Chapter 585: Xiao Dang

To make Xiao Dang face reality, he obediently brought the Liang Family mother and son to the city to enjoy blessings, and Liang Mancong earnestly carried out his mother Liang Tangshi's plan to cook Xiao Dang.

Knowing full well that the night was cold, he deliberately did not provide Xiao Dang with warm clothing, and even removed the draft‑proof sealing strip that had been at the doorway.

The first half of the night was still okay; there was food in his stomach and he retained body heat, so he could barely keep warm for a while and wasn't feeling too cold.

In the second half of the night the situation suddenly changed; Xiao Dang was wakened by the cold. She stared at the door crack the size of an adult's fist, curled up her body as much as possible, shivering and hid herself among the dry grass.

Through the dry grass.

She directed her gaze, following the pitch‑black night, far toward the main house opposite; inside the pitch‑black room were her mother‑in‑law, who held sway over her, and the son who utterly trusted his mother.

She suddenly felt like crying.

What she felt more was resentment.

She hated herself, hated the Liang Family mother and son, and hated even more the Jia Family mother and son far away in the Capital City; even Bangeng, who had been imprisoned for ten years, came to be resented by Xiao Dang.

Knowing that Liang Mancong was watching her, she behaved very honestly.

She quickly slapped Liang Mancong, scolded him, and had him call the villagers to help her look for Xiao Dang, insisting that they must find Xiao Dang no matter what.

Everyone has little secrets, right?

Now feeling unwell, everything just went downhill.

Even a tiger does not eat its own cub.

Suddenly she felt this old lady was too much trouble.

Xu Daming also had a little secret.

All around was nothing but a expanse of pitch‑black forest; there were no other living things except Xiao Dang.

He searched Liang Mancong's clothes, pulled out a little over two hundred dollars in savings from the pocket of his undershorts, put it in his own pocket, and locked the thatched hut's door.

Now it's all right.

Yet there was not even a flaw.

If it weren't for tonight's play hurting Xiao Dang's heart.

She hurriedly ran toward the southwest.

This little stick, however, gave Xiao Dang an unparalleled sense of security.

Yi Zhonghai, who used moral blackmail; Liu Haizhong, who insisted on beating his son; Long Laotaitai, who pretended to be deaf and dumb; Jia Zhangshi, who wasn't spiteful enough; and Qin Huairu, the laundry deity.

Yi Zhonghai tried to trick people here with his respect‑the‑elderly‑love‑the‑young routine, but a big slap came his way.

Yet he still saw no trace of Xiao Dang.

He had only one thought in his mind from start to finish.

Liang Mancong, without suspicion, thought it was a trick and mistakenly believed Xiao Dang had caught a cold from the freeze; he hurried over, crouched beside Xiao Dang, and even held her in his arms.

Hong Kong Island.

He took the train back to the Capital City.

But he could still remember the other's kindness.

He also entrusted an acquaintance to negotiate with the leader of the outside hooligans, and only then did they stop blocking Xu Daming.

Just as he was thinking of chasing after Xiao Dang, he forgot to bring the child out.

Feigning illness.

Hearing it, Xiao Dang felt a creepy sensation.

Xiao Dang, being a woman, never had as much strength as a man; Liang Mancong, who should have stayed unconscious for several hours, woke up after less than twenty minutes.

He ran away.

He claimed to be a local, but Xu Daming could clearly hear a hint of Hunan accent in his speech.

Not knowing how long he had run or how far he had gone, Xiao Dang faintly heard a sound coming from behind.

He originally thought that even a single female comrade like Lou Xiaoe could succeed at something, and that he himself could easily do it as well.

The rope used to bind Liang Mancong wasn't tied tightly; just as Xiao Dang finished kissing the three children and had run two hundred meters from home, Liang Mancong woke up.

For no reason he insisted on checking whether Xiao Dang was sick.

Xu Daming finally figured out where he was.

Seeing himself collapsed on the dry grass, with bitter grass stuffed in his mouth and his arms bound behind his back, even the most clueless person would know he had been tied up.

Seeing that Liang Mancong was still breathing.

But that's all.

"Wife, I am your man. Mother's words just now—I think you've heard them. All mistakes, thousands of them, are my fault; I dote on you too much. Even Gou Dan and the others can't be without a mother. Thinking that you'd leave like those people and never come back, I don't care. The key is that the children are still young. As the old saying goes, 'Better to follow a street‑walking mother than an official father.' Wife, please come out quickly—I was wrong, and Mother also realizes her mistake."

The present time.

He fetched a rope, tied Liang Mancong up inside the thatched hut, and stuffed a handful of dry grass into his mouth so he couldn't shout.

Xu Daming could only speak politely with the person in charge, discussing whether they could first put it on credit; after a few days, when he had money, he would come back to settle the bill.

Xu Daming had seen more than once that Cao Long actually carried weapons.

It was like a resounding slap that fiercely struck Xu Daming's face.

Turning his head, he saw the bastard son's clueless expression; his anger surged up, and he blamed this useless good‑for‑nothing.

He actually believed the old lady's nonsense, even taking her for a kind grandmother; today's play let Xiao Dang fully see reality.

Liang Tangshi slapped her thigh and suddenly realized she might have done something wrong.

Just as he was thinking about the matter, Cao Long appeared before Xu Daming with a smug grin, didn't mind the crowd, and plopped down on Xu Daming's bed.

Xiao Dang knew what would happen if she stopped: she would be put under strict surveillance, Liang Mancong would not trust her, and Liang Tangshi would guard against her even more.

There was nothing to be done.

He actually broke free of the ropes, ran to the main house, found his old mother Liang Tangshi, told her how he had knocked Xiao Dang unconscious and fled, and related the incident to her.

It was strength.

Xiao Dang's hand.

Xiao Dang can return the way she originally came.

Otherwise she would have run away already.

Xiao Dang, however, acted as if she hadn't noticed, charging ahead as though the scars on her body didn't exist—or as if she weren't the one injured.

Married for so many years.

Just as Xiao Dang felt safe, wondering if she was overreacting, the night wind carried some people's voices into her ears.

"I never expected you, this lass, to also have a stubborn temper—preferring to be locked in that thatch hut rather than bow your head to Mother. Mother means no harm; she just wants you to yield a little to her. You know, there are several educated youth women like you in the village who said all the right things, then after settling in the city they'd come get their children, then their husbands, but never returned. Mother worries you'll end up the same, Xiao Dang—Mother's good daughter-in-law—come out, come out."

Light a match.

The child is Xiao Dang's soft spot.

"Child, I am your mother-in-law; your husband's words, I think you heard them too. Gou Dan is crying and calling for you, saying he wants his mother. Da yatou and er yatou are also crying and calling for mother. Today's incident is my fault as mother-in-law—it's all mothers, all thinking for the child. Mother worries you'll leave like those others and never return, so I had Manchang lock you in the thatch hut, thinking that if you bow your head, Mother will have Manchang release you."

From afar came shouts that someone in the southwest had spotted Xiao Dang, telling Manchang to bring his mother over quickly, without delay.

The heart finally relaxed.

Tiptoed to the main house.

Even the Hong Kong Island police dare not casually enter here, afraid that if they walk in standing they'll leave lying down; the chaos inside cannot be described by the idiom "dark smoke and miasmic air".

There's a child in the heart.

Upon hearing her own son's words.

Otherwise, according to Tangshi's understanding of Xiao Dang, mentioning the child would surely elicit a response from her.

Also there are weapons.

Past midnight, a bit after one.

Wait until around four or five o'clock before acting.

She must take advantage of the night to escape as much as possible.

Liang Tangshi, upon hearing Xiao Dang had run away,

This counts as saving two lives of Xu Daming.

A local who suits Xu Daming's taste.

At this very moment.

Pursued for five or six li.

For money.

"Xiao Dang, Mother was wrong; as long as you come out, Mother will follow your wishes—let Manchang divorce you and also let you return to the city—but Gou Dan must stay with us, for he is our Liang family's incense. As for Da yatou and er yatou, you may take them or not."

Resolutely she left Liang Family Village.

As for that introduction letter thing.

Xiao Dang must wait.

Some things, in Xu Daming's mind, are basically a matter of losing one's head!

On the contrary, these people here treat it as a means of making a living.

There was no movement at all.

She tried to struggle a few times.

This is the only chance to escape the fire pit.

She had always thought the people inside the siheyuan were already the essence of human depravity.

……

Liang Tangshi finished speaking.

She escaped far away.

A stumbling figure, running forward with all effort, heedless, with no thoughts, only the notion to rush forward appearing in her mind.

The first time was Xu Daming being chased by thugs, they all drew weapons; it was Cao Long who brought Xu Daming to crawl through a dog hole, running into Kowloon Walled City.

Cao Long.

Coming here, it's really not enough for people to stuff between their teeth.

With the children as cover, Xiao Dang will surely behave obediently.

She looked at her three children, then burned all the letters Huaihua had previously given her, and kissed each child's forehead.

Xiao Dang pretended not to have heard.

The speaker Liang Tangshi, the one being scolded Liang Manchang, couldn't understand how they reacted so quickly, following the tracks they chased here.

Scattered villagers, over a hundred households, came out and pursued from eight directions.

Xiao Dang pretended to faint, collapsing onto the dry grass.

This is one factor.

She must appear in the market before dawn.

Xiao Dang seeing the other party absent, didn't rush out but stayed put for about twenty minutes, confirming no one was on watch, then carefully slipped out from her hiding spot, sighed, and continued running forward.

She extended a finger, probing beneath Liang Manchang's nostrils.

Tree branches tore her clothes, also scratched her skin, faint traces of blood seeped out, and she even felt slight pain.

Upon hearing the other's Hunan-accented Hong Kong speech, Xu Daming's heart involuntarily rose a bit of mirth; having had such thoughts doesn't necessarily mean they'll be realized.

Xiao Dang, who originally planned to wait until after midnight around four to escape, upon seeing the old man before her, suddenly had a brainwave and thought of a method.

Strictly speaking.

……

"You useless son, you can't even keep your own wife in check, good-for-nothing—what did I tell you? I said your wife is scheming, doesn't want to suffer in the countryside, wants to return to the city to live well, you don't believe, saying Xiao Dang isn't like that—look, she ran away and even knocked you out while fleeing—when have I ever lied to you?"

The reason for chasing and killing Xu Damào was that Xu Damào had picked up a foreign girl, and when he helped her, he discovered his pocket had been slit, and he didn't know when the money inside had been stolen.

Xu Damào was naturally angry inside.

Calling it a living hell is not an overstatement.

Liang Mancong and Liang Tangshi, coincidentally, followed the direction Xiao Dang had fled in and came after them.

Liang Tangshi, crying, spoke in a soft voice.

The big boss inside the stronghold held his tongue.

Another reason.

Not going out.

Seeing his silly son before him, he was blazing with anger.

Before, he thought it was not bad, and felt good in every aspect.

Seeing that no one had responded to her all along, she also gave up the idea of continuing to shout, guessing that Xiao Dang might have run away from somewhere else, or had already run far enough not to hear her calls.

At the instant he lifted Xiao Dang, Xiao Dang's fist viciously struck Liang Mancong's temple, knocking him unconscious to the ground.

This is intolerable.

During this time in Hong Kong Island, Xu Damào found that the skills he had learned in the Capital City had nowhere to be put to use, and were useless.

Here, human nature had surpassed Xu Damào's understanding.

She figured it out.

Liang Tangshi shouted for a while, seeing no movement, she kicked Liang Mancong in the buttocks.

That remark just now, 'Dog Egg wants his mom,' might have actually coaxed Xiao Dang out.

Cao Long had it.

What was running away wasn't Xiao Dang, but rather Liang Tangshi's hope of following Xiao Dang into the city to enjoy blessings.

Because that time period is when people are most sleepy.

Worried that the noise from his movements would attract pursuers, Xiao Dang hurriedly sought a secluded corner and curled himself up as much as possible inside.

Xiao Dang fled.

It was midnight.

In the pitch-black mountains and forests.

Xiao Dang waited a while longer.

Xiao Dang could not stop.

Kowloon Walled City!

Heard about this place.

The two of them could be said to depend on each other for survival.

Xiao Dang is different from other women.

Sometimes after eating, when there was nothing to do, Xu Damào would lie on the bed that he couldn't stretch his legs on, thinking about some things; to be honest, he never imagined he would end up in such a situation.

These people.

Thinking back to those days in the Siheyuan, relying on his identity as a film projectionist, wherever he went he was a hot commodity, eating well, drinking well, and even a young widow would flirt with him.

"You dog son, just do as I say; I told you to give her a hard time—how did you do it? Feeling sorry for your wife! It's normal for a man to feel sorry for his wife, but you also have to consider the occasion. Xiao Dang clearly isn't on the same page as you anymore; she wants to go back to the city to enjoy blessings, she doesn't want you, the child, or me, your mother-in-law. If you still feel sorry for her now, it's like trying to stick dog meat onto mutton—useless. Xiao Dang has run off; you might as well go be a bachelor."

Liang Mancong came to the thatched hut to see if Xiao Dang was there.

The cruel reality.

"Mom, what should we do now? Our family can't do without Xiao Dang; when I left just now, Gou Dan kept crying for his mother."

The unsuspecting crowd.

"Damào!"

Almost fainted.

He fiercely grabbed the stick in front of him.

Anything can be done.

Which one is looking after the venue?

It also broadened his horizons.

I didn't expect there to be credit sales.

They found someone, using the excuse that Xu Damào wanted to enjoy things for free, and went after Xu Damào to beat him.