Chapter 372: The Heir Apparent Visits the Village

The Heir to Prince Ying was the first to notice the Arrow Tower standing by the river at Xiao’an Village, as well as the raft bridge spanning across the waters.

The villagers were busy moving bodies, digging earth, and spreading ashes, while also calculating how many Northern Rong heads they’d collected…

Physically and mentally exhausted, they had not yet restored the rafts in the river to their original state. Tied together, they bobbed up and down with the current.

Yan Yu came riding on a cow.

Why not a donkey? The donkey had been sent to Gufeng to call back her silly dog.

Cough, cough, she forgot to mention this.

Yan Yu realized late that Gouzhu had not returned. She remembered she forgot to tell it about secretly coming back after sending Brother Ertie.

The hapless dog had followed her family’s raft to Gufeng, and if her hunch was correct, it was likely still floating in the river…

“Heir Apparent!” Yan Yu called out, waving her hand.

“Xiao Er, did your village build this?” The Heir circled the Arrow Tower on horseback, looking up and locking eyes with someone peering down from above.

The person above quickly pulled back but couldn’t resist peeking out again…

“We built five watchtowers in our village, one in the center and one in each of the four cardinal directions,” Yan Yu explained clearly.

Since people were here, there wasn’t much to hide.

Besides, the number of Northern Rong they had killed was so remarkable that it left no room for modesty.

“Did the reinforcements from Gufeng cross the river there?” The Heir surveyed the surroundings, particularly noting the leaves and wild grass under the tower. A slight nudge with his horse’s hoof revealed fresh earth beneath. “Was there a battle here?”

The soldiers guarding the Heir were extremely vigilant. Experienced in battle, they couldn’t be fooled by the village’s camouflage tactics, especially given the slash marks on the tower walls indicating fierce combat.

Yet, Xiao’an Village appeared peaceful and undisturbed, suggesting the village had suffered little loss.

The village’s combat prowess was clear to see, and the soldiers knew better than to underestimate them, being recent settlers with unknown backgrounds.

Yan Yu truthfully responded, “Our village was discovered while tying the rafts, and the Northern Rong charged over to stop us. Fortunately, Gufeng’s reinforcements arrived just in time. A bit later, and the village uncles wouldn’t have held on.”

She pointed to the raft bridge and said, “Uncle Luo and the others were waiting in the river. When the Northern Rong climbed onto the bridge, they chopped at them. The Northern Rong fired arrows, and they hid under the rafts. By the time they emerged, their faces were pale…”

The Heir to Prince Ying asked a crucial question, “Where did your village get the weapons?”

Yan Yu replied, “Previously, Northern Rong came over the mountains and stumbled into our village. Back then, we had nothing and had to fight hard to kill them. Afterward, we had their swords and bows.”

“That’s when we realized that Guanzhou was different from our old home. So, we made some bows from bamboo and wood, and we would hunt wild animals in the mountains. We didn’t expect them to come in handy this time.”

The Heir and his entourage followed her into the village, with the guards neither relaxed nor less vigilant.

“Why is the village so empty?” Pengshu voiced the concern of all the guards.

“They haven’t slept all night; everyone is too exhausted,” Yan Yu pointed to the remnants of campfires that the villagers had tended. “Too scared to go home, they stayed here overnight and only returned home at dawn.”

The Village Elders, older and more easily frightened by the night’s events, appeared drained and were barely holding on, confirming Yan Yu’s words.

The Heir, with a gentle demeanor, reassured the Village Elders with a few kind words before allowing them to rest.

The elders could no longer endure, and seeing Xiao Er there, they left with peace of mind.

The Heir to Prince Ying’s gaze toward Xiao Er gradually changed.

This child was not only sharp and courageous but also talked of the battles with the Northern Rong without a trace of fear, as if he were there in person.

What surprised him most was the village elders’ attitude toward the child.

They were extremely… at ease.

When they reached the village center Arrow Tower, more signs of battle were evident.

The Heir to Prince Ying expressed a desire to ascend the watchtower.

Yan Yu had no objections and led the way.

The Heir was surrounded by guards as they climbed the tower.

Yan Yu felt completely at ease.

The entrance to the cellar beneath the Arrow Tower was usually concealed.

The Young Scouts had a habit of retreating indoors, after training, and even after combat.

As such, when the Heir and his party reached the top, they only encountered the watchful eyes of a few… children.

The adults huddled around the fire, too afraid to sleep, but the children had no such worries. Though they might have felt a flicker of fear at first, soon enough they were sleeping soundly. When they awoke, they had forgotten everything else, remembering only that their Young Scouts had finally outdone the village adults, killed the most enemies, and could earn a lot of silver…

Each one was brimming with excitement. Not only were they in charge of guarding the tower, but they also organized themselves to patrol around the village.

The Heir to Prince Ying’s party entered the village, just missing them, so they didn’t meet.

Peering down from a height.

The Heir to Prince Ying surveyed the surroundings.

This place and the watchtowers in the four directions could communicate with and support each other. Someone with good eyesight could see very far.

This was common in border Guard Stations.

But appearing in such a small village, it stood out.

His gaze suddenly fixed on a spot.

He took two steps forward in disbelief, eyes wide open, trying to see more clearly.

Yan Yu, seeing where he was looking, knew what he had spotted.

It couldn’t be hidden, nor was there any intention to.

What was there? Silver, of course!

The Heir to Prince Ying quickly led his people down the tower towards that direction.

It was a wasteland to the west. The people of Xiao’an Village initially dumped the corpses there, considering it done. But after Yan Yu mentioned how much silver they were worth, they decided not only to preserve them but also to arrange for someone to watch over them.

For the former, they used lime to preserve; for the latter, the village organized people to guard in shifts.

This task wasn’t for the Young Scouts.

Mainly because the village adults feared that the children might be scared if they watched for too long.

On the Arrow Tower, when they shot down people, it was distant and not very clear, which was different from facing these corpses up close.

“Uncle Qi, Uncle Wang, Second Uncle Luo, Uncle Luo San, Uncle Sun…” Yan Yu greeted each uncle and elder.

“I brought Brother Heir Apparent here for a tally,” Yan Yu said.

When these men heard this, they quickly stepped aside, looking expectantly at the group accompanying the Heir Apparent.

Yan Yu said, “Brother Heir Apparent, over here are the Northern Rong we killed, and over there are the ones killed by Gufeng reinforcements.”

The Heir to Prince Ying looked at the two sides with a significant disparity and was momentarily speechless.

The guards beside him widened their eyes, glancing back and forth between the corpses and the seemingly ordinary men around.

“Xiao Er didn’t get it wrong?”

“Didn’t mix up both sides, right?”

“Brother Heir Apparent, there’s definitely no mistake. Look over there, all the bodies killed by the Gufeng reinforcements are neatly placed there. Besides spreading lime over them, we haven’t moved a thing; their weapons and belongings are still there.”

Xiao Er: For the sake of silver, we can’t keep a low profile, yes, that’s right, we did all this. As long as there’s enough money, we can kill even more. Do you believe me? If you do, pay up.

The Heir to Prince Ying: …

The guards: What a dangerous village…

(End of Chapter)