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墨書 Inktalez
Wen Qian looked at the woman speaking; it was Zhang Xiaolian, the village's beloved daughter-in-law, who always enjoyed a good spectacle. When Wen Qian had been bullied in the past, Zhang Xiaolian had not held back her sarcastic remarks and had even kicked her when no one was watching.
Ignoring the curious gazes of the onlookers, Wen Qian grabbed Zhang Xiaolian's arm and pulled her into the center of the crowd. She smiled at Zhang Xiaolian and exclaimed loudly, "Go on! Weren't you very fond of Lu Yao before? Hurry up and try to win over your future mother-in-law!"
As soon as Wen Qian finished speaking, she noticed that Zhang Xiaolian's aunt standing behind her had suddenly changed her expression. She quickly walked over and pinched Zhang Xiaolian hard.
Zhang Xiaolian glanced at her aunt in panic and obediently followed her, turning back halfway to shoot a resentful look at Wen Qian.
Ha! A beating was inevitable!
Wen Qian smirked and continued watching.
The village chief had arrived! The village chief was here!
Hua Auntie stood up upon hearing this, looking at Cuihua, who lay on the ground looking like a pig’s head from being slapped, unable to suppress her laughter.
She didn’t think she had been too harsh!
The village chief frowned seriously as he looked at Cuihua and then at Hua Auntie. He said sternly, "What’s going on? Why are you fighting again? Can’t you find something better to do this early in the morning?"
Hua Auntie looked at Cuihua, who was about to start wailing, and immediately began to complain loudly. "Village Chief, you’ve finally come! If you hadn’t shown up, I would have been wronged to death! This old hag insists that I bullied her son and even wants to hit me. I’ve lived half my life; how can I just endure this? If anyone is to blame, it’s her for not being as skilled!"
"Alright, where’s Lu Yao?"
"I’m here!" Lu Yao shouted hoarsely before bending over to vomit.
"What a mess! This is unacceptable!"
Hua Auntie continued pulling on a thick yellow rope tied around a dog’s neck and marched toward the village chief. "Village Chief! You know my dog, Da Huang; I treat him like my own son. I’ve raised him plump and healthy. Who knew that last night Lu Yao came to steal my dog and got caught by my son?"
Da Huang felt a pat on his rear end and immediately pressed against the village chief’s leg, whining pitifully.
There was only this one dog in the entire village, famous far and wide. The village chief unconsciously shifted his position and cleared his throat twice. "I understand; take him back for now."
He shook his head at Cuihua lying on the ground before turning his gaze back to Lu Yao, frowning again. "Quickly untie him; let him wash his face first—what kind of appearance is this!"
Hua Auntie's son reluctantly untied Lu Yao, who sprang up and dashed towards his home.
This humiliation would be known throughout the village; it was an utter disgrace! How could he continue living here?
As Lu Yao left without looking back, the village chief led others to bring him back out.
"Now tell me what happened?"
Lu Yao stood there aggrieved. "Village Chief, I didn’t mean to steal their dog; I was just—"
He sneaked a glance at Lu Zheng before quickly changing his words. "Last night I went out to relieve myself when their dog bit my pants. When I came out, they tied me up."
"You’re full of nonsense! By the time I came out, you were about to beat my Da Huang to death! If it weren’t for me, you would have surely eaten dog meat by now!"
Lu Yao watched as Hua Auntie's son approached threateningly and hurriedly hid behind the village chief.
"Alright, alright! You say he stole your dog; he says he didn’t—let’s call it even."
The village chief turned back to Lu Yao, frowning as he pointed at Cuihua. "Quickly take your mother home; lying here is just disgraceful!"
With that said, he waved his hand and turned away.
The villagers couldn't help but laugh as they watched Lu Yao and Cuihua. Aunt Hua cast a smug glance at Wen Qian, dragging her son along, strutting back home with pride.
"Da Huang, I'll give you some extra food later," she said.
Da Huang barked excitedly, "Woof woof woof!"
Wen Qian and Lu Zheng exchanged glances, both noticing Aunt Hua's little antics, and couldn't help but smile.
Not long after they got home, there was a commotion behind them. Just as Lu Zheng was about to enter the house, Lu Yao's voice stopped him in his tracks.
"It was definitely you who threw me over there!"
Lu Zheng turned to look at him. Lu Yao shivered in fear, the memories of last night flooding back to his mind, and quickly lowered his head to avoid Lu Zheng's gaze.
After breakfast, Lu Zheng headed out toward the mountain. He had chosen his spot very carefully the night before. Halfway up the slope, where wolves were known to roam, there were rumors of strange occurrences and monsters lurking about. This was a place that no villager would dare return to unless they were seeking death.
A night had passed, and he wondered what had happened. As he approached, he caught a strong whiff of blood from afar and frowned as he continued onward.
Gradually, the scene before him became quite grim. He observed each individual in turn and was surprised to see that Liu Ge still had some breath left in him. It was unexpected; most of his other underlings had already perished. It seemed they had not fared well through the night.
"What happened last night?"
Liu Ge slowly opened his eyes to look at him, his gaze bloodshot and filled with red veins. He opened his mouth but could not produce a sound. He looked at Lu Zheng with pleading eyes, fixating on the small knife behind him as if signaling for help.
Occasionally, wolf howls echoed from the mountain nearby; it seemed they were still interested in this pile of food.
Lu Zheng glanced at him before turning away, hearing a whimpering sound behind him.
As he neared the foot of the mountain, he caught a rabbit and grabbed it by its ears.
Back in the village, people were discussing the morning's amusing events; it was truly laughable. The Lu family had been quite the spectacle lately, providing plenty of entertaining topics for gossip among the villagers. Others from neighboring villages had even heard about it.
"Can you believe it? The Lu family is one we've watched grow up since childhood; how come they've changed so much recently? Could it be that someone has possessed them?"
"Please don’t say such things! You’re going to scare people to death early in the morning! Who can say for sure?"
Another woman shook her head. "Even rabbits can be driven to desperation! The Lu family doesn't treat her like a person; her son is nearly dead! How can she not be anxious? But now that Lu Zheng is back, she can't help but perk up."
Several others nodded in agreement but still voiced their dissenting opinions. "I still think she’s been possessed. Things have been strange around here lately; didn’t Old Lu and Cuihua say she’s been acting off?"
As Lu Zheng passed by, a glimmer of understanding crossed his eyes. He couldn’t help but recall her odd behavior these days; his steps momentarily faltered before he continued on with purpose.
At the Lu household, Lu Father and Cuihua exchanged worried glances at Lu Yao. The smell emanating from him made them pinch their noses in disgust.
Lu Yao's hair was unkempt, and there were spots on his face that hadn’t been cleaned properly; yellowish sticky substances clung to him.
They had a million questions for him, but seeing him in such a state left them speechless.
Finally, Cuihua couldn't hold back any longer and rushed over to Lu Yao. She took a towel and started wiping his face, startling him so much that he pushed her away. Cuihua stumbled back, her already swollen face colliding hard with a nearby cabinet, causing her to grimace in pain and roll on the ground.
"Ah!"
Lu Yao suddenly shook off his arm and stood up, finally snapping back to reality as he looked down at her with impatience.
"You scared me."
"Xiao Yao, what happened last night? Where are those people?" Cuihua swallowed hard, tugging at the dazed Lu Yao to redirect his attention as she asked urgently.
"I'm asking you something! Why are you lost in thought?"
"Last night, that little vixen Wen Qian came into the room bragging. They didn't dare go out because of the noise outside. They're old and frail; if they got hurt by mistake, it would be disastrous." Lu Yao sighed in frustration, letting all his strength drain as he plopped down onto a chair.
"Mom, I really don't know. You have no idea how formidable Lu Zheng is; no one could take him on last night."
"Then where are they?"
Lu Yao shook his head. "They probably ran away! I fainted last night and have no idea what happened."
Cuihua frowned at her son’s dazed expression and couldn't help but pull at his arm again.
"Then why did you go steal a dog?"
"Oh come on, I told you I don’t know! Isn’t it annoying to keep asking when I don’t have an answer?"
"Then why didn’t you and your father come out to look for me last night? All you do is talk; if not for that, would I have ended up in such a terrible situation?"
Lu Yao looked at her impatiently, his mouth firing off complaints like a machine gun. Seeing Cuihua frozen in place with a stiff expression, he quickly fell silent.
"If you want to know why, you should ask that bastard and that little vixen Wen Qian. They must have thrown me over there; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to crawl out myself!"
"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep for a bit; you all can talk to me later."
With that, Lu Yao rolled over onto the bed, covered himself with a blanket, and fell into a deep sleep.
Cuihua looked at him sadly. When did her son ever speak to her like this? He used to be so obedient, so well-behaved, so filial! Just like Brother Shu, always sweet-talking and caring for her. A shy expression flickered in Cuihua's eyes as she thought about it.
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