Qin Sang had Da Zhuang help her take down the red strings from the trees and change their positions to mislead them.
As long as they followed her route, she wasn't afraid they wouldn't die.
Qin Sang held the torch to light the way while staying alert for any danger around them.
Da Zhuang moved quickly. Fearing those people wouldn't see, Qin Sang specifically had Da Zhuang tie the strings in the most conspicuous spots and intentionally leave some footprints.
"Mother, there are so many Rebel Soldiers. What if they all come up the mountain and the two of us can't beat them?"
Qin Sang naturally wouldn't be so foolish as to face them head-on.
"Da Zhuang, give me the emergency pack you're carrying."
This was something Qin Sang had insisted they carry, containing food and water.
Qin Sang returned the silver pieces and some other items to Da Zhuang for safekeeping, leaving only the flatbreads, compressed biscuits, and a canteen of water in the pack.
Qin Sang had another pack on her back. Following the same procedure, she took out a small porcelain bottle, poured more than half of it into the two canteens, sprinkled the rest evenly over the food, and dropped them on the path they were bound to take.
"Da Zhuang, find a big tree and hide."
Qin Sang extinguished the torch and gave her instructions.
Tian Dazhuang's heart pounded. He obeyed obediently. Without the torch, the forest was pitch black, without a sliver of moonlight.
Qin Sang put on her night-vision goggles, then dropped more drugged food along the path, ensuring there was enough for dozens of people to eat and drink before finding a place to hide.
"Don't be afraid, Da Zhuang. Mother is right beside you," Qin Sang comforted him.
Tian Dazhuang gave a heavy "mm." With his mother by his side, he wasn't afraid at all.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Qin Sang saw torches appearing in the distance, accompanied by cursing voices.
"Damn it, if you made us come all this way for nothing, you two brats are in for it."
"Captain, don't worry. That Widow Tian's house really has a lot of grain. You heard my sister say it too; cart after cart of rice and white flour was brought back. And you tasted that sausage, wasn't it delicious?"
"Captain, they only left this afternoon. They couldn't have gone far in the mountains. If we keep going, we might catch up. They're definitely ahead. Look here, a red string, and there, and there's another, and footprints..."
"They entered the mountains in this direction. Speed up."
Qin Sang estimated the number of people entering the mountain; there were only about thirty.
"Good, the dosage was sufficient."
Sure enough, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, someone in the group tripped over the pack Qin Sang had intentionally left behind and saw the scattered flatbreads on the ground.
"Food! Holy cow, white flour flatbreads."
"There's water! Damn, I'm parched."
"Captain, leave a sip for me, please, Captain."
The leading captain drank nearly half of one canteen, and then everyone else took a sip one by one.
The flatbreads and biscuits in the pack were also snatched and devoured greedily; they ate with great relish.
Qin Sang took off the night-vision goggles. Watching them gorge themselves, her eyes were filled with cold indifference.
Tian Yuanshan also got a flatbread.
"Captain, this must be food Widow Tian's family accidentally dropped. Only their family would be willing to make white flour flatbreads."
"Look at this roasted flour, it smells so good. Her family has thousands of catties of grain, and water too. There must be plenty of silver. Captain, if we catch her, we'll be rich."
"Captain, you might not know yet, but she has two daughters-in-law and two daughters. One of them is our Captain Hu's wife! If we can capture Captain Hu's wife and bring her back to him, Captain Hu will definitely promote you."
"Right, right. Her other daughter isn't married yet. When the time comes, maybe Captain Hu will be so happy he'll give that sister-in-law to you, Captain."
The group burst into laughter while dreaming of their rewards, especially that squad leader who ate the most; his laughter could be heard for miles.
"Hahaha... Huh?"
The laughter stopped abruptly. Before the squad leader could even close his mouth, he fell backward and slammed straight onto the ground.
Tian Jinshui was sitting the closest; he had been flattering the captain relentlessly just now. Seeing someone fall, he was about to check when his vision went dark, and he fainted too.
Tian Dazhuang watched as the row of Rebel Soldiers down the slope collapsed one by one like falling onions.
Tian Dazhuang's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked back toward where his mother was.
Seeing that everyone had fainted, Qin Sang worried the torches might set the forest on fire. She stepped forward quickly and extinguished them, leaving only one.
"Mother, are they... all... dead?"
In all his years, Tian Dazhuang had only ever killed the family's chickens or rabbits. But now, here were dozens of living people.
Seeing how frightened he was, Qin Sang comforted him.
"They're not dead, just drugged unconscious. Come quickly, strip off their clothes and tie them to the trees."
Relieved to know they weren't dead, Tian Dazhuang did as Qin Sang said.
"Mother, why are we tying them up?"
Qin Sang's hands didn't stop. She left everyone with only a loincloth, stripped everything else off, and dragged them to be tied to tree trunks.
"Tie them up. Whether they live or die depends on their luck." Qin Sang wasn't some overly kind soul. From what she had seen when fleeing the Town, she knew these people definitely had blood on their hands.
If they hadn't arranged to enter the mountains early today, these people wouldn't have spared Er Fu, Si Jin, and the others.
By tying them in this forest, she would let fear and terror torment them. Even if there were no wild beasts, they would bake to death, die of thirst, or starve. She would let them know what retribution felt like.
Tian Dazhuang obeyed, though he only half-understood.
The stripped clothes were torn into strips to tie them up, and the leftovers were balled up and stuffed into their mouths.
While the two were busy, Qin Sang suddenly sensed something was wrong behind her. Her body instinctively turned around, and she saw a dark shadow lunging toward her. Just as she was about to dodge, she heard a familiar, whimpering sound.
By the light of the torch, Qin Sang saw clearly: it was Da Huang.
Tian Dazhuang also saw Da Huang and was quite happy.
"Why is Da Huang still here? Could he be looking for us?"
Before Qin Sang could pat Da Huang's head, a group of four appeared in her field of vision.
San Gui, Hei Zi, Tian Yougen, and Hunter Xu.
"Mother, Big Brother, you're okay! That's great."
Tian Sangui ran over excitedly. When he reached them, he discovered a floor full of naked people lying on the ground.
"Them?"
Hunter Xu scanned the area.
"These aren't people from the nearby villages."
Tian Yougen quickly recognized two of the scourges.
"How could Tian Yuanshan and Tian Jinshui be here?"
Tian Dazhuang said indignantly.
"It was those two who led the Rebel Soldiers from Town straight to our village, but they came up empty-handed.
But they didn't give up and chased us up the mountain. Just now, they were saying they were going to capture my sisters and steal our grain.
My mother drugged them, and they're all unconscious now."
Tian Sangui and Hei Zi spontaneously began stripping clothes and tying people up, just as Qin Sang and the others had done. Hearing this, Tian Yougen kicked Tian Jinshui in anger, actually waking the unconscious man.
"Mmm..."
Before Tian Jinshui could react, Tian Yougen grabbed him by the neck and cursed.
"Speak! What did you do to my father?"
Qin Sang looked up in surprise.
"The Village Chief didn't enter the mountains with you?"