Floyd picked up the axe and handed it to Gianna.
Qing and the woman Gianna saved stepped forward.
The woman, now thinking about her impulsive actions earlier, felt some fear.
She came over to thank them, saying, "Thank you for earlier."
Gianna smiled lightly and nodded but still reminded her, "I understand how you feel. I also have children. But before seeking revenge, think if you have the ability. Otherwise, you might lose your life and still not get revenge."
The woman suddenly covered her face and cried.
Qing sighed and said, "Our village lost three children and one woman, all taken by those thugs from Men Village. When we went to find them, there were no bones left."
Mud Nest Village was probably the only one nearby without anyone taken.
First, Mud Nest's people were united. Second, the people of Men Village were a bit afraid of Floyd.
Everyone knew Floyd was strong!
Floyd felt uneasy and comforted them, "Sorry for your loss. The bodies of those thugs from Men Village should be buried soon."
Qing cupped his hands and said, "We'll take care of this. Thanks again for your help today."
After Qing finished speaking, he looked at Dahu.
Gianna calmly said, "The troublemakers from Men Village were brought here by him, but I promised their parents to spare them."
Qing didn't say anything further after hearing that.
This was Mud Nest's business, and he was just someone trying to take advantage.
Feeling awkward, he smiled and said, "I'm afraid you'll laugh at us. We came here to see if there's anything useful we can take."
Gianna went to the mountain and brought back the three children.
The bodies were taken care of, and even the bloodstains on the ground were covered with dirt.
Floyd invited everyone to sit in their yard.
Looking at the others' dry lips, Floyd scooped out two ladles of water and gave it to everyone.
Qing took a sip and handed it to the others in the village.
He gratefully said, "Thank you."
Gianna was curious why Qingtian Village hadn't escaped the disaster.
"I know this might sound rude, but do you still have any way to find water?"
Qing smiled bitterly and replied, "To be honest, we planned to escape too. But everyone thought we could hang on a little longer. We'll wait until after the New Year to see. If there's no snow during the New Year and no rain after the New Year, we will leave. This place isn't livable anymore."
He continued, "In the past, there were plenty of resources nearby."
Gianna agreed with Qing's decision.
"That sounds like a good plan," she said sincerely. "Things will get better."
Qing knew Mud Nest Village only had Gianna and Floyd left.
Floyd had a good reputation in nearby villages.
Qing then invited, "Your village only has you two left. Why not move to our village? We dug our well deeper last year, and now the whole village relies on this one well. It's not always enough, but at least we won't die of thirst."
Qingtian Village was united. Every day, the water was distributed according to the number of people in each household.
Life was tough, but they could still survive.
Floyd didn't immediately make a decision.
He looked at Gianna.
Gianna understood Floyd's gaze and said gratefully, "Thank you, Village Chief. But our family is used to living like this. You know, we weren't very well-liked in the village before. Now, this is actually fine for us."
Her words sounded somewhat bitter.
Qing felt sorry for Floyd, thinking he didn't deserve this. "It's those people from Mud Nest Village who are ungrateful."
Gianna simply told Qing not to disturb Old Man Liu's house, then didn't say more.
The people of Qingtian village left happily.
Floyd went to the mountain to bring back all the firewood.
Their family of five lived peacefully for a few days.
Every day, Floyd would go to the well and bring back two buckets of water.
Two buckets were enough for the daily needs of five people, so Floyd didn't go to the mountain hollow anymore.
That day, Qinglin came to Niwo village happily and knocked on the door.
Gianna was mending clothes for the children.
When they heard the knock, Floyd quickly went to the door and asked who it was. After knowing it was Qinglin, he opened the door.
Qinglin smiled and said, "I have good news, everyone in Men village is dead."
Gianna put down her sewing and walked to the door. She asked, "Who got rid of those scumbags?"
Qinglin said excitedly, "I heard it was a group of soldiers passing by. After hearing what happened in Men village, they were furious and cleared them out."
Originally, after leaving Niwo village last time, he had planned to stop the villagers who hadn't left yet and go settle the score with Men village.
But when they arrived, those scumbags in Men village were already dead.
Floyd was more interested in the soldiers who had passed by.
He asked, "Do you know which direction those soldiers went?"
Qinglin shook his head.
He said honestly, "I don't know much, but I heard there's a war happening near Jiaguang Gate."
Speaking of that, Qinglin sighed and said, "Life is really hard for the people. One of my relatives tried to escape but came back halfway, saying there were corpses all over the road with no one to bury them. If you stay, you die. If you leave, you die. How are we supposed to survive?"
Gianna thought about the time. It was almost the twelfth month.
When the people from Qingtian village came last time, she already thought they were good people.
Everyone was kind.
And they knew how to be grateful.
"Does your village still have enough water?" Gianna asked gently.
When he heard that, Qinglin looked troubled.
He sighed and said, "Not really. Today, each person only got one bowl of water."
Floyd understood what Gianna meant.
The two of them had discussed this before.
Last time, Floyd's cart was exchanged in Qingtian village, and most of the hunted goods were also traded there.
Their family didn't lack water now.
Floyd had moved the two water jars from the thatched house.
Now, all five jars at home were full, so there was no worry about water for a while.
Just one look between them, and they knew what the other was thinking.
Gianna signaled Floyd to speak.
Qinglin's defeated look made it hard to ignore him.
Floyd said, "I know a place with water."
Qinglin looked at Floyd in shock.
Then quickly said, "Don't say it. Floyd, I know you're a good person, but this is about your family's survival. You need to keep it secret."
With that kind of attitude, Gianna felt she had not misjudged him.
Floyd said, "The old well in our village dried up before, but recently it gives one load of water a day. That's enough for our family of five. The water source I'm talking about is in a mountain hollow. Your village has a lot of people. If you clear that water source, it should be enough to get you through the winter. In times like this, we all need to help each other."
Qinglin suddenly tried to kneel.
Floyd quickly reached out and stopped him.