Chapter 141: Human Life Above All Else

After asking his questions, Xu Mo stopped speaking to White Hair and turned to Niu Da. "Captain Niu, tie those two up and keep a close watch on them. Once we've tended to the wounded, we will go and retrieve the cargo."

Niu Da nodded. "Understood, Boss!"

With that, Niu Da ordered his men to bring rope, and they bound White Hair and Peng Dong together. Before long, Niu Er and the others returned, bringing back the bandits whom Qin Mutou had knocked unconscious.

About a stick of incense later, the villagers of Gushan Village finally arrived.

Running at the front were the village women who had been learning how to stop bleeding and apply bandages from Elder Song. They carried hemostatic medicine and white cloth for bandaging. The Village Chief and Elder Song also arrived, though they were carried on the backs of others. Because of their advanced age, the rapid pace of the journey had exhausted them, but thanks to the villagers taking turns carrying them, they had not been left behind.

As the women approached, many were terrified by the sight of the corpses and blood covering the ground, and they began to cover their mouths and cry out in horror. Niu Da hurriedly calmed everyone down, which helped settle the women's nerves.

"Wife! I'm over here!" one of the injured team members suddenly shouted, waving at the women.

One of the women spotted him immediately and cried out, "Daddy!"

The next moment, she ran to her husband's side, concerned for his injuries. Soon, the other women also caught sight of their husbands or relatives. No longer held back by their fear of the bodies, they all rushed forward. The scene quickly became chaotic.

Xu Mo urged, "Captain Niu, take your men and maintain order! Don't let everyone panic! Also, ensure the most severely injured receive treatment first!"

"Understood, Boss," Niu Da replied, turning to call Niu Er and Niu San to help manage the crowd.

Xu Mo did not stand idle either. He brought Elder Song and several women to the most critically wounded to assist with their treatment. As he worked, Xu Mo heard a wail of grief nearby. Turning his head, he saw a woman draped over a corpse, weeping uncontrollably. The dead man was one of the three who had fallen from their team.

The Village Chief heard the woman’s cries as well, and after looking over, he shook his head with a sigh. "Alas! Her husband is gone, and she has two children and an elderly mother at home. How will they manage in the future?"

Xu Mo felt a pang of guilt; after all, they had sacrificed themselves to protect his goods. After a moment's thought, he said, "Village Chief, I will provide the families of the three men who died with a generous pension. I will not let their families suffer."

Xu Mo added, "It is not just the families of the deceased who will be compensated; the injured team members will also be taken care of. Rest assured, once we return to the village, I will draw up the details and implement this as soon as possible."

The Village Chief bowed to Xu Mo in gratitude. Soon, the families of the other two deceased arrived, and the site was filled with the sound of sorrowful weeping.

"Husband... husband?"

While Xu Mo was helping bandage a severely injured man, he suddenly heard the voice of Chen Miaoyi. Xu Mo stood up and looked in the direction of the sound. Chen Miaoyi and Xu Hui were approaching, both stretching their necks, frantically searching for him.

"Wife, Huihui... I'm here!" Xu Mo immediately raised his blood-stained hands and waved.

Chen Miaoyi and Xu Hui quickly spotted him and rushed over in a panic. When Chen Miaoyi reached him and saw that Xu Mo was covered in blood, she assumed he was the one injured and began to cry sadly. Xu Hui remained relatively calm; seeing that her cousin was lively and moving, she knew he was fine and immediately said, "Sister-in-law, stop crying. Cousin is fine; the blood isn't his!"

As she spoke, Xu Hui pointed to the severely injured man behind Xu Mo. Chen Miaoyi understood instantly and stopped crying. However, she was still worried, repeatedly asking Xu Mo if he was hurt, circling him, and touching him all over to confirm for herself.

"Don't worry, I'm fine! My martial arts are excellent; ordinary people can't even get close to me," Xu Mo teased with a smile.

Before he could finish, Chen Miaoyi touched the wound on Xu Mo’s left forearm, causing him to wince in pain. "Ah!"

Chen Miaoyi was terrified. She hurriedly rolled up his left sleeve, and when she saw the wound, tears welled up in her eyes again. Xu Mo quickly wiped her tears, smiling, "Why are you crying? It’s just a scratch; it won't kill me!"

Hearing this, Chen Miaoyi was slightly displeased, thinking to herself that he was still joking when she had been so worried. She said nothing and turned away to find medicine and bandages from someone else.

Xu Hui finally had a chance to ask, "Cousin, why don't I see Mutou?"

When she asked, Xu Hui was still anxious. Even though she had great confidence in Qin Mutou's martial arts, she couldn't help but worry. Xu Mo looked around, puzzled. "Strange, where did Mutou go? He was just here."

After looking around for a while, Xu Mo finally spotted Qin Mutou. It turned out he was also helping a severely injured man with his wounds, and because he was crouching behind someone else, he hadn't been visible.

At that moment, Chen Miaoyi returned with medicine and white cloth. Xu Hui said, "Cousin, sister-in-law, I’m going to find Mutou." With that, she ran off.

Chen Miaoyi began to bandage Xu Mo's wound, but she remained silent the entire time, keeping her head down, clearly holding onto her frustration. Xu Mo tilted his head to look at her, trying to tease her with a grin, but Chen Miaoyi kept her face stern and refused to smile.

Unable to help himself, Xu Mo took her hand and whispered, "Miaoyi, don't be angry. I know you don't want me to be in danger..."

"If you knew, why did you come!" Chen Miaoyi interrupted, her expression full of reproach.

Xu Mo immediately promised, "Miaoyi, I promise you, it won't happen again next time, okay?"

Chen Miaoyi looked at him and asked, "Really? You aren't just coaxing me?"

Xu Mo nodded firmly. "Really, I'm not coaxing you!"

Having received his assurance, Chen Miaoyi felt a bit better, and she began to talk more. After a while, with the help of Elder Song, the severely injured were all temporarily stabilized. However, this was far from enough. If they were to survive, they needed to be rushed to a medical clinic in the city, or else their prospects would be grim.

Xu Mo made an immediate decision: unload all the cargo from the carts and use them to transport the severely injured to the city first. As for the goods, he would ask the villagers to move them back to the village for now, and they could be delivered later. After all, human life was the most important thing.

Soon, with the help of the villagers, the goods from the two large carts were completely unloaded. Once the five severely injured men were loaded onto the carts, they were sent to the city, accompanied by Elder Song, Niu Er, and a dozen other villagers.

As for the rest, including the captured White Hair and Peng Dong, as well as the injured bandits, they returned to Gushan Village under the command of Xu Mo and Niu Da.