CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: YU CHANGHE GETS BEATEN UP

In the middle of the night, Yu Changfu came back utterly exhausted. He was terribly hungry, but the house was cold and empty, there wasn’t even a bite to eat.

The lights were out, and everyone else was asleep.

Annoyed, he deliberately made a lot of noise to wake everyone up.

Through the window, Old Madam Yu cursed without lighting a lamp, "Do you want to die? Why are you making such a racket? If you’re back, go to sleep right away."

"Luo Da and Luo Er were surrounded by wolves. When we found them, there was only a piece of lower leg left, everything else was eaten."

Yu Changfu, recalling the bloody scene from earlier, felt nauseous.

Old Madam Yu scolded, "What’s their death got to do with us? The more that die, the better, don’t disturb my sleep."

Old Man Yu pushed Old Madam Yu, "Are you muddled from sleep? Get up and light the oil lamp!"

"Why light the lamp?" Old Madam Yu grumbled, but still got up to light the oil lamp.

Old Man Yu called Yu Changfu inside, then with a pale face, he asked, "Are Luo Da and Luo Er really dead?"

"Is there any doubt? The corpses were eaten by wolves, and Jiang the Hunter said it wasn’t just wolves, there were traces of wild boars around too.

They were probably so fat that the wolves couldn’t finish them, so the wild boars got a share.

The Luo family picked up the bones to bury, but that’s all they could do, they don’t even need coffins."

Yu Changfu sat down on a long bench, perplexed, "I wonder what Luo Da and Luo Er were doing going into the deep mountains."

Old Man Yu asked, "Didn’t the Luo family know they went into the mountains?"

"No, I heard it was Jiang Lin who saw the Luo brothers heading up the mountain; that’s how they found out. They must have gone crazy for money, daring to enter the deep mountains."

Old Man Yu lowered his head, thoughtful.

It seems that Luo Da and Luo Er didn’t tell the rest of the Luo family about splitting the money from selling Yu Xiaolian.

But if they went to capture Yu Xiaolian, why did they go to the deep mountains?

They really are as dumb as pigs!

Could it be that Yu Xiaolian, the little jinx, is really a bearer of evil?

Is he untouchable now?

Old Man Yu indicated that he understood and waved Yu Changfu back to his room.

Yu Changfu muttered, "I haven’t even eaten yet..."

Old Madam Yu rudely replied, "Skipping one meal won’t starve you, eat tomorrow morning!"

After Yu Changfu left, Old Madam Yu blew out the oil lamp and soon began snoring, but Old Man Yu was worried and couldn’t sleep all night.

Early the next morning.

The Luo family in River Bay Village was filled with the sound of gongs and cries.

Many villagers attended the Luo family’s mourning to save face, some giving ten coins, some fifteen, and others bringing ten eggs, with more people offering goods than money.

Yu Changhe also took ten coins from his wife, Sun, and went to the Luo family.

Though ten coins were little, it showed at least a bit of goodwill.

To Yu Changhe’s surprise, when the Luo family saw him, they went crazy, swarming towards him.

Ma’s wife led the charge, "We just had a conflict with your family, your little jinx said our family would suffer, and now my two sons are gone, oh my sons, my poor sons, not even bodies left..."

"Yes, it’s that little jinx’s curse, she’ll bring misfortune to everyone in our village, drive Yu Xiaolian out."

"Send the little jinx away, if not, we’ll tie her up and burn her."

The Luo and Ma families took turns speaking, each sentence targeting Yu Xiaolian.

When Yu Changhe tried to speak up to defend his daughter, Luo San and a group of people attacked him, cruelly targeting his lame leg.

Yu Changhe, who had recently felt his leg improving, heard a crack from his bones, as if it had broken again.

"What are you doing?" Jiang the Hunter shouted, pushing the attackers away from Yu Changhe, helping him up.

Ma’s second brother, Ma Dahe, confident in outnumbering Jiang the Hunter, wasn’t afraid of him taking action, since Jiang the Hunter wasn’t like Jiang Lin, impulsively picking fights.

"If Yu Changhe doesn’t send his family’s little jinx away, he can’t stay in this village. We’re fed up; River Bay Village’s feng shui has been ruined by Yu Xiaolian. The Luo family’s tragedy involves two deaths—who knows which family might be next?"

After supporting Yu Changhe, Jiang the Hunter, seeing that Yu Changhe’s leg couldn’t bear weight, picked him up on his back, "Discuss your issues, why resort to violence? What if someone dies?"

Ma’s wife wailed, "If not for Yu Changhe adopting the little jinx, my two sons wouldn’t have died. What’s wrong with hitting him? It’s all his fault. If we don’t force their family out today, I won’t stop."

Jiang the Hunter looked at Village Chief Ma Dashan, "Is what your sister says also your stance?"

Ma Dashan, undecided, hesitated until nudged by Ma’s wife, then said, "It’s not just our Ma family’s stance; it’s the whole village’s."

Another villager chimed in, "Yes, I don’t want Yu Xiaolian to stay in River Bay Village either. Living in the same village as her is too unlucky. Last year, I lost money doing business out of town, and this year my crops suffered drought. It’s all her curse!"

Yu Changhe, resting on Jiang the Hunter’s back, finally mustered the strength to speak, "We’re River Bay Village people; our home, land, and roots are here. If we’re driven out, where can we go?"

"We don’t care about that. Your whole family must leave today. You and Sun have long been turned into unlucky people by Yu Xiaolian. You have to get out of the village."

When Yu Changhe used to be a government official, he was greatly envied by many in the village. Later, when Yu Changhe arranged a position for Zhao Kuo at the town office, making them even more jealous.

Many people had also asked Yu Changhe to arrange government jobs, but how could a minor official like him make such decisions? He arranged one for Zhao Kuo only because there happened to be a vacancy.

Yu Changhe only arranged a position for Zhao Kuo, indirectly offending a large number of people in the village.

With Yu Changhe now in this situation, those who were once dissatisfied with him couldn’t resist kicking him while he was down.

When Jiang Lin went to alert Yu Xiaolian, she was only then informed that Yu Changhe had been beaten. She and Sun rushed towards the Luo family.

The villagers, upon seeing Yu Xiaolian, became even more agitated, with some holding sticks and glaring at her, ready to strike at any moment.

Sun, realizing the situation was worse than she thought, quickly shielded Yu Xiaolian behind her to protect her from being hit.

At that point, Yu Changhe had already fainted.

Sun told Jiang the Hunter, "Brother Jiang, please help by taking Changhe back home."

Jiang the Hunter nodded and carried Yu Changhe back to the Yu Family.

Sun also hurriedly dragged Yu Xiaolian along behind him.

At this moment, Yu Changfu and Old Madam Yu also rushed over. Seeing Yu Changhe on Jiang the Hunter’s back, they stormed over and shouted at Ma’s wife, "You’re bullying us too much! How could you beat my Changhe like this? Whoever hit him, step forward!"

Old Madam Yu also stood akimbo, "You can’t just beat someone without consequences. If you don’t pay for the medical expenses, we’ll report all of you to the authorities!"

Ma’s wife sneered, "So many of us hit him, what can you do? If you dare, go report us. I don’t believe the government would arrest an entire village!"

"Yes, don’t be afraid everyone; the government wouldn’t possibly arrest us all."

Old Madam Yu was furious, "You’re bullying us too much! Do you think our Yu family is without supporters?"

Ma Dashan’s wife, Meng, suddenly stepped forward, tugging on Old Madam Yu’s sleeve, and whispered, "Auntie, remember the Qi Family girl waiting to marry into River Bay Village? You’ll need to build a new house for her, and won’t it require the villagers’ help?"