Chapter 582: The Next Liang Village

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Li Yu sat on a large rock, ate some dry food, and drank a few mouthfuls of rice soup. She went down the mountain from the east and prepared to take a look at the mountain opposite. She would turn back tomorrow.

When the sun set in the west, she walked to the depression at the foot of the mountain and realized that there were two medium-sized men in front. They were wearing rough cotton pants and holding machetes. They carried bows and arrows on their shoulders. Each of them had a string of prey hanging from his shoulder. There were hares, turtledoves, and pheasants.

Li Yu deliberately stepped on a dead branch, causing it to make a crisp sound.

When the two people in front heard the commotion, they turned around and saw Li Yu. They stood there for a moment and looked at her in surprise.

The two of them had square faces and rough dark skin. The one on the right was probably in his thirties, and the one on the left was younger. The two of them looked a little alike.

The two of them saw that Li Yu was not ordinary-looking. She was wearing dark brown clothes, had a backpack, and was holding a long saber. She looked at them with slightly raised eyebrows, emitting a fierce aura that no one dared to look at directly.

The young one looked at Li Yu and lowered his head.

The older man was much more experienced. He was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses. He smiled and cupped his fists at Li Yu. “Sister-in-law, are you also here to hunt in the mountains?”

Li Yu nodded. “Is Big Brother also from a nearby villager?”

The older man smiled and nodded. “My surname is Yang, and my name is Yang

Lin.” As he spoke, he pointed at the man beside him. “This is my third brother, Yang Mu. My family is in the Yang Family Village in front. We don’t have much land at home, so we came out to farm some wild animals to exchange for money to support the family.”

“Are there any other valuable wild animals in the mountains?

As Li Yu spoke, she pointed at the mountain ridge behind her. “There’s no prey in that mountain at all. I went up the mountain early in the morning and didn’t even see a slightly valuable wild creature.”

Yang Lin looked in the direction Li Yu was pointing at and hesitated for a moment before saying, “You came up from Liang Village, right? There’s no prey there anymore. Those people killed it all.”

It seemed that those people had long discovered the bandits gathered in Liang Village. It was unknown if they were pretending not to know or if they were afraid to check.

Li Yu went straight to the point. “Brother Yang, are you familiar with the nearby mountain ridges? Have you found a place like Liang Village elsewhere?” Yang Mu looked up at Li Yu and quickly lowered his head.

Hearing Li Yu’s question, Yang Lin regretted saying what he had just said. He shook his head and said, “We don’t dare to go far. We’ll just circle around these mountain ridges. We haven’t seen them nearby, but we’re not sure about the distance.”

Seeing their uncertain gazes, Li Yu felt that they must have discovered something abnormal.

After thinking for a moment, she asked, “You’re from the Yang family village. Do you know Ying Tao?”

Yang Lin hesitated for a moment and Imew that Li Yu understood what he meant.

After a moment’s hesitation, he nodded slightly. “I heard something too. We really didn’t know that those people were bad people. We thought that the government had sent them to guard Liang Village and prevent the people infected with the plague from escaping.”

Li Yu asked, “When did you realize that something was wrong?”

“It was probably not long after the village was sealed. At that time, I was only in my twenties. That day, I went hunting and realized that someone was guarding there. They didn’t allow us to approach the mountain ridge over there and said that they had been infected with the plague in the past and were going to seal the village.” Yang Lin paused for a moment. “Those people were holding long sabers and looked fierce. Ever since then, we didn’t dare to go to the mountain ridge over there. We didn’t dare to tell our families when we went back.”

Li Yu believed Yang Lin’s words. People in this era were most afraid of plagues.

“Brother Yang, if you find anything wrong while hunting in the mountains, it’s best to inform the people in the government office.”

“You can also go and tell the village head. Otherwise, when more and more of their people gather, I’m afraid there will be another Liang Village nearby.”

When Yang Mu heard Li Yu’s words, his expression changed. He pulled Yang

Lin. “Brother, it’s getting dark. Let’s leave quickly!”

Yang Lin nodded and glanced at Li Yu. “If we find anything, we’ll tell the village chief and ask him to report it to the government office.” With that, he pulled Yang Mu away.

Li Yu watched them walk away quickly. Thinking of Yang Mu’s expression, she felt that these brothers must know something. She felt that she should go back and get someone to ask.

Thinking of this, she was not in the mood to hunt. She turned around and walked back the way she came.

The Yang brothers walked for a while. Seeing that Li Yu didn’t follow them and ask, they heaved a sigh of relief.

The two brothers looked at each other and suddenly felt as if a rock was pressing down on their hearts.

Yang Mu glanced at him and whispered, “Brother, do you think the people we found last time are bad people? Was Liang Village really massacred until only some women were left?”

Yang Lin looked solemnly in the direction of Liang Village and said in a low voice, “That’s what Ying Tao’s brother said. Third Brother, if those people find out that we’ve discovered them, Yang Village will be finished.”

Yang Mu recalled Li Yu’s words. “But what that sister-in-law said is also possible. ”

Indeed, the Liang family village had been slaughtered by them for no reason. What was the difference between keeping the remaining women alive and killing them? On second thought, the Liang family village was in the col, and the Yang family village was beside the official road. Those people shouldn’t be so bold.

Yang Lin thought about it and was no longer in the mood to hunt. He wanted to go back and discuss it with the old people at home.

“Forget it, let’s go back!”

Yang Mu nodded obediently and followed him back.

Before Li Yu could climb to the mountain ridge, the sky gradually darkened. A gust of wind blew in the valley, and the low bushes swayed with the wind, emitting a hair-raising sound.

Li Yu took out a torch from her space and lit it. As she walked, she ate her meal. She heard the cries of owls and unknown birds. The timid ones would probably break out in cold sweat.

When she reached the top of the mountain, she felt a little tired. Li Yu picked up some leaves with a torch and chopped a few withered trees. After cutting them down, she lit them up and sat on a big rock to rest.

She hugged the saber and narrowed her eyes. After resting for more than an hour, she lit the torch and continued on her way.

When she reached the foot of the mountain, the chickens were already crowing. Li Yu entered the space and put the mushrooms into the backpack. She picked up a few of the pheasants and hares she had hunted a few years ago and tied them with hemp ropes. Thinking about it, she brought out another roe deer and put the few lingzhi mushrooms and monkey head mushrooms into the backpack.

After packing up, she carried the backpack and returned to the farm with the pheasant and hare in one hand and the roe deer in the other.

Zhao Cai opened the courtyard door and saw the wild animals in Li Yu’s hand. He hurriedly took them and carried them. He smiled and said, “Madam, your luck is too good! You can even hunt roe deer here.”

Could it be that she had been exposed?! Li Yu looked at Zhao Cai guiltily. “Have you never hit a roe deer here?”

Zhao Cai smiled and said, “I tried a few times but didn’t manage to buy it. Those hunters said that there aren’t many row deer to hunt here. There are more in Tongzhou.”

Li Yu smiled dryly and said, “Looks like my luck is really good.”

Auntie He and Uncle Zhou also woke up. When they saw the fresh mushrooms in Li Yu’s backpack, they exclaimed, “These are all good things! It would be good if Master and Eldest Young Master could come to the manor together.”

Zhao Cai sighed. “It’s going to be difficult!”

Uncle Zhou took out the Lingzhi and smiled. “This is good stuff. When Sir wakes up later, he will be overjoyed to see it.”

“That’s right!” As Auntie He spoke, she turned around and walked towards the bathroom. “Madam, I’ll go mix water. Go wash up and have a good sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Li Yu nodded and followed her toward the bathroom..