"Little County Princess, don't be afraid. Da Qiang and the others have already gone to the county town to report the crime. The constables will be here to catch the thieves soon!" Aunt Zhang took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Xiao Xi Tian's face.
Xiao Xi Tian tugged at the corner of her mouth, glanced at Xiao Jie Kong beside her, and gave a dry laugh, "Aunt Zhang, I... I'm fine. Let's hurry down the mountain. The locusts are ruining the crops!"
"Yes, let's go down and eat millet porridge..." Jie Kong shouted, waving his little hands.
As soon as he said this, everyone looked at Jie Kong, their gazes like blades, scraping back and forth across Xiao Jie Kong.
The villagers' attention had been on Xiao Xi Tian just now, and they had overlooked this little boy in a night-blooming outfit...
Now that he suddenly appeared, he startled everyone.
"He's the one who grabbed Xi Tian?"
"This little brat, so young and already learning bad habits, daring to kidnap our Little County Princess!"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry and pin him down and throw him to the county yamen!"
"..."
The villagers, like rampaging toads, pounced and leaped towards Xiao Jie Kong.
Seeing this, Xiao Xi Tian was about to stop them when she saw Jie Kong hook the corner of his lips and, with a 'swish,' fly up, landing on a tree branch...
"Hehe, you can't catch me, you can't catch me, nya nya nya!"
Xiao Jie Kong stuck out his tongue, almost making the villagers faint from anger.
Aunt Zhang stamped her foot, "Oh dear, this little brat is a spirit. How can he fly?"
"That's Qing Gong. It seems this kid has some skill. Everyone keep an eye on him. When the constables arrive, use arrows to shoot him down..." Uncle Li said indignantly.
Xiao Jin Heng leaned against a tree, looking at Jie Kong expressionlessly, his heart calm.
"Everyone, don't be impulsive!" Xiao Xi Tian shouted with extreme helplessness, her voice tender, "His name is Jie Kong, he's a little monk, and he has no ill intentions..."
After speaking, Xiao Xi Tian put her hands on her hips and glared at Jie Kong indignantly, "Little monk, hurry down and apologize to the villagers!"
This brat is clearly a troublemaker.
Xiao Jie Kong frowned, "Why should I apologize to them? Didn't you hear? They want to shoot me with arrows..."
Hmph, Sister Xi Tian doesn't care about him at all.
"That's because the villagers misunderstand you!" Xiao Xi Tian said sternly, "Besides, if you hadn't captured me, they wouldn't be so angry. You were in the wrong first, so you should apologize sincerely. Otherwise, I won't let you live at our house anymore..."
As she spoke, Xiao Xi Tian opened her small satchel, intending to return the small Buddha statue to Jie Kong.
Alas, one who eats from others' mouths is weak in the hand. She would never accept things randomly again...
Hearing this, Xiao Jie Kong quickly jumped down from the tree branch and chuckled, "Sister Xi Tian, it was my fault. Don't be angry! I'll apologize obediently!"
Xiao Jin Heng snorted after hearing this, "Not only do you need to admit your mistake to the villagers, but you also need to apologize to Xi Tian. She's the victim. It's already good that she didn't send you to see the officials. Don't be ungrateful!"
Xiao Jie Kong: "..."
I didn't say I wouldn't apologize. What are you babbling about?
So, under everyone's gaze, Xiao Jie Kong apologized separately to the villagers and Xiao Xi Tian, and solemnly promised that he would never kidnap Xiao Xi Tian again...
Seeing that it was still early, the villagers decided to walk into the mountains, hoping to find Qi Ye Zi before dark.
"Everyone come down the mountain, stop looking!" Yun Erman waved his hand, "My sister said that there's this thing at the west end of our village, it just grows in the grass clumps of the ditch, and the villagers didn't notice it..."
"Really?" Aunt Zhang looked excited, but also felt it was strange, "Since the Little County Princess knew there was Qi Ye Zi at the west end of the village, why did she bring everyone up the mountain?"
This logic is a bit flawed...
Xiao Xi Tian twitched the corner of her mouth and coughed lightly, "That, that I just remembered!"
"Yes, yes, yes, my sister has a bad memory. Let's hurry down the mountain, saving the crops is important!" Yun Erman said, then picked up his sister and ran quickly down the mountain.
The Yun family knew best how capable their sister was...
Including Xiao Jin Heng, they also knew that the little village child could produce Qi Ye Zi, so they didn't find it strange.
Old Man Yun took a couple of puffs from his pipe and also went down the mountain.
Xiao Jie Kong looked back at the mountain hollow, then stared blankly at Xiao Xi Tian's retreating back, completely confused.
Did this little monster move all the Qi Ye Zi to the west end of the village?
Seeing that the Yun family had already gone down the mountain, the villagers tidied up their things and hurried to follow...
Outside the old Yun family's house in Dashui Village.
Magistrate Chen, with a large group of constables, galloped over.
"Constable Zhu, you immediately take your men up the mountain and find the Little County Princess no matter what..."
"Constable Liu, you arrange for men to guard the entrances and exits of Heyang County. If you find any suspicious personnel, stop them immediately!"
"The rest of you, go to the prefectural city and inform Prefect Qin to send more manpower to help!"
Magistrate Chen issued a series of orders, his heart filled with anxiety...
He heard that His Highness the Crown Prince had also gone up the mountain. If anything happened to him again, the Emperor would surely have his head.
The constables responded and were about to take action when they saw a large group of villagers walking from the village entrance. Leading the way was none other than the Yun family's youngest daughter, Yun Xi Tian...
Magistrate Chen's face lit up with joy. He quickly dismounted and ran over, "Oh my, Little County Princess, are you... are you alright?"
Seeing that both His Highness the Crown Prince and the Little County Princess were safe and sound, Magistrate Chen's heart, which had been hanging in his throat, finally settled back down...
"Uncle Magistrate, I'm fine. Dashui Village is currently suffering from a locust plague. Let's put other matters aside for now!" Xiao Xi Tian said crisply.
"Yes, yes, disaster relief is important!" Magistrate Chen nodded repeatedly.
Under Xiao Xi Tian's guidance, the villagers carried the Qi Ye Zi from the grass clumps at the west end of the village back and spread them around their own fields...
The dense locusts landed in the fields. Merely throwing a stone would startle a large swarm into flight.
The village chief and Old Man Yun and others lit torches and stood solemnly in front of the Qi Ye Zi, waiting for Xiao Xi Tian's order to begin the decisive battle against the locust army...
Gu Shi, along with Gao Jingde, Yun Xiaobao, and Xiao Xinling, also came to their cornfield, praying that things would go smoothly.
"It's ready, light the fire!" Xiao Xi Tian shouted.
The villagers obeyed and lit the Qi Ye Zi with torches. Instantly, wisps of thick white smoke permeated the air above the fields, like a heavy fog, making the villagers cough.
The locust army was greatly astonished, and like a sky-covering black rain, they flew up with a 'swish swish swish' sound...