"Brother! Sister-in-law!"
While Fu Sheng and I were watching the Zhao brothers preparing the farmland, we suddenly heard hurried voices calling out from behind us.
We turned imdiately and saw Fu Fei and Fu Li running toward us as quickly as they could.
The two of them looked completely out of breath by the ti they finally reached us.
Fu Li bent slightly while trying to catch her breath properly while Fu Fei’s face looked pale with worry.
Fu Sheng frowned instantly.
"What happened?" he asked quickly. "Why are you both here?"
Fu Li looked up imdiately.
"The governnt soldiers are here," she said breathlessly. "They’ve already started taking young n and boys for the war."
The atmosphere around us instantly changed.
I exchanged a quick look with Fu Sheng.
"So they finally ca," I muttered quietly.
Honestly, I was not too worried about Fu Tong and Fu Teng anymore. Both of them were already officially engaged now, so the soldiers normally would not forcefully take them away for war recruitnt.
But even so—
The thought of countless young boys being dragged away to die still left a heavy feeling in my chest.
This kind of thing was simply cruel.
Fu Sheng’s expression slowly darkened before he looked toward Fu Fei and Fu Li again.
"You two should return ho imdiately," he said calmly. "Stay with Father and Mother."
The two girls nodded seriously.
"Tell Fu Tong and Fu Teng not to leave the house today," he continued. "They should remain indoors."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"And if the soldiers co searching our house, make sure they stay beside Zhao Yue and Zhao Yin."
Fu Fei imdiately understood his aning.
Married or engaged n standing beside their wives would look far less suspicious.
"We understand," she said quickly.
Then without wasting more ti, the two girls imdiately turned and hurried back toward Unit 50 again.
The farmland suddenly beca quiet afterward.
Fu Sheng slowly turned toward .
The mont our eyes t, he imdiately noticed the concern on my face.
After Fu Fei and Fu Li left, the farmland fell into a tense silence again.
The workers had already resud their tasks, but the atmosphere had clearly changed. The earlier energy was gone, replaced with quiet unease.
Fu Sheng turned to properly now. His expression was calm, but his eyes were serious.
"I know you are not happy about this," he said quietly.
I looked at him without replying imdiately.
He continued, his voice lower this ti.
"But what can we do? This is how corrupt officials operate. This is how people in the barren lands are treated."
His words were not harsh. They were simply the truth as he saw it.
Still, that did not make it easier to accept.
I glanced toward the direction of Unit 50, my brows slightly furrowed.
"So we are just supposed to stand here and watch?" I asked.
Fu Sheng paused.
For a mont, he did not answer.
The wind passed lightly over the farmland, moving through the newly cleared soil.
Then I spoke again, more firmly this ti.
"I need to see what is happening."
Fu Sheng’s gaze sharpened slightly.
"Su Long—"
"I am not saying I will interfere recklessly," I cut in calmly. "I just need to see it myself."
A brief silence followed.
Fu Sheng studied for a mont, as if weighing my words carefully.
Then finally, he exhaled softly.
"...At least stay beside ," he said.
I nodded once.
"Of course."
Before leaving the farmland, Fu Sheng quickly gave instructions to Zhao Ren to watch over everything in their absence.
"Take care of the farm," he said briefly. "Do not let anything fall into chaos while we are gone."
Zhao Ren nodded imdiately, his usual joking expression gone for once.
"Got it."
Without wasting any more ti, Fu Sheng and I left the farmland and headed toward Unit 50.
The closer we got, the heavier the atmosphere beca.
At first, it was just distant noise—shouting, crying, and the sound of movent from the village ahead. But as we stepped closer, everything beca clear.
Families were gathered outside their hos.
So were crying loudly.
So were begging.
And so could only stand there helplessly as young n were being forcefully pulled away.
Soldiers moved through the streets without hesitation, dragging boys out of houses and pushing them toward waiting carts.
"Let go!"
"I haven’t done anything!"
"Mother!"
The cries echoed painfully through the village streets.
Won collapsed on the ground while holding onto their sons, only to be pulled away by force. So n tried to resist, but it only made things worse.
I stopped walking for a brief mont.
My fingers tightened slightly at my side.
Fu Sheng also slowed down beside , his expression darkening as he watched the scene ahead.
"This is what I ant," he said quietly.
But I did not answer imdiately.
Because what I was seeing was worse than I expected.
Another young man was dragged past us, his face pale with fear while his mother scread his na until her voice broke.
I took a slow breath.
We moved deeper into the crowd in Unit 50, and the noise around us grew heavier with every step.
Crying families filled the streets while soldiers dragged young n toward waiting carts. The scene was chaotic as shouting, pleading, and resistance all mixed together.
In the center of it all stood a young man in black robes.
He looked like a commander.
Beside him stood another man dressed like an official rather than a soldier. He leaned in and spoke quietly while observing everything with a calculating expression.
Fu Sheng and I slowed down as we watched them.
A nearby villager spoke bitterly beside us.
"That is the leader of Unit 46," he said.
I followed his gaze.
"He must have paid the commander a large sum to protect his unit," the man continued. "That is why they are not taking people from there."
His voice tightened.
"But we don’t have a leader in Unit 50."
He gave a short, helpless laugh.
"So how are we supposed to survive this?"
I looked at the soldiers continuing their arrests without stopping.
Fu Sheng stayed silent beside .
But I could already see it clearly.
So units were protected.
Others were not.
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