What further chilled Lou Yi’s heart was that, before long, constables from other villages flocked to Black Tiger Mountain.
From the conversations among the soldiers, he learned of their identities.
There was Chief Li from Sanwan Village, skilled with a long sword, known to have severed the heads of countless infamous bandits, earning the nickname Wind Chasing Sword;
There was Chief Wang from Yong’an Village, a renowned swordsman from the outer wall of Tai City, as famous as Chief Li;
There was Chief Wu from Xiaosi Village, a rare master of hidden weapons, often killing without a trace.
These constables were highly likely martial artists, and Lou Yi might not be able to defeat them one-on-one.
Much less, rescue someone under their heavy guard.
The enemy was strong, so Lou Yi no longer showed himself easily.
But the villagers of Erhe Village suffered.
They were like a flock of sheep, driven to search randomly in the mountains.
No water, no food, no rest, even bathroom breaks were supervised, akin to slavery.
As long as Lou Yi remained uncaptured, they wouldn’t stop for one day!
"You bully the common people , I must go to the main city to impeach you!" Nearby, a famous figure from the village learned of this matter, came to the scene in rage, cursing loudly, attempting to stop this.
"I am having them help to find the thief, what crime is there in that?" Inspector Cao rode out, coldly refuting.
"Absurd! Having them search without providing food or water, how is that different from mistreatment?" Landlord Jia appeared on the scene, also standing up for the villagers of Erhe Village.
The Man Slaughter gave a signal to his subordinates, symbolically distributing a bit of provisions.
"The court is catching a thief, unrelated individuals must stay out!" Inspector Cao ordered a forcible evacuation, not allowing the crowd to approach.
"This Inspector Cao is a complete hypocrite, why didn’t anyone see this before!"
Some felt sympathy as victims too, some were the family and friends of Erhe Village villagers, others were benevolent like the village elder, all expressing indignation and condemnation over the soldiers’ actions.
Of course, there was little they could do.
They could only watch silently, applying minimal pressure.
Among them, some also blamed Lou Yi, believing he dragged the villagers into this, far too selfish.
"Did Lou Yi make them capture the villagers? Did Lou Yi make them do such lowly things?" Cui Yuan, who had worked with him, couldn’t stand by without defending Lou Yi.
Black Tiger Mountain echoed with cries of despair.
"Lou Yi, come out quickly, I am really exhausted!" Carpenter Xu leaned against a tree, panting heavily.
White spots appeared on his clothes, grains of salt left from dried sweat.
His once sharp little eyes had now dulled.
"Lou Yi, do some good and show some mercy, my old arms and legs truly can’t take this!" Tall Sister Gao, fond of gossip, was near collapse.
She kept patting her back with her hands, long hair glued to her face and neck with sweat, resembling a ghostly figure.
Old Granny Liu, with grayish hair and a hunched back, tripped and couldn’t get up for a moment, could only lie on the ground groaning weakly.
Beside her, the raspy cries of Fisherman Liu and furious curses arose.
"Lou Yi, you bastard, do you want to get the whole village killed for you!"
"Lou Yi, get out here now!"
The villagers of Erhe Village remained silent, but most had eyes filled with helplessness, numbness, and... hatred.
"Hahaha! Lou Yi, if you don’t come out, these innocent villagers will suffer along with you!" The Man Slaughter laughed wantonly, "Don’t think about ambushing, unless you kill us all. If you strike again, I’ll kill someone!"
In the forest, Lou Yi was silent.
The Energy in the attribute panel was eighteen points, two points short of advancing the Dragon-piercing Technique.
But even if he advanced, what use would it be?
Nearly every villager had a knife next to their throat.
Could he kill all the soldiers in an instant?
Lou Yi gritted his teeth, fists clenched tightly. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
A voice inside kept tempting him: don’t care too much about their survival, you’re not even from this world, worst case, you can avenge them later...
But simultaneously, scenes of past interactions kept flashing before his eyes:
Going down the mountain in worn straw shoes, his toes exposed, Aunt Gu from the Gu Family saw this and soon brought him a pair of brand new shoes;
Widow Liu, seeing him chopping wood at the door, warmly came over to wipe his sweat with a handkerchief;
Cheng Chen sat across the table, talking expansively, occasionally slapping his leg in excitement, Cheng Sunshi warmly served porridge, looking gently at the two of them;
Finally, transformed into a small figure, like a little dog, pouncing into his embrace.
’Not rescuing them would be an insurmountable barrier for me, but considering how to rescue them might not lack a proper solution. However, I may have to endure some hardship myself.’
’But you can’t enter the tiger’s lair without hesitating to get the tiger cub?’
A vague idea gradually formed in Lou Yi’s mind.
He looked at the attribute panel, his greatest reliance.
Lou Yi heard, his expression grew excited.
"Instructor Lin! How come you’re here!"
He couldn’t see the person but could hear Instructor Lin’s voice, surely the other was using the Secret Transmission skill.
"Jia Rong invited me here... I can save you now, will you go?"
These damned soldiers, killing them all would be troublesome, there’s still a few old geezers in court even I fear."
Lou Yi clasped his fists towards the sky, solemnly saying, "Senior, I can’t leave yet, but I would like to trouble you with one thing..."
"Haha, such spirit! Rest assured, with me here, no one can take your life!"