The ancestral hall of the village commune was pitch black.
After all the arrows were fired, the villagers took refuge here.
The door of the village commune is normally kept closed, only opened during the New Year when tributes to ancestors are made. This was known by all the villagers of Daping Village, and Wang Dachuan should also know this.
So, the village head and Nan Feng were convinced that Wang Dachuan would never guess they were all hiding here. There wasn’t a single person left in the village. Wang Dachuan must think they had escaped the village.
Although the ancestral hall was small and crowded with people squeezed together, luckily, it was not yet spring, so it did not feel hot.
Perhaps due to the tension, everyone was holding their breath, quietly listening to the movements outside.
The mountain bandits passed by the ancestral hall many times, each time their messy footsteps were heard, the people inside became nervous. Adults covered the children’s mouths, not letting them make a sound.
Only when the footsteps passed could they breathe a sigh of relief.
There were many babies inside. Nan Feng had already given them certain doses of Bupleurum. After taking this cold-preventing medicine, the babies would sleep soundly and wouldn’t be awakened by any thunder or earthquakes outside.
But Nan Feng was still worried.
All the arrows from the traps had been fired, and at least sixty mountain bandits had been severely wounded. They should have retreated, but these bandits were still determined to find people.
If this continued, the bandits would surely realize that the villagers were out of options, and the chance of being found was great.
What to do?
If they were found by the bandits, they would certainly fly into a rage, massacring everyone.
In the darkness, she quietly approached the village chief and whispered some instructions.
…
The villagers spent another two harrowing hours, by which time the sky was beginning to show the first light of dawn.
It was quiet outside, without a trace of noise.
The villagers began whispering amongst themselves, wondering if the bandits had left. Some were asking the village chief if they could leave yet. After battling the bandits all night, they were hungry, and some needed to use the toilet.
Nan Feng asked them to be patient and wait a little longer. Some bandits were very cunning and might be waiting outside, ready to pounce.
Unfortunately, the six-month-old baby of Erzhuang suddenly woke up.
Erzhuang’s wife panicked, fearing the child would cry. She thought of feeding the baby, but it was too dark, and she was too scared. She clumsily forced her breast into the child’s mouth. She entered with such force that she poked the baby’s nose, which made the baby cry even louder.
With a loud “waah”, everyone in the hall became tense.
Erzhuang��s wife panicked more, hastily covering the baby’s mouth, but the baby grew more fearful and cried even louder. The baby’s cries set off a chain reaction, with other children starting to cry, creating a chorus.
As it turned out, the bandits had not left. They were indeed waiting outside!
The village was already quiet, and the cries of the babies were loud, which instantly attracted the bandits…
When the bandits kicked open the door of the ancestral hall, they found the whole village crammed inside, everyone looked terrified.
Seeing this, the bandit leader was both joyful and angry. After his initial satisfaction, he was overwhelmed by rage: “Well, well, you all hid here! You really are crafty! Brothers, kill them all! Don’t leave a single one alive!”
On the beam of the ancestral hall, a person was about to throw a knife at the bandit leader but suddenly withdrew his hand.
Down in the hall, Nan Feng took a deep breath and pushed the village chief out.