Lu Ye's heart leaped, and he dropped the sandstone block he was holding, running as fast as he could in the direction the woman pointed.
Bai Sheng had just finished her last trip moving sandstone. She had only been gone a short while, and his three younger siblings were all nearby. How could they have been captured by someone so suddenly?
Lu Ye didn't know if the woman was telling the truth, nor did he understand why she was helping him, but he wouldn't allow himself even a sliver of complacency.
After running over several sand dunes, Lu Ye saw a scene that made his breathing seize.
In the sand valley ahead, Bai Sheng and his three younger siblings were being held by four men, all face down, their hands bound behind their backs and pressed against the sand.
Lu Ye recognized these four men; they were all from the scattered people.
Bai Sheng and Lu Hua had their mouths gagged with grass ropes. Even though they were pressed down hard, they refused to yield, uttering muffled curses at the men.
Lu Yun and Lu Yu had their mouths covered as well, their small bodies wriggling, trying to break free from the restraint. Unfortunately, their strength was too little, and they couldn't budge their captors at all.
Perhaps to conserve energy, the two men pressing down on Bai Sheng and Lu Hua each picked up a large rock and were about to smash it down forcefully onto their heads.
With one blow of these stones, their brains would surely splatter, and they would die on the spot.
He hadn't expected there to be such wicked people in Hongshu Slope! Besides wanting to eat human flesh, they had no other reason to cruelly attack defenseless, innocent women and children!
Lu Ye was enraged. He quickly grabbed two sandstone blocks from the ground and hurled them at the two men who were about to smash the rocks.
Just as the stones were about to hit Bai Sheng and Lu Hua's heads, the wrists of the two men were struck by the sudden appearance of the sandstone blocks. The rocks deviated from their course and fell to the ground.
Lu Ye flashed to their sides like a whirlwind, pressing pressure points on each of them, instantly immobilizing them.
Bai Sheng and Lu Hua tore the grass ropes from their mouths. Before they could curse the wicked villains, Lu Ye pulled them behind him.
The other two men were greatly shocked by this sight, not expecting to encounter such a formidable opponent today.
This young man named Lu Ye actually knew martial arts!
The man holding Lu Yun's arm had a flash of sharp light in his eyes. He suddenly drew a thin, sharp bone spike from his waist and pressed it tightly against Lu Yun's neck. "None of you come any closer! Otherwise, you can wait to collect this kid's corpse!"
Lu Ye and the other two changed their expressions and dared not advance further.
A hint of triumph crossed the man's face. He pressed the bone spike a little harder against Lu Yun's neck. "All of you, step back!"
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng exchanged a glance and took a step back.
Lu Yun's mouth was released, and he gasped for air, his eyes glancing back at the man, cursing, "Stinking piece of trash! Try killing me, little master, and my eldest brother will flay you piece by piece and feed you to the wolves!"
The man's face suddenly changed. He wasn't afraid of being fed to wolves; he was afraid of being roasted and eaten by these scattered people!
"Shut up! If you spout any more nonsense, I'll cut off your—" Before the man could finish speaking, he was knocked unconscious by a rock from behind by a tall, thin man who had appeared silently.
The short man holding Lu Yu saw that the situation was dire. He fell to his knees before Lu Ye with a thud, kowtowing and begging for mercy, "Great Master Lu, spare my life! I... I was coerced by them! They said they would capture these weaklings first, and then we'd deal with you together. We... we won't be short of food for a long time after this!"
Damn it! They really wanted to eat their flesh! Bai Sheng was furious and kicked the two men who had been immobilized twice.
Lu Yun looked around, then went to pull Lu Yu to his elder brother and sister-in-law's side.
"Coerced?" The young woman who had secretly reported to Lu Ye earlier arrived at some point. She immediately slapped the kneeling man hard. "If you didn't have shit in your own heart, could others coerce you? When you killed my son, ate—my son's flesh and my son's blood—was someone coercing you?" The woman's eyes were red, and she hatefully slapped the man again!
Perhaps it was because she had used all her strength, the woman stumbled back from the force.
The tall, thin man immediately stepped forward to support her and said gently, "Wife, you rest, I'll handle it!"
After speaking, the tall, thin man stepped forward and kicked the four men dozens of times.
Lu Ye and Bai Sheng exchanged a glance and did not stop him.
The woman walked towards them, panting weakly, and said, "My name is Du Min, and my husband's name is Feng Pingyuan. We fled here from the neighboring Qiban Town. Six months ago, these four scoundrels killed our son, and... and roasted him... and ate him!"
Du Min could no longer hold back, squatting down and crying.
Only then did Lu Ye understand why the woman named Du Min had gone to tip him off.
"For the past six months, I have not... for a single day not wanted to kill them... We endured until now, just waiting for this day to come..." Du Min's eyes shot out intense hatred, her teeth clenching.
Feng Pingyuan also came over. Kicking those men earlier had drained much of his strength. He gasped for a few breaths, and after recovering, he cupped his fists towards Lu Ye and said, "Young Brother Lu, thank you. Today, if not for you, my wife and I don't know if we could have waited for the day of revenge. We... haven't had a drop of water... for several days..."
Lu Ye also cupped his fists towards Feng Pingyuan, saying gratefully, "Actually, I am the one who should thank you. If not for Lady Du informing us in time, my family's—my wife and siblings—might have already fallen victim to their wicked hands. I will never forget this life-saving grace!"
Hearing Lu Ye mention his own wife, Feng Pingyuan and Du Min's gazes involuntarily shifted to Bai Sheng, as she was the only one who appeared slightly older, while the others were still children.
After their gazes fell upon Bai Sheng, both of them showed a slight look of surprise.
Bai Sheng naturally understood the meaning of that slight surprise. However, it was a normal reaction. Anyone who saw her would think that she and Lu Ye were as different as mud and white clouds. Kanshuge.
Moreover, she was currently truly, very, extremely—short. After crawling out of the campfire last night, she hadn't had a chance to bathe, and she looked like a dried shrimp that had rolled in ashes.
Lu Ye hooked his lips and introduced, "This is my wife, Bai Sheng. These little ones are my siblings, Lu Hua, Lu Yun, and Lu Yu."
Bai Sheng tilted her dark, grubby face and paid her respects to Du Min and Feng Pingyuan one by one.
Feng Pingyuan and his wife probably felt they had been a bit rude, and their response to Bai Sheng was especially warm.
After their greetings, Lu Ye pressed the pressure points of the four villains, and then everyone dragged them towards the gathering place of the scattered people.
The gathering place had a dozen or so scattered people remaining. Seeing these four men captured, they all showed expressions of fear mixed with relief.
Most of them were from the same hometown as these four, but their camaraderie had long since been eroded by hunger and thirst. Only vigilance and scheming remained between them.