Chapter 54: Left-Behind Child

The little fatty's voice suddenly sounded behind Zhang Xingyu.

Zhang Xingyu turned around and saw Zhu Dafu struggling to climb up from the ground.

He swayed as if he were on a swing; the effect of the drug clearly hadn't completely disappeared.

"Brother Xingyu, are we dead?" Zhu Dafu asked blankly.

"Not dead," Zhang Xingyu replied.

"Not dead? Am I dreaming?" Zhu Dafu clearly didn't believe it.

Zhang Xingyu found it somewhat funny: "Really not dead. If you don't believe me, pinch your own thigh and try."

Zhu Dafu pinched his own thigh as instructed.

"Ouch." Zhu Dafu shivered in pain.

A moment later, he jumped up happily: "Brother Xingyu, I'm not dreaming. We really aren't dead."

Zhang Xingyu was speechless: "I told you already, but you wouldn't believe me."

At the same time, Hu Siping and Tie Niu also woke up one after another.

Hu Siping asked: "Xingyu, we aren't dead?"

Zhang Xingyu nodded and said: "Not dead."

"What about the black-clad demon? We were clearly knocked out by him," Hu Siping asked.

Zhang Xingyu pointed to the demon's corpse on the ground and said: "The black-clad demon is dead, someone saved us."

"So that's how it is."

Hu Siping nodded and stood up with Zhang Xingyu's support.

Beside them, Tie Niu swayed and threw himself beside a middle-aged woman, shaking her while shouting: "Mom, Mom..."

That middle-aged woman wore coarse clothes and a cloth skirt, her skin was dark, and her forehead was covered in wrinkles.

So she was Tie Niu's mother.

Tie Niu's mother was shaken a few times by him and finally woke up slowly.

"Son, are we in the underworld?" Tie Niu's mother asked.

"Mom, we're still alive. Look, this is the entrance to the village chief's house," Tie Niu said loudly.

"We aren't dead? Which wicked person didn't kill us?" Tie Niu's mother still didn't believe it.

"Mom, it was those three big brothers who killed the wicked person and saved us. Look, the wicked person's corpse is still lying on the ground," Tie Niu explained.

Seeing that his mother didn't believe him, he walked to the demon's corpse and kicked it twice hard.

The demon didn't move.

Tie Niu's mother finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Before long, the villagers also woke up one after another.

Seeing that they and their loved ones were still alive, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Some villagers cried, some laughed, and some hugged each other tightly.

A white-haired old grandmother kept bowing to the sky: "Thank Heaven, thank Heaven..."

Seeing the villagers' appearance, the three of them smiled happily.

The three came before Tie Niu and his mother.

Zhang Xingyu patted Tie Niu on the shoulder: "Brother Tie Niu, we are leaving, so we came specifically to say goodbye to you."

"Three big brothers, thank you," Tie Niu nodded and said.

At this time, Tie Niu's mother stood up, took the hands of the three, and said: "Three benefactors, it's already dark, go stay at my house for the night before leaving."

"Right, go stay at my house for the night. The mushroom stewed mountain chicken my mom makes is very fragrant," Tie Niu also shouted to persuade them.

At this time, the villagers' minds gradually calmed down.

Those who were brave had already walked to the demon's corpse and kicked it hard.

The village chief walked over with the support of a villager, bowing and thanking the three of them incessantly: "Three benefactors, thank you, thank you."

"Hmph, now we're benefactors. Who was it that called us troublemakers earlier?" Zhu Dafu pouted from the side.

"Little Fatty." Zhang Xingyu quickly stopped him.

For these ignorant villagers, there was absolutely no need to argue with them.

At this moment, other villagers also stepped forward: "Three benefactors, it was our fault for blaming you earlier, please don't be angry."

Seeing that Zhang Xingyu and Hu Siping were not angry, the village chief asked weakly: "Three benefactors, how should we handle the wicked person's corpse? Should we report it to the officials?"

"Report to what officials? Find a few people to carry it to the wilderness and bury it. This kind of thing is hard to explain; reporting it to the officials will inevitably cost you silver to bribe them," Hu Siping said.

The village chief nodded and took the villagers to discuss it on the side.

Zhang Xingyu came to the demon's corpse and took a cloth bag from his waist.

Opening the bag, inside, besides a dozen silver coins, there were only two small porcelain bottles.

Zhang Xingyu picked up one porcelain bottle, just wanting to open it, but then remembered something.

He tore off a piece of his lapel, covered his mouth and nose, and then opened the porcelain bottles one by one.

The first porcelain bottle contained red powder, somewhat similar to the drug the demon had scattered before.

The second porcelain bottle contained a red pill.

Even with his mouth and nose covered, Zhang Xingyu smelled a rich fishy smell.

It seems they are all harmful things.

Zhang Xingyu thought to himself.

He covered the porcelain bottles and stood up, only to see Tie Niu staring tightly at the things in his hand.

Zhang Xingyu was puzzled but didn't make a sound.

After the demon's corpse was carried away by the villagers to be buried outside the village, the three bid farewell to the well-meaning village chief and followed Tie Niu and his mother to borrow a place to stay at their house.

Tie Niu's house was a small courtyard with three thatched houses inside.

Tie Niu invited the three into the middle room, lit an oil lamp, and was busy taking walnuts out of the wooden cabinet by the wall to entertain the guests.

Zhang Xingyu walked to his side and asked softly: "Tie Niu, do you recognize the porcelain bottles in my hand?"

Tie Niu nodded, then shook his head.

"Do you recognize them or not?" Zhang Xingyu asked.

"I don't recognize the bottle, but I recognize the red pill inside," Tie Niu replied.

"You've seen this red pill?" Zhang Xingyu was very surprised.

How could a mountain kid recognize the things of a demonic cultivator?

Tie Niu nodded: "I haven't just seen it, I've eaten it. It tasted terrible."

"You've eaten it? How could you have this kind of red pill?" Zhang Xingyu shouted in surprise.

"Eaten what?" Hearing Zhang Xingyu's shout, Hu Siping and Zhu Dafu also walked over.

"Tie Niu said he has eaten the red pill like the one in the bottle," Zhang Xingyu said.

"How is this possible?" Hu Siping and Zhu Dafu both stared at Tie Niu, looking like they didn't believe it.

Seeing their appearance, Tie Niu said loudly: "What I said is true. My dad would entrust someone to send me a red pill every year. Only after I ate the pill did I grow so tall and so strong."

"Sent by your dad? Could it be that your dad is also a demonic cultivator?" Zhu Dafu exclaimed from the side.

Tie Niu was anxious upon hearing this: "My dad is not a demonic cultivator. My dad went out to find medicine to cure my illness."

"Then how do you explain the red pill?" Zhu Dafu continued to ask.

"I don't know. The pill I ate was used to cure my illness," Tie Niu explained loudly, sweat almost breaking out on his face.

Zhu Dafu still wanted to ask, but Zhang Xingyu quickly stopped him: "Tie Niu, don't be anxious. Having a pill doesn't mean your dad is a demonic cultivator. By the way, how is the pill you ate different from the one in the bottle?"

"Oh, I forgot. The pill I ate was smaller, redder, and the fishy smell was lighter than the one in the bottle," Tie Niu said, slapping his head.

Zhang Xingyu nodded: "Since the pill you ate is different, your dad shouldn't be a demonic cultivator."

Tie Niu said loudly: "My dad is definitely not. My dad is a good person."

Speaking of this, his expression became somewhat depressed.

"Tie Niu, what's wrong?" Zhang Xingyu asked.

"I miss my dad," Tie Niu said.

Poor kid.

Zhang Xingyu asked: "Tie Niu, how long has it been since you saw your dad?"

"My dad has been gone for seven years, three months, and eleven days," Tie Niu answered, counting on his fingers.

Zhang Xingyu was very sympathetic to Tie Niu's situation.

If this were in the 21st century on Earth, Tie Niu would just be a poor left-behind child.

Left-behind children, who doesn't miss their parents?

However, Tie Niu at least had his mother by his side, which was much better than a left-behind child.

At this time, Tie Niu's mother walked in with a large basin of mushroom stewed wild chicken.

Tie Niu quickly went up to help.

After a flurry of activity, dishes, bowls, and chopsticks were placed on the table.

Tie Niu's mother greeted them: "Mountain folk, we don't have anything good to entertain you with, I hope the three benefactors won't mind."

"It looks comfortable and smells very fragrant, it must be delicious. Thank you, Auntie," Zhang Xingyu took the lead in thanking her.

"As long as you don't mind, as long as you don't mind. Three benefactors, hurry and use your chopsticks, it won't be good if it gets cold," Tie Niu's mother urged.

The three of them had been hungry for a day, so they picked up their chopsticks upon hearing this.

Over there, Tie Niu had already picked up his bowl and started eating heartily.

"This child." Tie Niu's mother looked at her son, her eyes full of love.

"This child has had a hard life. He lost his biological mother as soon as he was born. His father is not by his side. Sigh..." Tie Niu's mother sighed.

Zhang Xingyu stopped his chopsticks: "Auntie, are you not Tie Niu's biological mother?"

Tie Niu's mother shook her head: "When Tie Niu was born, his biological mother died in childbirth. What a beautiful and virtuous person she was, but she left us early. I, a lonely old woman, saw that his father had a hard time with the child, so I helped look after him. This child has been sensible since he was small and knows how to care for people. It's a pity that when he was five, he caught a strange illness. His father said he was going out to find medicine to cure him, and he never came back." ===== CHAPTER 55 =====