Chapter 103: What Did Old Yan Bring Back?

Yan Yu suddenly dashed toward the bandit pinned beneath the ox’s hooves.

Raising her small bamboo crossbow, she put on a fierce expression and loudly declared, “Prepare to die!”

The bandit, unwilling to accept his fate, suddenly flung a handful of dust without warning—

Right into her face.

“Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!”

Yan Yu flapped her little hands, her small face scrunching up as if her eyes were stung.

Damn bandit!

Even when suppressed by Sanbao, he still struggled in vain!

A muffled groan sounded.

She forced her discomfort aside and opened her eyes.

Huh?

A menacing iron arrow was embedded in the bandit’s body.

The bandit—was dead!

“Yan Xiao’er, are you okay?” Hu Er ran over from afar, asking with concern.

In his hand was his father’s iron crossbow.

Mystery solved!

So it was Uncle Hu Er.

She knew it—her dad wasn’t that accurate.

“Uncle Hu Er, I was just about to shoot!” Yan Yu puffed her cheeks in frustration.

Hu Er chuckled, coaxing her, “What’s so fun about that? Someday, I’ll catch a squirrel for you—watching them eat is really amusing!”

He was treating her like a little kid.

Yan Lao’er arrived a while later, pointing at Yan Yu but unable to say a word.

He was exhausted!

Yan Yu, being considerate, handed him the bamboo flask from her small backpack.

Yan Lao’er gulped it down eagerly.

Then, he questioned, “What were you trying to do just now?”

Yan Yu responded loudly, “Shoot the bandit!”

Her parents wanted to protect her, but she wanted to protect them too!

“Ridiculous! The guy was already pinned under Sanbao’s hoof and couldn’t run. What’s the point of showing off?” Yan Lao’er scolded with a stern face.

Yan Yu turned away, refusing to argue.

There was no point in debating—different perspectives led to different views. Instead of trying to convince others, it was better to take action to express her stance!

A line of torches gradually approached.

Yan Huaiwen had returned with his men.

The children cheered and ran forward, getting lifted high by their fathers, laughing happily.

…

Unlike the comedic atmosphere on the children’s side,

The battle between the Yan brothers and the bandits had not gone entirely smoothly.

Yan Lao’er had three enemies rush at him, and two even managed to escape.

In the brief moment he had chased after a horse, a fierce bandit had lunged at a villager, nearly catching them off guard. Fortunately, an experienced mountain villager swung with all their might at the bandit’s wrist, knocking the weapon loose and reversing the situation.

Most injuries came from people tripping in the chaos—twisted ankles were the worst, swollen to a ridiculous degree.

The injured felt ashamed, hanging their heads low.

Meanwhile, the children, carefree as ever, exaggerated their contributions with simplistic words, laughing loudly—until their little butts suffered for it…

Old Yan’s group was mostly unharmed, but many of the refugees were wounded.

Fueled by sheer bravery, they had charged in with whatever they could grab—many even barehanded. If not for their numbers, they would’ve had to trade lives with the bandits.

Thankfully, Old Yan had led the charge, and the rescued mountain villagers from earlier had joined in, taking the bandits of Lao Song Mountain by surprise. The battle had been overwhelmingly one-sided.

Unfortunately, the bandits were cunning. No one had expected that besides the back mountain path, Lao Song Mountain had another hidden escape route—some had managed to flee.

The battle had started suddenly and ended just as quickly.

Yan Huaiwen, seeing that the situation was settled, prepared to leave.

The refugees were endlessly grateful, kneeling in tears.

The bandits’ corpses lay scattered in disarray, gruesome in the moonlight.

The faces of those who had escaped death bore relief and joy at having survived.

But sorrowful cries filled the air—for themselves, for their loved ones, and perhaps for this cruel, devouring world…

The sight was deeply moving.

Yan Huaiwen’s hand, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tighter.

The men around him felt something stir within them—something long suppressed, now awakening, gradually becoming clear.

…

“It’s over?” Yan Lao’er asked in disbelief. “And then you just came back?”

No dividing the spoils or anything?!

It wasn’t that Yan Lao’er was greedy, but since everyone had risked their lives to help, wasn’t it fair to take some unexpected rewards?

They wouldn’t touch the refugees’ belongings—but why couldn’t they take something from the bandits?

Yan Huaiwen didn’t even need to look to know what Tianyou was thinking.

Just look at all the junk he hoarded—he’d bring home anything!

“Saving lives was the priority,” Yan Huaiwen said solemnly.

Yan Lao’er argued, “Big Brother, you saved them, but don’t they need food and drink? At least bring back some rations for them.”

Half-asleep, Yan Yu lay on the upper bunk’s railing, listening.

She thought: Uncle brought back a lot of injured refugees. They had some medicinal herbs, but would it be enough? Were they even the right ones?

Oh, right—there was alcohol too.

Would low-purity ancient liquor work for disinfection?

How did people make high-purity alcohol again? Distillation? Purification?

Ugh, that was beyond their family’s capabilities.

Yan Lao’er suddenly felt like writing an essay.

Title: My Brother Doesn’t Run a Household, So He Doesn’t Know How Expensive Firewood, Rice, Oil, and Salt Are!

“Supplies will come,” Yan Huaiwen said with certainty.

Yan Lao’er was skeptical.

Old Yan hadn’t left anyone behind to oversee things—he could only hope the refugees had some sense of responsibility.

Would they?

At that moment, Yan Yu and her father had the same thought.

A tiny voice in her head kept shaking its head.

This wasn’t the time to test human nature! The chances of failure were too high!

“Xiao Yu!” A drowsy call came from behind—Li Xuemei.

Yan Yu shot up.

Seeing her mother lying with furrowed brows and a tense body, she quickly took her mother’s hand, rubbing it with her small ones, her tone cheerful, “Mom, I’m fine! We don’t have to be scared anymore! Dad’s back, Uncle’s back, and all the village uncles are back! Uncle brought back a lot of refugees—our group is getting bigger and bigger!

Dad’s a bit annoyed that we have to feed them, but think about it—what can you do in this era without people? People are the most valuable resource!

They can’t just eat our food for free, and they definitely can’t use our medicine for nothing! Later, I’ll tell Dad to keep track of everything—so they’ll have to work to repay us. Big favors turn into grudges, don’t you think, Mom? This isn’t the same as the villagers helping each other out.

Mom, when you wake up, make me two more notebooks, okay? I think we’re running low on paper. Next time, let’s see if we can trade for more. Actually, I want pens too, but… that’d be hard to explain…”

As Yan Yu rambled on, Li Xuemei gradually relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep.

Her daughter’s voice faded.

Yan Yu carefully leaned in, resting her soft little cheek against her mother’s stomach, feeling its gentle rise and fall.

She smiled brightly.

Thinking: This little sibling is quite bold—good!

Da Ya climbed up and beckoned to her.

Yan Yu immediately nodded and climbed down.

Da Ya worriedly asked, “How’s Auntie? Should we call Uncle Cui to take a look?”

Yan Yu replied, “Uncle Cui is busy treating the injured refugees. There’s too much blood—Mom wouldn’t feel well smelling it. Let’s wait until morning and have Dad ask if she needs medicine.”

“Mrs. Qi gave me some red dates. I put them in the porridge. Er Ya, have some first.”