"Big Boss, I think Miss Meng has a point."
One of the brothers beside him recognized Ah Jiu and tugged on Ma Peng’s sleeve.
They were no longer a dominant force in the region, now living like refugees, even struggling for food.
"Damn it, I know that," Ma Peng cursed at his brother, his tone softening considerably when he looked at Ah Jiu:
"Ninth Miss has a point, but… Oh my god… I was roasting a deer in the pot… Hurry, let's go!"
Ma Peng sprang up as if struck by lightning, pushed through the crowd, and ran.
His sudden departure caught even Meng Shaode off guard: "They just let them run away like that?"
"Exactly, bandits are inhumane," Guang Wenqiang dared to speak loudly now.
"Last year, I was robbed by bandits as soon as I arrived here, otherwise I wouldn't have ended up scavenging for meat to eat." someone in the crowd chimed in.
It was clear that more than half of these people had suffered at the hands of bandits.
Ah Jiu didn't know how to explain. For now, this forest was safe. She simply had people tear off some cloth from their clothes, tie them to sturdier wooden sticks, and rub them back and forth on the poisoned meat, using the oil to light several torches.
Dozens of people, led by Ah Jiu's family, headed down the mountain.
As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain, everyone saw the fires. That was the bandit stronghold, with hundreds of men.
All of them hesitated.
Half of their men were armed with long knives, making the people who had just recovered from a serious illness reluctant to advance.
Ah Jiu, however, was not afraid: "I'll go say hello first."
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Okay, Ah Jiu knows the bandit leader, it should be fine."
"Ah Jiu is well-liked, even the bandit leader speaks politely to her, it will surely be fine."
Ah Jiu knew they were scared. She casually took a torch and called out as she walked, "Ma Peng."
The guards on the other side either drew their long swords and vigilantly pointed them in the direction of the sound, or those with bows quickly drew their strings taut.
"Shaode, when did our daughter get to know bandits?" Cai Lihua craned her neck to look, and saw a middle-aged man smiling as he walked towards them.
"I don't know, but that bandit leader does speak politely to our daughter," Cai Lihua stretched her neck and mumbled.
"Ninth Miss, I buried that deer for you." Ma Peng waved his hand, and everyone no longer focused their hostility on the suddenly appearing Meng Jiuer.
Ah Jiu covered her mouth and smiled.
"What are you laughing at?" Ma Peng asked, his face dark. Did she eat it?
Ah Jiu laughed heartily: "Deer don't eat meat, they are herbivores."
"Ah!" Ma Peng was stunned and slapped his forehead: "Hah, I was so flustered, I wasn't thinking straight."
He looked back at the hundreds of people. He wanted to be heartless and just dismiss them, telling them to go their separate ways, but he couldn't.
Everyone, who hadn't eaten for three days, looked at him expectantly:
"Dig it up, dig it up, it's still edible..."
Ma Peng felt a pang of embarrassment.
Ah Jiu wasn't paying attention to this, she stretched her neck to look into the crowd.
A few people went to dig, unearthing the small deer that had just been buried, and put it back into the large iron pot without even brushing off the dirt.
The others began to stir and gather towards the large iron pot.
The recovering patients also joined the throng.
Slowly, hundreds of people converged, and Ah Jiu searched carefully through the crowd.
Ma Peng looked back: "What is Ninth Miss looking for?"
"I think I saw someone I know, but now I can't see them?" Ah Jiu murmured to herself. She retracted her gaze and asked directly,
"Are there any people with the surname Meng in your group?"
"Meng? I'll go ask." Ma Peng immediately thought it might be Meng Jiuer's relative, and out of gratitude, he would help.
He stood up, walked into the crowd, put his hands on his hips, and roared:
"Is there anyone in our group with the surname Meng?"
All eyes turned to a certain corner. However, after dividing a piece of deer meat, that person grabbed it and ran off elsewhere.
He then squatted beside a gaunt woman and offered the meat to her mouth.
Beside the woman lay two children. Smelling the meat, they rubbed their drowsy eyes. As soon as they opened them, they snatched the meat, took a bite, then the younger one, unwilling to be outdone, snatched it and took three bites. The older child then took it again and ran into the woods to eat.
"Daddy,呜呜呜… Brother, Mom, I'm hungry, I'm hungry…" the younger one cried, gasping for breath.
But the woman on the ground was already weak. She reached out her hand, and it fell powerlessly:
"Just bury me in that pit. I don't want to be a burden to you three anymore."