Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

As soon as the group entered Huojia Village, they sensed something was wrong. It was dinnertime, but every household had turned off their lights and closed their doors, and they couldn't hear any sounds of activity from anyone.

As soon as Deputy General Zhao raised his hand, everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Lord, there might be an ambush inside! Why don't you retreat outside the village first, and I'll take my brothers in to investigate before we decide what to do?"

"The one who was leading the group just now said there were underground tunnels dug here, and that you should move your things into the tunnels to hide from the robbers?" Xia Yu asked Deputy General Zhao.

"Yes, that's what the person said, but whether it's true or not is unknown," Deputy General Zhao replied.

Xia Yu thought for a moment, then turned to ask Nineteen.

"Nineteen, did you hear anything?"

Upon hearing Xia Yu's question, Nineteen closed her eyes and carefully listened to the subtle sounds coming from her ears.

After a moment, Nineteen pointed to a house on their right.

"Miss, there are people at this house. But they seem to be seriously injured."

Upon hearing what Nineteen said, Deputy General Zhao waved his hand, and a man came up from behind and kicked the fence gate. The gate, which was not very sturdy to begin with, was kicked open in an instant.

Everyone carried torches and searched everywhere in the yard and house, and soon they got the results.

"There's an injured woman here," a soldier's voice called from the direction of the kitchen.

Xia Yu went over to take a look and saw that there was already a lot of blood on the ground. The woman's breathing and pulse were weak, so she guessed that she had been injured for a while. Xia Yu quickly pressed a few of the special medicine pills she was carrying into the woman's mouth. Then Xia Yu used the spatial well water in the bamboo tube to wipe the wound on the woman's stomach.

Of course, while treating the wounds, Vice General Zhao and the others were all driven out by Xia Yu, leaving only Nineteen with a torch to light the way inside.

Xia Yu carefully cleaned the wound and then covered the woman's clothes again.

About fifteen minutes later, the woman slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing the faces of Nineteen and Xia Yu before him, he murmured somewhat blankly.

"Ox-Head and Horse-Face were originally fairies."

"You didn't die, it was my young lady who saved you," Nineteen explained to her from the side.

"I'm not dead?" The woman looked at Nineteen, who had spoken, then at the familiar spot in front of her. Then she reached out and pinched her arm hard.

"I'm not dead, sob..." The woman cried out once before quickly covering her mouth with her hand. She glanced around, then reached out and grabbed Xia Yu's arm, whispering...

"Miss, you must leave quickly, you can't stay here."

Xia Yu gently patted her hand and asked in a low voice as well.

"Don't be afraid, what happened here?"

Upon hearing Xia Yu's question, tears streamed down the woman's face. Xia Yu remained calm and simply watched her cry.

"Seven days ago, a group of thieves suddenly came to this village. They killed any men they saw and...and..." He choked up and couldn't continue.

"When they saw a pretty woman, they would rape her. All the men in the village were killed, and the older women were also killed. Only the young women and unmarried girls were left for them to play with."

"During the day, some people disguise themselves as robbers and go out to rob, while others stay in the village and pretend to be villagers. Something must have happened today. The thief who occupied my house suddenly packed his things to escape, and stabbed me before leaving. If it weren't for you, young lady, I would probably be in the underworld by now."

Through the woman's tearful account, Xia Yu basically understood the whole story. So he asked...

"Where did that thief run from?"

"They came out of the cave. They suddenly attacked from the cave. Many of the men in our village have been to the battlefield. If they hadn't suddenly attacked from the cave, our village wouldn't have been occupied so quietly." After saying this, the woman pointed to the water vat in the house through gritted teeth.

"Does every household have a hole like this?" Xia Yu asked, glancing in the direction of the hole.

"I don't know. Ever since the thieves took over my house, I haven't left this yard. What I just said was just something I guessed from what the thieves said. I don't even know how many people are still alive in our village. I don't even know if every house has a hole like this."

What she said was overheard by Deputy General Zhao outside, who also found it quite troublesome. He hadn't brought many men, and if he transferred them all over, he was afraid something might happen to the grain convoy.

"Nineteen, you personally take her to Da Niu's place. Keep a close eye on her and make sure she doesn't find the dagger," Xia Yu instructed Nineteen after hearing what the woman had said.

"Yes, I understand, Miss."

Just as Nineteen was about to leave with his men, Xia Yu suddenly called him back.

"Wait a minute, take the medicine first." Xia Yu took out a pill from her purse and fed it to the woman.

"This humble woman thanks you for your great kindness, Miss." The woman was about to kowtow to Xia Yu, expressing her deepest gratitude, but Xia Yu stopped her.

"You're still injured, there's no need for such a grand gesture. Go on, there are clothes and food in the carriage, let my maid take you there."

After the woman left, Deputy General Zhao asked Xia Yu...

“Lord, if what that woman said is true, what should we do next? Should I send a few of my smaller brothers down to take a look?” Deputy General Zhao suggested, looking at the small hole revealed after the rice jar was moved aside.

“No, if what that woman said is true, it would be too dangerous to send people down. We need to think this over carefully. If it really doesn’t work, we can just wait out tonight and report it to the authorities tomorrow. Let the government handle it. Anyway, we’re just passing through. As long as they don’t lay a hand on us, it’s best not to cause any more trouble.” Xia Yu’s voice was soft, and her words were as gentle as her voice.

Upon hearing Xia Yu's words, Deputy General Zhao's eyes widened, staring at Xia Yu as if he were a ghost. This was illogical; was the village head possessed? However, a moment later, seeing Xia Yu wink at him, he immediately understood his meaning and replied...

"I'll have someone search again to see how many holes like this there are in the village. It would be bad if someone came out to attack at night. We need to leave this place as soon as it's light tomorrow."

"Alright, let's do it this way? I'll go back and check on that woman. I wonder if her bleeding has stopped. Sigh, she's a pitiful person." After saying this, he left a few people to move the vat back, while Xia Yu and Deputy General Zhao went out first. Some things were better discussed outside.