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墨書 Inktalez
The families in the village that went to bed early had long since fallen asleep, only to be rudely awakened by the commotion, their annoyance palpable. Some who were still awake covered their ears, unwilling to go out after a long day; who would want to venture out now?
Curious, a few peered through their windows to see what was happening in the village at such an hour. Who else could it be but the Lu family? It sounded like Zhang Yan, but they ignored her, not wanting to know what madness she was up to.
Zhang Yan cried out desperately, only to find that no one in the village was coming out. Frustrated, she could only grit her teeth and pound on doors, pleading, "Please, help my mother and my man!"
She knocked on door after door; some ignored her while others, annoyed by the disturbance, opened their windows just to scold her. "What are you making noise for in the middle of the night? It's infuriating! Hurry up and get lost before I come out there and hit you!"
Scared off by their harsh words, Zhang Yan continued knocking, tears streaming down her face as she ran to the village chief's house and banged on his door with all her might. "Chief! Chief! Help! Someone's going to die! Lu Yao and my mother are in danger! Open the door quickly!"
Inside, the village chief froze for a moment, his expression stiffening. He stopped what he was doing and threw off his covers, glancing at his wife lying beside him, breathing heavily with a dark expression on her face. She looked utterly displeased; they had finally had a moment of peace, only for it to be interrupted.
Knock knock knock—how annoying!
The village chief took a deep breath and dressed quickly before heading outside. "Sigh, I should check it out; I hope no one really has died. That would be a serious matter."
His wife followed him outside, curious about what Zhang Yan wanted. If it turned out to be nothing serious, she would definitely give Zhang Yan a piece of her mind for bothering them.
When the village chief opened the door, he was startled; he barely recognized Zhang Yan standing there. She clutched onto him like he was a lifeline and cried out loudly, "Chief! Please help! Lu Yao and my mother have collapsed on the mountain! You need to send someone to rescue them!"
"What were you doing up there in the middle of the night?" the village chief asked.
"I can't explain everything right now; please just send someone!" Zhang Yan pleaded urgently.
The village chief's wife scoffed. "Zhang Yan, if you don't explain clearly how we can find them, who will want to go out at this hour? Besides, there are wolves on the mountain—it's dangerous!"
She looked at Zhang Yan with disdain; her tone was laced with irritation.
With tears streaming down her face, Zhang Yan looked at the village chief's wife and said, "Auntie, Lu Yao didn't come back all afternoon. My mother and I went looking for him. We didn't expect that we would fall down a steep slope! My mother and Lu Yao can't get up—they're bleeding badly! I'm not lying!"
The village chief studied Zhang Yan's tear-streaked face; she didn’t seem like someone who would lie. She looked dirty and somewhat unhinged.
He pulled his arm away from her grasp and stepped back two paces. "Calm down and speak clearly. It's late now; if we don't confirm what's happened, no one will want to help."
Zhang Yan quickly brushed her hair back and wiped her face, trying her best to steady her voice as she said, "Chief, I'm telling the truth! Lu Yao and my mother are injured and can't make it down on their own. That's why I came to ask for your help!"
Suddenly, she saw the dried blood on her fingers and quickly held them up in front of the village chief, her voice trembling with urgency. "Chief, look! This is my mother's blood! I wouldn't lie to you. You need to hurry and get someone from the village to save them!"
If they delayed any longer, both of them would lose their lives.
Her words rang true. At that moment, on the mountain, Lu Yao was terrified out of his wits, sweat pouring down his face as he awkwardly made his way down. He had just heard the howls of wolves echoing from above, and suddenly, he caught a whiff of blood. In a panic, he grabbed handfuls of dirt and scattered them over his feet.
Ignoring the pain, he hurriedly covered the blood with soil, fearing that the scent would attract the wolves. However, the howls grew louder and closer.
He tried to stand up, but both of his legs felt numb. It was then that he noticed his uninjured leg twisted at an unnatural angle on the ground, a sharp pain shooting through his body.
He froze for a moment, feeling only pain as he touched his leg. He remained completely still. Could it be a fracture?
If so, wouldn’t that mean both of his legs were useless? Frustrated, Lu Yao pounded the ground in anger and then struck his leg in irritation. The pain intensified, and he collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
At this moment, he felt a flicker of relief that he was near the foot of the mountain; the wolves likely wouldn’t come down anytime soon. They were too afraid to descend easily, so for now, he and his mother were safe.
"Mother? Where are you?"
Lu Yao called out tentatively a few times, but all he heard in response was the howling wind, rustling leaves, and distant wolf cries.
It was all his mother’s fault. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have been thrown off by Zhang Yan; his other leg wouldn’t have been broken. It was all her fault.
And Zhang Yan—why didn’t she hold on tighter? Useless! If it weren’t for her, his leg wouldn’t be broken either.
Yes, it was all their fault.
No, there was also that bastard Lu Zheng. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t have come up the mountain or gotten caught in a hunting trap. None of this would have happened.
His plans had backfired; instead of achieving anything, he had ended up in this predicament. Lu Yao gasped angrily, resentment filling his eyes.
All of them—just despicable people.
They were all out to harm him; may they all meet a terrible end.
At the village chief's house, Zhang Yan anxiously tugged at her clothes as she looked at the chief with urgency. "Chief, that's what happened! Please hurry and find someone to save them! I beg you!"
The village chief furrowed his brow; who could he possibly find at this hour? Most villagers would surely be reluctant to come out at night.
Moreover, with the Lu family causing trouble recently, they had already annoyed everyone in the village; no one wanted anything to do with them.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind—Lu Zheng! Yes! He could find Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng was a soldier; surely he could bring them down safely from the mountain.
Yet doubt crept back into the village chief’s mind. The Lu family and Zhang Yan’s family had barely spoken to each other lately—would he even help?
The village chief let out a deep sigh. He steeled himself and decided to ask, considering it was for the sake of the village. After all, he was the village chief!
Zhang Yan watched as the chief stood up, her heart racing with gratitude. "Thank you, village chief! My whole family thanks you!"
However, as she followed him, unease began to creep in. "Village chief, where are we going? This isn’t the way home. Who are you looking for? Why don’t we ask a few families next door?"
They passed several homes along the way, but the chief showed no signs of looking for anyone. Eventually, they arrived at the Lu family's house. The chief walked into the yard and stopped in front of a thatched-roof hut.
Zhang Yan's eyes widened as she pulled back on the chief's sleeve, whispering urgently, "Village chief, you can't ask them for help! They definitely won’t help us. Let’s find someone else."
"Nonsense! Are we saving people or not? If we’re saving them, just listen to me."
Zhang Yan was pushed aside and could only watch helplessly as the chief knocked on the door. She swallowed hard and turned to glance at the lit interior, hesitating before stepping inside.
She hadn’t even told her father yet; they hadn’t even asked for money!
She feared that if Lu Zheng saw her, he would be even less willing to help. Now that she had calmed down a bit, Zhang Yan understood the chief's intention. He was right; Lu Zheng was the only soldier in the village and their best option for climbing the mountain. Most villagers were too afraid to venture up there due to wolves lurking about.
Aside from Lu Zheng, only a few hunters at the foot of the mountain would dare to go up.
As she entered the house, her eyes met Lu Father’s dark gaze, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Father! Father! Lu Yao and Mother can’t come down from the mountain!”
“What do you mean?”
Zhang Yan pouted, on the verge of tears. As soon as she opened her mouth, tears streamed down her face. “Father! Mother hit her head and is bleeding! Lu Yao’s leg is caught in a hunting trap; I think his other leg is broken!”
“Quick! Get some money!” she urged. “I’ll take someone to rescue them and get them to the hospital!”
Lu Father sat up in shock. “How did this happen?”
“Father, I can’t explain everything right now! Just hurry and get me some money! The village chief has already found someone; I need to take them up the mountain soon.”
Zhang Yan felt exasperated; why did everyone keep asking her questions? If they didn’t hurry, those two would be lost before they could even make it down from the mountain.
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