Chapter 32: Meeting on a Narrow Path

Chapter 32: A Narrow Encounter

The rice porridge, cooked with lard and fried eggs, soon filled the air with its rich aroma. The ten who had fought in the battle were the first to receive the egg porridge, followed by the twenty-odd villagers who had joined the pursuit of the bandits.

Even though Zhao An had eaten his fill that evening and hadn't participated in the fight, the adrenaline surge from learning of the bandit attack had drained much of his energy. So, he too went to get a bowl of egg porridge.

By the time all the villagers who had followed to the training ground had their porridge, half of the dozen or so injured bandits had already died.

Zhao An carried his not-so-round bowl, a product of Zhao Village’s brick and tile kiln, to the kitchen shed set up beside the training ground. Diligent women were already washing dishes there.

"Have you all eaten?" Zhao An asked Auntie Hu, the leader, glancing at the clean, large pots.

Auntie Hu smiled and nodded. "Yes, yes. We who cook would never let ourselves go hungry." Her square face softened considerably when she smiled.

This woman was the daughter of Old Hunter Liu Hu from the village. She had once set traps with her father and killed a tiger, earning her the name Auntie Hu. Later, she married a former soldier—now one of the village’s two hunters, skilled in archery, the same man who had shot an arrow at the wolf on Zhao An’s wall.

In the village, taking a son-in-law meant he would live with the family. There was no property to inherit, nor any issue of changing surnames. The main reason was to avoid leaving records in government files, which would have been a major disadvantage when conscripted for labor.

Zhao An first noticed her because she was the strongest among the dozen or so women working at the brick and tile kiln. With her sleeves rolled up, her arms even showed muscle. This was why she and her husband could go up the mountain to set traps and hunt, yet only pay one person’s fur tax. They often ate meat, which provided essential protein.

She had previously been responsible for molding bricks at the kiln and worked very efficiently. She was also fortunate enough to win bricks and tiles in a lottery draw and invited over twenty households to help build her family’s house. In less than eight days, a new brick house was erected, and the entire family had long since moved in.

Later, when it became necessary to feed those participating in training, the two women who had been cooking for the kiln workers could no longer handle the workload. Zhao An hired three more people, including Auntie Hu. She was exceptionally skilled at cooking large woks of food—mainly because she had enough strength to stir-fry quickly, making her dishes tastier than others.

So, she quickly became the leader of the kitchen helpers, earning three strings of coins per month. Sometimes, when the men practiced the Mandarin Duck Formation on the training ground, she would stand by and watch, seemingly eager to try it herself.

In fact, Zhao An had considered whether to include women in training the militia. In his memory, some female warriors were exceptionally formidable. But he quickly realized the impracticality. In the early cataclysmic period of the spiritual energy resurgence, due to various reasons, the mortality rate for women was almost four or five times higher than men's. It wasn’t until later, when people developed various supernatural powers, that the situation eased and female warriors emerged.

In this world where martial arts existed, there were also female heroes in those martial arts novels. But for ordinary women, their strength was ultimately weaker than men’s, so training them together was certainly not feasible.

However, the entire village only had a few hundred people. With over a hundred already drawn into training, the remaining women were already bearing heavier labor burdens. It was no longer feasible to specially select a group of women for training. So, they could only wait until after the autumn harvest to organize a military training activity for the entire village, young and old alike. This way, not only women but also children could receive basic training.

If before Zhao An had feared his proposal might provoke dissatisfaction among the villagers, after tonight’s bandit incident, he believed no one would refuse anymore.

As Zhao An left the kitchen shed, he encountered Liu Huan and Scholar Zhao. The two had gathered together, clearly having come specifically to find him.

Though one looked panicked and the other excited, they spoke in unison: "Should we send someone to report to the authorities?"

They naturally glanced at each other, then turned away in mutual distaste. Scholar Zhao thought Liu Huan was an unsophisticated rustic, while Liu Huan thought Scholar Zhao, with grandchildren nearly old enough to marry, was still vainly hoping to pass the imperial exams—a complete fool. The two had long disliked each other, and now, forced to walk together, they found each other equally irritating.

Zhao An had long been aware of the conflict between them, but now was not the time to dwell on such trivial matters. He nodded and said, "We should indeed report to the authorities, but let’s first find Young Master Feng and have him take someone to the magistrate’s office." He also knew that gaining entry to the magistrate’s office nowadays was difficult. To see the county magistrate directly, unless one beat the grievance drum, would require being subjected to a public flogging. Otherwise, one had to pay clerks and runners to relay the message layer by layer—all legitimate but unofficial income, both legal and shady.

"The Young Master is right. Having connections in the government makes things easier," Liu Huan agreed with Zhao An’s view and went to call Liu Hu, who had been working with Zhao An, to find Feng Shaoping.

At this point, Scholar Zhao finally caught Liu Huan’s slip and sneered, "Going to find Young Master Feng in the middle of the night might disturb his sleep. It’s better to go early tomorrow morning."

In a small inland southwestern town like Changxi County, which had no city walls, there was naturally no curfew. Going to find Feng Shaoping now wasn’t impossible, but Zhao An still took Scholar Zhao’s advice and decided to send someone tomorrow morning.

This meant they couldn’t leave the injured bandits unattended. Zhao An thought for a moment and said to Liu Huan, "Go get some pot soot to stop their bleeding. We can’t let them die now."

If there were no survivors, although the entire village might not be condemned, it would still be difficult to account for. As for whether using soot to stop bleeding would cause infection, that wasn’t something Zhao An needed to worry about.

Fortunately, Zhao An didn’t rush to send someone to town to find Feng Shaoping, because if he had, he would have found no one there.

At that time, Feng Shaoping had taken a dozen of Hu Sheng’s trusted subordinates left in Changxi County and transported ten cartloads of grain into the mountains on handcarts, intending to welcome Hu Sheng, who was returning with several thousand people.

After fleeing into the mountains and finding the hidden elderly and weak of Banpo Village, they saw from afar Feng Shaoping and his group holding torches.

These bandits, who had just left over a dozen lives in Zhao Village, were also somewhat fearful. But after sending someone skilled in stealth to investigate, they learned the other side had only a dozen people. Though armed, each had pale, soft complexions—clearly city young masters.

Tempted by the ten cartloads of grain and the seemingly weak enemy, the Banpo Village people once again formed malicious plans. Their entire village could muster two hundred strong adults. Even if twenty fought one, how could they fail?

Not having learned from their previous defeat, the Banpo Village people came howling like wolves and charged at Feng Shaoping and his group. They needed a victory to erase the blow they had suffered in Zhao Village, after which they could consider whether to leave first or regroup for revenge.

But as they charged into the light of the torches, they saw countless black figures standing like ghostly shadows, and over a hundred fully armored, soldier-dressed people charging toward them.

Hu Sheng had returned with his men. These villagers-turned-bandits naturally were completely outmatched. With hardly any casualties incurred, these people became prisoners under Hu Sheng’s command, joining the captured soldiers to become the main labor force for expanding the Great Green Fortress.