Chapter 78: Resistance

Hua Changxi followed Mao Yong to the riverbank. Before getting close, she saw from afar that many people were gathered by the river, whispering, pointing, and a few people were laughing wantonly.

Crossing these people, Hua Changxi's gaze fell on the man and woman who were tied up on the river beach.

A-Niu was beaten black and blue. In the middle of winter, he was only wearing a thin summer shirt and summer pants with patches on patches. His thin body was mostly soaked in the water. In the cold winter, his lips were frozen blue.

The woman was also very embarrassed, her hair loose, and the buttons of her upper garment were torn open, revealing a section of white neck, and the lower half of her body was also soaked in the water.

Embarrassed as she was, the woman was truly beautiful, with a graceful figure, and what was even more eye-catching was that, unlike the delicacy of ordinary women, the woman had a unique wild beauty.

Just like at this moment, compared to A-Niu's numbness and resignation, the woman had deep humiliation and dissatisfaction on her face. She was pushed down, struggled to stand up, was pushed down again, struggled, repeated several times, and finally had no strength, so she lay in the river mud without continuing to struggle.

"This woman... why doesn't she know how to give in."

Mao Yong muttered angrily, somewhat hating that she didn't live up to expectations, and somewhat unbearable. He looked at Hua Changxi who was silent beside him, and whispered:

"This woman is named Pucao, she is a pitiful person. Her mother gave birth to her alone in the reed marsh. Because there was no one to help, her mother fell into the water as soon as she gave birth, and then she had a disease, and she left in less than three years."

"After her mother died, her father soon married a new wife. With a stepmother, Pucao's life was very bad. She was sold to Dongchi Village before she was ten and became Li Liulang's child bride."

"Pucao is capable. After entering Li Liulang's house, she helped her mother-in-law make tofu and sell tofu. In Dongchi Village, their life was considered quite good."

"Although Li's mother was a bit harsh, Li Liulang was very good to Pucao."

"Before Li Liulang died, Pucao's eyes were always bright, and when she smiled, it was especially beautiful, making people want to follow her and laugh."

"It's a pity that three years ago, Li Liulang went out to work with people in the village, encountered bandits, and was beaten to death by bandits."

"Pucao is beautiful and has a good figure. Some people in the village saw that her husband died and had the idea of wanting to marry her, and then the matchmaker found Li's mother."

"Li's mother certainly didn't want her own daughter-in-law to remarry, and Pucao herself was unwilling, saying she wanted to fulfill filial piety for Li Liulang and provide for Li's mother until she died, refusing all the families who came to propose."

"At first, the life of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was relatively peaceful, but after a few months, rumors suddenly spread in the village that Pucao was unchaste. Later, others said Pucao had a hard fate and brought misfortune to her kin. After that, Mother Li treated Pucao worse and worse, beating and scolding her at every turn."

Hua Changxi suddenly asked: "Why is the adulterer A-Niu?"

Mao Yong, who was immersed in Pucao's tragic life, 'ah'ed, paused, and understood that Hua Changxi asked this because she understood the unfinished words in his words.

"A-Niu is even more hard-fated. As soon as he was born, his parents were trampled to death by wild boars from the mountain. By the time he grew to five, his grandparents also died. The whole family was left with only him."

"He can live to this day because this guy is very good at herding cattle. Relying on herding cattle for a few wealthy families in the village, he barely mixed a meal."

"A few years ago, I was transferred to the medicine farm to be a manager. There were many cattle in the farm. I saw that he was good at serving livestock and was very pitiful, so I gave him a job in the livestock room."

In short, A-Niu had no one to rely on, and no one would speak for him even if he died.

Hua Changxi listened silently, without any reaction, but her gaze fell on the Li clan leader and several clan elders who were standing at the forefront of the crowd and were clearly better dressed than others.

Mao Yong followed her gaze and introduced her: "That is the Li clan leader and several clan elders of Dongchi Village."

At this time, several young men from Dongchi Village began to tie stones to A-Niu and Pucao.

Mao Yong saw that Hua Changxi had been motionless and was somewhat anxious: "If you tie the stones, you will be drowned in the river."

Hua Changxi looked at him: "You seem very nervous about that woman named Pucao?"

Mao Yong choked, and said awkwardly: "No such thing."

Hua Changxi didn't understand: "The medicine farm is managed by the Medical Department and is also considered an industry of the imperial court. If you really want to save people, the people of Dongchi Village should not dare to make things difficult for you."

Mao Yong's expression was somewhat bitter: "The son of the Dongchi Village clan leader is a seventh-grade martial artist, serving in the Jingzhao Prefecture, a seventh-grade military advisor."

He was just a small manager of a medicine farm. People had official positions. How could he dare to confront them head-on?

Hua Changxi listened, her eyes flickered, and she cast her gaze on A-Niu and Pucao again.

She had contact with A-Niu, timid, shy, and bashful. She didn't believe he was an adulterer.

As for that Pucao, she hadn't had contact with her. Mao Yong must have some different thoughts about her, and her introduction to her could not be determined as true or false.

Drowning people in the river, Hua Changxi couldn't stand this practice. Saving people was not difficult; the difficulty was the subsequent wrangling.

Just when she was hesitating about how to act, she suddenly felt spiritual energy fluctuations coming from the river.

Looking at the ripples on the river surface, Hua Changxi narrowed her eyes.

Monster beast?

Hua Changxi looked at the Li clan leader and others standing by the river, and had an idea in her heart, deciding to stay still for the time being.

"Clan leader, I was wrong."

"I don't want to die, please give me another chance, I will never dare to mess around again."

Just then, Pucao suddenly shouted at the Li clan leader.

Hua Changxi looked for the sound. The people of Dongchi Village were tying stones to Pucao. She seemed to be scared and kept begging for mercy and admitting her mistakes to the clan leader.

She clearly saw that looking at Pucao begging for mercy, the Li clan leader's eyes shone with light. That was the look of prey finally about to be eaten.

Mao Yong saw Pucao begging for mercy and was somewhat silent, with a look of disappointment on his face.

The Li clan leader talked with several clan elders for a while, and then stood out: "Pucao, I ask you, was it A-Niu who forced you?"

Pucao looked at A-Niu, who had already been tied with stones and lifted onto the bamboo raft, and lowered her head: "Yes, it was A-Niu who forced me."

Hearing this, A-Niu's numb face finally showed some emotion, seemingly somewhat unbelievable, stared at Pucao for a while, and closed

Pucao did not dare to look at him, but stared straight at Clan Leader Li: "Clan Leader, it was Aniu who forced me. I am not unchaste. I beg you to let me go."

Clan Leader Li whispered with a few clan elders again. After a while, he said to the villagers by the river: "Considering that Pucao was forced and is a victim, let us not drown her; let us only drown the instigator, Aniu."

The villagers whispered among themselves; no one dared to stand up and oppose Clan Leader Li.

"Thank you, Clan Leader, thank you, Clan Leader."

Pucao kowtowed a few times in the direction of Clan Leader Li with immense gratitude, then asked the villagers nearby to untie her.

Enduring the villagers taking advantage of her, once her hands and feet were free, Pucao trotted toward Clan Leader Li, looking exactly like someone terrified and seeking protection.

Clan Leader Li watched Pucao approach with a smile, thinking to himself that women just needed to be disciplined; if she had obediently submitted to him, there would have been no trouble, but she had to make him use clan law before she became obedient.

After Pucao stood behind him, Clan Leader Li waved to the clansmen by the river: "Push Aniu into the river..."

Before he could finish speaking, Clan Leader Li felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then, his neck was locked by someone.

"Don't you dare touch Aniu!"

Pucao locked Clan Leader Li's neck with one hand and held a sharp wooden hairpin in the other, stabbing it fiercely into his neck. Before long, the blood flowing out stained Clan Leader Li's collar red.

"Ah~"

The sudden scene shocked everyone.

"Pucao, let go of the Clan Leader quickly."

Seeing Clan Leader Li trying to struggle, Pucao increased the force in her hand: "I advise you not to move around, otherwise the hairpin in my hand will definitely pierce through your neck."

Clan Leader Li did not dare to move, but he was furious: "Pucao, I kindly let you go..."

"You let me go?"

"Pah!"

"You beastly thing are even fit to be a clan leader? Liulang is your own nephew within the five degrees of mourning, yet after he died, you actually wanted to force yourself upon his wife. Are you even human?"

Pucao's expression was somewhat agitated as she looked at the villagers of Dongchi Village: "The day before yesterday, the Clan Leader called me to his house. He didn't say a few words before he started getting handsy. Aniu went to return the ox, heard my cries for help, came over to rescue me, and was then held a grudge against by this old bastard. Yesterday, he designed a scene of catching us in adultery to force me to submit and to get Aniu killed."

"Don't you all know what kind of person Aniu is?"

"Although I am a widow whose husband died, I am not lacking in young men coming to propose. There are so many young and strong men I don't fancy, yet I fancy this old, toothless thing? Are you all blind, or am I blind?"

"You people can just watch the show. You had better pray that you don't marry a beautiful wife, otherwise, if this old thing takes a fancy to her, the fate that Aniu and I are facing today will be your end."

Listening to Pucao's cries, the villagers of Dongchi Village were unusually silent.

"Everyone, don't listen to Pucao's nonsense. She is just an unchaste, hard-fated, and misfortune-bringing harlot."

A clan elder stood out, pointing at Pucao with righteous indignation.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Pucao smiled miserably, her eyes brimming with tears. She tilted her head back to keep the tears from falling, then continued: "I know I cannot live, but Aniu is innocent. He is also from Dongchi Village, someone you all watched grow up. Let him go."

Lying on the bamboo raft, Aniu looked at Pucao, who was fighting for his chance to live; his expression was no longer blank, and he was somewhat moved.

Seeing no one move, Pucao increased the force in her hand and looked at Clan Leader Li: "Old thing, if you want to live, order them to release Aniu. Otherwise, even if I die, I will drag you, this beastly thing, to hell with me."

Clan Leader Li was truly furious and angry at this moment, shouting at someone in the crowd: "What are you waiting for? Kill this bitch for me."

As soon as the words fell, everyone saw a dagger fly out, shooting straight toward Pucao.

The dagger was too fast. Just when everyone thought Pucao was surely going to die, with a 'slap', the dagger was struck by something and deflected, coincidentally embedding itself in Clan Leader Li's shoulder.

"Ah~"

Clan Leader Li being hit by the knife was beyond everyone's expectations; even Pucao was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly: "Old thing, even the heavens don't like you."

Mao Yong looked around, then looked at Hua Changxi, his face somewhat puzzled. This girl hadn't moved; who had deflected the dagger?

Just then, a sharp-eyed villager pointed at the river and shouted: "Look, the bamboo raft is drifting away."

Originally, the villagers were supposed to row the bamboo raft to the middle of the river and then throw Aniu, who was tied to a stone, into the river, but at this moment, the raft was drifting away on its own.

Then, a strange scene appeared: layers of waves rose on the river surface, and a whirlpool appeared in the middle of the river.

The impact of the waves was somewhat strong, slapping against the bamboo raft and directly overturning it, causing Aniu on top to fall into the water.

"Aniu!"

Seeing Aniu fall into the water, Pucao didn't even care about Clan Leader Li anymore; she ran quickly to the riverbank, jumped into the water with a 'splash', and then swam rapidly toward the bamboo raft.

"Oh my god, what is that thing?"

In the middle of the river, a fish fin wider than a door appeared.

The fish fin was rushing rapidly toward the place where Aniu fell into the water.

"It's a fierce beast!"

Because they were near the mountains, the villagers of Dongchi Village were no strangers to fierce beasts, but what they didn't expect was that there would be a fierce beast in the river, and they were all badly frightened.

You have to know, many village women usually came to the riverbank to wash clothes.

The villagers quickly moved away from the riverbank, while Pucao swam desperately toward the spot where Aniu fell.

Her swimming skills were very good; she soon swam to the place where Aniu fell, dived into the river, and before long, dragged Aniu to the surface.

At this moment, the fish fin was only a few meters away from the two.

Pucao was somewhat desperate, gritting her teeth and swimming hard. Even though she was incredibly terrified, she didn't abandon Aniu, who had choked and fainted.

Feeling the powerful thrust of the water waves behind her, Pucao knew the fierce beast was about to arrive. She held onto Aniu tightly, preparing to face death, when suddenly her arm tightened, and then, she found herself flying up.

By the time she came to her senses, she and Aniu had already landed safely on the shore.

Pucao looked up and saw a somewhat petite figure.

It was actually a young lady who had saved them!

Hua Changxi walked to Aniu's side and pressed on his chest a few times. Aniu spat out a few mouthfuls of water and slowly woke up. Seeing Hua Changxi, he was stunned for a moment: "Young Lady Hua..."

At this moment, the fierce beast in the river revealed itself; it was a giant fish several meters long, its wide-open mouth like a black hole, capable of swallowing a person alive.

The fish demon hadn't eaten anyone and was very irritable, constantly slapping the water with its tail, the river surface making 'boom, boom, boom' sounds.

Hua Changxi looked at the fish demon circling in the river, then looked at Clan Leader Li, who was so frightened he had to be supported by others: "I can help you solve this fierce beast, but these two people must come with me."

Before Clan Leader Li could react, several clan elders spoke up first: "Aniu and Pucao have both been sold to you. Young lady, hurry up and kill this fierce beast."

Hua Changxi was worried about subsequent trouble, so she added: "I want their deeds of sale."

Several clan elders: "Kill the fierce beast, and we will write them for you immediately."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi was not afraid they would go back on their word. She kicked a stone on the riverbank; the stone was imbued with spiritual power, broke through the air, hit the fish's head, and directly exploded it.

"Boom~"

The fish demon sank into the river, and before long, that stretch of river water was dyed red.

The fierce beast had been killed too easily; the people of Dongchi Village hadn't even reacted.

Hua Changxi looked at the several clan elders: "You can write the deeds of sale for me now."

Several clan elders immediately ordered people to fetch pen and ink.

"Wait a moment~"

Clan Leader Li suddenly spoke up, stopping the villagers.

Hua Changxi's eyes narrowed slightly: "Are you trying to go back on your word?"

Just as Clan Leader Li was about to say something, the martial artist who had thrown the dagger in the crowd pulled his sleeve and shook his head at him.

Mao Yong also walked over quickly and whispered: "Clan Leader Li, this young lady is one of Old You's people."

After hearing this, Clan Leader Li's expression was somewhat gloomy; the sharp pain in his neck and shoulder reminded him that he had almost been harmed by that bitch Pucao.

"Pucao is the Li family's daughter-in-law..."

"She is no longer."

An old woman with a face full of vicissitudes walked out of the crowd.

The old woman looked at Pucao and said expressionlessly: "Today, in front of the whole village, I am divorcing Pucao on behalf of my deceased son."

Saying this, she took out a pre-written divorce document from her bosom, walked to Pucao, and threw it at her.

"Mother~"

Pucao looked at the old woman, her face sorrowful.

The person who came was none other than Pucao's mother-in-law, Mother Li.

Mother Li looked at Pucao coldly: "You are no longer a daughter-in-law of my Li family. Get out of Dongchi Village immediately and never appear here again."

After speaking, the old woman turned to leave.

"Mother~"

Pucao called out again, her voice filled with reluctance and pain.

Hearing this, the old woman's body trembled, but she didn't look back and walked away without saying a word.

Pucao's eyes turned red, and she kowtowed three times to the old woman's back.

Hua Changxi looked at the clan elders. The elders had already been dissatisfied with Clan Leader Li because of Pucao's revelations about him, so they ignored him, called for someone to fetch paper and pen, and quickly wrote the deeds of sale for the two.

"From now on, the Li clan no longer has these people, Li Aniu and Li Miao Shi."