Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 150: The Test of Humanity

The atmosphere shifted suddenly, catching everyone off guard.

The women quickly pulled back their sleeves.

How did they end up in this mess?

This can’t be right; although these women look disheveled, they still have striking features. If they came to work for their families and ended up enticing their men, what then?

The women immediately cast aside their sympathy, eyeing the woman kneeling on the ground with suspicion, as if to say, "I wanted to help you, but now it seems like you’re trying to ruin my family."

The situation became awkward.

Cheng Xiaoxiao, having seen enough of the spectacle, stood up and looked at the man kneeling in the middle. "You’re called Zhuzi, right?"

The confused man nodded, not understanding what this young girl meant by her question.

Then, Cheng Xiaoxiao walked over to the other three people, asking for their names.

Her seemingly amiable face turned serious: "Since you’re one family, you should know the basics about your family members! I’ll ask you a few questions. If you can all answer them, we will accept you."

The Clan Leader was shocked, "Xiao..."

Cheng Xiaoxiao threw the stubborn old man a reassuring look.

Turning back to the four, she asked, "How about it?"

The man’s eyes wavered, feeling guilty. Although he didn’t know what the young girl would ask, he was a bit scared.

But with no way to back out now, he had to brace himself and agree.

"Let’s make it clear first, you four couples must answer simultaneously. After I ask a question, you must respond in one breath together. Understand?"

The surrounding villagers were baffled, not knowing what Xiao intended with her questions.

Cheng Hao watched the young girl entertain herself with the people. He had long suspected something was wrong with them, but since it didn’t harm his relatives, he didn’t intend to interfere.

The four men were now so nervous they swallowed hard.

"Listen up, you two go first."

Cheng Xiaoxiao pointed at Zhuzi and the woman holding a child, remembering that Zhuzi introduced the woman and child as his wife and young son. She wanted to see how they managed as a family.

"The first question: Which month was your wife’s child in her arms born?"

The woman quickly answered, "The sixteenth of the twelfth lunar month!"

But Zhuzi didn’t speak, a drop of cold sweat forming on his forehead. "I, I got nervous and couldn’t remember at the moment."

"Alright, I’ll give you another chance." Cheng Xiaoxiao flashed a devious smile.

"Second question: How many brothers does your wife’s family have, meaning how many brothers-in-law do you have?"

The man, knowing he couldn’t continue to evade, had to hazard a guess, "Three!"

"One!"

Two different answers echoed simultaneously!

By now, everyone watching had figured out what was happening.

Cheng Xiaoxiao asked two more questions, which the man couldn’t answer, so she started questioning the second couple.

"What’s your father-in-law’s name?"

"When did the child start teething?"

"How long have you been married?"

With each question Cheng Xiaoxiao posed, more cold sweat dripped from the men’s brows.

In the end, they stuttered and stammered, only guessing one or two questions correctly, with most of their answers a complete mismatch from the women’s responses.

Then Cheng Xiaoxiao turned to look at the clansmen behind her, "Were the questions difficult earlier?"

The men all shouted back in unison, "No!"

"Could you all answer these questions correctly?"

"No problem!"

"Of course!"

The group of men began loudly discussing their family details, even knowing a bit about others’ families.

Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded in satisfaction, looking back at the men kneeling on the ground, "So, our village’s men married real wives, while you guys married fake ones?"

Ha ha ha!

The men in the back burst into laughter.

The questions exposed their relationship; how could they be a family if they didn’t know the basics about their own wives and children?

At this point, everyone fully understood Xiaoxiao’s intentions. These weren’t married couples, nor fathers to the children, pretending to care so much for their wives and kids before.

Blech!

Disgusting!

Most likely, they came to con them out of food.

They were still sympathetic and pitiful towards them, yet turned out to be feeding good intentions to dogs.

The little girl in the woman’s arms, only about two or three, clung tightly to her mother’s neck, extremely scared.

The little boy kneeling beside them saw the wise light in Cheng Xiaoxiao’s eyes, realizing she could expose the men’s deception. She might help them get justice.

Immediately, the boy knelt down with a thud in front of Cheng Xiaoxiao.

He kneeled right at her feet, banging his head desperately, "Please, kind big sister, save us! I’m begging you, save us! We are not the children of these people; they kidnapped us."

His mother grabbed his arm, "Lian’er, no!"

Tears welled up at the thought of the men’s cruelty, "They’ll kill you, they’ll kill you."

The boy seemed relentless, ignoring his mother’s pleas, "We are actually from the neighboring Yunshui Village. We encountered them on our way fleeing, they robbed us of our food, and forced us to play along in their act, to gain sympathy and scam food."

Fearing the kind people wouldn’t believe him, the boy rolled up his sleeves and pants, revealing lashes and pinches of bruises, old and new, all over his body, shocking to the eye.

He then proceeded to roll up the other children’s sleeves and clothes, each child’s scars resembling the others, evoking pity.

These were children long abused.

The boy stated that his mother and the other adults also bore injuries.

However, the adults’ wounds were not suitable to be displayed in front of everyone.

But the children’s wounds, visible as they were, sufficed as evidence.

The village men, enraged, beat the four men.

People knew the times had changed, and humanity faced tests, but seeing it firsthand was still moving.

A group of kind-hearted farmers, although they understood these scoundrels were unforgivable, couldn’t bear to punish them severely.

After all, they too were victims turned aggressors, not deserving death, unlike dealing with bandits with killing and swift measures.

In the end, they beat the four men and their two lackeys again, sending them off in disgrace.

This left the remaining 28 old, weak women and children, looking pitiably at everyone. People wanted to help, but sympathy only went so far; they couldn’t support them for life.

Faced with difficulty, many turned hopeful looks towards the Clan Leader and Village Head for guidance.

The Clan Leader and Village Head exchanged glances and were also at a loss.

Helping seemed impractical, not helping seemed heartless.

Then they thought of Cheng Xiaoxiao, hoping Xiao would suggest a way to both deal with these people and not appear unkind.

What could she do?

Just dismiss them and be done!

Under everyone’s eager gaze, the young girl pursed her lips but offered a compromise.