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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 46: The Heart of Resistance
The three of them arrived near the village entrance. Xia Zhou gazed in the direction where Uncle Tang was, and sighed, "Did you really hear what they said last night? If that's true, then Sister Nine's actions can be somewhat understood."
Last night, Ji Zichen and Xia Zhou had overheard a conversation between Sister Nine and Dong Qin. They spoke of the past in front of Uncle Tang, which gave Ji Zichen insight into Sister Nine and Dong Qin's history. Ji Zichen sighed again, "Regardless of whether it's true or not, it's all in the past now."
Lin Chuyu, confused by their conversation, asked, "What are you talking about?"
Xia Zhou glanced at Lin Chuyu and said, "Oh right, have you seen Sister Nine in Purgatory Palace?"
"Sister Nine?" Lin Chuyu repeated, finally recalling the woman wearing the Flower Cat Mask. She raised her voice, "Of course I've seen her; she's not a good person."
Xia Zhou suddenly became interested. "Lin Chuyu, do you want to know what we overheard last night?"
Ji Zichen and Xia Zhou's vague remarks piqued Lin Chuyu's curiosity. She replied eagerly, "I want to hear! What did you two overhear last night?"
Xia Zhou smiled mysteriously. "Then let me tell you."
---
Back then, Sister Nine and Dong Qin were around four years old. They were quite mischievous at that age. This was their third time getting caught by the village chief while trying to steal radishes from Roughneck's house. At that time, the village chief was still spry and didn't need a cane. Holding the radish that Sister Nine had stolen, he scolded them, "Tang Congxue and Dong Qin, how many times do I have to tell you not to steal? How many times will it take for you to listen?"
Caught again by the village chief, Dong Qin was frightened and at a loss for words. However, Sister Nine laughed mischievously and said, "Village chief, Roughneck is always so stingy; I just wanted to steal his radishes to annoy him!"
Hearing Sister Nine mention Roughneck so casually only infuriated the village chief more. His neck turned red with anger as he exclaimed, "What did I say last time? If I catch you again, I'll tell your father! Now come back with me!"
The three of them returned to the village from the vegetable patch. The village chief approached Tang's house and knocked on the door. "Knock knock knock," he called out, "Tang Dagang! Come out quickly and see what your daughter has done this time!"
Tang Dagang was inside the house grinding grain with a donkey when he heard the village chief calling. He hurried out and saw Tang Congxue being brought back by the village chief, looking quite puzzled. "Village Chief, what happened?" he asked.
Noticing Tang Congxue drenched in sweat, Tang Dagang squatted down slightly and smiled at her. "Look at you, playing so hard that you're all sweaty."
He grabbed the hem of his sleeve to help wipe the beads of sweat from Tang Congxue's forehead. At that moment, Sister Nine smiled at him and said, "Dad, I'm back."
Tang Dagang seemed to have forgotten about the village chief bringing someone back as he took Tang Congxue's hand and started walking toward the house. "Thank you for bringing her back again, Village Chief," he expressed gratefully.
The village chief nearly lost his temper upon hearing this. He raised his voice, "Tang Dagang! Hold on! I'm not your wife; I shouldn't have to keep bringing her back. Let me tell you, she went to Roughneck's garden to steal carrots again!"
Tang Dagang turned to Tang Congxue with a warm smile. "Go back inside."
Tang Congxue nodded with a giggle and reached out to Dong Qin, who looked a bit awkward standing by. "Qin, come here! Let's go play inside."
Dong Qin stole a glance at the stern village chief before mustering her courage to take Tang Congxue's hand, and together they dashed into the inner room.
With a cheerful expression, Tang Dagang addressed the village chief, "Village Chief, it's just a few carrots. It's not a big deal. Do you really think eating a few carrots will ruin Roughneck? Kids just love to play; they'll grow out of it."
The village chief was taken aback, his face darkening immediately. He said sternly, "Dagang, you can't spoil this child. As the saying goes, 'A child who is spoiled at three will be spoiled for life.' You can't indulge her like this."
Tang Dagang replied with a half-smile, "Village Chief, I remember you were quite mischievous when you were young too. You were famous for fighting on Tide Mountain back then."
The village chief recalled his passionate youth and felt his face flush. "That's different; my past has nothing to do with now."
Tang Dagang's expression suddenly turned somber as he spoke softly, "You know she's an orphan and has had a hard life. I just want her to live without worries."
The village chief's heart softened as he sighed. "Dagang, fine this time, but there can't be a next time. If it happens again, I won't let her off easily."
Tang Dagang smiled as he said, "This time, I will take good care of her. You can rest assured about that."
The village chief handed the radish in his hand to Tang Dagang and said, "Alright, it’s your business after all. I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now. These radishes have already been pulled; it would be a waste not to eat them."
Tang Dagang smiled as he accepted the radish and watched the village chief leave before entering the house.
Inside, Tang Congxue was helping Dong Qin tie up some playthings. The left whip was already done, while the right one was only halfway through. At that moment, Tang Dagang entered with the radish. Seeing him, Tang Congxue smiled and said, "Dad, the village chief gave us radishes again. He clearly isn’t angry with us, but he loves to scold people."
Tang Dagang placed the radish on the table and replied with a smile, "As long as you know that. Next time, you mustn’t do anything to upset the village chief again, understand?"
Tang Congxue nodded, "I understand, Dad."
Tang Dagang continued, "But why did you go to Roughneck to get radishes? If you wanted to eat them, we have plenty in our garden."
Tang Congxue pouted and said, "Who wants to eat those stinky radishes from Roughneck? I was just upset with him. Dad, do you remember last time when we wanted to sell melons and vegetables in town? That Roughneck clearly had space on his donkey cart, but he wouldn’t let us put a few baskets of melons on it. In the end, you and Brother Yun had to carry the melons into town."
Tang Dagang sat down on a long wooden bench and said, "Come here from over there."
Tang Congxue walked over, and Tang Dagang lifted her onto his lap and laughed heartily, "So it turns out you were standing up for me." He pinched Tang Congxue's delicate and tall nose and added, "You can’t do that next time. Actually, you shouldn’t blame him too much. Our harvest has been good these past few years, so prices haven’t gone up much. Things are hard to sell; he just wants to get rid of what he has quickly."
Tang Congxue pouted again and said, "But..."
Tang Dagang laughed and interrupted her, "There’s no 'but.' You all go play; I have work to do."
At that moment, Tang Congxue's eyes sparkled with determination as she declared boldly, "Dad, when I grow up, I want to earn a lot of money so you won’t have to work so hard anymore."
Tang Dagang's eyes turned red at her words. After a moment, he burst into hearty laughter. "Alright! Dad believes that from now on you will definitely be able to earn a lot of money."
Tang Dagang picked up Tang Congxue and set her down beside Dong Qin. He said, "Qin, you two sisters need to stick together from now on, supporting each other without fail, understand?"
Dong Qin nodded and replied, "I understand, Uncle Tang. I will help Congxue earn a lot of money."
Upon hearing this, Tang Congxue smiled brightly and said, "In the future, I'll earn the money, and you can keep track of the accounts. Then we can buy that piece of land from Roughneck."
Three years passed, and Tang Congxue and Dong Qin were now seven years old. Both had grown into graceful young girls. One afternoon, as Tang Congxue was about to cook, she opened the rice jar only to find less than half a scoop of rice left. She stepped outside and found Tang Dagang sitting in a lounge chair, anxiously smoking dry tobacco.
"Dad, there's no rice left in the jar," she said as she approached him.
"I know," Tang Dagang exhaled a puff of smoke. "There are some sweet potatoes in the house; you can cook those for now."
"But Dad," Tang Congxue protested, "if we only eat sweet potatoes, how will you have the strength to work in the fields? I'll go to Qin's house and bring back some rice."
"Don't go," Tang Dagang replied firmly. "These days are tough for everyone. We still have sweet potatoes to eat; just eat more of those for now. In a few days, we might not even have sweet potatoes left."
Tang Congxue looked up at Yangquan Cliff, where the skeletons of Purgatory Palace were swayed by the wind, producing eerie sounds. Frustrated, she exclaimed, "Dad, who are those people? Why do we have to give them our harvest? The little that’s left isn’t enough for us!"
Tang Dagang was startled and quickly covered her mouth. His face turned pale as he whispered urgently, "Be quiet! Don't speak like that; you might get yourself into trouble. I'm telling you not to mention those things."
"What things? Dad, what do you mean?" Tang Congxue asked, confused.
Tang Dagang grew impatient. "Go on, cook the sweet potatoes and stop asking questions."
Refusing to leave, Tang Congxue insisted, "Dad, those people take our vegetables based on how many heads there are. Next time they come around, if it’s just you at home, we can pay less. That way we can save some food for ourselves. Besides, I'm not even your biological daughter; they will understand if you explain it to them. I’ll figure out my own way to pay my share."
Tang Dagang listened, his anger surging like thunder. He slapped Tang Congxue across the face, his voice booming, "What nonsense are you talking about! You are my daughter! Never speak such foolishness again!"
It was the first time Tang Dagang had struck her. The force of the slap sent Tang Congxue tumbling to the ground. She covered her stinging cheek, but she did not cry. Tears welled in her eyes as she stubbornly said, "Father, I know this makes you unhappy, but it’s the truth. We have no blood relation at all. If you just tell them I’m not your biological daughter, they will leave my share behind."
As soon as he had struck her, Tang Dagang regretted it. He knew that despite her young age, Tang Congxue understood many things. Painfully, he said, "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hit you."
He helped her up and brushed the dust off her clothes. With a tender expression, he said, "Congxue, I didn’t realize how mature you’ve become. I was too irrational just now. Don’t think too much about it; even without you, they would take everything because they don’t care about us at all. But don’t worry; I will find a way. I will never let you go hungry."
Tang Congxue burst into tears and hugged Tang Dagang's neck, crying out, "Father, I didn’t mean it that way!"
Tang Dagang smiled gently and said, "I know, Congxue. Just stay at home and be good while I talk to the village chief about some matters."
When he arrived at the village chief's house, he found the chief sitting inside with a cup of weak tea in hand, his stomach grumbling from hunger. Seeing Tang Dagang enter, the chief asked, "Dagang, what brings you here?"
With a somber expression, Tang Dagang replied, "Chief, this can’t go on any longer. If we keep handing everything over to Purgatory Palace like this, we won’t have any way to survive."
The chief’s face darkened as he said, "I understand that well enough, but we have no magical tools; we are no match for those demon beasts."
Tang Dagang insisted, "Chief, to kill those Demon Beasts, we don’t need magical tools. You know I used to escort goods in the city when I was younger and learned some martial arts. My strength alone is limited, but if the villagers can secretly learn from me..."
The chief cut him off sharply. "Don’t even think about it! Go home! You still need to take care of Congxue; don’t throw your life away for nothing!"
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