Chapter 361 The Village Is Saved!

The power of example is limitless.

Yan Huaiwen charged at the front, and the city garrison surged forward with unstoppable momentum.

After clearing the Northern Rong along the riverbank, they immediately went to relieve the besieged Arrow Tower.

The people of Xiao’an Village, the moment they saw the Scholar, felt as if they had swallowed some miracle pill and were brimming with strength again.

Fourth Uncle Qi was the same.

He was already covered in blood, his stomach empty, his whole body exhausted.

When he saw Yan Huaiwen leading reinforcements back to the village, warmth surged up in his heart. He bellowed, swept all the Northern Rong in front of him aside with one swing of his staff, took out the dried meat Xiao Er had given him, and bit into it savagely.

Yan Yu sprang lightly onto the raft.

She was light on her feet and long since trained; a bit of rocking like this meant nothing to her.

While running toward the eastern Arrow Tower, she shouted to the people in the river, “Uncle Luo, hurry up and get out so you can light a fire and warm up…”

Uncle Luo and the others slowly made their way to shore. The moment their bodies left the water, the cold wind felt like it was drilling straight into their bones. They all shivered uncontrollably, but their hearts were burning hot.

The village was saved!

When Yan Yu arrived, Yan Huaiwen was working in tandem with Hu Da, shooting down the Northern Rong.

The two of them seemed to be competing, one arrow per man, one after another, seeing who could shoot faster and kill more.

Yan Yu had no time to admire her uncle’s heroic bearing before she caught sight of Fourth Uncle Qi, that man built like an iron tower, covered in blood and slumped crookedly at the Arrow Tower entrance.

The people inside the Arrow Tower could not manage to drag him in for the moment. A few of them rushed out to take his place guarding the entrance, while the rest inched him inside bit by bit.

A surge of molten-hot blood rushed straight up to the crown of her head.

It pounded and throbbed, as if it wanted to burst through her skull.

Yan Yu glanced around in front of and behind her, finally spotted a stick, and snatched it up in her hand.

She charged over like a young leopard.

The stick was her dog-beating staff^[1]!

It would sweep away every mangy cur in her path!

“You bunch of bandits, robbers, bastards, you turtle-spawn^[2]!” she gritted out, suddenly feeling that her stock of curses was far too meager.

So she switched styles.

“You worthless worms, you pathetic scraps!”

Yan Yu shouted at the top of her lungs, venting her fury.

“Anyone who blocks me dies!”

She swung the wooden stick viciously at every Northern Rong in her way, lashing their waists or smashing their legs, battering out a path by brute force!

“Fourth Uncle Qi!” Yan Yu cried out in anguish.

Once she got a clear look at Fourth Uncle Qi, the pain in her chest made it hard to breathe.

Self-reproach and guilt surged up all at once.

Yan Yu could not stop trembling all over.

She wanted to know how Fourth Uncle Qi was, whether he was…

Yet she was terrified.

She did not dare to ask, did not dare to touch him.

Her whole body froze in place.

Fourth Uncle Qi lifted his eyelids, saw that Xiao Er was unharmed, and pulled out the same simple, slightly foolish smile he always wore.

Yan Yu burst into loud sobs, tears and snot flowing together.

“Fourth Uncle Qi, sob sob, you scared me to death, you scared me to death! Waaah… I’m going to beat those bastards to death, kill them all! Sob sob…”

Fourth Uncle Qi struggled to prop himself up into a sitting position.

He groped around inside his tunic, then stopped with a regretful hand.

There was no dried meat left.

He instinctively rubbed his stomach. So hungry…

“Xiao Er,” Fourth Uncle Qi spoke very slowly, “don’t rush. Let Fourth Uncle Qi put something in his stomach first, then we’ll go kill them!”

His tone was firm and earnest.

It sounded like he was coaxing a child, but Yan Yu knew Fourth Uncle Qi was not just humoring her.

The three uncles of the Qi Family were simple and honest. They spoiled her, indulged her, and treated her family with a straightforward, wholehearted kindness.

How could there be such good people in this world, such endearing people!

Yan Yu cried even harder, loud and unrestrained.

She smeared her little face into a painted mask, streaked with black here and gray there…

Fourth Uncle Qi coaxed her in a fluster, not knowing what to do with his hands or feet.

“Xiao Er, it’s fine if I don’t eat. Fourth Uncle Qi isn’t hungry, we can go right now!”

Yan Yu cried so hard she hiccupped.

Crying, she fished out her stash.

“Here, Fourth Uncle Qi, you eat. I’ve still got more at home. Eat as much as you want, eat until you’re full!”

She shoved all the dried meat into his hands in one go, then joined the villagers around her in examining Fourth Uncle Qi’s wounds.

There were no wounds on his back. All the knife cuts were on the front, on his arms and legs.

Some deep, some shallow, there were too many to count. No wonder Fourth Uncle Qi looked like a man made of blood.

She sniffled and forced her tears back down.

“I’ll go get Fifth Uncle Qi to come help.”

The wounds had to be treated as soon as possible. They needed to hurry and get Fourth Uncle Qi to Physician Cui.

With Fourth Uncle Qi’s build, it would take several people to lift him, and they did not have a stretcher right now. Getting Fifth Uncle Qi to carry him on his back was the quickest solution.

Yan Yu had just stepped out of the Arrow Tower when she looked up and saw her uncle.

And… a ground littered with the corpses of Northern Rong.

Behind her uncle was a group of panting city garrison soldiers, some of them sporting fresh wounds.

As for her uncle, he stood tall and straight, bow in one hand, his robes fluttering, like an immortal banished to the mortal world.

“How is your Fourth Uncle Qi?”

“He’s injured all over,” Yan Yu said, biting her lip. “He’s lost a lot of blood, and I don’t know if there are any wounds we haven’t found yet. I was just going to get Fifth Uncle Qi to carry him to Physician Cui.”

Yan Huaiwen let out a breath of relief.

Just now Xiao Er had been shouting so miserably inside, and he could hear her wailing to the heavens. He had thought…

As long as his life was not in danger, that was blessing enough!

“Xiao Er, Crouching Tiger would not lightly light the Wolf-Smoke Signal. I need to take men there as quickly as possible.” Yan Huaiwen gazed toward the northwest, a trace of worry between his brows.

“I’ll go too, Uncle, take me with you!” Yan Yu pleaded.

“You stay and settle things in the village.” Yan Huaiwen started to reach out to ruffle Xiao Er’s hair, but halfway up his hand paused. Very naturally, he shifted the longbow in his hand, let it fall back to his side, and hid the motion with his sleeve.

“Listen, our family cannot be without someone in charge right now.

In this battle, some of the Northern Rong escaped. We did not wipe them out completely. We must stay on high alert and cannot relax.

At Dashi Bridge the city garrison has already put out the fire. It would be best to have someone remain by the bridge, first to guard against the Northern Rong causing trouble there again, and second to guide the troops from the Prefectural City and explain the situation…”

“Xiao Er.”

Yan Huaiwen lowered his voice and looked down into her clear black-and-white eyes.

“You’ve done very well… it gladdens your uncle’s heart.”

…

Much as Yan Yu worried about her father, she knew that things at Crouching Tiger were different from the village. There was nothing she could accomplish there by herself.

Besides, the village truly could not do without her.

Everyone in the village was looking to her with hopeful eyes, wanting her to decide everything for them, even the Village Elders.

When she thought of the wounded uncles, especially Fourth Uncle Qi, she could not bring herself to say she was going to Crouching Tiger.

She could only brace herself and make arrangements one matter at a time, thinking that once she sorted things out quickly, she would be able to slip away.

The village’s grain had been ruined a bit by the Northern Rong.

Fortunately they had not been able to take it away, so this loss did not amount to much.

Yan Yu assigned people to take turns standing guard on the Arrow Towers.

She also had the village aunties set a big pot over a large stone, cooking porridge to distribute to everyone.

They piled up a bonfire in the center, and the flames roared high.

The villagers sat in circles around it, and no one went home.

It seemed only by leaning on one another like this could their hearts feel at ease.

Yan Yu sighed. Only then did she truly understand why her uncle had said the family could not be without someone in charge.

Her mother had worked through the night and could not take any more, so she had gone back to their room to rest.

Big Sis Daya had to take care of a pregnant woman and a little girl who had been frightened sick…

She was the only one who could step forward.

(End of chapter)