Chapter 35: This might be a little painful

Sticking close to the wall and listening for a moment, the few of them burst inside.

"You good-for-nothing brother-in-law, to actually harm your own relative like this, you are truly lower than a pig or a dog!" Sheng Ge walked in at the lead, while Changfeng stayed behind to pull the door shut tightly.

The intrusion of the few startled Xu Damao and Qin Jingru, who were currently being intimate, quite a bit.

Xu Damao pulled the quilt hard to cover Qin Jingru, and emboldening himself, he cursed: "You little brats, you still dare to come back? Do you know the Public Security Station is currently hunting you down? Huh?"

Xu Damao's original intention was to scare the few of them into leaving, but he immediately proved that Bang Geng had been arrested because he had reported him.

The few of them were instantly furious; they dragged Xu Damao out from the quilt and gave him a fierce beating.

After venting their anger, the few looked at the bruised Xu Damao and the trembling Qin Jingru hiding under the quilt, and a wicked grin appeared on their faces.

"Big Brother, I want to rob a 'shai'."

"Hehe, Sheng Ge, us brothers want to as well."

Sheng Ge rubbed his chin, revealed a meaningful smile, and said: "Originally, since you harmed my brother Jia Geng, you would have to pay with your lives, but today, we are being merciful; as long as you let us rob you, we will spare you!"

Xu Damao and the other panicked instantly; Xu Damao knelt on the ground all of a sudden and begged bitterly.

But Sheng Ge and his men did not listen at all.

"Death or being robbed, choose. You only have one minute to consider," Sheng Ge said impatiently, his breathing growing heavier.

Seeing the kitchen knives the few had picked up, Xu Damao trembled, looked at Qin Jingru with a bitter face, and said: "Wife, for the sake of our lives, I have to wrong you."

"Xu Damao! Are you even a man? You're just going to push your own wife to others like this? Bah! I, Qin Jingru, must have been blind!" Qin Jingru wrapped herself tightly in the quilt and cursed loudly.

"Don't worry, I won't hold it against you. Just bear with it. A few big brothers, please don't take our lives, I beg you," Xu Damao said with a fawning expression.

"Don't you come over! I'm telling you, if you dare to touch me, I'll die right in front of you!" Qin Jingru wiped her tears, her face full of determination.

"A few big brothers, don't hurt us. I'll hold my wife down for you, do whatever you want, just please don't hurt us," Xu Damao crawled up, stooped, and pleaded.

"Smack!"

Sheng Ge stepped forward, slapped Xu Damao across the face, and spat on him fiercely.

"What are you thinking? She is my brother's sister-in-law, which makes her our sister-in-law. What kind of strange things are you saying? We said we were going to rob you!"

"Ah? But I'm a man!"

The eyes of the few shone like hungry wolves: "A man is exactly what we want! Heh heh."

"Ah, no, wife save me, ap-mie... mmph, cough, no, ah! Mmph..."

Just as Xu Damao was about to scream, his mouth was stuffed full again.

Qin Jingru stared blankly from inside the quilt at everything that was too hideous to look at, her mind going completely blank...

"Uh, for the sake of our lives, just bear with it, husband."

After saying this, Qin Jingru lost all spirit; she closed her eyes with tears streaming down and covered her ears to keep from hearing Xu Damao's miserable groans.

In the blink of an eye, several hours passed and it grew dark. He Yuzhu explained the situation to Qin Huairu when she returned from work, but Qin Huairu turned and left, leaving He Yuzhu in the courtyard with a bitter smile, shaking his head repeatedly.

After thinking for a moment, He Yuzhu went to the Second Elder's home.

"Yo, a rare guest. How is it that Deputy Director He is willing to grace this humble abode?" The Second Elder took a satisfied sip of wine and, without getting up, raised his eyes to ask.

"Second Elder, my home was robbed again today. As the Second Elder, shouldn't you organize everyone to keep those idlers from just wandering in? This is something only you can accomplish, so I came to ask for your help, didn't I?" He Yuzhu smiled, not angry; this old guy was crazy about wanting to be an official and just wanted to show off.

Sure enough, upon hearing He Yuzhu's words, the Second Elder's eyes lit up; he slammed the table and said: "Preposterous! Don't worry, Shazhu, I'll call everyone right now. It's time we held a Full Courtyard Meeting!"

"Haha, I knew it, it has to be you, Second Elder, the leader!" He Yuzhu smiled and added another compliment.

The Second Elder put down his wine cup, stopped eating, walked into the courtyard, and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Everyone pay attention! Hurry up and come out, we're holding a Full Courtyard Meeting, there's an important matter."

The courtyard instantly became lively as everyone brought out their stools and bowls to come outside.

"Second Elder, what happened?" The First Elder wiped his mouth, his face full of authority.

"Exactly. I'm just eating; I worked all day waiting for this meal, and you've gone and ruined it," the Third Elder said unhappily.

"Cough, cough, uh, is everyone about here? Let me say this: just now, this Deputy Director He came to me asking for help, saying his home was robbed again. This is a serious criminal incident. Deputy Director He said he wanted me to organize everyone—this matter regarding strangers entering our courtyard must be managed. Nobody wants to be robbed, right?"

The Second Elder looked triumphant, though his speech was full of "uhs" and "ahs," yet he still felt he was doing quite well.

"Zhuzi, your home was robbed again?" The First Elder was stunned and asked hurriedly.

"That's right, Zhuzi, what did you lose? Have you calculated how much it's worth?" The Third Elder also perked up.

"It's like this: I came back this afternoon and discovered my door had been pried open. Hey, wait, where are Xu Damao and his wife?" As he spoke, He Yuzhu felt something was off; the voice that usually argued with him was missing, and he really wasn't used to it.

"Oh, him? He asked for leave today, said he was sick and didn't go to work. I guess he's not home? Continue, Zhuzi," the Second Elder thought for a moment and said.

"That's not right. I didn't see Xu Damao go out all day today, he even cooked at noon. Could something have happened?" The First Elder's wife thought for a moment and stood up.

"Ah? Surely not?" The crowd began to whisper to one another, while Qin Huairu stood calmly behind the wheelchair, pushing Jia Zhangshi, her thoughts unknown.

"Let's go, let's go to the Back Yard and check. With the doors and windows shut tight, let's hope it's not carbon monoxide poisoning," He Yuzhu warned, and the crowd put down their stools and headed to the Back Yard.

Looking at the pitch-black room, the crowd was startled.

"Oh no, something really happened, didn't it?" The Third Elder asked, turning back in alarm.

Liu Yongfu was taken aback; he hurried forward and kicked the door open. The crowd surged in all at once, the Second Elder turned on the light, and in an instant, everyone who entered the room stood frozen in place...

"This..."

"It burns the eyes! Morality is declining, human hearts are not what they used to be, in broad daylight, under the bright sky, you... you people... sigh!"

"This might be a little painful..."

"Mmph, save, save me!" Xu Damao suddenly tilted his head back, spat out the object in his mouth, and let out a shrill, loud cry.