By this time, the sky was beginning to brighten.
The captors were rushing, afraid that if they lingered until daylight, they might be discovered. They used tremendous force, dragging the bound villagers along, who had no choice but to follow, no matter how unwilling they were.
"What are you people doing? What's the meaning of this?"
"Is there no law left in this world? How dare you come to our village and tie us up!"
"Let me go!"
The villagers, realizing they were being taken away from their homes, grew more anxious and angry, shouting in protest. But the five captors ignored them entirely, moving quickly in the opposite direction of the village's usual route to the nearby town.
The village chief's wife, remembering her infant daughter still left behind at home, broke into desperate sobs. No one paid attention to her tears. Despite her unwillingness, her body was forcefully dragged forward, leaving a long trail in the dirt.
Among the captured, Tong Jialiang remained silent. He cautiously looked back, trying not to be too obvious, fearful of alerting the captors. He scanned the group but didn't see Han Weishu. On one hand, he felt relieved, thinking she might have escaped. On the other, he was deeply worried about her being left alone.
Meanwhile, Han Weishu, hiding in the shadows, saw the villagers being taken away. She wanted to follow immediately, but then she remembered the infant still left behind in the village. The captors hadn't taken the baby. After thinking for a moment, she decided to stay behind for now. All the doors to the houses had been left open, and being in the middle of the mountains, there was a real danger that wild animals might snatch the child.
Once the group was far enough away that they likely wouldn't notice her, Han Weishu signaled her Earth Spirit, Qiuqiu, to leave her and stealthily follow the captors. After sending Qiuqiu ahead, she hurried to the village chief's house to check on the baby.
She placed a hand on the infant's pulse and was relieved to find that the child was only in a deep sleep and otherwise unharmed. She then closed the door to the house and proceeded to check the other houses.
What she discovered shocked her: all the able-bodied villagers had been taken. Only the very old, the sick, and a few disabled remained. The elderly were incredibly frail, barely able to stand without trembling, and there was a middle-aged man with a missing leg. Aside from the baby, the small mountain village had been completely emptied.
Han Weishu retrieved a vial of medicine from her storage pouch — an elixir meant to clear the mind, prepared by Elder Huang of her sect's medicine hall. She waved it under the noses of the unconscious villagers, unsure if it would work on the captors' knockout powder.
Within moments, the villagers began to stir. Satisfied with the results, Han Weishu acknowledged Elder Huang's skill and effectiveness of the remedy.
When the remaining villagers awoke, they were disoriented, finding themselves all gathered in a single room with Han Weishu. They were confused and unsure of what had happened. Han Weishu briefly explained the situation. Under their doubtful gazes, she grabbed a bag of rice from the chief's home and handed the baby over to them, saying:
"Take care of this child for now. There's enough food here for you to manage for a while. I'm going to try to catch up and save the others, but you've seen how things are. I'm just one person, so don't get your hopes up too high."
Seeing their skeptical looks, Han Weishu understood their doubt. After all, she and Tong Jialiang had arrived only a day ago, and now their village was in peril. It was natural for them to be suspicious of her. She added:
"Believe me or not, that's your choice. But the baby is from your village, and whether or not you take care of her is up to you. I have my own matters to handle."
As she turned to leave, an elderly man finally spoke up, "Child, be careful out there. If you can, please try to bring our people back. Thank you…"
Han Weishu paused for a moment but didn't make any promises. She left the room and began following the direction Qiuqiu had taken.
Back in the room, the baby in the arms of the one-legged man began to cry, and one of the old women slowly stood up, preparing to make some food for her. The others also rose, albeit shakily, to help.
—
Han Weishu, guided by Qiuqiu, quickly followed the captors' trail.
Luckily, since the captors were dragging the villagers along, they were moving slowly. Han Weishu, running at full speed, soon caught up with them.
After confirming the direction they were heading, she recalled Qiuqiu and had it cover her again to conceal her presence, ensuring she wasn't detected by the cultivators.
She didn't dare act rashly. Instead, she quietly trailed them for two full days and nights.
What she didn't realize was that, due to the remote location of the village, after two days of travel, they had already crossed the border out of Pusi Country.
Eventually, the group reached a vast grassland. From her hidden vantage point, Han Weishu spotted a spirit ship docked nearby. It was only then that she realized she might no longer be within the borders of Pusi Country.
Staying hidden in the nearby forest, she watched as the captors herded the villagers and Tong Jialiang onto the spirit ship.
Only then did Han Weishu notice something she hadn't before — all the captors were wearing matching uniforms. Because of the dark nights and her distance from the group, she hadn't realized it earlier.
These uniforms were clearly those of a particular sect.
However, she had seen the outfits of the three major sects of Pusi Country, and none matched the ones worn by these captors!
This meant that these people likely weren't cultivators from Pusi Country.
Realizing this, Han Weishu's expression grew serious. She hadn't expected foreign cultivators to sneak into Pusi Country to kidnap people.
As she carefully observed the spirit ship, she noticed that it wasn't just the villagers from the mountain who had been captured. The ship was already packed with people, all bound just like the villagers.
It became clear that these captors had been at this for a while. A quick estimate suggested there were at least three to four hundred captives aboard the ship!
What were they planning?
As the captives were forced onto the spirit ship, it quickly ascended into the sky and disappeared.
Knowing there was no way she could keep up with a spirit ship on foot, Han Weishu watched it disappear into the distance, then commanded Qiuqiu to follow it as best as possible.
Meanwhile, she stayed behind, pondering her next move.
Should she return home and ask her father for help? Or should she go directly to the authorities to report this incident?