Chapter 15: Trying to Extort Me? You'll Have to Admit Defeat

Actually, as early as when Gu Xixi went up the mountain, I had already noticed Gu Tiezhu following her.

Coincidentally, she had already picked a good place for Gu Tiezhu earlier.

Today he went looking for death on his own, which actually saved her the trouble of setting things up specially.

Gu Xixi had once found a wild tea tree nearby; while digging, following the roots she saw a hidden earthen pit in the grass.

It should be a naturally formed underground rock cave, gradually revealed by rainwater erosion into a small opening.

The entrance could only fit one adult; when sunlight slanted in, it looked about three or four meters deep, with no standing water directly below.

A natural pitfall, perfect for luring a dog into a jar.

Because she spontaneously decided to deal with Gu Tiezhu, Gu Xixi had to head home early.

At dusk, as expected, the village erupted in noise, and someone even beat a gong calling for Gu Tiezhu.

Zhang Shen went out to look, came back a bit excited, and said, "Gu Tiezhu is missing."

"His parents said the wheat hasn't been harvested yet, so he couldn't have run far; he must have met with an accident."

Gu Xixi continued grinding the powder in the stone mortar, saying, "His death isn't a great loss, but it's a bit regrettable to make everyone go through the trouble of searching for him."

Zhang Shen naturally didn't know Gu Tiezhu's disappearance was related to Xixi, and she kept muttering to herself, "He behaved so improperly toward you; even if I'm hard-hearted, I really hope something happens to him so he'll behave better in the future."

Gu Xixi nodded in agreement.

Below the pit there is a thick layer of rotting leaves and roots, so he's unlikely to die from the fall.

Although the night on the back mountain in midsummer is cool, it won't freeze anyone to death.

At most… he might break a hand or foot, suffer hunger and cold, and endure a bit more hardship.

That night, the village torches swayed back and forth until they went out when the moon reached the treetops.

Liu Shi had already cried so hard she fainted several times.

But it was too dark, so everyone could only agree to go into the mountain to search early the next morning.

Before Gu Xixi fell asleep, she glanced through the window at the west room; it had been nearly two days, and Mu Nan Zhao still hadn't returned.

The next morning, Gu Xixi was still short on sleep when a knocking at the door woke her.

She frowned, opened her eyes, and heard someone smashing the gate with a loud bang-bang.

"Gu Xixi! I know you're in there! Come out!!"

"You deliberately harmed my son, breaking his leg! You venomous, heartless woman! Today I'd risk my life to beat you to death, you slut who's been ridden by thousands and slept with by tens of thousands!"

Gu Xixi sat up straight, let out a soft sigh, seeing that the person had been found alive—what a pity.

Outside, hearing Liu Shi's increasingly vulgar curses, Zhang Shen grew angry, flung open the gate, hands on her waist, and shouted back at Liu Shi.

The two kept shouting, and in the process they ended up revealing each other's dirty secrets from years past.

Only then did Gu Xixi dress neatly and come out; as she passed the west room, a whiff of bloody smell drifted on the wind.

She suddenly turned her head to look, and her eyes darkened a little.

Outside the gate, a sea of heads blocked the road completely.

Gu Xixi's gaze swept past the red-faced, thick-necked Liu Shi in front.

Gu Daye and Gu Erye, with their families, stood behind Gu Lao San; beside their feet lay an old door panel, on which Gu Tiezhu lay, as if he had been carried there.

Gu Qingye crouched beside her brother, guarding him while sobbing continuously.

"Brother, you're the mainstay of our family; you've broken a leg—how are Mother and Father supposed to cope?"

Several youths who admired Gu Qingye, seeing her cry and feeling pity, also, in order to win her favor, all became filled with righteous indignation.

"Whoever caused someone to break a leg must give an explanation!"

"Exactly! Let Gu Tiezhu stay at their house, let them treat him, and look after him until his leg heals!"

"Besides, they must pay compensation and kneel to apologize!"

Zhang Shen wasn't about to back down either, thrusting her chest forward step by step to retort at those youths, "So what? Just because his leg is broken doesn't mean he's in the right and can extort people at will—he fell into the pit himself; it's none of my family's business!"

Zhang Shen was stout-built, and the youths were forced to retreat step by step.

Someone else stubbornly argued, "This morning we found Gu Tiezhu; he himself said he saw Gu Xixi down the mountain and followed her all the way, only to step into empty air."

Gu Xixi looked puzzled, "I went up the mountain yesterday to pick some wild mushrooms. But..."

"I didn't know my cousin was following me."

She walked over to Gu Tiezhu, bent down to look at him, and said, "Cousin, why didn't you call out to me from behind?"

Gu Tiezhu met Gu Xixi's eyes, then immediately felt guilty and looked away.

"Why?" Gu Xixi asked again.

"If my cousin followed me from down the mountain all this way, how could I not have noticed at all?"

"Besides, my cousin said he fell into the pit because he was following me—so why didn't I fall in first myself?"

Gu Tiezhu stammered, unable to answer, and simply closed his eyes, yelling that his leg hurt and he wanted to go home.

"Exactly!" Zhang Shen said with more confidence, "Did everyone hear that?"

"In that mountain hollow, there's not a soul around; a big man sneaking after a girl, not uttering a sound the whole way—I'd like to ask what evil he intends."

The villagers eyed Gu Lao San's family suspiciously, murmuring among themselves.

Seeing her side losing advantage, Liu Shi grew anxious and angry, "What bad deed has my Gu Tiezhu done? Who saw it?"

"He and Gu Xixi are cousins from the same clan—how could that be!"

Zhang Shen snorted, "He claims Gu Xixi harmed him—but who saw that?"

"Just now we didn't even give him a chance to speak; he answers 'I don't know' to everything—who would believe him if he claimed innocence?"

"Besides, cousins aren't allowed to marry, yet nothing can stop him from ruining people's reputations and sullying their purity!"

Those few words hit hard, leaving everyone who wanted to "uphold justice" for Gu Tiezhu speechless.

Gu Daye sighed, "This matter surely involves a misunderstanding."

"There are plenty of tree shadows and flower souls in that mountain; maybe Tiezhu's eyes are playing tricks, he saw wrong."

"If the older cousin really lays hands on his own female cousin, such an immoral act, if proven, would make the whole Gu Clan unable to hold its head up."

"Better to just find an excuse to get past it."

"Gu Xixi has already taken the revenge she owed, and she doesn't intend to keep entangling herself in this matter."

""What the great-grandfather said is right; since I haven't run into my older cousin,""

""Maybe he really just saw things wrong.""

"She stared straight at Gu Tiezhu, half-smiling, "You're right, aren't you, older cousin?""

"Gu Tiezhu clenched his teeth and nodded resentfully."

"Liu Shi felt her heart breaking. Thinking of her son enduring the pain of broken bones, spending a night in the mountains, and when he was pulled out, she almost thought he had died."

"But now he suddenly says it has nothing to do with Gu Xixi at all."

"How could she possibly swallow her anger and just go home like that!"

"Liu Shi sucked in a breath and suddenly lunged headfirst through the gap between Gu Xixi and Zhang Shen."

"She ran into the courtyard and knocked over a clay jar."

""My son is suffering—you don't get to be okay either! I'll smash your house to pieces!""

"Gu Xixi saw Liu Shi running off to the west, silently thought "oh no," and hurried after her."

""Zhang Shen! Stop her quickly!""

"Except for those specimen plants she has placed in the courtyard, which must not be smashed."

"The situation inside the west wing also cannot be seen."

"Gu Xixi lunged forward and grabbed at air; by the time she lifted her eyes, Liu Shi's hand had already touched the door of the west wing……"