Chapter 10: Man-Eating

Ninety-five percent of the people in Dawang Village are surnamed Wang. Many people know this, but few know how to take advantage of it in a short amount of time.

Seeing Xu Da’s flashy maneuvers, Mistress Wang raised an eyebrow, turned silently, and entered the rock shelter to wake the children who had already been startled.

Although the immediate crisis of being robbed had been averted, they would inevitably have to interact with the villagers of Dawang Village, so they needed to be careful.

For instance, she sternly instructed Xu Erniang to keep her glowing little wooden stick hidden. If the villagers mistook it for something demonic, their whole family would be finished.

Xu Erniang nodded and silently tucked the wand into her bedding.

Mistress Wang packed up their belongings and piled them in the innermost corner of the rock shelter. Knowing that Xu Dalang could actually understand human speech, she gave him instructions

"Watch over your sisters. If anyone tries to come in, kick them out!"

Xu Dalang immediately pulled Xu Yue behind him, spreading his arms in a protective stance, a flash of red light flickering in his eyes.

Xu Yue grabbed her brother with one hand and Xu Erniang with the other, saying to Xu Dalang, "Big Sister is also Brother’s little sister."

"Sis, sis?" Xu Dalang repeated the words vaguely, looking at Xu Yue and then at Xu Erniang, his brows furrowing as he shook his head like a rattle.

Finally, his gaze returned to Xu Yue, and he gave her a silly, toothy grin. "Sis, sis!"

He meant that only Xu Yue was his little sister; Xu Erniang was not.

Xu Erniang rolled her eyes in annoyance and moved to the side with disdain.

Xu Yue pulled her back, and the two hid behind Xu Dalang. Xu Dalang immediately bared his teeth, letting out a low, threatening growl of "huo-huo" at Xu Erniang, becoming agitated.

Xu Yue glared at him: "Big Sister is also a little sister!"

Xu Dalang leaned back in disbelief, his large eyes looking at Xu Yue with hurt. Her heart softened, and she quickly reached out her small hand to pat his arm, smoothing him down.

After a long while, Xu Dalang let out a "hmpf" through his nose, reluctantly agreeing to protect Xu Erniang as well.

"Brother is the best~" Xu Yue smiled sweetly, her eyes sparkling.

Xu Dalang was immediately coaxed into a smile.

Watching Xu Yue successfully resolve the conflict between her siblings, Mistress Wang gave her a secret thumbs-up before bending down to exit the rock shelter.

In the short time she had been gone, Xu Da had already successfully integrated himself into the Dawang Village group. Seeing her come out, he immediately ordered

"Go, bring the firewood over for everyone!"

His air of being the head of the household was fully on display. Mistress Wang was visibly stunned for a moment, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"What are you standing there for, woman? Get going!"

After shouting, Xu Da turned back to help Wang Dayou unload his luggage.

Wang Dayou glanced at Xu Da, not particularly approving of his bossy behavior, but he said nothing.

Mistress Wang stared at Xu Da’s back for a full two seconds before turning to fetch the firewood.

Hearing the movement behind him, Xu Da’s tense spine instantly relaxed. He felt a surge of secret satisfaction and continued to probe Wang Dayou and the others for information. It didn't take long for him to figure out their situation.

It turned out that after the group of refugees calling themselves the Red Turban Army slaughtered the city, the local dignitaries had already caught wind of it and fled. Finding nothing of value, the refugees turned their attention to the surrounding villages.

But because of the severe drought, nine out of ten villages were already deserted. Enraged and frustrated, the refugees burned the villages to vent their anger. The local people, hearing the rumors, fled in a panic.

Wang Dayou and his group had originally fled as an entire village, but they encountered the refugees halfway, and only these dozen or so people managed to escape.

The other dozen people were those they had met on the road, and they had all fled toward the mountains together.

A fire was lit, and the people of Dawang Village sat around it in small groups, totaling nineteen people including the children.

Among them were four children under ten, ten adult men, and five adult women.

Wang Dayou’s family alone accounted for four, as he had brought his wife and children, making them stand out among the crowd of people separated from their families.

The other group had built their own separate fire. There were twelve of them—nine men and three women. They were barely clothed, using tattered hemp rags to cover only their private parts.

Strangely, they looked more energetic than the Dawang Village group. One man even had a slightly protruding belly, showing signs of being well-fed.

It was clear they were getting enough to eat—perhaps not full meals every time, but enough to have a full meal once a day to put on that kind of weight.

Xu Yue sat on the pile of grass in the rock shelter, quietly observing everyone. When she looked at this group, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a thought jumped into her mind.

Could these people be cannibals?

Thinking this, Xu Yue startled herself. She carefully looked toward that group and suddenly locked eyes with a pair of bulging eyes.

Firelight danced in those eyes, and Xu Yue felt as if she were being watched by a hunter. Her heart trembled.

"Roar!" Xu Dalang seemed to sense something. With a low growl, he suddenly lunged forward, grass flying as he pounced toward the thin man with the bulging eyes.

The boy reached the fire in the blink of an eye, the flames illuminating his fierce expression, giving the twelve people a massive fright.

Immediately, angry shouts and screams erupted. The man with the bulging eyes was knocked to the ground by two of Xu Dalang’s punches. In the chaos, people bumped into the fire, and flying sparks "whooshed" as they ignited the surrounding dry grass.

Flames rose, accompanied by wails. Everyone seemed to snap out of their shock, rushing over to put out the fire and pull people apart.

Xu Yue looked at the panicked crowd, her small face blank for a moment. Then, she pinched her thigh hard and, taking advantage of being a child, burst into loud, wailing tears.

Xu Erniang’s mouth twitched slightly, but she quickly reacted, pointing at the man being helped up and shouting

"He scared Little Sister! His eyes were looking at Little Sister like a hungry wolf, and he scared Little Sister into crying!"

Her childish voice was clear and articulate. Despite the heavy accent of Yangjiao Village, everyone present heard exactly what she said.

Mistress Wang and Xu Da, who were holding back Xu Dalang, glanced coldly at the man with the bulging eyes, whose mouth was covered in blood from the boy's punches.

The man looked as if he had been wronged and argued excitedly: "What kind of brat is spouting nonsense? I was sitting here perfectly fine! Who was staring at you?"

He tried to stand up to argue further, but his eyes shifted guiltily, unable to meet the gaze of the Xu couple. He cursed under his breath

"Just my rotten luck, running into these unreasonable, wild brats. Watch out, or the King of Hell will chop you up and throw you into a vat of boiling oil so you won't dare hit people randomly again."

The people from Dawang Village clicked their tongues, feeling that cursing someone like that was uncalled for. They persuaded the Xu family to back off.

Xu Yue cried even louder, seemingly terrified by the man's words, sobbing: "Daddy, Mommy, the King of Hell wants to eat people, wuwuwu..."

The villagers of Dawang Village, who hadn't thought much of it before, suddenly changed expressions upon hearing the words "eat people."

When they looked back at the twelve people, the group flinched as if stung, waving their hands in a panic to explain that they didn't eat people.

But in reality, no one had accused them of eating people. This self-incriminating reaction sent a chill down the spines of everyone in Dawang Village.