A group of women, all nervously holding anesthetic guns, getting ready to join the battle to protect their homeland.
He Zhiran was helplessly led out of the front door by Eighth Sister-in-law.
What first met their eyes were all the villagers running towards the foot of the mountain with hoes and other tools in their hands.
From this it could be deduced that the two elder brothers and the dogs were standing guard there, and those invading Barbarians had not yet been able to break into the village.
At the same time, she could also feel that the dogs' barking was decreasing more and more, but the war cries were endless.
Seeing He Zhiran stop in her tracks, Eighth Sister-in-law urged, "Ninth younger sister, let's go quickly. I'll safely send you to the city, then I'll also come back to fight alongside everyone."
"Eighth Sister-in-law, have you ever thought that if we just hide in the city like this, by the time we rush back, we might not be able to participate in the battle?"
He Zhiran knew that Eighth Sister-in-law didn't usually have so many intricate thoughts, so she planned to patiently persuade her.
Sure enough, after hearing her words for a bit, Eighth Sister-in-law became even more unwilling to leave.
But she had to listen to her mother-in-law's words.
"I'll safely send you to the city, then I can run back."
"I'm heavy and walk slowly. We don't even know how to drive a carriage. Eighth Sister-in-law, with your coming and going, I'm afraid a whole day would pass."
He Zhiran knew how to drive a carriage. She guessed Eighth Sister-in-law probably didn't know, and wanted to use this to put her in a difficult position.
"What should we do then?" Eighth Sister-in-law was indeed somewhat troubled. She absolutely could not let this pregnant Ninth Younger Sister leave alone.
Seeing that Eighth Sister-in-law had already taken the bait, He Zhiran spoke solemnly, "I know Eighth Sister-in-law is also worried about Eighth elder brother. You see my belly is quite big, but I can move very nimbly. Going to the city alone is no problem."
Eighth Sister-in-law hesitated.
She really wanted to stay and resist the Barbarians together with her husband, regardless of life or death. In this life, she never wanted to be separated from her husband again. Even if they died, at least the couple could keep each other company on the road.
Eighth Sister-in-law unconsciously touched the anesthetic gun in her arms which had already gained some warmth. Although she didn't say anything, her thoughts had all been seen through by He Zhiran's eyes.
"Eighth Sister-in-law, listen to me. The situation is so urgent now. One more person means one more bit of strength. Not to mention you have such a powerful weapon in your hands. It would be a pity if it couldn't be put to use."
Eighth Sister-in-law was thoroughly shaken, but she hadn't completely lost her reason.
She took out the anesthetic gun from her arms and handed it to He Zhiran.
"Ninth younger sister, take this. It can be used for self-defense on the road. I and those villagers can also make do with hoes."
Eighth Sister-in-law didn't know if He Zhiran had this kind of weapon on hand. When she had called her out earlier, Ninth younger sister had just woken up. She believed Ninth younger sister didn't even have time to take out her weapon.
Letting her go to the city alone already went against Old Lady Mo's orders. If she let a pregnant woman leave alone without even a life-saving object in her hands, her conscience would feel even more uneasy.
How many anesthetic guns were there in He Zhiran's space?
Her original intention was to politely refuse, but she worried that if she refused, Eighth Sister-in-law would change her mind again, which would be too regrettable.
So she reached out and took the anesthetic gun.
"Eighth Sister-in-law, don't worry. I will definitely take good care of myself."
Seeing that she had accepted the weapon, Eighth Sister-in-law also felt relieved.
"Ninth younger sister, I can hear the shouting getting closer and closer. There's no time to delay. Leave quickly and go find Master Meng."
"Alright. Eighth Sister-in-law, be careful."
He Zhiran turned around, pretending to continue towards the city.
Looking back again, she saw Eighth Sister-in-law had already run off without a trace. Those villagers who were going to battle had also run over to the foot of the mountain.
He Zhiran decisively turned back.
However, she hid as she moved, in case she was discovered by her family and caused more trouble.
Although He Zhiran was pregnant, relying on her own lack of delicacy, when Mo Jiuye couldn't see her, she often exercised. As a result, even with such a huge belly now, her movements were not clumsy at all.
She deliberately avoided taking the main village road, but moved along the fields where there were very few people.
The shouts and screams grew closer and closer, as well as the sound of metal weapons clashing.
He Zhiran knew the battle scene was not far now.
She didn't rashly approach, but carefully listened to the sounds to judge the battle situation.
Mo Jiuye had said the Barbarians spoke similarly to the dialects of the people in the northwest, but there was an obvious difference.
That was the Barbarians would say "I" as "we".
Therefore, He Zhiran could determine which side was speaking by listening for this word.
She continued probing and hiding as she moved forward. The sounds entering her ears grew closer and closer.
"Get them for us. Kill all these moths to the flame. Then everything in this village will be ours."
"You wish." This was Eighth Brother's voice.
He Zhiran could hear that when Eighth Brother spoke, his voice was somewhat hoarse. It seemed he was not as calm as he appeared.
Also from the shouting, He Zhiran could determine there were at least over five hundred people.
The able-bodied men of Xi Ling Village together also exceeded one hundred people. It seemed the Barbarians were really serious this time.
But right now she still couldn't see what the Barbarians looked like, and didn't know if they were ordinary commoners gathered together or a formal army.
Immediately after, she also heard Second Sister-in-law's voice.
"Mother, our weapons are so powerful. Why don't we just take them out and use them?"
Second Sister-in-law's voice was loud. He Zhiran could hear her clearly. Old Lady Mo always spoke calmly and steadily. He Zhiran couldn't hear how she responded.
But since the anesthetic guns had yet to make a sound, she could infer that the old lady had stopped Second Sister-in-law's behavior.
From this it could be seen that the battle situation was not as severe as imagined. Otherwise the old lady wouldn't have stopped everyone from using the anesthetic guns.
The old lady's considerations were also thoughtful. After all, weapons like the anesthetic guns were too against heaven. If they didn't face mortal danger, she didn't want to bring trouble to the family.
Since the battle was not as tense as imagined, He Zhiran simply moved even closer. She planned to secretly observe. As long as she wasn't discovered by her family, everything would be fine.
She moved forward again a stretch and hid behind a large tree.
The view here was extremely good, and she could clearly see the battle ahead.
Eighth Brother was the most valiant, wielding the large knife used for hunting. It could be said to fell one with each stroke.
Seventh elder brother was also unambiguous. He had already seen his womenfolk run over. In order to prevent them from being tainted by this bloodiness, he desperately resisted, his stance not one bit inferior to Mo Jiuye's.
Although the Mo family's women had not rushed forward to grapple with the enemy like the two men, each one was already standing guard in formation under Old Lady Mo's leadership, with anesthetic guns concealed in their sleeves, ready to attack at any time.
Before seeing the battle scene, He Zhiran had already estimated the Barbarians' numbers.
In her opinion, a force of this size could not be ordinary commoners.
However, what she saw with her own eyes was another scene.
These Barbarians had no unified clothing. They looked no different from ordinary commoners.
