Chapter 84: No One!
Upon hearing Yu Luo’s words, everyone’s faces lit up with joy, especially the Bai, Zhang, and Liu families!
After all, all their supplies were either taken from the guards or looted from the dead bandits.
The thought of getting white rice, white flour, iron pots, clay jars, and quilts made everyone feel that the ordeal they had just endured might have been worth it!
Although Yu Zhengqing was also interested in the supplies, he didn’t express it as eagerly as the other three families, who were practically grinning from ear to ear.
“Did you find an exit?”
At this moment, Yu Zhengqing’s face was covered in blood, making him look extremely menacing in the torchlight. He just wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible — away from the threat of more bandit attacks.
“No, I think such a well-hidden place without a visible exit must have a secret stone door or some kind of mechanism. Since we have many people, let’s search the walls for it.”
“Alright. Since all the bandits are dead, there’s no need to worry. Xiao Ran, go get your grandmother and the others. Xiao Xuan, carry your grandfather.”
Upon hearing Yu Zhengqing’s orders, Yu Luo couldn’t help but glance at him a few more times. She wondered how he would react once he realized that the old man was never captured in the first place.
When everyone came out, thanks to the system’s guidance, Yu Luo had already found the exit.
But Yu Zhengqing quickly noticed that his father was not among the group. His expression darkened instantly!
“Where’s your grandfather?!”
At his father’s shout, Yu Shaoxuan looked aggrieved.
“He’s not there! We searched the cave thoroughly, but there’s no one!”
“Oh heavens! Those damned bandits must’ve thrown your father into the mountains, seeing how sick he was! In such cold weather, he’ll freeze to death out there! No, no, there are tigers and leopards in the mountains too. What if…”
Old Madam Chen, supported by her two daughters-in-law, became more and more anxious as she spoke. Covering her face with one hand, she burst into tears, her wails echoing around them. Her frantic behavior seemed to suggest genuine concern for the old man.
However, Yu Luo’s family of three clearly remembered how this old lady clutched her money pouch tightly, refusing to spend more on medicine for the old man.
Unexpectedly, Old Madam Chen’s crying set off Yu Yingying and Yu Meiyao, who also started sobbing. Even the old man Yu Liang began howling, making the scene even more chaotic and unbearable!
“Stop crying! What’s the use of wailing? Let’s get out of here first. Once we’re safe, I’ll go back and look for him!”
Yu Zhengqing was already on edge. Not knowing where the bandit stronghold was made the crying all the more infuriating.
With a fierce shout, he managed to silence the Yu family members’ cries.
“Miss Yu Luo, about those supplies…”
As for the Bai, Zhang, and Liu families, they weren’t too concerned about the old man’s fate. All they could think about were the supplies Yu Luo mentioned.
“This way. If you need them, go get them. I took a quick look — it’s mostly food. I just don’t know if the packs we carried were left where we were captured. Since the bandits probably weren’t interested in pots, bowls, and tents, those might still be there. If our food is gone, we’ll have to split some of the supplies we found.”
Yu Luo wasn’t being stingy; she was just putting on a show. If she acted too indifferent about the supplies, people would eventually get suspicious.
Reminded of their tents, everyone became anxious again. Even Yu Haojie, who hadn’t been too worried about the supplies initially, looked serious. He led the Yu family to the storeroom to check.
If their supplies were gone, they would need what was left to survive.
Upon entering the storeroom and seeing the bags of grain, Zhang Yuan sliced one open with a knife.
Seeing the white rice spill out, even a grown man like him couldn’t help but get teary-eyed.
“It’s white rice! Unbelievable! Those other bags must be white flour!”
Upon hearing this, the other men rushed forward to carry as many as they could out of the cave. The specifics of how to divide them would have to wait until they were safely away from the mountains.
When they emerged from the cave, their eyes fell upon the bedding left by the bandits. The thousand-square-meter cave was littered with bandit corpses, and the women and children, despite their fear, followed closely behind the men without uttering a word.
“Grab those quilts too — they’ll be much warmer than patched-up clothes. And the bandits’ coats too — strip the good ones off. With our horses likely taken, we’ll need everything we can carry to survive.”
The group split up, moving quickly. The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows on the dead bandits’ faces, making the men who were stripping the bodies shiver with fear. But they had no choice if they wanted to survive.
Before long, a pile of silver, banknotes, copper coins, and jewelry was gathered from the bodies.
These bandits might not have gone to town often, but their loot was enough to fill their pockets. Living together in the mountains, they must have kept all their valuables on them, which turned out to be a boon for the fugitives.
These bandits probably never imagined that one day, the prisoners they planned to sell for ransom would wipe them out and even plunder their lair!
Perhaps it was just their fate. After all, they happened to encounter Yu Luo’s family of three — people with a golden finger in this world.
“This silver needs to be divided! All our money was taken when we were captured. This isn’t a matter of finders-keepers — part of this loot is ours!”
Suddenly, Mu Chunfang’s voice rang out from the crowd. The men who were gleefully looting the corpses froze, smiles dropping from their faces.
They had been lucky, finding plenty of silver and valuables on the bodies, but Mu Chunfang’s words were like a bucket of cold water.
“Exactly! Our family had a lot of money! My son had thousands of taels in banknotes, and I had five thousand taels! Now it’s all gone. We should take our share first before dividing the rest!”
