The man who had been caught by Shen Yu’an and was being stepped on finally knew what fear was, as he felt the icy touch on his face. He trembled all over like a sieve.
The words that came out of his mouth were trembling: “Let’s talk it out, let’s talk it out. Don’t move the knife.”
This was someone who truly dared to kill, and the man had no doubt that Shen Yu’an’s knife would fall without hesitation.
Seeing him become so cowardly, Shen Yu’an coldly laughed and kicked him back.
The crowd was surprised that Shen Yu’an acted on her words, and the scene finally quieted down. The people of Shen’s village didn’t dare to speak anymore.
Especially those who had just been shouting bravely, they tried their best to hide in the crowd, afraid that they would be the next one to be targeted.
Even Ji Xun, who followed along, was stunned and looked at Shen Yu’an with admiration.
Indeed, she was the person that the master had said who could suppress the emperor star.
Shen Yu’an looked at the trembling crowd on the other side and repeated her words again.
“So, which path will you choose?” Shen Yu’an asked.
“Oh, right. There’s also a third option,” Shen Yu’an added.
The crowd all turned their gaze to Shen Yu’an, wanting to know what the third option was.
“You can also choose not to act, after all, you’re definitely following us,” Shen Yu’an said with a smile in his eyes.
The crowd’s eyes lit up when they heard this, but Shen Yu’an’s words weren’t finished yet.
As if deliberately teasing them, Shen Yu’an continued, “Although we have a lot of food, we are not easy to deal with. Those bandits won’t just catch us and leave others alone…”
The joy that the people had just felt about being able to follow Shen Yu’an’s family was immediately shattered by her words.
Finally, someone spoke up. It was Wu Cuihua’s youngest son, Shen Nian, who was once a student under Shen Rong.
He stepped forward and said, “What Yu’an said makes sense. We’ve all come this far, how can we fight and ruin our relationship here? Besides, we have so many people. Under the leadership of the Uncle Shens’ family, we can also stand up for ourselves.”
Shen Yu’an followed the voice and saw a young man with slightly dark skin, but still handsome. He appeared to be around the same age as her second brother.
Shen Nian saw that Shen Yu’an was looking at him and his face turned slightly red. He continued, “How about sister Yu’an let Master Ji explain the situation with the bandits in more detail, so that we can be better prepared?”
“Okay,” Shen Yu’an nodded.
At least these people weren’t completely hopeless.
However, she can’t help but felt annoyed that they were wasting their time arguing every day. She decided to change the route and head south after passing through this area.
Ji Xun and Shen Yu’an exchanged glances and then went ahead to explain what they had already discussed.
As soon as they finished speaking, Shen Nian spoke up in support, “I’m willing to go with Master and help kill those people, then take their food.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd’s eyes widened with excitement and greed. They knew that food was scarce in these troubled times and that having more of it could mean the difference between life and death.
Shen Yu’an continued, “But we can’t just take it and run. We need to teach those bandits a lesson and show them that they can’t just take what they want from innocent people.”
There was a collective nod of agreement among the group, and they started discussing the plan of action. It seemed that they were finally united in their goal, and Shen Nian’s earlier words had served as a catalyst for this change.
Shen Yu’an knew that it wasn’t easy for them to voluntarily come forward, but when there was a lot of money and food at stake, there were bound to be brave souls.
With the highly coveted food right in front of them, it would surely ignite the fighting spirit of some of them.
Shen Yu’an looked at the spinning eyes of Old Lady Wu (Formerly Addressed as Aunt Wu and knew that she probably didn’t have any good ideas again.
She spoke up, “There’s a considerable amount of food, but it’s all in the bandits’ stronghold. We can distribute it equally among those who are willing to go with us.”
“I can take charge of this matter!” Shen Yu’an quickly spoke up, effectively silencing those who were dissatisfied.
Want food? Then send people to help!
“It’s not fair, why should some people sit back and enjoy the fruits of others’ labor when they have risked their lives upfront?” said someone in the crowd.
As expected, after these words were spoken, many hesitant people spoke up and said they also wanted to go.
Those who wanted to stay behind and avoid danger dared not mention their desire for the food.
Shen Yu’an looked at the people who had stepped forward, there were probably close to a hundred of them, plus their own family, which was more than enough.
After selecting the people, Shen Yu’an quickly discussed the battle plan with them.
The bandits were a group of about seventy to eighty people, divided into three groups during the daytime.
One part of the bandits would stay in the village, while the other two would guard the big and small roads during the day. Shen Yu’an planned to pursue and eliminate them.
Finally, Shen Yu’an divided the selected eighty-seven people into two teams, led by her family members, and went to deal with the guards on the two roads first.
Time passed quickly, and the morning had already passed.
After everyone had a bite to eat, they each picked up their weapons and set off according to Shen Yu’an’s arrangements.
Shen Yu’an, Shen Yun, and Shen Dalang led forty people, with Shen Nian at the forefront, down the mountain towards the main road.
Shen Rong, Shen Ming, and Shen Erlang led the remaining forty-plus people towards the nearby small road.
Soon, Shen Yu’an and her group arrived not far from where the bandits were intercepting people on the main road, taking cover behind the trees.
“Hey, this woman looks pretty good. I’m going to take a wife home today, hahaha!”
Taking advantage of the cover provided by the trees, Shen Yu’an looked towards that direction.
There were thirty people blocking the road, and in front of them was a woman carrying a bundle.
Those people were harassing the woman and even laying their hands on her.
One of the bandits said, “I also like this woman. How about the two of us get her together?”
The other bandits laughed and joined in with more vulgar remarks while they continued to harass and grope the woman.
The woman tried to dodge and showed signs of embarrassment, glaring at the men who were touching her.
But her gaze did not show anger, rather it seemed like she was enjoying it with them.
Several bandits, feeling heated from the situation, could not help but touch the woman’s face.
Seeing that the woman did not reject them, the bandits laughed even louder, thinking that they were really enjoying themselves.
“Come with grandpa, and you’ll eat and drink well in the future!” One of the robbers grabbed the woman and pulled her into his arms, taking a vicious bite on her face.
“Is grandpa telling the truth?” The woman asked in a soft and gentle voice that seemed to seduce people.
Meanwhile, not far away, Shen Yu’an and her companions witnessed everything.
Suddenly, someone whispered, “Wait, look, doesn’t that woman look like the widow from the entrance of Li’s village?”
The others focused their attention and, indeed, it was her.
Shen Yu’an didn’t know who this “Li Widow” was, but what she have gathered from their conversation that she was the same widow who had been the talk of the town in Shen Village for a while.
She had only heard about her but had never met her in person until now.
