Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Fell into a Ditch and Suffered

Hearing Zhao Nuanyue’s words, Li Guihua grew even more smug. She laughed and said, "Heh, Nianqiao Village is a good place. We can’t let a bunch of riff-raff ruin it..."

"Exactly. We can’t let them destroy this sanctuary of ours," Zhao Nuanyue agreed. "But they left this time. What about the next? Sigh, it’s all such a mess!"

Seeing Zhao Nuanyue so worried, Li Guihua reassured her, "Don’t you worry. The village has things under control. If anything happens, the village leaders will step up. We won’t let you young folks get hurt."

"Thank you," Zhao Nuanyue said gratefully. ’Whether Li Guihua is being sincere or not, their dedication to protecting Nianqiao Village is purer and more devout than mine.’

"The ginger soup is ready. You drink up. I’m going to get Mr. Hua and have him come back for some too," Li Guihua instructed. "Don’t go running off again. Stay home and get some proper rest."

Just as Li Guihua stepped out, Zhao Nuan Yang came running in from outside in a panic. Seeing his sister, he asked frantically, "Sister, you... don’t jump in the river! Don’t die! You still have Nuanyang... you still have Nuanyang..."

Zhao Nuanyue was only putting on an act. Miao Dahai and Li Guihua could tell, but her younger brother couldn’t. He thought she was actually trying to kill herself.

"Don’t cry, Nuanyang, don’t cry. I wasn’t really going to jump in the river. I was just trying to scare those bad men!" Zhao Nuanyue quickly explained, not wanting to frighten her brother.

Hearing his sister’s words, Zhao Nuan Yang stared at her blankly, completely baffled. "Really?" he asked, half-convinced.

"Of course it’s true. I never lie to Nuanyang. Besides, with a wonderful little brother like you, how could I ever jump into a river?" Zhao Nuanyue gently pinched her brother’s fair cheek, sighing to herself. ’My brother is so handsome!’

Usually, Zhao Nuan Yang wouldn’t let his sister pinch him, but today he didn’t resist, letting her pinch his cheek.

"Don’t ever jump in the river again, Sister," Zhao Nuan Yang demanded, his expression serious. "Nuanyang was so scared!"

"Okay, I promise," Zhao Nuanyue nodded. "I’ll listen to Nuanyang. But you have to listen to me too. Don’t tell anyone that I was only pretending to jump, alright?"

"Okay!" Zhao Nuan Yang nodded. "Nuanyang won’t tell. And you have to keep your promise—no more jumping in rivers. Stay with Nuanyang."

"Mhm, I’m fine," Zhao Nuanyue nodded again and again before finally starting on the ginger soup. She really might be catching a cold.

Meanwhile, after Zheng Delin and his men had left, Hua Yusen didn’t return to change his clothes. Instead, while no one was looking, he took a shortcut over the mountains and ridges, making his way to a treacherous spot where he deliberately hid.

Zheng Delin was fuming and his stomach was growling with hunger, as were the other young men. Having gained nothing in Nianqiao Village, they decided to head for Willow Bay. However, as they passed through a particularly steep section, one of them slipped and fell, taking several others down in a chain reaction that sent them tumbling into a ditch.

Several of them went down, Zheng Delin included.

"AGH, my leg...!"

"OW, my arm...!"

"ARGH, my back!"

A series of bloodcurdling screams, with men crying for their parents, made those still on the path turn pale with fright. ’My god, this day is just one disaster after another!’

It would be dark soon, and they needed to find a place to rest. They all scrambled to pull Zheng Delin and the others out of the ditch.

Zheng Delin cried out in pain continuously, but he didn’t dare to curse at them, terrified the brats would just abandon him. The nights in the mountains weren’t just cold—there were wolves!

"Let’s go to Wang Family Village!" Zheng Delin said, grimacing in pain. Willow Bay was closer, but the path there was in worse condition and even steeper. One more fall could be fatal, with no hope of rescue, so he chose Wang Family Village instead.

It wasn’t just because the road was better; the villagers there were more cooperative and easier to control.

Watching them slowly limp away, Hua Yusen emerged from the shadows. He went back the way he came, once again taking the shortcut over the mountains and ridges.

By the time Hua Yusen got back to Nianqiao Village, night had fallen.

Yang Guanghui, Wang Yuan, and Li Qiong had returned from the fields and were gathered around Zhao Nuanyue, asking what had happened.

Zhao Nuanyue put on a look of grief and indignation. "Those men were bullying me. Luckily there was a crowd, so I didn’t get the worst of it."

At her words, Wang Yuan and Li Qiong were horrified. ’Oh my god, who would dare to harass a decent woman in front of so many people?’

"Sigh, we can’t stray from the main group from now on. We have to stick with the villagers while we work," Yang Guanghui said. "It’s too dangerous."

"I know," Wang Yuan said, her face pale. "Those men are awful."

Li Qiong steadied her nerves and comforted Zhao Nuanyue. "Nuanyue, we’ll all have to be more careful from now on. If we see those guys, we’ll steer clear. It’s a good thing the villagers sided with us this time, or those delinquents would have really hurt you."

In the backyard, the elders were eating together. Sun Haoran was saying in a low voice, "We were lucky to have Nuanyue’s help today. Otherwise, with how aggressively those guys were acting, we would have been in for it!"

"Yes, we would have," Old Madam Qian said softly. "Nuanyue is still so young. Jumping into that cold water, she must have caught a chill and be feeling awful. Old Sun, you’re a skilled doctor. You should take a look at her. We can’t have her developing some chronic condition at her age. She has her whole life ahead of her; this can’t be allowed to ruin it!"

"That’s right, Sun. You have to figure something out. If you need any herbs, I can gather them when I go up the mountain to cut grass," He Qiang chimed in. "We can’t let the little girl who protected us suffer for it! She’s young. She’ll need to get married and have children someday. She can’t do that with poor health!"

Sun Haoran listened and nodded again and again. "Don’t worry. This is my area of expertise. I’ll certainly do my best."

When Hua Yusen returned, the young people were in the middle of dinner.

Zhao Nuanyue saw Hua Yusen and was dying to know where he’d been, but with so many people around, she couldn’t very well ask.

"Hua, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?" Yang Guanghui asked quickly. "Whoa, why are your clothes so dirty?"

Hua Yusen smiled and explained, "After I pulled Mr. Zhao out of the water this afternoon, I didn’t have anything else to do, so I went to the back mountain and caught a couple of chickens for everyone to enjoy. I didn’t have time to come back and change, which is why I’m so dirty."

On his way back, Hua Yusen had spotted some wild pheasants and caught them for everyone to eat. That way, Nuanyue could have some too.

’I also stashed two more pheasants in the cave outside. When Nuanyue has time, she can cook them for the elders.’

"Wow, Hua, you’re amazing! We’re in luck, we get to eat meat now," Li Qiong said, staring at the pheasants, wishing she could stew them into a soup right then and there.

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