Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three signal arrows streaked skyward with a piercing shriek.
At Xihewan Textile Mill, Xiao Yu and Tang Dongdong dashed into the courtyard together, heads tilted towards the hills beyond the village.
“Three plumes of red smoke! Three arrow blasts!”
Not just Xiao Yu and Tang Dongdong, almost everyone in Xihewan heard the arrows. Doors flew open. Villagers spilled into lanes, eyes fixed on the distant columns.
No one knew the exact danger, yet every soul recognised the gravest alarm.
Without waiting for Xiao Yu’s orders, people moved to their assigned posts as naturally as breathing.
At the village gate, an old man seized the headman’s sleeve. “Chief, there are too many bandits. All our escorts are away. Women alone can’t hold the walls!”
He gulped air. “I know Mr Jin still doubts us newcomers, but we truly treat Xihewan as home. Let us fight beside you.”
“This…”
The headman wavered.
Truth be told, the offer tempted him, yet fear anchored his tongue. One traitor among the refugees, one breach in the line, and bandits would flood the lanes. The blame would crush him.
The elder pressed closer. “Chief, here’s my plan. We newcomers stand on the outer rampart, Xihewan girls hold the inner wall. That should ease your mind, aye?”
He glanced at the rising smoke. “Give the word, Chief. We’re out of time.”
The headman clenched his jaw, then nodded hard. “Done! Do as you say. Our women will cover you with catapults and heavy crossbows.”
“That’s the word I waited for!”
The elder sprinted off.
Beyond the village, along the riverbank, stretched a sea of reed huts where refugees from other hamlets had been settled.
Ever since news of Jin Feng’s ambush reached them, looms, kilns, and building sites had fallen silent. Old folk and children from Xihewan and Guanjia village crowded the mill canteen; everyone else returned to the river shelters.
Now every hut doorway framed anxious faces staring at the crimson pillars.
“Wolf-smoke and signal arrows, what calamity is this?”
“We finally found a safe corner of the world. Xihewan must not fall!”
“True, but Mr Jin never trusts us. We offer hands, he turns away.”
“In the mill we spin the same thread, yet Xihewan and Guanjia folk draw double pay. Where’s the justice?”
“Quiet! Mr Jin shelters us, that’s grace enough. You expect instant kinship?”
“Juan, hush! Remember the Yanghe woman who raged in the canteen? Director Tang booted her out. One more peep and you’re next.”
“Fair point. Xihewan and Guanjia followed Mr Jin from the start. We’re latecomers; trust must be earned.”
“I heard Mr Jin once doubted Guanjia too, until they fought bandits shoulder to shoulder. Only then did he call them family.”
“So if we bleed for him today, will he call us family tomorrow?”
…
While voices rose and fell, the elder, Zhao Laoshan of Heitu village, bounded onto a boulder at the clearing’s edge.
“Listen, every man, woman, and child!”
His shout sliced the chatter. Heads snapped round.
“I’m Zhao Laoshan. From the ridge I saw bandits marching on Xihewan, so I fired the warning arrows and alerted the chief.”
He spilled the tale in one breathless rush.
“I don’t know why each of you fled here. Me? Bandits torched my fields and drove us out. Mr Jin, bless his heart, took us in. My children eat full bowls, my daughters wear whole dresses. Believe me, trusted or not, Xihewan is now my root and my soil.”
He threw his arms wide. “You all complain Mr Jin keeps us at arm’s length. Here’s our chance! No men guard the walls today. If we hold the line, Mr Jin will open his heart.”
A ripple of eager glances answered him, especially among the mill girls; double wages gleamed like gold.
“Everyone knows what bandits do to a fallen village,” Zhao roared. “We guard Mr Jin’s home, aye, but we guard our own hope too!”
He punched the sky. “This old man would die before letting brigands touch my girls. Every able body, follow me to the gate!”
“Well said, old brother!”
Village head Liu Qingyuan vaulted up beside him, laughing. “Most of you know me, Liu Qingyuan, acting for Brother Feng. On his behalf I swear: every man who stands with us today may try for escort selection tomorrow. Your wives and sisters will earn the same wage as our own women. Any who fall will receive full escort honours, widows and orphans cared for by the village!”
Zhao’s fire had kindled hearts; Liu’s promise poured oil on the flames.
“I’m in!”
“Count me!”
Cheers multiplied.
A woman stepped forward, cheeks scarlet. “Chief… my man is gone, but I can fight. He never bested me in a scrap. May I join?”
Liu beamed. “Brother Feng says women hold up half the sky. If you’ve stomach for it, grab a spear. My own daughter leads a squad!”
He clapped her shoulder. “After we smash these bandits, I’ll sponsor you for the women’s militia.”
Joy lit her face. She raced home, returning with her late husband’s long spear.
One woman sparked a flood. Soon skirts and braids mingled with bearded chins in the growing shield-wall.
Liu leapt down, eyes shining. “Brother Feng always said the people’s will is invincible. I never grasped it till now. He saw farther than any of us.”
He turned to the militia girl beside him. “With these souls, even if the walls crack today, Xihewan will rise again tomorrow.”
…
Inside the village, three crimson columns had turned lanes into anthills. Miles away, in a dense wood, Zheng Fang stared at the same plumes and cursed.
“Sir suspected a traitor in the village, and damn me, he was right!”
He whirled on his lieutenants. “Find who lit that beacon! The bandits haven’t reached Longsnake Gulch. This is a bloody flare to guide them straight to us!”
