Wu Xia’s head buzzed loudly.
Full of innuendo, Du Lijuan’s words lingered sensually as she spoke, biting her lower lip as if savoring the taste of just a moment ago.
Du Lijuan was a widow in the village, not much older than Zhou Fang. Because of the generational hierarchy, Wu Xia was obliged to call her "Auntie."
Although average in appearance, she had a lasting charm. With her flamboyant dress, she embodied a unique allure.
If it weren’t for the fact that she had two children, who knows how many men would’ve wanted to marry her for nights of endless revelry.
"Auntie Lijuan, I have something to attend to back home. Could you give me my clothes, please? I’m strong, I won’t catch a cold," he said.
Wu Xia didn’t dare stay the night here. It was said that a woman in her thirties is like a tiger, forties, a wolf.
And Du Lijuan had been without a husband for four or five years, who knew how fierce she was.
Moreover, Xiao Hu had seen everything that just happened, and it would be even harder to explain once her elder daughter came back.
"Yun will be getting out of school soon; she’s in middle school, right? She’s grown into a young lady by now. It wouldn’t be appropriate for her to see me like this, would it?"
Wu Xia didn’t give Du Lijuan a chance to respond, quickly using her older daughter as an excuse to silence her.
Although a bit disappointed, Du Lijuan pouted and pulled a set of men’s T-shirt and trousers from the wardrobe: "These were bought for your uncle years ago; he never wore them. Try them; see if they fit."
"Your clothes can hang here; I’ll bring them to you tomorrow," she offered.
"Okay," Wu Xia nodded, sitting on the bed and taking the clothes from her.
After handing him the clothes, Du Lijuan showed no signs of leaving, standing by and waiting.
"Um, Auntie Lijuan, I’m shy," he said.
"Shy about what? I just...," Du Lijuan, realizing she might have misspoken, quickly corrected herself: "I’m your auntie. I already helped you strip off; there’s nothing I haven’t seen."
Wu Xia’s face twitched slightly at her intense gaze. He didn’t dare linger.
Taking a deep breath, he leapt up from the bed and hastily put on the clothes.
Then he put on his shoes and bolted out of there.
If he had stayed any longer, he truly feared Du Lijuan would’ve devoured him.
It was still noon when Wu Xia had left the house, but now the sun had set.
He quickened his pace, worried that his sisters-in-law would be anxious if he returned late.
Yet, his heart was in turmoil; he had no clue how to face his sisters-in-law.
As Wu Xia hesitated, Mr. Liu, the cattle herder, said to him: "Xia, hurry home. Chen Ergou from West Mountain Village has taken men to your place to snatch your sister-in-law."
Boom!
"What?"
Wu Xia shivered all over; any hesitation vanished as he raced toward home.
Chen Ergou was the notorious thug of West Mountain Village, often causing trouble in town and bullying everyone.
He used to court Lin Jiao, frequently taking men to her house to create a disturbance, pressuring the Lin family to make her marry him.
It was only after his two older brothers intervened and taught Chen a lesson that he stopped bothering them.
But now with his second brother gone and his eldest brother away, Wu Xia, as the only man in the house, had to protect his sisters-in-law.
When Wu Xia arrived at his house, the place was already surrounded by people, and Zhou Fang’s wails and shouts could be heard from inside.
"Eldest sister-in-law!"
Just as Wu Xia burst through the door, he saw Zhou Fang disheveled and covered in mud, sitting on the ground.
"Wu Xia, you’re finally back. Where have you been? They almost killed me!" Zhou Fang cried even harder upon seeing him.
If it weren’t for the neighbors watching, she probably would’ve thrown herself into Wu Xia’s arms and clung to him tightly.
"Eldest sister-in-law, are you all right?" Wu Xia quickly went over to help Zhou Fang up: "Where’s second sister-in-law?"
The sobbing Zhou Fang suddenly stopped crying and said urgently, "I’m fine, but hurry and save Lin Jiao, they’re going to take her back for a wedding ceremony."
Wu Xia’s expression changed. Lin Jiao was one of his own, the Wu Family’s. He absolutely couldn’t let them bully her.
He was just turning around to leave when Zhou Fang grabbed him again, "No, there are so many of them, you can’t beat them all, you can’t go!"
From Zhou Fang’s eyes, Wu Xia saw worry, which warmed his heart.
"Big sister, don’t worry, I’ll get Tiezhu to go with me, he can fight!"
Hearing Tiezhu’s name, Zhou Fang breathed a sigh of relief but still said anxiously, "Be careful, don’t be reckless, if it doesn’t work out, just run, wait for your brother to come back and deal with them."
"I got it!"
Wu Xia had already run far away, heading towards the entrance of the village.
Tiezhu’s home was right at the village entrance. He and Wu Xia had grown up together; he didn’t even finish junior high before returning home to farm.
Since childhood, he’d grown tall and strong, and now as an adult, he was even more formidable, a full head taller than Wu Xia.
He had a fiery temper; no one in the village dared to provoke him, yet he was always polite to Wu Xia, and even very obedient to him.
Wu Xia hadn’t reached the village entrance yet when he saw Tiezhu coming toward him on a moped, clattering along.
"Big Xia, I heard Chen Ergou came to snatch your sister-in-law, are you okay?"
"Tiezhu, hurry to West Village, my second sister-in-law has been taken by Chen Ergou."
Wu Xia jumped straight onto the moped.
Tiezhu planted a foot on the ground, using his foot as a pivot, turned the moped around, then roared the throttle, heading towards West Village.
Tiezhu rode swiftly; the moped, under his huge frame, seemed like a toy car.
By this time, it was already dim outside, and the visibility was somewhat hindered.
Wu Xia clung tightly to Tiezhu, "Slow down, be careful!"
Although he was burning with anxiety, the mountain roads were treacherous, and it had grown dark—one misstep and they could tumble down a cliff.
"Don’t worry, I can navigate this road with my eyes closed!" Tiezhu shouted, deliberately revving the engine even more.
After about half an hour of riding, at a bend near a cliff, just as they rounded the corner, a large tree branch lay across the center of the road.
Tiezhu braked hard, even planting both feet on the ground.
But they were going too fast, and it was a turn; the moped crashed directly into the tree branch.
Fortunately, Tiezhu reacted quickly, his first thought to grab Wu Xia, or Wu Xia would’ve been thrown straight out, tumbling down the cliff.
Because he reached out to pull Wu Xia, Tiezhu ended up pressed against the tree branch himself, his chest pierced by it, his head slamming into a rock.
The moped, like a blazing chariot, went over the cliff’s edge, roaring as it plummeted down.
Wu Xia clambered up from the ground in disarray, shouting into the darkness, "Tiezhu, are you okay?"
Boom!
Suddenly, two beams of light shone from ahead as Chen Ergou’s van was parked not far away.
Through the bright lights, Wu Xia saw the injured and unconscious Tiezhu, his face instantly paling.
He hurried over in total panic, "Tiezhu, hold on, I’ll take you to the hospital right away, you must..."
He hadn’t finished speaking when a burst of intense pain erupted in his head.
Thud!
Chen Ergou, holding a brick, had viciously smashed it on Wu Xia’s head.
Wu Xia immediately fell to the ground, dizzy and seeing stars.
He tried to stand up, but his limbs seemed to no longer heed his brain’s commands, and he fell again.
His eyes burned with an unwilling rage as he glared at the figure holding the brick—Chen Ergou.
"Damn it, that look again, last time Wu Tie gave me that same look, and it caused me to have nightmares for three days. Go to hell!"
Chen Ergou roared angrily, lifting the brick and furiously smashing it down on Wu Xia’s head...