Started as a thatched house and ended up as a female figure

"We were the subordinates of King An before, but we were defeated and fled after facing King Rui's army. We couldn't keep up with the main army, and we had nowhere to go, so we could only become bandits."

"Have you ever eaten humans?"

Cheng Wan didn't forget that someone just shouted that they wanted to take them as food.

"I...we..."

Cheng Wan turned his neck impatiently and suddenly put the knife on the man's neck without any warning.

"Sir! Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

"Then answer honestly. We are in a hurry to get on the road."

"Yes Yes Yes!"

Cheng Wan narrowed his eyes slightly, his eyes fierce: "I'll ask again, have you ever eaten humans?"

"Sir, we have no choice. All the people in the area occupied by King An have fled, and the food has been confiscated. We are really starving..."

The soldiers who heard this, endured the discomfort in their stomachs, their faces becoming uglier than each other, looking at this group of people as if they were animals.

Cheng Wan suppressed the churning in his stomach and said in a cold voice, "Did you guys eat the two scouts we sent in this direction?"

"Sir...sir..., I...we..."

A layer of cold sweat broke out on the man's forehead and his face turned pale.

"Sir, kill them! They are not human beings!"

The soldiers gritted their teeth, wishing they could tear those who were still breathing into pieces.

Some of the younger soldiers couldn't help but wipe away their tears.

Cheng Wan closed his eyes and opened them again, took a deep breath, and the handle of the knife creaked as he gripped it: "Where are the leftover bones?"

"We threw them into the woods over there."

Two soldiers immediately ran towards the woods over there.

"Where are you staying?"

"In a deserted little village with no one in it!"

This time, the few survivors were almost rushing to answer. They held on to a faint glimmer of hope, thinking that if they were honest and obedient, perhaps they would not have to die.

"Are there any other accomplices of yours in the deserted village?"

"There are three more accomplices left in the deserted village to guard the supplies we looted."

Cheng Wan moved the knife away, walked aside and waved to the two squad leaders: "You two take your men and follow him to the deserted village to bring back the supplies. The main force will continue to move forward. We will stop and set up camp when it gets dark and wait for you."

"Should people be killed or ..."

"kill."

Animals, not worthy of being prisoners.

"Yes!"

Two squad leaders led a small force to the deserted village.

Cheng Wan led a few soldiers to carefully dig a pit, then buried the bodies of the two scouts in it and built a small grave mound for the two scouts.

"Do you know their names?"

"Sir, I know."

A soldier stepped forward with red eyes: "One of them is called Wang Anjia, and the other is called Liu Tieniu."

Cheng Wan blinked hard a few times, and silently used a dagger to carve a tombstone for the small grave on a wooden board.

The tombstone was erected, and Cheng Wanduan stood in front of it, his face calm, "Drag those beasts over here."

"Your Majesty!"

Twelve soldiers pressed the six beasts, which were still breathing, down to their knees facing the tombstone.

"Today, we will use their heads to commemorate our brothers."

"Please spare me, sir! Please spare me, sir! We really have no other choice, sir!"

Cheng Wan didn't look back, but just looked at the knife marks on the tombstone quietly, opened his lips, and said in a cold voice: "Kill."

The knife fell, and six heads rolled around.

The soldiers kindly picked up the heads and placed them neatly in front of the tombstone.

Cheng Wan faced the tombstone, bowed his head and remained silent, and the soldiers also bowed their heads silently.

The dead are dead, and the living must continue to move forward.

Cheng Wan took the remaining soldiers back to where the main force was.

"Master Cheng!"

Lieutenant General Zhang saw Cheng Wan return safely with his own eyes, and he finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on his mind.

"Deputy General Zhang."

Lieutenant General Zhang observed Cheng Wan's expression, then looked at the expressions of the soldiers who came back with Cheng Wan, thinking that too many people died in this fight.

"Master Cheng, when you are facing an enemy, life and death are not up to you. You don't have to be so sad."

Cheng Wan knew that Deputy General Zhang had misunderstood, and shook his head gently: "Deputy General Zhang, let them explain to you. I will go to the front to lead the team. We have to continue on our way."

The team continued to move forward until the last ray of light was about to disappear, and then they stopped to set up camp.

Beside the fire, Cheng Wan bit a piece of bread and quietly wiped his knife.

At this time, Deputy General Zhang, who had just completed a round of inspection, came over.

Deputy General Zhang found a place a little further away from Cheng Wan and sat down: "Master Cheng, today we are really grateful to you, otherwise the team would have been ambushed."

"It's all my job."

Cheng Wan's expression was extremely calm, his voice was also calm, and he looked no different from usual.

Deputy General Zhang sighed deeply, pinched his nose, and said in a hoarse voice: "Sir Cheng, in troubled times, the lives of ordinary people are the same as those of ordinary soldiers. It may be a blessing to be able to die with dignity after death."

Cheng Wan didn't stop wiping the knife, nor did he say anything.

She had tried her best to keep her mind calm and her emotions stable. She didn't know what she could say or what she should say.

"Master Cheng, Lieutenant General Zhang, the people who went to the deserted village are back."

Cheng Wan paused in wiping the knife and looked towards the source of the noisy sound.

"Master Cheng, Lieutenant General Zhang, these are the people we rescued from the beast's den. They said they had nowhere else to go and insisted on following us back."

The two squad leaders bowed nervously to Cheng Wan and Deputy General Zhang. Their mission did not include rescuing people, let alone bringing them back.

But, but it’s really pitiful...

"Sir! General! Please don't chase us away!

We can do anything, please, please!"

Cheng Wan lowered his eyes and looked at the people who were kneeling and kowtowing to him.

There were nine of them, all women around thirteen or fourteen years old.

He was naked, frail, and terrified, but there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Deputy General Zhang frowned and scolded the two squad leaders: "We are escorting food and fodder to the front line. How can we travel with them? It would be fine if you left some supplies for them, but why did you let them catch up with us!"

The two squad leaders lowered their heads even deeper.

At this moment, they felt regretful in their hearts. They shouldn't have been softened by those people's crying.

"General! We asked to come here, please don't blame them..."

A woman mustered up the courage to speak up for the two squad leaders.

One of the two squad leaders raised his head slightly and asked tentatively, "How about we send them back at night so as not to delay the team's journey tomorrow morning."

"No! Sir! We won't go back! Please save us! Please let us stay, we can really do anything! We can also push and pull the cart, please!"

The nine women began to kowtow again.

Deputy General Zhang looked at Cheng Wan with a headache: "Master Cheng, this..."