Chapter 189: Catching a Thief
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After mourning Emperor Shizong in her heart, Mu Yangling rolled up two large pancakes and ate them before heading to West Village.
Liu Ting and Liu Yuan were weeding their wheat fields at home. When they heard that Mu Yangling wanted to build a straw hut, they called a few clansmen from the village and brought the tools over.
Mu Shi was already waiting for them at the foot of the mountain. “Let’s cut down the trees first and build the foundation later.”
Liu Ting wandered around and asked, “How big does the straw hut need to be?”
“Let’s build one with two rooms. This way, it’ll be more spacious and convenient for people to move around inside. We can also put some things inside,” Mu Shi said after some thought.
“That’s not difficult. With so many of us, we’ll be done in three to four days. Come, let’s get to work.” Liu Ting clapped his hands and gestured for everyone to start.
Turning around, he saw Mu Yangling wandering around the ground, wanting to help. So he went forward and pulled her over. “Alright, there’s no need for you to be here. Go home quickly. Leave it to us uncles.”
Seeing that there were many of them and she was indeed not needed, Mu Yangling said, “Then I’ll go back. If you need me, just shout. I can hear you from the foot of the mountain.”
The straw hut was built next to the sheds, about ten steps away. There was a ditch behind it, pasture in front, and a river not far away. Mu Yangling felt that if the straw hut was warm enough, it would actually be quite comfortable to live here.
Once the Mu family started work here, the villagers knew that this hut was built in order for them to keep an eye on the rabbits. Some of those who originally had designs on the rabbits directly gave up. There was also a group of people who planned to take act first while the straw hut was still in construction. When the time came, they would just leave and not return to Xingzhou Prefecture. Even if Little General knew that it was them, there was nothing he could do.
In any case, the drought in Xingzhou Prefecture has lasted for a few months now. Everyone said that there was no way out. Instead of waiting to escape south as a refugee, it was better to gather some money now.
They didn’t have the ability to enter the house to steal money, but they were fairly confident they could steal rabbits from the fields.
With this thought in mind, the five of them quietly arrived at the Mu family’s pastoral area on a dark and windy night.
They were all adults. Without using wooden planks, they took two steps back and jumped over the ditch. However, one of them accidentally fell and got caught in the net, making a loud sound.
“Be quiet. What if someone finds out?”
“It’s pitch-black here and we’re the only ones in the entire field. Even if you shout here, no one will hear you.”
“Alright, alright, stop arguing. Hurry up. We still have to escape after stealing the rabbits. The rabbits have to be sold tomorrow. After taking the money, we’ll go our separate ways. Don’t waste time now.”
The five of them reached the first shed in the dark. Just as they were about to pry open the door, Thief A felt a tap on his right shoulder. With the shovel in hand, he turned to the right impatiently. “Don’t disturb me while I’m opening the door.”
After shouting, he vaguely sensed that there was no one on his right. Although it was dark and windy, it wasn’t so dark that one couldn’t see their outstretched fingers due to the tiny spots of starlight. He could see some blurry outlines. Thief A was on the far right, and there was no one on his right.
He turned his head stiffly to look at Thief B on the left and asked, “Were you the one who tapped me on the shoulder just now?”
Thief B said impatiently, “Who tapped you? Big Brother, do you know how to open the door or not? If you don’t, let me do it.”
Thief A swallowed his saliva and said after a while, “It’s fine. I’m skilled at this. Let me do it.” As he spoke, he reached out to grab the lock. However, just as his hand touched the lock, someone tapped him on his right shoulder again. He quickly turned his head to the right, but there was still no one on the right.
Thief A panicked. How could the person who had tapped him have dodged so quickly when he had turned his head so quickly just now?
Unless… unless it wasn’t a human!
Thief A’s face was pale as he said with a trembling voice, “S-Second Brother, we might have encountered a ghost.”
Rolling his eyes, Thief B said, “Big Brother, if you’re not opening the door, let me do it. There’s only the five of us here. How can there be a ghost? The five of us are all men and are full of Yang energy. That ghost must be courting death if he’s looking to mess with us. Come, give me the shovel. 1’11 open the door.”
Thief B was about to snatch the shovel from Thief A’s hand when he heard Thief C say, “There are five of us? Then why do I feel like there are six?”
Thief B’s body stiffened. He and Thief A turned around stiffly to look at their third brother. “Third Brother, how dare you lie? Be careful, I’ll beat you up.”
Thief D pointed behind Thief B with a trembling finger and said, “Second Brother, Third Brother didn’t lie to you. That something is right behind you.”
“Hehehe…” As soon as he finished speaking, a few chuckles came from behind Thief B. The five of them cried out.
Thief A threw away the shovel in his hand, turned around, and ran. Unable to see clearly in the darkness, he hit his head against the wall. Because he fell too hard against the wall, he fainted after rolling his eyes.
Thief B collapsed to the ground and watched with widened eyes. He was so frightened that saliva flowed out of his mouth. The remaining three people were about to run away when Mu Yangling kicked them to the ground one by one. The one who ran only took a few steps before he was kicked in the chest by Mu Shi, who was standing in the corner.
Only then did Mu Yangling light the lantern. Seeing that it wasn’t a ghost, Thief B was so frightened that he yelled “Oh my god” before losing consciousness.
Mu Shi carried back the person who had fled halfway and smacked his daughter’s head. With a straight face, he said, “Nonsense. What if you scare people to death?”
He wanted to teach them a lesson, but he didn’t want anyone to die. Even though he had killed people before, he still valued human lives. In fact, he all the more felt that life was precious because of those experiences he went through.
Life was too fragile, so he had to cherish it even more!
Mu Yangling stuck out her tongue and said, “I didn’t expect them to be so easily frightened. I won’t dare to do it again next time.” Wasn’t it just standing on the left and tapping the person on the right?
In the past, when she was in primary school, she could already gauge this based on the strength and direction. It was just that this person was too stupid.
Mu Shi and Mu Yangling had waited here for two nights before finally capturing the thieves.
Mu Shi and Mu Yangling tied them up and carried them home. They strung them up using a rope and tied them to a tree in front of the door.
When the five of them woke up, it was almost dawn. They looked at each other with teary eyes. Then, they moved their bodies and tried to untie the rope. However, because they were tied together, soon, the five of them rolled into a ball and did not even have the strength to move.
The five of them could only stare at the Mu family’s door in a daze with tears in their eyes.
After the third crow, the village started bustling with activity. All the families started to get up. The Hu family, who was nearest to the Mu family, habitually looked in the Mu residence’s direction when they opened the door. That was when they saw five people lying on the ground.
Old Hu even rubbed his eyes to make sure that he had not seen wrongly. There were indeed five burly men lying on the ground with their arms and legs tied up. There were even strips of cloth stuffed in their mouths..
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