Clash With The Locals

Li relayed Landon’s proposal to the villagers, who soon started another round of heated discussion. More men joined them. Even women and children had come out of their houses and crowded around Li. I stood back and waited anxiously. A quick survey around the place made it obvious that the village was extremely poor. Money talks. Maybe it could do the same here. But in case it couldn’t, I had to devise another plan. I glanced at the villagers. They were currently engaged in a shouting match. No one paid any attention to the outsiders. Using Landon as the shield, I inched further away until my body was hidden from view by a huge camphor tree. I circled the crowd and jogged towards the houses. When I glanced back over my shoulder, none of the villagers noticed I was gone. There was only one path leading into the village, but I didn’t know which house Kieran stayed in. I stopped at the first low-slung mud-and-brick house. The front door was wide open. No one appeared to be home. Suddenly,