CH 54

After solving the water problem, the Shen family did not hurry to leave, but instead stayed in place.

Lizheng glanced over at the Shen family and sat down as well.

Even though they had seen the bandits ahead, there were many people in their group, but few were willing to confront the bandits.

That’s why he wouldn’t leave the Shen family now.

Moreover, he hadn’t given up on the idea of persuading the Shen family to return to the group.

Not far away, the Shen family was currently discussing the issue of the bandits.

“Miss, we’ve found water now. Are we going back on that small path?” Zhang Xiangyang asked.

Over the past few days, he had also noticed that his aunt would always consult Miss Yu’an on both major and minor matters.

Moreover, Miss Yu’an was truly capable and had her own ideas.

Shen Yu’an replied, “There’s no need to rush. We’ve been traveling for so long without stopping, and everyone is tired. Let’s rest here for a day before continuing on.”

Then she added in a low voice, “I’ll go and investigate the situation with the bandits tonight.”

“No, it’s too dangerous!”

As soon as Shen Yu’an finished speaking, she was met with everyone’s refusal.

“That’s the bandit’s lair. We don’t know how many people are in there. How can you go there at night? What if something happens?”

Others also agreed, although they all had some blood on their hands. But those could just be from disorganized refugees. Even the bandits they encountered today were only a few.

Those bandits had caused a lot of harm here and had taken many lives. In their hearts, everyone felt that it would be best to avoid them if they could.

“I’ll be careful, I’ll just check out the situation,” Shen Yu’an said firmly.

Seeing that she had made up her mind, everyone knew that she would definitely go. If they refused, she might even avoid them and leave secretly. So they didn’t try to persuade her anymore, they just asked her to be careful.

Night fell.

Over the past few days, people had rarely been as comfortable as they were today.

They had bought food, found water, and rested for half a day.

But they couldn’t help but feel sorry when they thought about the money spent on buying food.

They arranged for people to keep watch as usual, and the rest went to sleep.

Perhaps due to the mountainous environment, the summer heat had also diminished somewhat, and everyone slept peacefully for a rare night.

They didn’t notice that after everyone had rested, a figure quietly left from the direction of the Shen family, heading downhill.

It was Shen Yu’an, who planned to investigate the situation while everyone was resting.

Under the cover of night, Shen Yu’an arrived at the location he had passed by in the morning.

The bodies of the people on the ground were no longer there, but there were faint traces of dragging on the ground.

Shen Yu’an’s expression turned cold as he followed the faint dragging marks on the ground and walked forward.

Suddenly, Shen Yu’an heard voices speaking, causing her to abruptly stop and cautiously hide.

A voice could be heard saying, “Our brothers who caught someone today are really lucky. If only I had gone out with them.”

Another person clearly disagreed and retorted, “Lucky? Didn’t eight of our brothers die out there today? I think it’s better to stay here and guard the gate. It’s safer and we still have people bringing back food to eat.”

Listening to their conversation, Shen Yu’an was able to gather some information. The person they mentioned who died were likely the bandits they encountered earlier.

“Tsk, I wasn’t talking about those eight useless ones who couldn’t even catch a few people and are now going to become food for our brothers,” one of them said.

“I was talking about the brothers who blocked the people on the other path. They caught a lot of people and brought back a good amount of food today.”

“I heard that the boss rewarded the brothers who caught those people today with an extra meal, using the ones who died as payment,” the first person who spoke earlier continued to talk, sounding envious.

Listening to their conversation, Shen Yu’an’s heart grew colder and colder.

Did he mean that the bandits here have started eating human flesh?!!!

And that their brothers who died would be served up on the table without hesitation.

Their conversation continued.

The other person couldn’t help but shudder after hearing his companion’s words.

“But a few days ago, a few people arrived and somehow lucked out. The boss thinks highly of them.”

“I’ve heard about this too. The new ones told the boss that there’s a big shipment of fat sheep coming, a family with several carts full of goods. The boss said if the new ones can catch those people, they’ll become our third in command,” the other person said.

“Their luck is not bad,” the other person said enviously, but he quickly pushed the thought aside and continued discussing today’s “extra meal” with the people around him.

“Hmph, next time I have an extra meal, I’ll let you taste a few pieces. Once you eat it, you’ll know it’s the most delicious thing on earth. Even…”

As the two continued discussing their “delicious food,” Shen Yu’an couldn’t bear to listen any longer. She silently passed a death sentence on them and the others in her heart.

There is a large wooden hut with a fire still burning inside, and faint voices can be heard.

Shen Yu’an quietly left again, and no one was guarding the other side of the hut, so Shen Yu’an easily climbed over the wall.

Once inside, the voices became clearer. It seemed like everyone was gathered together, and the lively sounds were continuous.

She first observed the layout of the hut and found the granary where they stored their supplies.

Inside, there was a lot of food, which was most likely stolen by them.

In another room, Shen Yu’an saw the bodies of the people who were killed by them today, but now there were only seven corpses left.

Next to it was a woodshed, piled high with firewood. Shen Yu’an didn’t go in and left instead.

Once outside, she slowly followed the direction where the voices were coming from.

As she approached, she saw a flicker of fire in the distance. Shen Yu’an hid behind a house and cautiously peered out to see what was going on.

Looking out, there was a vast expanse of darkness, with around sixty or seventy people gathered around.

They sat together, with a large pot in the middle.

Shen Yu’an couldn’t see what was being cooked in the pot, but the smell of meat wafted over.

Thinking back to what she had heard outside, Shen Yu’an instantly realized what this was.

At that moment, someone stepped forward and stirred the contents of the pot with a large iron spoon.

Finally, Shen Yu’an saw what was inside: a hand and some chopped up pieces of meat. It was obvious what it was.

She quickly covered her mouth and used one hand to rub her chest.

Thankfully, she didn’t eat too much earlier, otherwise she would have surely vomited.

At the same time, Shen Yu’an looked at them with eyes that were like she was looking at dead people.

Although there is a saying that one can’t persuade others to be good unless they’ve gone through hardships themselves, these people couldn’t even hold onto their morals just a few days after the beginning of the disaster. They have already crossed the ethical line and are not worthy of forgiveness.