Chapter 15: The Wild Boar

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One of the thugs was suddenly bitten hard on the arm by She Yuqi. The pain made him instinctively raise his hand and swing it toward her face.

She Yuqi merely tilted her head and easily dodged the slap.

Seeing that she had dared to evade him, the thug stamped his feet in fury and cursed, “You still dare to dodge? Just wait—I’ll teach you a proper lesson today!”

As he spoke, he pulled out a sharp dagger and slashed it toward She Yuqi’s beautiful face.

“I’ll carve up that pretty face of yours and see how smug you are afterward!”

The cold blade was drawing closer and closer when a pair of large, strongly jointed hands suddenly appeared and snatched the dagger away.

“It’s you! Jiang Bei, I advise you not to meddle in other people’s business, or else… ah!”

“Or else what?”

Jiang Bei swung a fist at Duan Liuzi. The blow knocked Duan Liuzi to the ground, where he clutched his bleeding mouth and howled in agony.

“Brother Six, are you all right?”

The other thugs hurried forward to help Duan Liuzi up. He spat out a mouthful of bloodied saliva and glared viciously at Jiang Bei and She Yuqi.

“You just wait, punk!”

Jiang Bei frowned, bent down, picked up a snowball from the ground, and hurled it at Duan Liuzi’s head.

“Ow!”

The snowball struck Duan Liuzi squarely, and a large lump instantly rose on his head.

“Jiang Bei! I swear I’m going to kill you today!”

Duan Liuzi and his underlings charged at Jiang Bei with their teeth bared and claws extended. She Yuqi quickly shoved a kitchen cleaver into Jiang Bei’s hand.

Jiang Bei lowered his eyes and looked at her.

The woman before him wore a resolute expression. Her large eyes glittered in the night like stars. There was not the slightest trace of fear in them—in fact, she even looked a little excited.

Could this woman have been beaten senseless?

“What are you staring at? Let’s go together!”

The corner of Jiang Bei’s mouth twitched. His gaze turned cold, and he strode forward, placing himself in front of She Yuqi. He then launched a kick that sent one of the thugs flying several yards before he crashed into the snow and rolled several times.

Who was Duan Liuzi? He was the tyrant of Little River Village, a man who feared no one. Yet after seeing Jiang Bei knock a man away with one punch, even he could not stop himself from swallowing nervously.

“Brother Six, this guy is too powerful! He’s so strong he looks like he could kill a cow with his bare hands!”

“Shut up!”

Duan Liuzi had already stopped advancing. He did not dare move any closer. He was not stupid. So many men were no match for Jiang Bei—what good would come of him rushing forward?

Duan Liuzi cast a deep look at She Yuqi, then shouted at Jiang Bei unwillingly, “Why are you meddling in this? Don’t tell me… you like She Yuqi?!”

At that, Jiang Bei narrowed his eyes.

When Duan Liuzi met his gaze, he suddenly felt as if he were being watched by a wild wolf. He gritted his teeth, then simply turned and fled with his brothers.

Watching them get driven away by Jiang Bei, She Yuqi was filled with admiration.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. What brought you here?”

She Yuqi frowned as she asked the question. A trace of displeasure appeared on Jiang Bei’s stern face.

“I came to look for you, but you left on your own first…”

“I’m sorry. I thought you weren’t coming to pick me up.”

This time Jiang Bei did not answer her. Instead, he righted the bicycle lying on the ground and placed it on the ox cart.

She Yuqi suddenly grabbed the bicycle wheel, intending to take it down herself. The moment Jiang Bei saw what she was doing, his expression darkened.

“Those thugs are no ordinary troublemakers. Starting tomorrow… you’ll pay me, and I’ll take you to the county seat.”

“This…”

Before She Yuqi could say anything, Jiang Bei had already climbed onto the ox cart.

She Yuqi bit her lip and hesitated for a while, but in the end she climbed aboard as well and returned with Jiang Bei to Little Ravine Village.

“Stop!”

When they were not far from the entrance to Little Ravine Village, She Yuqi shouted at Jiang Bei at the top of her voice.

Usually, Jiang Bei would stop, but this time he not only failed to do so—he took her straight to the gate of her courtyard.

She Yuqi began to wonder whether Jiang Bei was deliberately competing with her.

Still, she had no proof.

Fortunately, the heavy snowfall meant no one had seen them return together.

“Wait a moment…”

She Yuqi jumped down from the cart and darted into the house. Seeing that no one was inside, she swiftly took a large bowl of steaming red-braised pork from her storage space.

Carrying the bowl, she hurried over to Jiang Bei.

“I made this red-braised pork. Try it and see whether it tastes better than the braised fish from last time.”

Last time?

Jiang Bei stared at her for a long while before finally looking away. He did not take the bowl.

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It certainly smelled good, but he had never accepted food from other people. Under She Yuqi’s puzzled gaze, Jiang Bei drove the ox cart away without even turning his head.

Hmph! If he did not want it, then so be it. What a strange-tempered man!

She had previously suspected that Jiang Bei was the one who smashed Old Han’s windows, but thinking about it now, she had probably imagined too much. Perhaps Old Han’s windows had been broken by one of his enemies…

She Yuqi placed the six old hens tied to the bicycle into the chicken coop. Aunt Wang the Shrew had given her quite a lot of cornmeal earlier, so she mixed some of it together to feed the hens.

Xiaoxiao was not at home, so She Yuqi went to Aunt Wang’s house.

The lights were on inside.

She Yuqi pushed open the door and entered.

“Sister’s back!”

Xiaoxiao excitedly threw herself into She Yuqi’s arms, while Aunt Wang set down her bowl and chopsticks.

“You’re eating noodles?”

She Yuqi carried Xiaoxiao over and sat down beside the kang, stealing a glance at the basin of thin, watery noodles.

Aunt Wang said cheerfully, “That’s right. You come home so late every day, and when Xiaoxiao gets hungry, I make her something to eat. We still had a little white flour left, so I rolled out a basin of hot noodle soup.”

As she spoke, Aunt Wang served She Yuqi a large bowl of steaming noodles. She Yuqi set Xiaoxiao down.

“You two eat first. I’ll be right back.”

Aunt Wang began to worry that She Yuqi looked down on the noodles she had made. She said nothing, but she still felt a little unhappy inside.

She Yuqi went home, fetched a bottle of chili sauce and several eggs she had boiled that morning, and returned to Aunt Wang’s house.

Before Aunt Wang could say anything, She Yuqi removed her shoes, climbed onto the kang, and gave each of them a boiled egg. Then she scooped a generous spoonful of chili sauce into her bowl and began eating heartily. As she ate, she pointed at the sauce and smiled at Aunt Wang.

“Add some of this. It’s delicious!”

When Aunt Wang saw the three boiled eggs, she felt they were far too extravagant and pushed them toward She Yuqi. But seeing how deliciously She Yuqi was eating, she grew curious about the chili sauce and began eating it the same way.

“I’ll be darned, this stuff really does taste good with noodles!”

“Did you make it?”

She Yuqi had already eaten a bowl of noodles and was full. At the question, she clearly froze for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“Yes. More or less.”

“I’m giving you this bottle. I have plenty more at home.”

Aunt Wang was so delighted that she slapped the table, startling both She Yuqi and Xiaoxiao.

After leaving Aunt Wang’s house, She Yuqi said seriously to Xiaoxiao, “Don’t eat at Aunt Su’s house anymore. No one’s family has much to spare these days, so don’t impose on her. From now on, Sister promises to come home earlier and cook for you.”

Aunt Wang’s real name was Su Li.

Only after Xiaoxiao obediently nodded did She Yuqi let out a sigh of relief.

Thinking back over what had just happened, She Yuqi felt a chill creeping through her heart. She was just about to lie down when she heard what sounded like a pig squealing outside.

“Potatoes again?”

After having his wounds treated at the clinic, Qi Tian had returned to the educated youths’ residence.

He had nearly lost his manhood and become a eunuch. Now, when he saw a table full of small potatoes, his expression grew extremely displeased.

The educated youths took turns cooking. Today it was Xia Meimei’s turn, and she had boiled an entire pot of baby potatoes.

Hearing Qi Tian’s complaint, Xia Meimei did not indulge him in the slightest. She planted her hands on her hips and said, “If you want meat, go into the mountains and hunt it yourself. At this rate, you may not even have potatoes to eat in the future.”

Hu Tao and Liu Xiao Nao exchanged glances before chiming in.

“Exactly. If you can actually bring back some game, we’ll never look down on you again. We might even take turns helping you shovel cow manure!”

“But since you don’t have what it takes, don’t come out here and make a fool of yourself!”

Because of Han Xiangxiang, they had always looked down on Qi Tian. Now that Sister Xiangxiang had left, they no longer felt the need to show him any consideration.

They felt uncomfortable if they did not mock him several times a day.

He claimed to come from a scholarly family, and his mother was supposedly a professor, but in the end he was still nothing more than a useless son who dragged everyone down!

Under their disgusted gazes, as though they were looking at a rat, Qi Tian was so furious he nearly exploded on the spot.

What a pack of people who kicked a man when he was down!

So what if it was hunting in the mountains? He could do it too!

With a loud slap, Qi Tian set down his bowl and chopsticks and stormed out of the educated youths’ residence. Perhaps he was simply too angry, for he momentarily forgot that the wound in his private parts was still hurting.

He picked up a brick from the ground and was preparing to head into the mountains. When he passed She Yuqi’s courtyard, he even considered going inside to cause her trouble.

But the moment he looked up, he saw a gigantic wild boar—well over two hundred pounds—eating cornmeal in the chicken coop.

He had never seen a wild boar that enormous. Jiang Bei had once brought down one before, but compared with the beast before him, that one had been utterly insignificant.

Qi Tian was not foolish. Wild boars were famous for their violent tempers. If one was truly enraged, it could easily bite an adult man to death.

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Qi Tian cautiously backed away. Once he was certain the wild boar had not noticed him, he turned and ran.

He had to find the village chief and have him bring people to capture the beast. If they succeeded, they would have fragrant wild-boar meat to eat! Two hundred pounds of pork would be enough to feed the entire educated youths’ residence until spring!

Qi Tian had only just left, grinning from ear to ear, when She Yuqi heard the commotion and opened the door.

The moment she stepped outside, her eyes met the wild boar’s cold, gleaming gaze.

In the blink of an eye, the wild boar charged straight at her. Its tusks were long and razor-sharp, and its coat was reddish brown. It looked to weigh well over two hundred pounds, and every time it ran, the earth seemed to tremble beneath its feet.

She Yuqi’s temples throbbed violently. Once she recovered from her shock, she began circling the courtyard at a run.

She did not dare hide inside. Quite apart from whether the flimsy door could withstand the wild boar’s attack, Xiaoxiao was asleep in there. She could not risk it.

The wild boar was frighteningly fast, so She Yuqi kept darting through places cluttered with piles of debris, using them to slow the beast down a little. But that was hardly a long-term solution.

Hot breath blasted from the boar’s nostrils. After letting out another furious squeal, it became even more frenzied.

Its eyes turned blood red.

She Yuqi was so frightened that her back was drenched in sweat.

Inside, she screamed desperately:

If she encountered a mad bull, the worst that could happen was death. At least her body would remain intact…

But if she encountered a wild boar and died, there might not be anything left of her body at all. She would be eaten clean!

What was she supposed to do?

She Yuqi’s face turned deathly pale, utterly drained of color. She slowly backed away until her back struck the wall. There was nowhere left to run.

The wild boar lunged at her.

At that critical moment, She Yuqi gritted her teeth and stamped her foot, thinking that she might as well try the impossible.

“Store!”

She squeezed her eyes shut. She could even smell the foul, fishy odor rising from the wild boar’s body. It felt only a few inches away, and her heart pounded like a drum.

At that moment, She Yuqi could think only of one thing: if she died, would Xiaoxiao be sent back to Old Han’s family and forced to endure a hundred times the suffering?

She opened her eyes in unwilling disbelief.

And then…

There was nothing there!

She Yuqi hurriedly sent her consciousness into the storage space, only to discover the wild boar’s corpse lying quietly on the first-floor floorboards.

The storage space could not contain living creatures. The wild boar had been alive when it entered, so naturally, it had died immediately.

She Yuqi patted her chest. Without daring to waste a moment, she withdrew her consciousness from the space in a flash.

The village chief came striding over with a group of people, moving with the force of an army marching into battle. A long train of villagers followed behind him. Nearly half of Little Ravine Village had turned out.

Discovering a wild boar was a major event. Some villagers had already gone to bed, only to be dragged up by their wives to lend a hand. Everyone was hoping to receive a share of the meat and improve their meals over the New Year.

“Where’s the wild boar?”

Qi Tian was brimming with excitement as he looked around.

She Yuqi had only just recovered from her fright when she saw her courtyard surrounded three layers deep, completely sealed off. Frowning, she looked toward the stern-faced village chief.

“What’s going on? Have you come to cause trouble at my house again?”

“Where’s the wild boar that was just here?”

“What wild boar?”

She Yuqi put on an innocent expression and asked in return.

Qi Tian grew impatient at the question. She Yuqi irritated him simply by standing there. Pointing at her nose, he shouted, “Did you take the wild boar away?”

“That boar weighed more than two hundred pounds. It was enormous. Did it grow wings and fly away by itself?”

The village chief’s expression grew darker and darker, black as the bottom of a cooking pot.

“Educated Youth Qi, I don’t think a cow kicked you in the groin. I think it kicked you in the head.”

“Chief, you have to believe me! I really did see a wild boar enter She Yuqi’s courtyard!”

Qi Tian wished he had several more mouths so he could explain himself. He had not been lying, but She Yuqi just had to interfere at a time like this.

“Educated Youth Qi, are you trying to make everyone like and admire you again? Even if you want to boast, you still have to give everyone something real to see. You say there was a wild boar in my courtyard, so look around and find it. Where is it?”

Qi Tian nearly went blind from searching, yet he could not find even the shadow of a wild boar. Even he began to wonder whether he had simply seen things.

She Yuqi continued calmly, “You said I took the wild boar away, which is even more ridiculous. You yourself said it weighed over two hundred pounds. I’m only a woman—how could I possibly carry such a huge animal away in so little time? What am I supposed to be, some master of teleportation?”

Qi Tian was completely silenced by her retort.