Chapter 17: Murder

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She Yuqi hurried forward and patted her back to comfort her. “Don’t cry, it’s fine this time. I’ll take you back to the county tomorrow morning. But you must never be so impulsive again, or next time I won’t bring you back to play with Xiao Xiao!”
“Okay, okay, I understand, sister.”
“Xiao Xiao, I’m sorry…”
Xiao Xiao shook her head and finally gave Wang Ruoruo a smile. “It’s good to admit your mistakes and change. Let’s play hide and seek together— you hide, and I’ll find you…”
The two children played happily, while She Yuqi went to the kitchen and took some fresh wild boar meat from her space to try making Dongpo pork.
Dongpo pork is similar to braised pork in preparation.

...

Over an hour later, the Dongpo pork was ready—large chunks of diced meat coated in thick sauce, making Wang Ruoruo’s mouth water.
Wild boar meat is naturally gamey and tough, so She Yuqi used plenty of seasonings to marinate and remove the unpleasant smell to make it more palatable.
After a small taste, She Yuqi frowned; having never eaten wild boar before, the flavor was somewhat hard to swallow.
“If it doesn’t taste good, you can…”
“How could it not be delicious!”
“This is even better than what you get at the state-run restaurant!”
Xiao Xiao looked curious. “You’ve been to the state-run restaurant? I heard their dishes are very expensive.”
Wang Ruoruo, cheeks smeared with grease, quickly chimed in, “I don’t know. My grandfather took me there. Xiao Xiao, honestly, the food at the state-run restaurant isn’t as good as what your sister cooks. I’ve never eaten such delicious meat!”
“Of course—my sister is the best!” Xiao Xiao lifted her head proudly.
She Yuqi smiled, feeling happy for Xiao Xiao.
This little girl had truly become more cheerful…

While She Yuqi was eating heartily, back at the Lao Han household, they couldn’t even get a decent meal.
“Mom, now that Second Sister-in-law has run away, the family is relying on me alone. It’s so exhausting.”
“And… there’s only half a bag of potatoes left! The New Year is over a month away—what are we going to do?”
Li Ying had been worn out by the Lao Han family’s troubles these days. With dark circles under her eyes and cracked, bleeding lips, she looked utterly haggard.
Ever since Han Dazhi had chased Wang Fang away, he hadn’t come back.
The Lao Han family even went to Wang Fang’s mother’s house, but her mother said Wang Fang hadn’t returned home at all.
Because of this, Han Dazhi locked himself in his room every day, and the Lao Han family dared not breathe loudly, fearing to provoke him!

Just then, Han Dazhi suddenly pushed open his door, staggering out with messy hair and reeking of alcohol. Li Ying was startled and quickly hid behind Han Jian.
“Mom, big brother and sister-in-law, I’ll get the family’s money. If I have to… I’ll kill that bitch!”
“Since my wife ran away, I’m destined to live a lonely life…”
Han Dazhi’s eyes were wide open in the moonlight, and he was actually holding a chopping knife!
“Stop him! As if our family’s situation isn’t bad enough!” Old Han, half paralyzed, leaned out anxiously, her face turning blue and purple with worry.
Han Dazhi had always been impulsive and reckless, never thinking about the consequences!

Carrying the chopping knife, he stormed to Xiaogou Village and kicked open the gate of Su Wanyi’s house with a loud bang, rushing inside.
Inside, it was pitch dark.
Han Dazhi’s fury had been building for a long time—first the house was robbed, then his wife ran away, and now the family was starving. He was furious and ready to kill!
Losing his mind, he felt along the edge of the kang (heated brick bed) and swung the knife down.
He felt it hit something soft, but before he could rejoice, a cold voice came from behind: “Trying to kill me? Sorry, you don’t stand a chance!”
What?
Stop!
The room instantly fell silent. She Yuqi lit an oil lamp, illuminating the entire room. Under the dim light, her face looked pale.
She took a deep breath, licked her dry lips, and after calming down, picked up the chopping knife Han Dazhi had dropped and stored it in her space.
Normally, she didn’t want to use her space to kill, but Han Dazhi had brought this on himself—no one could blame her for being ruthless.

She Yuqi then went straight to Wang Pofu’s house. The two children were sound asleep on the kang, which put her mind at ease.
“Where did you go? Remember what I told you—Han Dazhi’s wife ran away, and now he’s a madman!”
She Yuqi and Wang Pofu sat on the doorstep outside the main room.
Wang Pofu looked worried. She Yuqi held her rough hand gratefully. “Auntie, thank you for warning me that Han Dazhi would come looking for trouble. You really helped me a lot.”
Luckily, when Wang Pofu went out to fetch water, she saw Han Dazhi holding the chopping knife. Otherwise, the three of them might have been cut down by him!

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Thinking this, She Yuqi’s inner turmoil instantly gave way to anger!
Han Dazhi deserved to die!
“What’s there to thank me for… Honestly, what kind of life did you have at the Lao Han house!”
“But at least you made it through, unlike me—bit by bit, I’ve ended up all alone…”
Wang Pofu looked up at the stars, wiping tears from her eyes with her sleeve, smiling bitterly, “Look, my eyelashes are so short, they always get in my eyes…”
She Yuqi felt a sharp pang of sadness.
She hadn’t understood Wang Pofu before, but now she seemed to grasp it.
A widow without a man has to be tough, or the villagers will bully her!
After all the twisting and turning, it all boiled down to survival…

Their conversation was interrupted by the village chief, who came along with the Lao Han family.
Han Yungu looked red-eyed and pointed at She Yuqi, shouting, “Where did you hide Han Dazhi? After he came to find you, he disappeared!”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Why would he come looking for me? To kill me?” She Yuqi wasn’t afraid of them and sneered coldly.
Han Yungu’s eyes flickered nervously. Many villagers had seen Han Dazhi charging toward She Yuqi’s house with a chopping knife, which Han Yungu couldn’t deny.
“He just wanted to scare you. But you—why aren’t you at your own home? Why are you at someone else’s?”
“So if I had a chopping knife and tried to hit you, would that just be scaring you too?”
“What did you say?”
“I think you deserve a beating!”
Han Yungu raised his fist, ready to strike She Yuqi. She stood still, and he punched her in the face, making blood gush from her nose.
The crowd gasped in shock. The village chief stared at She Yuqi, puzzled.
He thought she was usually quite fierce, so why was she quietly taking a beating today?
Could she really be scared?
The Lao Han family sneered behind their hands at her misfortune.
But none of them noticed the change in She Yuqi's expression—from cold to excited.

There was a chopping knife in Wang Pofu’s yard. Without hesitation, She Yuqi grabbed it and charged at Han Yungu!
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, taking a long moment to recover.
“You’re crazy!”
Han Yungu instinctively raised his arm to block, thinking She Yuqi wouldn’t really attack, but she struck down hard with the chopping knife.
Han Yungu’s eyes widened in pain as he collapsed to the ground, crying out in agony.
“Yungu!”
Liu Cuihua rushed to her husband, crying miserably. “She Yuqi, how could you be so ruthless? Aren’t you afraid the police will arrest you?”
“I’m afraid, but this is self-defense…”
“So you’ve been hiding your nastiness here!”
Liu Cuihua finally snapped out of it and glared angrily at She Yuqi. The village chief cleared his throat, “Forget about calling the police. Maybe Han Dazhi got cold feet and went off drinking somewhere.”
Han Yungu writhed in pain on the ground. Han Jian didn’t react much either.
Han Dazhi often borrowed money to drink, and after sobering up, he usually returned home knowing what he’d done.
Thinking of this, the Lao Han family said nothing more, lacking evidence anyway.
She Yuqi’s house had been thoroughly searched by them—there was nothing but broken things, no sign of anyone hiding.
Besides, Han Dazhi was a grown man. Even if She Yuqi wanted to fight, she’d have to think twice.
But Han Yungu’s arm looked seriously injured, and Liu Cuihua complained to the village chief.
“Village chief, what should we do?”
“What else can we do but leave it be?”
Liu Cuihua: “???”
“If you delay any longer, your husband’s arm might break!”
“It’s your fault for starting the fight. They’re right, crying won’t help!”
The village chief despised the Lao Han family—they were stupid and reckless!
Han Dazhi drank and beat his wife, then when she ran away, he got even more reckless, coming after people with a chopping knife. He was a real fool!
Liu Cuihua cried out, “This is a disaster! Does anyone have an ox cart? Please help!”

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Han Jian, unlike Liu Cuihua, was quiet and ashamed. Looking up, he saw Jiang Bei returning with cow dung.
She Yuqi saw him too and quickly wiped the blood off her nose, turning away without looking at Jiang Bei.
Han Jian’s tone was harsh, “Can you hurry up? This is a matter of life and death, understand?”
“Moving as slow as a snail.”
But Jiang Bei didn’t even glance at them and drove the ox cart home, deliberately splattering a pile of dung on Han Jian, covering his face and body in foul-smelling cow dung, making Han Jian’s face turn dark with anger.
“Hahaha… I’m dying laughing!”
She Yuqi kept sneaking glances at Han Jian and felt a great sense of satisfaction at his misfortune. She mockingly laughed out loud.
Han Jian wanted to hit She Yuqi, but with the village chief present, he dared not do so openly. He threw a fierce threat, “Don’t get too cocky. If Han Dazhi doesn’t come back, we’ll see what you do then.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Make you answer for it!”
She Yuqi grabbed a firewood stick nearby and gave Han Jian a hard whack on the rear, making him jump like a grasshopper. “You’re crazy!”
She Yuqi smiled, “Yes, I’m crazy—the kind that kills without paying the price!”
Han Jian was truly scared of She Yuqi. Ignoring Han Yungu and Liu Cuihua, he ran off toward Xiahe Village.
Though Liu Cuihua was anxious, no one helped her, so she had no choice but to drag the unconscious Han Yungu away alone. Han Jian’s running off still left her uneasy.

The next morning, She Yuqi opened the door to the inner room and was shocked to find Xiao Xiao and Wang Ruoruo both gone, only messy bedding left on the kang.
“Where did they go?”
She Yuqi’s face paled as unease rose in her heart. Wang Pofu, wiping her hands, reminded her, “They probably went to play in the back mountain.”
“Thank you, auntie.”

...

“We can’t go any further. Beyond this is deep mountain, it’s dangerous.”
Xiao Xiao led Wang Ruoruo up the mountain to pick wild vegetables. Seeing Wang Ruoruo wanting to go further, Xiao Xiao frowned and stopped.
Wang Ruoruo’s face was flushed with excitement. She had never left home alone before and found everything new and interesting.
She sniffed the air deeply and suddenly ran off.
Xiao Xiao’s face turned pale with fear. She glanced back and saw She Yuqi running this way, instinctively shrinking her neck.
“Where’s Ruoruo?”
She Yuqi, panting heavily, reached Xiao Xiao. Su Xiao Xiao burst into tears, pointing ahead, “Ruoruo ran into the deep mountain!”
She Yuqi felt a pang of pity at the tear-streaked face but still put on a stern expression. “You go back first. I’ll deal with you after I find her!”
Xiao Xiao bit her lip, tears in her eyes, nodded, then quickly ran down the mountain to avoid angering Su Wanyi.
Wang Pofu was shocked that She Yuqi went up the mountain alone. She jumped up from her stool, “Is your sister crazy? How long have they been gone?”
“Maybe more than ten minutes.”
Xiao Xiao’s tears flowed like broken pearls. Wang Pofu gently rubbed her head to comfort her, “If they’re not back before dark, I’ll call the village chief to search the mountain.”
“Okay.” Xiao Xiao was anxious too, but being small and weak, she could only rely on Aunt Su.

...

She Yuqi ventured deep into the forest. At some point, a mist rose around her. The snow was ankle-deep, making her steps heavy.
“Oh no! It’s foggy!”
She wasn’t familiar with the mountain terrain, and now with fog, she lost all sense of direction. She couldn’t find any trace of Wang Ruoruo, her brows tightly furrowed.
Meanwhile, Wang Ruoruo had been chasing an injured little rabbit, running to a frozen riverbank.
“Got you, little rabbit.”
Wang Ruoruo held the rabbit by its ears, smiling with innocent joy.
“Xiao Xiao, look…”
“Huh? Xiao Xiao?”
“Xiao Xiao, where are you?”
Wang Ruoruo realized no one was answering. She looked around holding the rabbit, saw no one nearby, and the fog frightened her. She sat down on the ground, shivering with fear.