Xiao Long listened to Wu De's meaning and immediately understood, losing control of himself as anger surged. "Who said we'd do this one job and leave? I want to be the village chief of Phoenix Village. Wasn't that what we agreed on?"
Wu De scoffed at Xiao Long's words, sneering, "You? You think you're fit to be the village chief of Phoenix Village? You have no money, no influence. Do you think people will obey you?"
Even Wu De looked down on Xiao Long.
Gu Qingcheng, with a knife to her throat, inexplicably felt like laughing.
Wu De certainly had reason to look down on Xiao Long. He abandoned his position as a village doctor, a comfortable life in Phoenix Village, and was instigated by a few disgruntled refugees to betray a prosperous village. He became a fugitive from a village doctor. Wasn't that foolish?
Wu De himself hadn't expected to convince Xiao Long, nor did he expect Xiao Long to be so foolish.
Xiao Long's eyes turned bloodshot with anger. "You said that when you asked me to attack Phoenix Village!"
Xiao Long's hoarse cry could be heard throughout the village.
A roar erupted from the crowd.
"Haha, I was just trying to get you to open the gate! If you hadn't opened it, how could we have gotten in?" Wu De said brazenly.
The villagers suddenly understood why the easily defensible Phoenix Village had been so easily breached.
The villagers all knew Xiao Long, as he worked at the pharmacy. Who hadn't gotten a headache or a fever from time to time? They were all familiar with the pharmacy workers and never expected Xiao Long to betray Phoenix Village.
Some villagers angrily cursed, "Xiao Long, are you even human? When you first came to Phoenix Village, you had nothing. If Phoenix Village hadn't taken you in, you would have starved. You are a heartless wretch! Is it because young master Gu wouldn't let you be the shopkeeper that you want revenge? Haven't you thought about who gave you this wretched life?" a villager with insider knowledge fumed.
Xiao Long, surprised that the villagers knew his history so well, became flustered and retorted, "What are you people? No matter how capable or clever you are, haven't you fallen into my hands? Be careful, or I'll kill you! Yes, that's right, coming to Phoenix Village gave me the chance to be a village doctor, but did Phoenix Village give me rice without me working? Was I eating for free? And you all, you bunch of stupid dogs, you'd risk your lives for a few pounds of rice! Have you ever thought about young master Gu's intentions? He gave you rice so you'd work yourselves to death! After eating the rice, why should you be grateful? You eat the rice you earned by working!"
Gu Qingcheng, hearing Xiao Long's ungrateful rant, her eyes dimmed, and she stared at him intently. She remained silent, waiting to see how the villagers would react. It was a clear test of whether these villagers had any conscience. This was an opportunity to test people's hearts.
"Ha, ridiculous. Earning money with effort is one thing, but who else would be as kind as young master Gu? When we were too weak to work, when even the authorities had given up on us, he took us in, fed us, clothed us, and gave us shelter! If we were like you, twisting the facts, we would have frozen or starved to death by the roadside, our bodies left to rot in the wilderness!"
"That's right, don't try to deceive us with flowery words and distort the truth. It was young master Gu's prior kindness that kept us alive! Moreover, look at the soaring prices in the market now. What is it worth? The work we do in a day wouldn't earn us a single pound of rice down there! Young master Gu is benevolent and wants to help us, to save our lives. These words of yours are meant to incite the people."
"If you think young master Gu isn't doing a good job, then tell us, you want to be village chief, you have the ability, the skill, then can you give the villagers a pound of rice a day? Can you set up a free school? Can you buy so many oxen to till the land?" The villagers grew angrier as they spoke, their steps involuntarily moving forward, forming a solid circle that enclosed the bandits.
"You... you don't come any closer! If you advance further, I'll cut Gu Qingcheng's throat!" Wu De felt a sense of danger.
Gu Qingcheng felt a warmth in her heart. The people's hearts were fair; they were all on her side. This was what it meant for the people to support her.
Gu Qingcheng let out a cold snort and said, "Do you think I'm a pushover? Do you think our Phoenix Village is so easily breached? Guards, close the gates and trap the dogs!"
Hearing Gu Qingcheng's composure, Wu De suddenly felt something was wrong. But before he could figure out what it was, an arrow flew from somewhere behind him, piercing his back. He cried out in pain, his knife falling to the ground. He stumbled forward, his face hitting the ground, clearly dead.
Xiao Long also panicked, looking around frantically. An arrow flew from the darkness, striking him in the heart. Xiao Long let out a scream and fell to the ground, dead.
Someone leaped from the shadows and swung a saber, cutting the ropes binding Gu Qingcheng and the tree. Gu Qingcheng regained her freedom. Mi Guo, tied with her, was also unbound when Gu Qingcheng was freed.
Freed, Gu Qingcheng produced a bow from somewhere and threw it to Mi Guo. She then drew her own bow and began shooting arrows at the bandits who were trying to escape in the chaos.
Simultaneously, numerous Kongming lanterns suddenly rose into the sky above the square, illuminating the once dim area so brightly that everyone was clearly visible. The bandits, who had intended to blend into the crowd and escape, had their unfamiliar faces immediately noticed by those around them. The villagers pounced and subdued them.
In a short while, these bandits who had tried to pass themselves off as villagers were all captured by the Phoenix villagers, bound tightly with hemp ropes, and thrown under the banyan tree. Counting them, along with Wu De and Xiao Long who were shot dead, and the 29 captured, there were a total of 31 people.
Gu Qingcheng counted them silently and then picked one bandit to ask, "How many of you came up the mountain this time? Tell the truth, and I'll spare your life!"
"Ah, thirty, no, thirty-one, including Xiao Long, thirty-one." The man, now at her mercy, quickly answered.
That made sense. Gu Qingcheng nodded.
At this point, members of the village hunting team began to appear. It turned out they were the ones who had been hidden in the shadows, shooting arrows.
Gu Qingcheng ordered Yan Xin to escort the 29 men away, to be held and handed over to the authorities tomorrow.
Dai Fa was also untied. Gu Qingcheng hurried over to him and asked, "Uncle Dai, you weren't frightened, were you?"
"I'm fine, haha." Dai Fa shook his hands and said, "These fools, to dare come with just a few dozen people, it's a joke, they overestimated themselves!"
Gu Qingcheng chuckled.