for his collusion with these people.
"That works too."
Lu An agreed, realizing it was a viable solution, and ordered his men to prepare.
At this moment, Xia Yunting and Chu Qingze returned from outside.
"Where have you two been?" Rong Zhi asked.
These two had left late last night and only returned in the evening without a word. Rong Zhi noticed their clothes were rumpled.
"Did you two go fighting again?"
"Yes."
Chu Qingze replied, "There were two more hall masters. We went to the yamen and saw that Tang Yuanjiang and Zhu Zhong were both severely injured and at the yamen. I've given them medicine, and Zhang Yajing is looking after them."
"That's great." With this, everyone was accounted for.
Lu An's constables meticulously inventoried the items in the mansion, recorded them one by one, and then took the people and their belongings down the mountain. On their way down, they passed by the guards' residence at the foot of the mountain and searched it. However, besides some daily necessities, there was nothing else inside. They were likely just guards and not involved in the core matters.
The constables were few in number, so Chu Qingze and Xia Yunting kept watch on either side to prevent any escapes, while Rong Zhi organized the patients to descend.
Most of the patients were weak and walked slowly, falling far behind. As they walked, the green grass underfoot turned red, emitting a foul odor. Everyone instinctively covered their noses, and some even knelt on the ground and retched.
"Xia Yunting, you were too ruthless."
Rong Zhi looked at the mangled corpses scattered on the ground and shouted to the patients, "Everyone, don't look that way. Focus on walking. We'll be out of this area soon."
However, the path was not easy. Further on, there were no more corpses, but rivers of blood, truly a sight of blood flowing like a river. The stench almost made Rong Zhi faint. It seemed unlikely anyone would come to this mountain for a long time.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the patients were completely exhausted and sat on the ground, panting heavily. Some simply lay down. Rong Zhi couldn't urge them further, so she said to Xia Yunting, "Husband, go back and find some carriages. I'll wait here; everyone can't walk anymore."
Xia Yunting looked at the crowd and nodded. "Alright, be careful."
As the figures of the group receded, they still hadn't found a place to drink water and could only endure for the time being.
"How are you all doing?"
Rong Zhi weaved through the crowd, checking on their conditions. Most of them weren't truly exhausted; they were just weak. Descending the mountain at this time was not the best option, but there was no water on the mountain.
As Rong Zhi was examining the patients, she suddenly noticed a problem.
Someone was missing!
Rong Zhi froze, thinking she had miscounted. She took out the list from her pocket, checked the total number of people, and then counted the people present. Indeed, one was missing.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I'll call out the names. If you hear your name, please respond. Huang Yan."
"Here."
"Zhao Wu."
"Here."
"Li Si."
"Here..."
As she called out each name, someone responded, albeit weakly. After she finished, only one person, named "Jia Ming," was unaccounted for.
Jia Ming?
Rong Zhi thought back carefully and realized that the person missing from the crowd was the emaciated young man she had seen last time. Had she lost him?
Impossible! Rong Zhi immediately dismissed the thought.
To prevent any mishaps, she had specifically kept the patients within her line of sight while sleeping last night. She was a light sleeper with high alertness. If someone had left, she would have noticed. Furthermore, these patients were all immobile; any departure would have made a significant noise that even an ordinary person could sense.
"Does anyone here know this person named Jia Ming?"
No one responded. Everyone lowered their heads, appearing half-asleep. They were too tired.
The more Rong Zhi thought about it, the more unsettled she felt. They were supposedly rescued; why would they leave now? Did he not trust them? But where could he go?
Rong Zhi considered going back up the mountain to search, but if she left, there would be no one to look after the patients here. The mountain terrain was steep, and the smell of blood was heavy. Wild wolves might be attracted at any moment, leading to their demise.
She paced anxiously, murmuring the name.
Jia Ming? Jia Ming? A fake name?
Rong Zhi suddenly realized something. If this person could leave under her watch, it meant his martial arts were superior to hers, and he deliberately avoided her.
A chill ran down her spine. Was this person friend or foe?
After waiting for a long time, Xia Yunting arrived with a group of people driving carriages. These were familiar faces – villagers from Yunshui Village, including Uncle Yu. Upon seeing Rong Zhi, his eyes showed visible concern. He noticed so many people on the ground, several of whom were from Yunshui Village. He momentarily forgot to check on Rong Zhi.
"Oh my, isn't this Xiao Mao? Xiao Mao, why are you here? You're alive!"
"That's my Er Gou, thank goodness."
"Quick, see if any of ours are here!"
Then, everyone began to search for their own children. However, apart from the first two, there were no other villagers from Yunshui Village. It seemed they had all perished. Those who found their relatives were overjoyed, while those who didn't were dejected.
Afterward, they worked together to load all the patients onto the carriages.
Xia Yunting, having finished his tasks, came over and delivered some bad news.
"The person keeping watch at the mass grave has escaped."
"What?"
Rong Zhi didn't quite grasp it at first.
"Chu Qingze said he had killed him. Because we were in a hurry to find the prefect, we didn't have time to deal with the body. But when we returned to the mass grave, the body was gone, and even the bloodstains at the scene had been cleaned up, as if he had never appeared."
"I also encountered an anomaly. A person named Jia Ming is missing. These patients have never left my sight. I suspect that Jia Ming is skilled in martial arts, and worst-case scenario, he might be from the Blood Drinking Pavilion."
For a moment, both their expressions turned serious. Rong Zhi worried, "If they go back to call for more reinforcements, we might not be able to handle it."
Although Xia Yunting was powerful, waves of enemies kept coming; they were endless and troublesome.
And this was not the most serious issue. What was more concerning was that they were acting under Xia Yunting's banner. If those two escapees went to commit murder and arson elsewhere and blamed it on Xia Yunting, it could stir up even more hatred.
Seemingly sensing Rong Zhi's anxiety, Xia Yunting patted her head. "Don't worry, Xiao Mo. I've already notified the General's Mansion. They've dispatched troops in two divisions to support us. Reinforcements will arrive soon, and you won't have to work so hard anymore."
Hearing this, Rong Zhi felt a sense of relief.
Finally, there were reinforcements.
She looked at Xia Yunting. "You've finally regained your memory."
"Yes, it's coming back, partially."
Xia Yunting didn't elaborate. "Let's take the patients back first!"
"Alright."
Since there were many people driving the carriages, they were quite spacious. Rong Zhi thought for a moment and said to the drivers, "Elder brothers, please take the patients back to the ghost house in Yunshui Village. Find a few reliable young men to watch over them, and call Brother Liu Hong. I want to cure them completely before they go home!"
This was a good deed, and everyone readily agreed.
It was late at night when they returned to Yunshui Village. However, the village was brightly lit, with many villagers holding torches at the village entrance. It seemed they had heard the news and were eagerly awaiting the return of their loved ones, but they would likely be disappointed.
"Huh? Why are they taking people to the ghost house? Aren't they going back to their own homes?"
"Let's go see."
Someone suggested, and the others gathered in twos and threes outside Rong Zhi's house. Liu Hong, seeing this, shifted his gaze to a tree. Gu Xinlan, clinging to a branch like a monkey, was curiously watching the crowd.
If he hadn't rescued Gu Xinlan from those people back then, she might have suffered just as much.
Just then, Gu Xinlan glanced at him and picked something from the branch, tossing it over. Liu Hong caught it and opened his palm to see a giant beetle.
"..."
He tossed the beetle away and saw Gu Xinlan covering her mouth, giggling.
Strangely, though he had been teased, he couldn't help but smile at that moment.
This scene was witnessed by Lu Yuanxiu behind them, and his expression turned cold.
Shameless, flirting in front of so many people.