Yuan Yuan's legs went weak. What happened next was even more unexpected.
After a joyful cry, there was immediate cursing: "What's going on! Another girl! Wrap her up quickly and throw her in the back mountain!"
Soon, the sound of a door opening was heard, and a man with a rough voice took the baby wrapped in coarse cloth, accepting it expressionlessly.
Because it was another girl, he carried the child to the woman and kicked her in the stomach, muttering, "What the hell!"
The woman had just given birth and was already weak, how could she withstand his kick.
Fortunately, someone next to him pulled the man back, "Stop hitting her. Quickly take this child to the mountain while those people aren't paying attention. Let this woman recover for a couple of days, and then you can sell her for money to get a new wife."
There was also an old man's voice nearby, "If you beat her badly, who will want to buy her! None of them are promising!"
The man, full of anger he couldn't vent, could only glare fiercely at the woman before striding out of the room.
Yuan Yuan hid behind the house, not daring to make a sound. Only after the man left did she sneak away.
She immediately found her teammates and told them everything she had seen and heard, as well as what the child had said. Her teammates were very serious.
Someone suggested that Yuan Yuan return to the village chief's house first to find Ning Wei and the others, while they would spread the news to everyone else.
As soon as Yuan Yuan finished speaking, Ning Wei and Mei Nan exchanged glances.
Mei Nan said, "It's just as we guessed. The women in this village are basically all kidnapped!"
Yuan Yuan was a little scared, and she tightly held Ning Wei's hand, "I don't want to be the third wife of that man."
"Don't worry, leave it all to me!" Ning Wei said very confidently.
At this moment, the other passengers also arrived.
Knowing the true nature of this village, the women were all terrified.
No wonder they were being watched when they walked around the village; it was to prevent escape!
When they went up the mountain earlier, the village chief was obviously worried, but when they came down, he visibly relaxed a lot.
Now that the village's true face had been revealed, they just needed to wait for the right time.
However, Ning Wei didn't understand why they needed to hide it. As soon as people entered the village, escape seemed impossible.
Ning Wei looked at the panicked women and repeatedly warned them, "Since their true colors haven't been revealed yet, you must act as normal as before. No matter where you go, you must have a teammate with you. Whatever you see or discover, inform everyone immediately!"
Some people were scared, recalling news they had seen online, and worried they might become one of them.
Especially since they had all seen the village chief's wife, no one wanted their legs broken!
"It's easy for you to say. The strongest people in the team are all around you, so of course you're not afraid!" someone retorted to Ning Wei.
Ning Wei's team consisted of the oldest, Mei Nan, the intelligent Song Zhi, and the unreliable Fu Chengwei.
The woman speaking was Zhu Yilian, one of those assigned to live in Uncle Wang's house.
Her days there were not pleasant, as Uncle Wang's son had been single for over twenty years, and his eyes often roamed over her unscrupulously, like a snake.
Before she knew the village's true nature, Zhu Yilian was merely unhappy about being looked at like that.
But now it was different; she knew what that gaze represented!
Perhaps that family already considered her a prize, a daughter-in-law to continue their lineage!
No wonder she was given a hard-boiled egg every morning; it was a treatment none of the other teammates received.
At first, she thought it was because the elders liked her, but she never imagined that this "liking" was completely different from what she had imagined!
No wonder Aunt Wang always told her to eat more at meals, to supplement her nutrition and take care of her body. It seemed the ultimate purpose was for her to stay here!
Zhu Yilian was the youngest child of her parents, from a well-off family. Her parents both worked in government, and she had two older brothers, one a businessman and the other a university professor.
She had grown up in such a privileged environment, so her personality was inevitably a bit spoiled.
Ning Wei, not indulging her, scoffed and threatened, "Do you believe that even if I were here alone, I could get out unscathed?"
Zhu Yilian fell silent.
Although her personality wasn't great, she was intelligent. She had observed Ning Wei's actions throughout their journey.
This was a girl smarter and prettier than her!
All these factors combined led Zhu Yilian to try and curb Ning Wei's sharp edge in front of everyone, only to be utterly shamed by the confident Ning Wei.
Ning Wei knew that many people, especially the female passengers, had opinions about her and had spoken ill of her behind her back. She didn't care.
Of course, she also felt no responsibility to escort these people to safety.
On this strange bus, all the experiences she had gone through were nothing more than a game to her.
Her master at the dojo had once said that Ning Wei had too much aggressive energy. While she had a talent for exorcism, her conduct was problematic.
Masters usually went out to solve problems for people.
Ning Wei, however, was different. She often sided with the ghosts, frequently causing chaos for the families seeking her help.
But once the dust settled, the ghosts would truly disappear, so people still sought her help in droves because she could see things more clearly than anyone!
When they entered Chaonan Village this time, although it appeared harmonious at the entrance, she sensed something was amiss upon entering.
However, since the village deliberately concealed things, she pretended not to know.
What kind of trigger would it take for these beastly humans to reveal their true colors?
Ning Wei simply devised a plan: she would guide them to investigate.
She knew full well that the intelligence of these passengers was limited, and they would eventually make mistakes.
She only needed to watch from behind and see how long this village could endure.
Mei Nan stepped in to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, everyone has the same goal. Since we now know women are their target, we men must protect them at all times."
Knowing the true nature of the village, the men were less fearful and readily agreed.
Most of the women were still scared, but to leave this place safely, they repeatedly gave themselves psychological cues.
Because the village chief had said their inspection period was five days, and it was currently the second day, they could leave as soon as the five days were up.
Therefore, no matter what they saw or heard here, they had to pretend to be deaf and dumb.
Under Mei Nan's soothing words, everyone's emotions stabilized slightly.
However, just then, the village chief suddenly returned.