The armed group returned before noon.
Rude people that they are.
Tang Li Yue had expected them to return, of course. Stupid people rarely disappeared after one warning. They circled, licked their wounds, found courage in numbers, and came back smelling worse than before.
What she had not appreciated was the timing.
She had been in the middle of preparing a medicinal paste with Shen Deyuan and Shen Mingxia when the outer alarm sounded. Not the thin warning bell this time. The louder one. The one connected to the western fence where the old road curved toward the farmhouse.
Three sharp clangs cut through the morning air.
Tang Li Yue's hand froze above the mortar.
A second later, the entire farmhouse shifted.
Gao Jun barked an order from the yard. Chen Qiao ran toward the watch post. Zhou Han grabbed his rifle. Fang Yi and Xu Ren moved toward the side gate.
Shen Mingxia stood as well, but she moved too quickly and nearly knocked over the basket of herbs.
