Chapter 145: The Disaster of Mulberry Village

After settling matters in the valley and doing their best to persuade the little fire rabbits not to follow them, Tang Wei and Wan Wan smiled as they hurried back toward the Sang Family Village.

Their mood on the return journey was joyful and filled with anticipation. After all, having lived here for so long, they had inevitably developed a certain attachment to the place. As the two approached the familiar entrance of the village, Tang Wei felt that something was amiss. She could not quite pinpoint what was wrong, so she cast her spiritual sense to probe the Sang Family Village. This single probe was catastrophic, and it nearly scared Tang Wei into fainting!

Starting from the village square where everyone usually gathered, the ground was stained crimson with fresh blood, and corpses were strewn everywhere. A pang of grief struck Tang Wei's heart. Without pausing to examine things closely, she channeled the spiritual energy within her body, and with a flash, her figure vanished, reappearing dozens of meters away.

Upon reaching the scene, Tang Wei saw that the Sang Family Village had been utterly devastated, left in ruins as if swept by a violent storm. Roaring fires and billowing smoke were everywhere, and bloodied corpses littered the ground. Blood, darkened to a nearly black red, soaked the earth entirely. A breeze blew past, carrying a heavily pungent scent of blood. These corpses were strange; every single one of them had been killed by a single strike to a fatal spot. Moreover, all the bodies belonged to the elders of the Sang Family Village. Where were the children and Sang Xiong and his sons? Could they have been abducted and sold? What on earth had happened here? Judging by the current state of affairs, the catastrophe could not have occurred more than two days ago. If they pursued the investigation urgently, they might still find the others.

Thinking of the elderly people who had been smiling and chatting with her just a month ago, now lying here in silence, Tang Wei felt as though her heart were being twisted by a knife, and tears uncontrollably welled up and rolled down her cheeks. Wan Wan walked silently behind Tang Wei, reaching out to gently pat her shoulder, offering silent comfort.

Once Tang Wei had vented enough of her grief, she began dragging the bodies of the elders over one by one, burying them beneath the large tree in the central plaza where everyone used to gather, allowing them to rest in peace. Being able to continue guarding this mountain village where they had lived for decades even after death was surely something they would have wished for.

Tang Wei prepared to leave right then to pursue the trail of the children and Sang Xiong's family. After casting one last lingering look at the small mountain village where she had lived for several months, she turned to go. However, Wan Wan stood frozen in place without moving. Tang Wei turned back in curiosity and urged, "Wan Wan, let's go! There is no point in staying here any longer, and I need to save time. We must quickly track down the others; perhaps we can still save their lives in time."

"I know, Tang Wei. Listen carefully, is someone calling out? Why do I keep feeling like I hear the sound of someone crying for help nearby? But when I listen closely, I can't quite catch it. Why don't you try listening?" Wan Wan said to Tang Wei with a furrowed brow.

Tang Wei shook her head helplessly, believing that Wan Wan must have been thoroughly terrified. Yet, to appease her, she pretended to listen intently. To her surprise, upon paying close attention, problems genuinely seemed to emerge. Believe it or not, a faint voice really did seem to be crying out: "Dad, where are you?" The voice was extremely faint; unless one listened with absolute focus, it was completely imperceptible. Straining to identify the source of the sound, she felt the person had to be somewhere inside the village, but why was the voice so faint? Tang Wei swept her spiritual sense across every corner of the village and finally discovered a weak Sang Ye inside the cellar of Sang Xiong's house. "Hurry, let's go to Sang Xiong's house. It's Sang Ye calling. She must know what happened here!" Tang Wei hurried anxiously toward Sang Xiong's residence.

Wan Wan's ability to hear the voice did not mean she was superior to Tang Wei; rather, Tang Wei had been consumed by the tragedy before her eyes and had completely lacked the state of mind to notice anything else around her. Come to think of it, Sang Ye truly owed her life to Wan Wan. With the place completely deserted and remote, had Tang Wei and Wan Wan simply left, who knew how long it would be before anyone ever came here again? Furthermore, given her small frame, had she remained locked in the cellar, she likely wouldn't have lasted five days before joining the village elders in death.

When Tang Wei and Wan Wan managed to pry open the cellar of Sang Xiong's house, they found that Sang Ye had already lost consciousness. Her voice was hoarse, and she had sustained her desperate calls purely through sheer willpower. Seeing that someone had arrived and that she would no longer be locked in this dark, lightless cellar, Sang Ye finally let go of her tension and fainted.

"Sang Ye, wake up! Sang Ye, Sang Ye!" After calling out twice without receiving a response, Tang Wei turned to Wan Wan and said, "Let's get her up first! She's just utterly exhausted, and it looks like her leg is broken, too. We need to treat her right away!" Seeing Wan Wan nod in agreement, Tang Wei scooped up Sang Ye and leaped out of the cellar, followed closely by Wan Wan.

Tang Wei laid Sang Ye down on the small wooden board that served as a bed in the Sang household, then immediately proceeded to conduct a thorough examination of her entire body to check for any other injuries. Once confirmed, she turned to Wan Wan and said, "Wan Wan, look, Sang Ye is in this state now, and there is no way we can just abandon her. Could you go outside and see if there is any grain left? If you find some, please help her boil some thin congee. I need to treat her leg injury right away." After finishing these words, Tang Wei let out a deep sigh and added, "Wan Wan, I'm sorry to trouble you!"

"What trouble is there to speak of? I've lived in the Sang family for so long and haven't even properly thanked them yet! Now that the Sang Family Village has suffered such a calamity, it is only right for me to do this small favor. Feel free to ask me for help whenever you need it, no need to be shy!" Wan Wan said sensibly. Now that the Sang Family Village had been reduced to this state, there was no longer any need for polite formalities.

Tang Wei nodded gratefully and began treating Sang Ye's injuries. Realizing there was nothing more for her to do here, Wan Wan prepared to head out and boil some thin congee as instructed, so that when Sang Ye woke up, she would have something to eat to recover her strength. Tang Wei would undoubtedly have many questions for Sang Ye later, and without physical strength, how could she possibly talk? Moreover, once Sang Ye learned of the tragic fate of the Sang Family Village, there was no telling how frantic she might become.

Eventually, Wan Wan found some pre-cooked thin congee in the communal wooden cooking shed. The congee had not yet spoiled and came in handy just in time; it only needed to be reheated before eating. From this, it could be deduced that before the disaster struck, the villagers had not yet had time to eat their meal. What on earth could have caused such a sudden catastrophe?

In Sang Xiong's bedroom, nourished by the wood-element spiritual energy flowing from Tang Wei's body, Sang Ye slowly blinked her eyes open. The moment she regained consciousness, she asked in a hoarse and urgent voice, "Miss Tang Wei, where is my dad and the others?" Knowing that this was not the right time for such news, Tang Wei chose not to answer her directly. Maintaining a calm expression, she simply urged her to drink some thin congee first, promising to talk after she finished.

Anxious to learn the whereabouts of her father, Sang Ye grabbed the bowl with one hand and quickly swallowed down the entire bowl of congee in just a few gulps. Before she even had time to set the bowl down, she urgently pressed, "Miss Tang Wei, can you tell me what happened to my dad and the others now?"

"Tell me what happened here first! Only then can I slowly tell you what followed," Tang Wei said with a grave expression.

"It must have been last night! I remember Sang Ying had just come over to notify me that it was time to eat, and I went to the back courtyard intending to bring the laundry inside first. I had just reached the back courtyard when I saw my dad rush in anxiously, shouting something about the Wei family sending people here, and telling me, 'Sang Ye, hurry up and find somewhere to hide!' Dad looked around frantically, then opened the cellar lid and, without even mentioning the ladder, shoved me straight down inside! At that time I was terrified and had no idea what was going on, so when Dad pushed me down, I didn't pay attention and slammed hard against my leg. I felt a sharp pain, my mind went completely blank, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up, Dad never came to pull me up. I waited and waited, but no one ever came. I grew more and more frightened, so I started calling out. My voice grew hoarse, but still no one came, until you and Miss Wan Wan arrived!" Sang Ye recounted the events of that night, then anxiously pressed again, "Miss Tang Wei, where are my dad and the others?"

"I don't know either. We just arrived here and saw..." Tang Wei knew the truth could not be kept hidden forever, so she carefully described what she had witnessed upon returning.

Hearing of the horrible calamity that had befallen the Sang Family Village all at once, Sang Ye was stunned into silence for a long time, sitting rigidly on the wooden plank bed in a daze. Tang Wei exchanged a worried look with Wan Wan. Neither of them was skilled in comforting others, and just as they were fretting over what to do, Sang Ye let out a cry and burst into loud tears, streams of tears gushing down her face. Grief needed to be released through crying; once it was wept out, it would be fine. What was truly worrisome was holding it inside, which could damage one's vital organs.

"Sang Ye, don't worry. Since the bodies of your dad and the others weren't found here, it means they are still alive. This is truly a fortunate misfortune in the midst of tragedy. As long as we find the household of that Town Magistrate Wei, if he still values his life, I refuse to believe he wouldn't dare tell us the whereabouts of your dad and the others. Pull yourself together and get better soon, and I will take you to find them. Rest assured, I will never abandon you all." Although Tang Wei did not know how to comfort people, her savior complex was always at work, and naturally, this proved far more effective than mere words of comfort.

Sure enough, upon hearing that her father might still be alive, a glimmer of hope returned to Sang Ye's eyes. She asked incredulously, "Really? Miss Tang Wei, are my dad and the others really still alive?"

"Although I cannot guarantee with absolute certainty that they are still alive, I believe that since the attackers did not kill them here, they must have kept them alive for some purpose. Think about it: as long as your dad and the others don't fight back recklessly, ten to one they will be safe for the time being." Tang Wei patiently explained her analysis to Sang Ye, letting her deduce the logic herself, and then added, "You must recover quickly. Otherwise, if this drags on too long, your dad and the others will be in even greater danger."

"Mm! I will get better right away! Miss Tang Wei, I'm fine now!" Guided by Tang Wei's counseling, Sang Ye regained her full confidence in Sang Xiong and the others still being alive.