Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 12 Flies don't land on eggs without cracks

Aunt Zhao's triangular eyes gleamed with the joy of her impending revenge.

She rushed forward and kicked the rickety wooden door of the melon shed.

"Bang!"

The rotten wooden door couldn't withstand the kick and collapsed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"You damned bastard! You shameless piece of trash! Get your ass out here!"

As she cursed, Aunt Zhao rushed inside, followed by seven or eight villagers who loved to watch the excitement. Several beams of powerful flashlights instantly shone into the dimly lit melon shed, illuminating the tiny space as bright as day.

"ah--!"

A terrified scream came from inside the shed.

Everyone stared intently, and were completely stunned.

The scene I had envisioned—disheveled and rolling around with a wild man—did not materialize.

Li Xianglian was huddled alone in the corner, trembling all over, clutching a rusty woodcutter's knife tightly in her hand, the blade facing outwards towards the people at the door.

Her clothes were torn to shreds, her shoulders and neck were covered with shocking red marks and bloodstains, there was a clear handprint on her face, and blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth.

Her eyes were filled with terror and despair, and tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. She looked like a small animal driven to the brink of despair.

"Don't come any closer... Don't come any closer! I'll kill him... I really will kill him..." Xianglian waved the wood-chopping knife in her hand, her voice hoarse, a breakdown born of extreme fear.

This scene is completely different from what everyone expected!

The villagers who had come with Aunt Zhao to "catch the adulterer" looked at each other, their lewd expressions of anticipation suddenly freezing.

This isn't adultery; this is clearly encountering a scoundrel!

Aunt Zhao was also taken aback. Her beady eyes darted around the shed, but she didn't see Chen Dagui anywhere.

There was only a rotten watermelon on the ground, along with a few drops of blood.

Where is she? Where did that good-for-nothing go? Didn't we agree to make it a fait accompli and wait for her to catch us red-handed?

"Keep pretending! Keep pretending!"

Although Aunt Zhao had some doubts, the stage was already set up, and if it were to be taken down now, where would she put her face?

Her eyes widened, and she pointed at Xianglian, yelling, "Where's your lover? Where did you hide him? You, Li Xianglian, you've got some skills, haven't you? You've even learned how to set up a honey trap?"

"What bastard?" Xianglian cried, raising her head. The despair in her eyes made the hearts of the grown men present tremble. "Mother, you're trying to kill me! You made me keep watch at night, and in the middle of the night, a masked thug broke in and tried to rape me! If I hadn't fought back with a knife, I... I wouldn't be alive tonight!"

As she spoke, she raised the machete in her hand higher, still stained with a bit of blood from the previous cut on Chen Dagui.

"This is that beast's blood! I didn't do anything to betray Zhao Gang! Mother, you brought so many people here, but instead of arresting that scoundrel, you're accusing me of adultery. How can you be so heartless!"

These words, spoken with heartbreaking intensity and crystal-clear logic, coupled with her injuries and desperate resistance, instantly shifted the villagers' opinion, who had initially been waiting to watch the spectacle.

"Yes, ma'am, it doesn't look like something like that has happened..."

"This girl, Xianglian, has been beaten up like this; she looks so pitiful."

"Could it really be some thugs? When has anything like this ever happened to our Red Star Brigade?"

Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhao was so angry that her whole body of fat trembled.

How could she admit that she set up the trap? Wouldn't that be sending herself to jail?

"Bullshit!" Aunt Zhao rushed forward to snatch the knife from Xianglian's hand. "I bet you've been hiding some random man! Chunhua! Didn't you just say you saw a man's figure? He must be around here!"

Liu Chunhua stood at the doorway, shining her flashlight around aimlessly, feeling a wave of disappointment. Hadn't caught him? That Chen Dagui was a complete waste of space!

Hearing Aunt Zhao call her, Liu Chunhua's eyes lit up, and she immediately chimed in, "Yes! I clearly saw a dark figure dart out from here just now. He was so big, it was definitely a man! Xianglian, stop pretending. Even if that man ran away, the stench in this shed hasn't dissipated yet! Who knows if you tried to seduce him and things didn't go well, which is why you used a knife?"

That's a vicious remark. Liu Chunhua is determined to smear the whole thing, even if the victim is portrayed as someone who attempted seduction.

"Liu Chunhua, watch your mouth!"

Xianglian stared intently at the flamboyantly dressed woman, her heart bleeding with hatred. "I'm just a woman, and you've treated me like this. Aren't you afraid of retribution?"

"Retribution? I only know that flies don't land on eggs without cracks!" Liu Chunhua sneered, relying on her superior numbers, she actually tried to squeeze into the shed and rummage through the pile of straw behind Xianglian. "Get out of the way! I want to see if you've hidden any men's underwear in this straw hut!"

Seeing that she had help, Aunt Zhao became even more arrogant: "Yes! Search! Search for me! Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we'll find your bastard!"

Seeing that the two madwomen were about to rush forward and tear Xianglian apart, the male villagers were too embarrassed to intervene and could only watch helplessly. Xianglian gripped her machete tightly in despair; if they dared to come any closer, she was truly ready to fight to the death!

At this critical moment—

"All of you, stand right there!"

A loud shout, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, made everyone's eardrums buzz.

Immediately afterwards, heavy footsteps came from the cornfield behind the melon shed. The footsteps were heavy, one after another, as if they were stepping on one's heart.

Everyone turned around and saw a tall, dark figure emerge from the shadows.

He didn't use a flashlight, but with the light from the people's hands, he could clearly see that gloomy face, like that of Yama, the King of Hell.

The scar running across his face looked so menacing in the night that it seemed to come alive and devour him.

He wasn't carrying anything in his hands, just one hand in his pocket and the other hanging naturally at his sides, but the menacing aura emanating from him sent chills down everyone's spine.

Qin Rushan.

That "lone star of misfortune" that everyone in the Red Star Brigade avoided like the plague.

The moment Liu Chunhua saw Qin Rushan, her eyes lit up for a moment, then quickly filled with jealousy.

Why is he here in the middle of the night?

"Qin...Qin Lao Er?" Aunt Zhao was also startled by this imposing aura and took a half step back, but then, as if grasping at a straw, she pointed at Qin Rushan and screamed, "Good! I knew there was a lover! It's you! Everyone, look! This is the adulterer! He's been hiding in the back!"

The crowd erupted in uproar. If it were Qin Rushan, things would be in serious trouble.

However, Qin Rushan didn't even give Zhao Da Niang a proper look. He just coldly glanced at everyone and finally fixed his gaze on Liu Chunhua's face.

"Adulterer?" Qin Rushan sneered, took something out of his pocket, and casually threw it on the ground.

"Clatter".

It was a pair of black cloth shoes with a thousand layers of soles.

The shoes were covered in mud, and the uppers were worn out; they looked very familiar.

"Since you're so keen on catching adulterers, why don't you go ask Chen Dagui how he managed to get that shoe away?"

Qin Rushan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge. "Tonight, I was checking for wild boar traps on the mountain when I ran into some clueless bastard running down the mountain barefoot, yelling, 'Aunt Zhao, have mercy!'"

The moment these words were spoken, the room fell into a deathly silence.

All eyes turned to the shoe on the ground. Everyone in the village recognized it; it was the style Chen Dagui often wore, and that hooligan only had that one decent pair of shoes.

Aunt Zhao's face instantly changed from red to white, and then from white to green; her expression was as fascinating as if she had opened a dye shop.

"And another thing," Qin Rushan strode forward, step by step, to the melon shed. His tall figure blocked Xianglian's path, like an insurmountable mountain. He looked down at Aunt Zhao, a cruel smile curving his lips.

"Old hag, I think I heard that barefoot good-for-nothing shouting in the woods just now, saying that you gave him five dollars to come to this melon shed and 'do things' for you. That's a pretty good deal, isn't it?"

boom!

These words were like a depth charge, completely stunning the villagers present.

This isn't catching someone in the act of adultery; this is hiring someone to commit rape! This is practically driving his own wife to her death!

"You...you're making false accusations!" Aunt Zhao trembled with fear, her legs buckling and she nearly collapsed to her knees. "I didn't! I..."

"Whether he is or not, we'll know once we bring him back and confront him."

Qin Rushan didn't give her a chance to explain. He turned to look at Liu Chunhua, who was staring blankly, his eyes filled with disgust. "And you, since you're so nosy, why don't you go and call your father? This kind of case involving forcing women into prostitution and hiring murderers is perfect for him to judge for the whole village!"

Liu Chunhua felt a sharp pain in her heart from his gaze. Before she could speak, Qin Rushan suddenly bent down and picked up Xianglian, who was sitting on the ground, in his arms.

"This... Qin Rushan, what are you doing! That's my Zhao family's daughter-in-law!" Aunt Zhao tried to stop her, but Qin Rushan glared at her and she froze on the spot.

"Since your Zhao family doesn't treat people like human beings, then tonight I'm taking this person with me." Qin Rushan held Xianglian as if she were a rare treasure.

He looked around, his voice booming and resolute, "Anyone who dares to go out and spread a single word about what happened tonight, ruining her reputation, will face the consequences. This axe of mine doesn't discriminate!"

After saying that, he carried Xianglian and strode through the crowd, disappearing into the vast night.

All that remained were a group of dumbfounded villagers and an elderly woman surnamed Zhao, who sat slumped on the ground, her face ashen.

Xianglian nestled in Qin Rushan's arms, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, and tears welled up in her eyes once again.