Chapter 214

Si Boyan showered the children with praise and declared that they would eat well at noon to reward their bravery. At that moment, the women suddenly realized that the villains were not so terrifying after all. They believed that as long as they stood together, the villains could do nothing to them. Women, they realized, could fight enemies just as well as men. Shortly after, everyone began clearing away the corpses of the bandits. The men dragged the bodies to a distant spot to bury them, then brought water from the stream to wash away the bloodstains on the ground. They did this for two reasons: to avoid attracting wild beasts and to shield the elders and children from the sight. By the time they finished, it was already noon.