“We’re finally eating meat!”
The Zhan family devoured the wild boar, satisfaction radiating from both body and soul.
Once they relaxed, they no longer had the energy to think about going out to dig for wild vegetables. One by one, they found a corner to curl up in, leaning, lying down, or sprawling wherever they could, and soon sank into deep sleep. The only sounds left in the temple were the crackling of burning firewood and the rise and fall of snores.
Shao Yutong, however, had no desire to sleep. She quietly moved to the temple entrance and watched the outside through a crack in the door.
She had suffered setback after setback at the hands of the two Zhan brothers, and with the black-clad men no longer there to support her, she felt extremely uneasy. She was desperate to seize hold of something.
There was nothing else she could control. After thinking it over, she decided that the only thing she could manipulate was the human heart.
So she had taken out all the chicken legs and shared them with everyone, winning their goodwill.
Then she had called on them to go out in search of food, drawing them to her side while trampling Cheng Yao in the process. At last, she had vented the frustration in her heart.
But Cheng Yao’s words had made her wary.
That woman was deep and calculating. She never said anything unless she had confidence in it.
So it really was possible that everyone had killed a piglet and attracted even more full-grown wild boars!
Shao Yutong felt a little frightened. Suddenly, the bushes not far away swayed unnaturally.
Her heart leapt into her throat. She stared intently, and in the distant grass, a pair of vicious little eyes appeared, gleaming with a savage, fearless light.
Wild boars!
She couldn’t tell how many there were, but she could see that every one of them was large and well-fed!
The leading boar was especially massive. Its body was nearly ten feet long, and its black mane stood up like steel needles, bristling from its neck all the way down its spine.
Two curved tusks protruded from either side of its mouth, each half a foot long, their tips gleaming with the yellow-white chill of years of sharpening.
“Get up!” Shao Yutong spun around. Her voice was shrill with terror. “The wild boars are here!”
The sleeping people awoke in a daze and looked around in confusion.
Zhang Dapeng was the first to react. He snatched up his saber and rushed to the door.
When he saw what was happening outside through the crack, his face instantly turned deathly pale.
More than a dozen wild boars had already smashed through the bushes and were charging toward them like a black flood.
Their legs were short and thick, but immensely powerful. The tusks of the leading boar still had scraps of rotten flesh hanging from them, and its hooves were hard as iron. Every step sent the ground trembling beneath it.
“Prepare to defend the temple! Hurry!” Zhang Dapeng roared. “Block the entrance with anything that can be moved!”
The temple descended into chaos.
The men hurriedly dragged over the ruined offering table and wooden pillars to brace the door, while the women clung tightly to one another, trembling in fear.
Shao Yutong stood rooted to the spot, her face as pale as paper. Her mind buzzed, with only two words echoing inside it:
We’re doomed!
At that moment, the closed temple door shuddered as though struck by enormous force. The obstacles they had just piled up shook violently.
Then came more impacts from every direction—the herd had completely surrounded the ruined temple.
“Hold it! Hold it!” Zhang Dapeng shouted himself hoarse as he and several of the stronger prisoners pressed their bodies against the door.
Zhan Yunpeng quickly surveyed the temple and shouted, “The rear window! Send two people to guard the rear window!”
Shao Yutong grabbed a burning wooden stick and hurried toward the rear window.
The instant she reached it, the decrepit shutter was smashed open, and the head of a huge wild boar thrust inside.
Without hesitation, Shao Yutong jabbed the torch at its face.
The boar let out a pained squeal and retreated several steps for the moment, but more wild boars surged forward one after another.
“Use fire! They’re afraid of fire!” Encouraged, Shao Yutong shouted.
Several bolder people followed her example, grabbing burning sticks and waving them at the window.
The tactic seemed to work, and the herd’s assault slowed somewhat.
But the respite did not last long.
With a deafening crash, the temple door and part of the wall were smashed apart. A particularly enormous sow charged in first, lunging straight at a middle-aged man who happened to be closest.
With an enraged howl, it ripped open his thigh with its tusks, spraying blood across the crumbling wall.
The sow then charged straight toward the densest part of the crowd. With a single upward thrust, it sent a young man flying ten feet through the air. When he landed, the clear sound of breaking bones rang out.
The rest of the herd followed close behind, biting with their tusks and ramming people with their bodies.
Someone raised a bundle of dry firewood and struck a wild boar with all his strength, but the blow only left a shallow mark on its hide. The boar turned around and bit down, severing his wrist.
Another person, panicking, tried to flee through the entrance, only to be sent flying by a charging boar. More wild boars swarmed him, tearing him to pieces in an instant.
People fled in terror in every direction, but there was nowhere to hide in the cramped space.
More and more wild boars rushed into the temple, ramming and biting anyone they saw.
Screams, the roars of the boars, and the sound of objects being smashed together in one deafening chaos.
Blood splattered everywhere, and the stench of gore filled the air. In an instant, the temple had become a living hell.
Cheng Yao’s family hid in the grass outside, fully aware of what was happening inside.
Zhan Haochen had wanted to rush out and save the others from the beginning, but Zhan Haoting stopped him.
“Not yet. Wait a little longer,” Zhan Haoting said.
But with every moment they waited, more people died.
Zhan Haochen was frantic with worry. “Brother, are reinforcements coming?”
“Yes, Second Young Master. It’s just that…” Xiao Fu wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered on Zhan Haoting’s behalf. “They were all injured. When we stopped here, they temporarily left to see a doctor, so they haven’t been able to make it back yet.”
Zhan Haochen fell silent for a moment. “They’ve had it hard.”
The hidden guards were made of flesh and blood too. They could fall ill and suffer injuries just like anyone else.
During this period, they had braved the elements while following the exiled convoy. They also had to remain hidden among the prisoners, secretly dealing with assassinations and traps. Their minds had been under constant strain, and they were utterly exhausted.
Especially during the previous two nights, when the assassins had come in great numbers and possessed formidable martial skills. The hidden guards had fought them with their lives, only barely managing to eliminate them.
Though they had already sustained serious injuries, they had hurried to rescue others as well, without even a chance to catch their breath.
Zhan Haochen felt deeply for these hidden guards who were so loyal to his elder brother. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Then we won’t wait for them. I’ll go save the others first.”
“Haochen, listen to your brother. Don’t go.” Madam Zhan clung tightly to him. “Those wild boars have thick hides and are practically impervious to blades and spears. If you go, you’ll only throw your life away.”
Zhan Haochen’s eyes were bloodshot. “Mother, I can’t stand by and watch people die! Everyone in there is part of our Zhan clan!”
Madam Zhan shook her head through her tears, but her hands remained locked around her son.
“Your elder brother would never abandon the clan members. He has a plan. You have to trust him.”
“I do trust Big Brother, but right now…” Hearing the screams from inside, Zhan Haochen’s heart felt as though it were being torn apart.
Zhan Haoting gently waved a hand. “Someone has already gone in to deal with it. Just wait.”
Zhan Haochen looked around, but he didn’t see anyone.
Still, since his elder brother had said so, he could only wait and see what happened.
Cheng Yao’s eyes flickered. She stood up and said, “I remember my grandmother once taught me how to identify a certain medicinal herb. The smell it gives off when burned makes all beasts loathe it and retreat. I’ll go look for some.”
“Sister-in-law, I’ll go with you.” Zhan Haochen immediately volunteered.
“And me.” Zhan Qingrou eagerly raised her hand.
“Don’t come with us. You need to cover for me here and pretend I never left. Otherwise, it’ll be troublesome if the guards discover me.”
