Upon hearing there was an escaped convict, the able-bodied men of Chongyun Village were immediately excited. Word spread like wildfire, from family to friends, nobody slept and all were in high spirits!
Soon a large group of people, armed with hoes, wooden sticks, rakes, and even kitchen knives, gathered at Liu Caifu's house. To an outsider, it might have seemed like they were preparing for a riot.
Liu Caifu was somewhat overwhelmed by the sight of these young men, full of energy, screaming at the top of their lungs, and undeterred by the heavy rain, despite many of them lacking raincoats or umbrellas.
His original plan was to enlist a few young men from his family to help with the search. But that plan changed when a thunderclap woke everyone in the village.
