The conspiracy of the courtyard

Chapter 190 Escape from Death

A group of seven or eight people walking on the dirt road to the countryside were quite eye-catching. When they were not far from Xiangyang Brigade, Lu Zixuan stopped the team.

"Old Chen, have you noticed that the people around here are looking at us in a strange way? They are all looking at us furtively, and their expressions are different. There is expectation, regret, pity, and even gloating, but no curiosity. This is not normal."

Old Chen asked doubtfully:

"Really? I didn't notice. Maybe he was dissatisfied with our fancy clothes. Don't worry about it. Just hurry on your way. I'll ask you in detail later when I have time."

However, Lu Zixuan was stubborn and insisted on asking for the reason.

"No, I won't. If I don't ask clearly, I'll always feel uneasy. I haven't felt this way for a long time. Wait a minute, I'll go ask."

Without waiting for Lao Chen's reply, Lu Zixuan ran alone towards an old woman a hundred meters away. Lao Chen shook his head and laughed.

"Children are children, they are curious about everything. Let's take a break."

Lu Zixuan searched all his pockets, found a candy, handed it to the old woman, and asked:

"Hello, grandma. Is this the way to Xiangyang Brigade?"

The old woman reached out to take the candy and said disdainfully in her local accent:

"I don't understand what you are saying, so I'll just give you a candy. You city kid are too stingy."

Lu Zixuan immediately retracted his outstretched hand and said with a smile:

"You think it's too little? Then I won't give it to you. I'll go ask someone else."

After saying that, he lifted his feet and left.

"You damned little bastard, how dare you play tricks on me? I'll see how you die. I thought you were polite and wanted to leave you a whole body, but I'll save myself the trouble this time."

The old woman burst into laughter after she finished scolding.

Lu Zixuan instinctively looked towards Lao Chen. When he saw the state of the others, he ran back while shouting:

"Fuck, this is so annoying. Lie down, throw away all the backpacks and lie flat on the ground..."

Those people ignored Lu Zixuan's reminder and just kept struggling.

"Are you guys f**king dying? Stop struggling, throw away your backpacks and lie down. This is a swamp. The more you struggle, the deeper you'll sink. Lao Chen, hurry up and do as I say."

Old Chen struggled for a few times but it was useless. He could only try his best and followed Lu Zixuan's instructions, throwing away the bag and lying down. When the other people saw Old Chen doing this, they quickly followed his instructions.

"Take a deep breath, adjust your nervousness, relax your body, don't panic, open your arms to both sides, and try to keep your whole body close to the ground...

OK, now try to lift your calves up a little bit, don't use too much force...

Okay, use the backstroke position and move your hands slowly..."

After an unknown amount of time of effort, several people gradually escaped. However, one person refused to listen to advice, continued to struggle, and fell into the swamp, disappearing without a trace.

"Are you stupid? If one person got involved, it would be considered a mistake. If two people got involved, it's understandable. But if so many people got involved, don't you have brains? You won't be satisfied until the whole army is wiped out..."

Lu Zixuan kept complaining.

"I was inconsiderate. I only thought about rescuing Xiao Liu, which put everyone in trouble and caused Xiao Li to meet with an unexpected disaster. Is there any way to save him?"

Old Chen also kept blaming himself.

Lu Zixuan shrugged and replied:

"There is no way. He didn't listen to advice and deserved this. Don't think my words are harsh. You think you are good at fighting and can ignore all dangers and take it lightly. This is the price you pay for underestimating the enemy.

There is no need to look for the people who investigated before. Ninety-nine percent of them are here. Now you understand the strange looks in the eyes of the villagers, right? They are looking at a group of dying fools.

They must have been waiting for everyone to be trapped, then digging out the bodies and searching them. There was no cannibalism, just a disregard for life.

Outsiders who come here, because they don’t know the terrain, there are no warning signs, and they have never experienced such a situation, can only die in the swamp…”

Old Chen slapped the ground angrily and shouted:

"This group of ignorant country folk who disregard human life is an outrage to both humans and gods, and they must be punished.

How did you manage to escape? Have you ever experienced this?"

"You are also an old revolutionary. Have you ever heard others mention the Long March? There are many places like this along the Long March. Too many people died of starvation or exhaustion, but were drowned in such places. Lao Xiao is a survivor, and he talked about this method.

How do you want to punish them? What do you want to punish them for? For not saving people from death? Who stipulates that they must save people? Who can guarantee that they can save people after they go in? If they also fall into it, who will be responsible for their lives?

Instead of complaining and blaming these people for their indifference, it is better to spread the way of self-help, improve the quality of roads, let them feel the warmth brought to them by the government, and pass on this warmth…”

Lu Zixuan's words touched Lao Chen deeply. Yes, who would risk his life to do something righteous?

Several people returned to the guesthouse dejectedly, washed up, and Lao Chen asked about the result of Lu Zixuan's inquiry. When Lu Zixuan said that he deliberately angered the old woman, Lao Chen accused him of being reckless and should add more weight to get the truth.

Lu Zixuan did not talk back, but just told Lao Chen his intentions.

The reason why I chose the old woman as the target of my inquiry was because when Lu Zixuan passed by her, she showed her excitement invisibly, such as her tightly grasped cane, her trembling body, her staring eyes, her heavier breathing, and her flushed cheeks...

This state usually occurs when she meets her loved one or is about to witness a masterpiece, and it is obvious that her loved one will not be in their team.

By touching the whole body and taking out the only candy, he means that he is living in poverty and not as prosperous as he appears to be. If the old woman is kind-hearted, she will not force a reward on him or will politely refuse. If he accepts the candy without saying anything, it proves that he is greedy and he should not ask too many questions. He should retreat immediately whether he gets an answer or not.

The old woman could only be the second type of person. Not only was she unwilling to answer, she also ridiculed him.

Lu Zixuan immediately took back the candy and sarcastically said that he was trying to provoke the old woman. To get the information, there were more than just asking or bribing. There was also the method of provoking the other party. Just a humiliating word or action could arouse the other party's anger, and then the answer could be found from the bickering.

But the misfortune of Lao Chen and his companions made his wish come to nothing.

After Lao Chen and his companions escaped, Lu Zixuan discovered that when the villagers left, they all took tools such as wooden boards, three-toothed rakes, shovels, and hoes. He then understood the intention of these people, which was to dig out the bodies after they were all stuck in the mud.

If these people had the heart to save lives, they would rush to help immediately and would not watch them struggle. Instead of bargaining with a living person, it would be better to search the dead.

Perhaps they were once kind people, but they were heartbroken by the people they rescued, so they chose to ignore them. Lu Zixuan would rather believe this illusion than accept that they are born evil.

After escaping death this time, Lao Chen no longer planned to conduct secret investigations. He decided to reveal his identity and ask the county to help him find the truth in Xiangyang Brigade...